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The Life & Times of Jesus Christ
New Testament Commentaries
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Order of Contents 10+
Best 3
1800’s 7
1900’s 2
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Defenses of Miracles 3
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Expositions of the Miracles of Christ
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The Best
1600’s
Hall, Joseph – Contemplations on the Historical Parts of the New Testament (d. 1656) The work only covers the life of Christ (not the whole N.T.).
Hall was an influential reformed Anglican bishop. These devotional and practical contemplations savor of deep spirituality and are very insightful. One of a kind and one of the best.
*** ‘Need I commend Bishop Hall’s Contemplations to your affectionate attention? What wit! What sound sense! What concealed learning! His style is as pithy and witty as that of Thomas Fuller, and it has a sacred unction about it to which Fuller has no pretension.’ ‘The work can be readily procured; but if its price were raised in proportion to its real value, it would become one of the most costly books extant.’ – Spurgeon
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1800’s
Edersheim, Alfred – The Life & Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1 (Prolegomena up to the end of John the Baptist), 2 (From the death of John the Baptist to the Ascension) ToC 1, 2
Edersheim (1825-1889) was raised an orthodox Jew, became converted to Christ partially through the influence of John ‘Rabbi’ Duncan and entered into the ministry of the Free Church of Scotland. Later he would join the Church of England, becoming one of the premier scholars of his time on 1st century studies.
Edershiem spent 7 years in seclusion writing this work; it is by far and away the best orthodox ‘Life and Times of Christ’ that there is. Read it cover to cover!
Use the Table of Contents, vol. 1, 2 to see what he has to say on a passage of interest to you.
Trench, R.C. – Notes on the Miracles of our Lord (†1886) 520 pp.
*** “Brimming with instruction. Not always to our taste in doctrine; but on the whole a work of highest merit.” – Spurgeon
“A scholarly study of the thirty-three miracles of Christ recorded in the Gospel narratives. Originally published in 1846, but still valuable.” – Cyril J. Barber
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1800’s
Cumming, John – Foreshadows; or Lectures on our Lord’s Miracles as Earnests of the Age to Come (1851) 640 pp.
** “Below the Doctor’s usual mark, which is none too high.” – Spurgeon
Howson, John Saul – Meditations on the Miracles of Christ (1871) 296 pp.
Howson was a somewhat conservative Anglican, known for his contribution to Howson & Conybeare’s Life & Letters of St. Paul.
** “Short, simple, but deeply spiritual and suggestive.” – Spurgeon
Laidlaw, John – The Miracles of our Lord: Expository & Homiletic (1890) 390 pp.
“An unusually complete and satisfying exposition.” – Cyril J. Barber
MacDonald, George – The Miracles of our Lord (1870) 285 pp.
MacDonald was a Scottish Christian author, known for his fantasy works. He was a mentor to Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis edited an anthology of selections of his writings. MacDonald was not reformed.
** “Contains many fresh, childlike, and, we had almost said, dreamy thoughts. It suggests side-walks of meditation.” – Spurgeon
Maguire, Robert – The Miracles of Christ: Expositions, Critical, Doctrinal, Experimental (1863) 241 pp.
** “We had been agreeably disappointed in this book. The bad paper offends the eye, but the page bears many living, stirring thoughts. If the author preaches in this fashion we do not wonder at his popularity.” – Spurgeon
Steinmeyer, F.L. – The Miracles of our Lord in Relation to Modern Criticism (1873) 300 pp.
** “No doubt a very scholarly book, and useful to those whose heads have been muddled by other Germans, but we are weary of Teutonic answers to Teutonic skepticisms. We suppose it was needful to hunt down the rationalists, for farmers hunt down rats, but the game does not pay for the trouble.” – Spurgeon
Taylor, William M. – The Miracles of our Savior Expounded & Illustrated (1890) 470 pp.
“A series of moving messages on the Gospel miracles.” – Cyril J. Barber
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1900’s
Lang, Cosmo Gordon – The Miracles of Jesus as Marks on the Way of Life (1900) 300 pp.
“A companion volume to the Parables of Jesus. Devotional. Anglican.” – Cyril J. Barber
Habershon, Ada – The Study of the Miracles (1921; Kregel, 1957) 335 pp. ToC
“A helpful supplement to Trench’s masterly treatment. Premillennial.” – Cyril J. Barber
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More
Commentaries on the Gospels will also have much exposition of the miracles in their respective locations.
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Commentaries on:
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Defenses of Miracles
Conservatives
Steinmeyer, F.L. – The Miracles of our Lord in Relation to Modern Criticism (1873) 300 pp.
** “No doubt a very scholarly book, and useful to those whose heads have been muddled by other Germans, but we are weary of Teutonic answers to Teutonic skepticisms. We suppose it was needful to hunt down the rationalists, for farmers hunt down rats, but the game does not pay for the trouble.” – Spurgeon
Taylor, William
The Miracles: Helps to Faith, Not Hindrances (1865) 250 pp. The book is dedicated to John Eadie.
The two works are similar but different.
The Gospel Miracles in their Relation to Christ & Christianity being the Stone Lectures of 1880, dedicated to the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary
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Liberal
Bruce, A.B. – The Miraculous Element in the Gospels (1899) 400 pp.
Bruce was a Scottish liberal who thought there were inaccuracies in the Scriptures, but nonetheless he here defends the miracles of Christ. We will add more evangelical works in the future as time permits.
“A valuable apologetic treatment.” – Cyril J. Barber
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Related Pages
On Miracles & the Cessation of the Gift of Miracles