About this item
Highlights
- In this fast-paced fictional account, we follow Appius, a Roman centurion, and Tullus, his Jewish slave, from battles to the gladiator arena and finally to the village of Capernaum where they encounter a Jewish prophet from Nazareth.
- About the Author: Gary M. Burge is professor of New Testament at Wheaton College.
- 192 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Biblical Studies
- Series Name: Week in the Life
Description
About the Book
In this fast-paced fictional account, we follow Appius, a Roman centurion, and Tullus, his Jewish slave, from battles to the gladiator arena and finally to the village of Capernaum where they encounter a Jewish prophet from Nazareth. Seeing Galilee of Jesus' day through Roman eyes, we learn much about the culture and social world of Romans and
Book Synopsis
In this fast-paced fictional account, we follow Appius, a Roman centurion, and Tullus, his Jewish slave, from battles to the gladiator arena and finally to the village of Capernaum where they encounter a Jewish prophet from Nazareth. Seeing Galilee of Jesus' day through Roman eyes, we learn much about the culture and social world of Romans and Jews.
Review Quotes
"A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion is a helpful introduction to first-century history cloaked in an arresting story of a Roman centurion and his young slave, Tullus. Burge's careful reconstructive work frames and fills in the story, with each chapter concluding with more detailed information about the various topics raised in that chapter (e.g., Capernaum, honor and shame, the Roman army). Yet for all its pedagogical value, the reader will be riveted by the story itself-an imaginative retelling of the backstory of a centurion who comes to Jesus for healing for his slave. Gary Burge proves to be a masterful storyteller in this engaging and fast-paced narrative. A great book for anyone interested in the New Testament and its social world."
"Biblical scholars are not typically known for writing historical novels, much less gripping page-turners. Gary Burge, however, has accomplished both of these feats. Fully true to the historical-cultural setting of the early first-century Roman Empire, this story not only makes the New Testament world come alive but it creates one very plausible scenario of the career and family of the Capernaum centurion of Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10. The characters become so real that I was even tearing up at the end of Burge's story!"
"Burge offers an innovative and entertaining way to better understand the Roman and Jewish worlds and worldviews of the New Testament era. . . . After the book is read, it remains a valuable resource for Bible study."
"Burge's book is the embodiment of educational subterfuge, cloaked in the tunic of a Roman centurion."
"Gary Burge's A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion brilliantly creates the backstory of the centurion Jesus praised, and in the process teaches readers about the milieu of the Gospels."
"I couldn't put this book down. Part historical novel and part cultural handbook, Gary Burge's A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion is a delight to read. This will be a great supplemental text for my New Testament courses. Students will be so entertained they won't even realize how much they're learning!"
"Masterfully written and extensively researched, this fast-paced account invites the reader into the first-century world of the Gospels even while intriguing the reader as a good story should. In contrast to some scholars' wooden portrayals of all Jews or Romans or Syrians as the same, in this story, the characters are nuanced and come alive."
About the Author
Gary M. Burge is professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. Among his many published books are Theology Questions Everyone Asks (with coeditor David Lauber), Jesus and the Land, Jesus the Middle Eastern Story Teller, and Interpreting the Gospel of John.