My latest book in the Spelunking Scripture Bible study series is titled The Passion of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels. The book follows the story of Jesus’s suffering and death as told in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I follow the passages as found in Burton Throckmorton, Jr.’s book, Gospel Parallels.

In his book Throckmorton arranged the first three Gospels in a parallel format, enabling the reader to compare the similarities and differences among the passages. My focus is on the parallel chapters of Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, and Luke 22-23, which Throckmorton titled “The Passion Narrative.”

Throckmorton divided the text into shorter pericopes, giving a title to each. For example, he titled Matthew 26:1-5, Mark 14:1-2, and Luke 22:1-1 as “The Conspiracy Against Jesus.” In my book I follow the sequence of events in Throckmorton’s Gospel Parallels, even using his titles for each pericope in “The Passion Narrative.” Because many of the pericopes are only a few verses, the chapters in my book are shorter and more numerous.

Beyond the Introduction, there are 21 chapters which follow the story of Jesus’s suffering and death, as well as an Addendum that explores the passion narrative in the Gospel of John.

As I note in the Introduction to Spelunking Scripture: The Passion of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels, “the passion of Christ is the crux of the Christian faith.” All that Jesus said and did comes to a climax in his suffering and death on the cross.

Of course, the resurrection of Christ is also central to the message. That’s why, in the Introduction to Spelunking Scripture: Easter, I write, “The resurrection of Jesus is the linchpin of the Christian faith.”

Thus, the passion and the resurrection are the crux and the linchpin of the Christian message. As I conclude in the Introduction to The Passion of Christ, “So, the death of Jesus on the cross (his passion), and Jesus being raised from the dead (his resurrection) are central to the Christian faith. That Jesus died for our sins and was raised to new life by the power of God is the heart of the gospel.”