By far the best Christian book I have read in decades. Bailey uses his lifetime of living and studying in the Middle East to illuminate many of the accounts in the Gospel of Luke, bringing in insights from manuscripts in languages other than the familiar Latin and Greek. His account of the Christmas story differs radically from the familiar account, but is equally consistent with the story as written. It alone is worth the price of the book.
He uses an analysis of Middle Eastern story-telling to show that Jesus' parables, like the tide, come in, peak, and then recede following the same logical path by which they arrived, with the high point or conclusion coming in the middle, not at the end. Thus the high point of the tale of the Prodigal Son comes in the middle with the father running, dignity and robes askew, to meet the returning son--not at the end with the sour reaction of the stay-at-home brother. He illustrates this "tidal" structure with good diagrams, but it takes a little getting used to--the sole drawback to an otherwise remarkable volume.
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