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Rating: 
Summary: Solid Work, Poorly Written
Review: Pentecost is a true scholar and a good, Bible-believing teacher of the Word. This volume is theologically dependable. He is Premillennial, dispensational, and a good interpreter by my standards.On the negative side, it is horribly written with constant and relentless quoting of 19th century scholars. Because of this, it contains the horrid and ambiguous Victorian era verbiage (how those people loved to make the simple complicated!) and plagued by the small font of lenghty quotations. He is constantly quoting Edersheim or Geikie. I already have Edersheim and Geikie. I was hoping Pentecost would deliver me from the Victorian era and present a freshly written work in a latter 20th Century straight-forward American style. As a result, I use this volume only as a last resort.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Work, Poorly Written
Review: Pentecost is a true scholar and a good, Bible-believing teacher of the Word. This volume is theologically dependable. He is Premillennial, dispensational, and a good interpreter by my standards. On the negative side, it is horribly written with constant and relentless quoting of 19th century scholars. Because of this, it contains the horrid and ambiguous Victorian era verbiage (how those people loved to make the simple complicated!) and plagued by the small font of lenghty quotations. He is constantly quoting Edersheim or Geikie. I already have Edersheim and Geikie. I was hoping Pentecost would deliver me from the Victorian era and present a freshly written work in a latter 20th Century straight-forward American style. As a result, I use this volume only as a last resort.
Rating: 
Summary: 1 Star is Too Much
Review: This book is very poorly written:
- Extensive quoting of two 19th century sources almost qualifies the book as a mere compilation
- What original material exists has a tendency to be uninformative, seemingly only existing to connect quotes
- The referencing is sparse
- There are several non-trivial contradictions and even some outright falsehoods
- The author, Dwight Pentecost, is rabidly anti-Roman Catholic throughout the book, which lends it a severly biased air Overall, this book is not worth the paper on which it is printed.
Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive, Theological Treatment of Christ's Life
Review: This book was required reading as the central text for a "Life of Christ" seminary course. It is a formidable tackle, with a comprehensive look at the subject matter of the title in detail. Its sheer volume makes it a difficult "read straight through", but it holds a prized spot on the bookshelf as an invaluable reference work for any study or teaching of the Gospels. Pentecost is one of the great Christian minds of the twentieth century, and of course hailing from Dallas Theological Seminary, one can expect and find his work to be highly dispensational in nature. The entire life of Christ is examined in light of His offer of the Kingdom "first to Israel". His emphasis goes a bit far in this arena, in my opinion. Looking past his strong dispensational bias however, Pentecost's work is a classic treatment. He quotes classic Life of Christ theologians from past generations (Edersheim, Farrar, et.al)extensively, and this work is very much a modern extension and addition to that library of very special and classic seminal works on the earthy life of our Saviour. Even a stronly non-dispensational student could benefit greatly. from this work. Pentecost's Judaic roots add depth and certain nuances which can greatly amplify events in the Life of Christ. I heartily recommend this work for the serious student of the Bible. It is not casual reading, but will enhance the minister's library and enrich any serious preaching or teaching ministry.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive, Theological Treatment of Christ's Life
Review: This book was required reading as the central text for a "Life of Christ" seminary course. It is a formidable tackle, with a comprehensive look at the subject matter of the title in detail. Its sheer volume makes it a difficult "read straight through", but it holds a prized spot on the bookshelf as an invaluable reference work for any study or teaching of the Gospels. Pentecost is one of the great Christian minds of the twentieth century, and of course hailing from Dallas Theological Seminary, one can expect and find his work to be highly dispensational in nature. The entire life of Christ is examined in light of His offer of the Kingdom "first to Israel". His emphasis goes a bit far in this arena, in my opinion. Looking past his strong dispensational bias however, Pentecost's work is a classic treatment. He quotes classic Life of Christ theologians from past generations (Edersheim, Farrar, et.al)extensively, and this work is very much a modern extension and addition to that library of very special and classic seminal works on the earthy life of our Saviour. Even a stronly non-dispensational student could benefit greatly. from this work. Pentecost's Judaic roots add depth and certain nuances which can greatly amplify events in the Life of Christ. I heartily recommend this work for the serious student of the Bible. It is not casual reading, but will enhance the minister's library and enrich any serious preaching or teaching ministry.
Rating:
Summary: Pentecost provides great insight into the Life of Christ.
Review: This is a great book for those who wish to gain a greater understanding into the life of Jesus Christ. In particular, His offering of the Kingdom to the nation Israel and the ultimate rejection of that offer.The index at the back provides easy reference for most if not all of the many parables and allegories in the four Gospels as well as much other information. Very exhaustive!
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