Jesus of Nazareth Part Deux

Book Review
Jesus of Nazareth
Part Two:
Holy Week – From the entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection
By Joseph Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI

Reviewed by Brian Peachey
THIS book is a true masterpiece, a marvellous work of a great scholar, who is also the successor of St Peter.
I use the adjective ‘marvellous’ because I marvelled at the insight he has into Scripture, history and theology and the simple language he uses to give us a clearer knowledge of Jesus and the messianic mystery.
Although it is the writing of a theologian and eschatological scholar and was written in German, it is so easily read.
Perhaps some of the credit should be shared with the translator, Philip L Whitmore.  A remarkable feature is that the book can be opened randomly and on almost every page there is a pearl of great worth.
It is a work that Pope Benedict says (in the introduction to the first book, published in 2007) has had a long gestation. My guess is that the little Joseph Ratzinger, before he could read, somehow “knew” that Jesus was God and was truly present in the Blessed Eucharist.  
The value of this book is so great that it should be a textbook in every seminary. It should be studied by every religious education teacher and is more than useful for those studying scripture.
There are ready-made homilies for priests scattered throughout it; especially during Lent and Holy Week.
The book depicts frequent expressions of Benedict’s genuine humility, where he seems to bow to the works of other exegetes, especially several Protestant scholars, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Charles H Dodd, Ferdinand Kattenbusch and Joachim Jeremias. He is politely critical of the works of Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann.
His 41-page chapter, The Last Supper, is a masterpiece.  I hope my good long-time Protestant friends will read it.
Benedict gives a gentle theological polemic on the development of the liturgy of the early Church and the Eucharist, based on the words of Jesus over the chalice which summed up and fulfilled the “new covenant in His blood”, the total gift of Himself that we are beneficiaries of today.
– Jesus of Nazareth is available from The Record Bookshop