Many Bible study guides lead you to an initial emotional response to a text, but don’t really get at the deeper details of the Bible. Academic studies ask the difficult intellectual questions, but too often fail to ask how these texts relate to your life.

This study combines both ways of looking at the Bible. As a professor and pastor, Wes Bergen is able to look at the stories of Jesus’ death spiritually and intellectually. Each chapter begins by connecting you to the gospels in a personal way. It then goes on to ask the kinds of questions that stimulate the mind to explore new ideas. The chapters conclude by bringing the two kinds of study together, as the best kind of study always does.