Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission

Dr. Michael Bird (Ph.D, University of Queensland, Australia) teaches New Testament and Greek at Highland Theological College in Scotland, UK. He has published in several different academic journals including Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, Currents in Biblical Research, Bulletin for Biblical Research, Tyndale Bulletin, Westminster Theological Journal, Trinity Journal, and Evangelical Quarterly.

• Chapter 1 - Introduction: Jesus and the Gentiles; Chapter 2 - "A Light to the Nations": Proselytizing in Second-Temple Judaism; Chapter 3 - "Restore the Kingdom of Israel": Jesus, the Gentiles and the Restoration of Israel; Chapter 4 - "No Crumbs for the Dogs": Negative remarks about Gentiles and Restrictions of Jesus' Mission to Israel; Chapter 5 - "A Kingdom for the Birds: Sayings Material about Gentiles. Chapter 6 - "I Have Not Found Such Faith In Israel": Narrative Material about Gentiles; Chapter 7 - "A Light and a House for all Nations": The rationale for the salvation of the Gentiles in Jesus' Mission; Chapter 8 - Conclusion.

"This volume is commendable for its comprehensive interaction with both scholarship on the question and the relevant ancient sources. The book's real contribution comes in the plausible explanation of how Jesus understood his role and mission developing naturally out of his understanding of the OT, with the early church then carrying the program forward. Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission is a book whose thesis transcends the limitations of the disputed field of historical Jesus studies. That is to say, even those who think that discussions of authenticity are unnecessary will find Bird's thesis stimulating and helpful. This is an important book with an engaging and convincing argument..." —James M. Hamilton Jr., Criswell Theological Review, Fall 2007