Published over the last year and a half, but forged over decades of teaching and research, William Varner has now completed his trilogy on the birth, life, and death of the Messiah. Messiah’s Ministry: Crises of the Christ completes the trilogy – interestingly being the second of the three chronologically. How did that happen?
Passionate about the Passion Week
Varner was initially inspired to write a book on the Passion Week “for the rest of us,” to help people reimagine what Jesus’ last days on earth were like, and how his death fulfilled a number of prophecies, focusing especially on Isaiah 53. Each chapter concludes with a freshly crafted prayer to help the reader digest the information and let it nourish their heart. Todd Bolen graciously granted us permission to use his high-resolution photos from the Holy Land, so there are full-color images throughout the book, printed on heavier-weighted paper to ensure the images pop.
Anticipating the Advent
Someone asked Varner, now that you’ve written on the end of Jesus’ ministry, shouldn’t you write something on the beginning? And so Anticipating the Advent was born. Varner actually wrote the first few chapters after getting stuck in the airport for hours on his way to Israel! Again written “for the rest of us,” Varner begins with Genesis 3 and works his way through the OT to show the thread of Messianic promises that finally come to fruition in the birth of the Messiah. After a chapter on the meaning of Jesus’ titles, he concludes with an evangelistic chapter on pseudo-Messiahs throughout Jewish history and how we can share about Jesus as the true Messiah from the OT Scriptures.
NEW: Messiah’s Ministry
Once you get Will Varner moving, it’s hard to stop him, so Cliff Kvidahl nudged him: why stop with the end and the beginning? What about Jesus’ ministry? And a trilogy was born. Now available in all formats, Messiah’s Ministry: Crises of the Christ explains the meaning of Jesus’ life and ministry from a historical, cultural, and biblical-theological perspective. Readers will learn about the importance of Josephus, Qumran, and Jewish sects for understanding the Gospels. Readers will encounter pivotal “crises” from Jesus’ ministry and what we ought to learn about the Messiah from these passages. And if you know anything about Varner, you’ll know that he couldn’t resist a chapter on Melchizedek and Hebrews (ch. 14).
Filled again with full-color images (thanks again to Todd Bolen) and with freshly-crafted prayers concluding each chapter, this book is a real treat and may be one of the best books on Jesus’ ministry to give to church-goers. (That is, they will learn, digest it devotionally, and can actually read the whole thing! – It’s only 152pp.)
Ways to Buy
The Trilogy can be ordered and shipped as a set with a 10% built-in discount from our website (plus another $8 in savings on shipping).**
All books are available individually on Amazon and slightly cheaper on FontesPress.com.**
**SHIPPING: Due to Christmas and COVID supply shortages, current orders through the Fontes website take ~3 weeks (paperback) or ~5 weeks (hardback) to arrive. For Christmas gifts to arrive on time, order through Amazon.
Anticipating the Advent: Amazon | FontesPress
Passionate about the Passion Week: Amazon | FontesPress
Messiah’s Ministry: Crises of the Christ: Amazon | FontesPress
