Spiritual Journey Press

P.O. Box 3041, Mercerville, NJ 08619

Welcome to Spiritual Journey Press!  Let's explore our journeys together!  Use the mail order form  to purchase Endless Possibilities and other Spiritual Journey Press products. 

Spiritual Journey Press introduces

Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

 Jesus Christ is the central figure of Christianity.  The Gospels chronicle Jesus’ journey and contain a pattern that can help us understand the true meaning of his life.  But before Jesus lived, a mysterious and multi-faceted Messianic thread wove itself through the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures.  How did Jesus respond to this Jewish hope?  Following Jesus’ resurrection, the first generation of Christians grappled with the often challenging implications of his Messianic journey and message. 

Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover traces the Messianic theme of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.   Informed by both Dr. Spitzer's Jewish heritage and unique Endless Possibilities perspective on spirituality, Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover challenges the reader to encounter Jesus in a new way.

To order Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover, click here.  Retail: $19.95/Web Site Special: $12.00 (including shipping)!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Click below to see or download Powerpoint lessons based on Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover (please be patient; the files are very large):

The Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus-Numbers, Deuteronomy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

From Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover:

Tracing Jesus’ Messianic Journey Through the Scriptures

 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son,

born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law,

that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

Everything that is recorded in the Bible before Jesus’ appearance within the flow of human history constitutes God’s preparation for his arrival, while all that follows thereafter is in some sense a response to his death and resurrection.  Matthew in particular loves to highlight the points of correspondence between events in Jesus’ life and the prophecies of the Old Testament (see Matthew 1:22-23; 2:5-6; 2:17-18; 4:14-16; 13:35; 21:4-5).  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared to the Jews, “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).  On the road to Emmaus with two disciples, Jesus’ insisted that his Messianic journey was not only in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, but that disciples should study those Scriptures in order to learn what they say about him:

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27, emphasis mine). 

Jesus later repeated his claim that the Old Testament testified to his Messianic journey: 

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:  Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”  Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:44-49, emphasis mine)

This is not an academic exercise.  I believe that the Church at the beginning of the twenty-first century is suffering from a spiritual malaise and famine (Amos 8:11).  Despite technological advances which make the Scriptures so accessible to any who wish to read them, an untold number of translations and study aids, and hundreds of thousands of churches and associated ministries, the Church does not evidence spiritual maturity, wisdom or power.  We look much more like the surrounding culture than we should, and are more fascinated by our own needs and psychological state than with a majestic God, sanctification, and his will.  It is time for us, as the song says, to “forget about ourselves” and turn once again to a serious consideration of who Jesus is and what he expects of us.  My hope is this book will encourage people to do just that.

Jesus Christ from Cover to Cover represents my personal attempt to repeat and extend Jesus’ teachings after his resurrection, when he “explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:47).  I do not mean “repeat” in any literal sense, since we have only a summary of what he taught the disciples.  The extension relates to the New Testament documents, which of course did not exist before Jesus’ ascension to heaven. 

Accordingly, this study makes no attempt to entertain or make the texts under consideration more palatable to modern sensibilities.  My goal is to direct your attention to passages in each book of the Bible that speak to the Messianic theme, and to consider its contribution to our understanding of who Jesus is.  Only a few books are not covered (among the Minor Prophets). 

I have tried to be a little creative, and I do hope that my background as a Jewish believer and a spiritual director have added something special to the discussion.  For example, this book includes an in-depth review of Jesus’ journey as recorded in the Gospels, based on the spiritual journey work that I have been sharing for many years under the Endless Possibilities name. 

May God bless you as you seek, “together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18).

                                                                                                               Lee B. Spitzer                                                                      

Copyright © 1998-2007 Spiritual Journey Press.  All rights reserved.