Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity

by Larry W. Hurtado

2003 William B. Eerdmans Co. (Grand Rapids, Michigan), 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches tall x 2 inches thick aqua hardcover in publisher's unclipped dust jacket, gilt lettering to spine, xxii, 746 pp. Very slight soiling and edgewear to covers, very slight soiling to page edges. The major detraction is about 100 pages which are highlighted, all in the first third of the book. Otherwise, a very good copy in a very good dust jacket which is nicely preserved and displayed in a clear archival Brodart sleeve. 

Offers a comprehensive historical investigation into how and why the earliest Christians began worshiping Jesus as divine. Challenging the traditional view that Christ's deity was a late development, Hurtado meticulously analyzes first- and second-century evidence — including Pauline letters, canonical and apocryphal gospels, and early Christian rituals — to prove that an intense devotion to Jesus emerged remarkably early within a strict Jewish monotheistic context. It is an essential, highly respected resource for students, scholars, and anyone interested in New Testament history, theology, and the origins of Christian worship.