JESUS OF NAZARETH BOOK SET

JESUS OF NAZARETH BOOK SET
— Pope Benedict XVI

BOOK 1: JESUS OF NAZARETH (PAPERBACK)
The first book written by Pope Benedict XVI during his pontificate uncovers the Jesus of the Gospels. The Holy Father says, "This book is... my personal search 'for the face of the Lord.'"
Paperback. 389 pages.

BOOK 2: JESUS OF NAZARETH — Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection
In this sequel to Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI looks at the first Holy Week in history. For Christians, Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, and who rose from the dead in triumph over sin and death. For non-Christians, He is almost anything else — a myth, a political revolutionary, a prophet whose teaching was misunderstood or distorted by His followers.

Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, and not a myth, revolutionary, or misunderstood prophet, insists Benedict XVI. He thinks that the best of historical scholarship, while it can't "prove" Jesus is the Son of God, certainly doesn't disprove it. Indeed, Pope Benedict maintains that the evidence, fairly considered, brings us face-to-face with the challenge of Jesus — a real man who taught and acted in ways that were tantamount to claims of divine authority, claims not easily dismissed as lunacy or deception.
Benedict XVI addresses these questions in this volume:

• Why was Jesus rejected by the religious leaders of His day?
• Who was responsible for His death?
• Did He establish a Church to carry on His work?
• How did Jesus view His suffering and death?
• How should we? And, most importantly,
• Did Jesus really rise from the dead and what does His resurrection mean?

The story of Jesus raises many crucial questions. Pope Benedict XVI brings to his study the vast learning of a brilliant scholar, the passionate searching of a great mind, and the deep compassion of a pastor's heart. In the end, he dares readers to grapple with the meaning of Jesus' life, teaching, death, and resurrection.
Paperback. 362 pages.

"Only in this second volume do we encounter the decisive sayings and events of Jesus' life . . . I hope that I have been granted an insight into the figure of Our Lord that can be helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus and to believe in Him." — Pope Benedict XVI

Book 3: JESUS OF NAZARETH III – The Infancy Narratives
The third and final volume in Pope Benedict XVI’s international bestselling series, Jesus of Nazareth. It is a penetrating and theologically rich exploration of the infancy and early life of Jesus. Beginning with the Gospels and concluding with the contemporary man.

In 2007, Joseph Ratzinger published his first book as Pope Benedict XVI in order “to make known the figure and message of Jesus.” Now, the Pope focuses exclusively on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life as a child. The root of these stories is the experience of hope found in the birth of Jesus and the affirmations of surrender and service embodied in His parents, Joseph and Mary.

This is a story of longing and seeking, as demonstrated by the Magi searching for the redemption offered by the birth of a new king. It is a story of sacrifice and trusting completely in the wisdom of God as seen in the faith of Simeon, the just and devout man of Jerusalem, when he is in the presence of the Christ child. Ultimately, Jesus’ life and message is a story for today, one that speaks to the restlessness of the human heart searching for the sole truth which alone leads to profound joy.
Hardcover. 132 pages.