Jesus 365: A Devotional

by Ed Stewart

Book Overview

Jesus 365 presents a fascinating chronological walk through the ministry of Christ. Using an original translation by biblical scholar Johnston Cheney that blends the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0736921621
• ISBN13: 9780736921626
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
• Length: 412 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

In the tradition of the second century's Diatessaron

In the second century after Christ, the Diatessaron was a popular Christian book which took the four Gospels and combined them into one single story of Christ. This year, I've been reading a fascinating devotional book based on the same principle, Jesus 365, A Devotional: Experiencing the Four Gospels as One Single Story compiled by Ed Stewart (Harvest House). If you've been a Christian long enough, you've probably seen a Harmony of the Gospels. This book, takes that idea of a harmony to another level. The four Gospel accounts are carefully blended into one continuous narrative. The book is a daily devotional, with 365 separate readings, each with a memorable or devotional quote at the bottom of the page. Each day's reading also includes the Biblical references which are used for that selection. Sprinkled throughout the book are occasional explanations of the editorial decisions made regarding the chronology of this harmony as well as brief descriptions of Jewish feasts, tax collectors and other details about the life and times of Jesus. The book advocates a unique position on the length of Christ's ministry, opting for a four year ministry rather than the traditional three year view. A detailed defense of a four year ministry is included in the book. Each day's reading is given a number rather than a date. This makes it easy to just read through as a story rather than only one page a day, like a typical devotional. When reading more than a page at the time, I find myself skipping the devotional thoughts to pay attention more to the Biblical accounts of Christ. This book certainly shouldn't replace a careful reading of each of the four Gospels. God gave us four accounts of Christ, not one. However, there is still much devotional benefit in reading the full story together in one book. The early Christians prized their Diatessaron, and you will prize this book too. It may open your eyes to a clearer view of Jesus' glory.

A unique harmonization of the gosples that makes for great daily devotional reading.

It's the beginning of the new year and I'm looking for some new titles to add the stack of devotional books I'll be reading in 2009. If you judge this book by its cover, you may think it's just another harmonization of the gospels divided into 365 daily readings. That was my initial thought before I started paging through the book and came across two short appendices at the end. If you start at the end of this book, you'll find an interesting story behind this story. Johnston Cheney spent twenty three years of his life putting together this unique representation of the gospels. Stanly Ellisen, ThD worked closely with Cheney during the last three years of Cheney's life to bring this work to completion. Their collaborative work was originally published as The Life of Christ in Stereo by Western Seminary in 1969. This work has gone through several more printings under various names with various publishers. This current devotional edition published by Harvest House was compiled by Ed Stewart and published with the assistance of Dr. Robert Meltebeke. Jesus 365: Experiencing the Four Gospels as One Single Story, as the subtitle indicates, weaves the four gospel accounts together into a single story. While many authors may be selective when putting together this type of harmonization, the authors claim to have given a thorough and complete treatment of the text. During the twenty three years this work was compiled, Cheney and later Ellisen validated the quality of this work using twenty English translations and the Greek text of the United Bible Society of 1966. Another point of interest for the reader is Cheney and Ellisen's conviction that Jesus' earthly ministry covered a period of four years rather than the traditional three. The reader should note that this directly affects the chronological organization of the text. The four year chronology is based on the assumption that five Passovers take place during Jesus' earthly ministry. The reader will want to consult The Gospels' Four-Year Chronology at the end of the book for a full explanation. From days 1 through 365, each devotional reading is only a single page in length. Following the gospel text, there is either a relevant quote or some commentary. Sometimes there are both. The specific verse and chapter references for the gospel texts included in each day's reading are noted at the bottom of the page. If you're like me and in the market for some additional devotional reading for the new year, I'd strongly encourage you to give this title a look. The sheer brevity of each devotional entry will make a manageable addition to your current devotional reading regimen. Before you get started with the reading for day 1, please take the time to read the introductory and background material at the front and back of the book. It will give you a better appreciation for the decades of hard work that went into putting this gospel harmonizing devotional book into your hands.

Great Book

This Book Jesus 365 is awesome. I love saying the title because it makes me think of Jesus everyday, all 365 days. Every day it gives you a saying of Jesus or a passage about Jesus and it gives a title above explaining what it's about. For example, the title is given "Light of the World" and this passage is Jesus talking about how he's the light of the world. I have been reading this along with "The Greatest Words Ever Spoken" to really read and cherish the words of Christ. Great buy.