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Jesus And The Jewish Roots Of The Eucharist: Unlocking The Secrets Of The Last Supper (2011)

by Brant Pitre(Favorite Author)

4.47 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0385531842 (ISBN13: 9780385531849)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Doubleday Religion

review 1: This is an incredible book. It opened my eyes wide and I enjoyed it the whole way through. The author writes in an accessible style and it reads like he's talking to us. The book is exhaustively researched and references Christian, Jewish, and secular sources, but, in a pleasant change, all the footnotes have been moved to the back and not even superscripted numbers remain (resulting in no distractions and just letting the author talk to us). The author starts with the question of the Eucharist, what did Jesus mean when he asked his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood? He then begins to work carefully and methodically through the experiences and expectations of a 1st century Jew hearing those words. He moves us through the Passover, the manna in the desert... more, the Tabernacle, the Temple, the Bread (and wine) of the Presence, the Holy of Holies, the annual feasts and sacrifices Jesus would have seen, the Last Supper, the Eucharist, and, in a surprising finale, the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He draws a remarkably straight line connecting all these biblical themes, and then extends the line further into the early Church Fathers and their writings connecting the same themes. There's even a chapter exploring the 4th Cup, an idea strongly promoted by Scott Hahn, but concedes that it's speculative. Brant Pitre has laid out the clearest treatment of perhaps the most important subject imaginable. He's intellectually honest. He cites a wide range of sources dating back centuries. He reads like the most interesting dinner conversation you've ever heard. This is just an amazing, amazing book.
review 2: Pitre does a solid job presenting some heavy theological concepts in a readable format. Similar, I suppose, to the way N.T. Wright is able to write his 800+ page times while simultaneously producing 150 page volumes for mass consumption.I would definitely recommend this title. It is Eucharistic theology with an eye toward the past and focused primarily on the Hebrew Scriptures and Rabbinic tradition.He is a little speculative and repetitive at times, but that should not distract the reader from some profound insights on Jesus the Jew and the understanding of the sacraments in the Early Church. less

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