by Marcus J. Borg & John Dominic Crossan.

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I know that the names Borg and Crossan are somewhat controversial in evangelical circles due to their affiliation with the Jesus Seminar.

Granted, they are mainline theological scholars and eschew much intimation of God's supernatural involvement in the story of Scripture. With that understanding I entered into this book with a bit of trepidation.

However, I found it to be insightful. Especially during the early part of the week. Borg and Crossan do a masterful job of setting forth the political and religious implications of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem that fateful week.

Using the gospel of Mark as their template, they argue that Jesus came in protest of the "domination system" of the day that was marked by Roman political oppression, economic exploitation and the Jewish leadership's religious legitimation: three things that spelled the end of Jerusalem as we knew it in the Hebrew scriptures.

Time and again, the authors being it back to Jesus' non-violent response to empire and his dying as the way to bring an unjust world to rights.

I don't agree with them on every point but there is much value to this historical look at the last week. If you are ever considering preaching from the gospel of Mark or preaching a series on the Holy Week, this would be a good resource for this contextual application.

A brief excerpt:

"And this deep centering also involves loyalty, allegiance, and commitment to God as disclosed in Jesus. Such loyalty is the opposite of idolatry, of giving one's loyalty to a lesser good. It also involves loyalty and commitment to God's passion as disclosed in Jesus, a passion for compassion, justice and nonviolence. Compassion--love--is utterly central to the message and life of Jesus, and justice is the social form of compassion. To put the same thought in different language, love is the soul of justice, and justice is the body, the flesh, of love."