The book succeeds in the following task: making it impossible to deny that there is (at least) plausible case for high Christology among fervently monotheistic Jews in the earliest stages of Christianity. I would also hope that it puts to rest long-standing myths about devotion to Jesus, such as the idea that Jesus’ divinity was only thought of around the time of GJohn, or that recognizing Jesus’ divinity was a pagan innovation, or that there is an unbridgeable difference in devotion to Christ in the synoptics, GJohn, and the early fathers. For this reason, the book has become popular among Nicene Christians involved in biblical scholars.
Nevertheless, there are some arguments that would confuse the careless reader. One of the major ones is his frequent references to “binitarian” devotion (i.e. to the Father and the Son). By this Hurtado does not deny the place of the Holy Spirit: he explains elsewhere that by the term, he simply claims that in early Christianity, there is evidence that the Father and the Son received worship, but the evidence is lacking in the case of the Holy Spirit. The term “binitarian” (1) can lead one to the conclusion that the proto-orthodox party did not fully believe in the divinity of the Holy Spirit (in fact, Hurtado admitted that one of the most frequent questions he receives is the place of the Holy Spirit); and (2) can lead to a reductive vision of what “worship” meant in early Christianity. Yes, it is true that we find few early prayers “to” the Holy Spirit; but we see that the Holy Spirit is to be invoked in a Christian liturgy, namely baptism (Matt. 28:19); various holy figures pray with reference to the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36, Luke 1:41, 2:25, Acts 4:31, 7:55); a prophet reveals a revelation from the Holy Spirit (Acts 21:11); and Christians are urged to “pray in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20). More liturgically, we might mention the imparting of the Holy Spirit by the laying of hands (Acts 2:38, 8:15-17, etc.), and the promise that Christians would worship the Father “in the Spirit” (John 4:23).
Another point is the author’s insistence that the Son’s relation to the Father is one of “subordination”, and his belief that early Christian texts resolve the monotheist tension by said subordination. The concern is that Hurtado elsewhere he claims that by subordination he means the portrayal of Jesus as “sent, empowered, vindicated, and glorified by God”; and indeed, that most of the texts cited in favor of this thesis are merely making a point about the relationship of Jesus to the Father - namely, that he is Son.
In summary, a worthwhile read for the prepared student of ancient Christianity, but less advisable for the amateur.