The classic work available in paperback for the first time: The Renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright breaks down the barriers that prevent us from fully engaging with the story of Jesus in the Bible to reveal a breathtaking vision of Christ that matches the needs and complexities of our time.
We have grown used to the battles over Jesus—whether he was human or divine, whether he could do miracles or just inspire them, whether he even existed. Much of the church defends tradition, while critics take shots at the institution and its beliefs. But what if these debates have masked the real story of Jesus?
Wright summarizes a lifetime of study of Jesus and the New Testament in order to present for a general audience who Jesus was and is. In Simply Jesus, we are invited to hear one of our leading scholars introduce the story of the carpenter’s son from Nazareth as if we were hearing it for the first time.
"Jesus—the Jesus we might discover if we really looked," explains Wright, "is larger, more disturbing, more urgent than we had ever imagined. . . . It is we, the churches, who have been the real reductionists. We have reduced the kingdom of God to private piety; the victory of the cross to comfort for the conscience; Easter itself to a happy, escapist ending after a sad, dark tale. Piety, conscience, and ultimate happiness are important, but not nearly as important as Jesus himself." As the church faces the many challenges of the twenty-first century, Wright presents a vision of Jesus that more than meets them.
N. T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and one of the world’s leading Bible scholars. He serves as the chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews as well as Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University. He has been featured on ABC News, Dateline, The Colbert Report, and Fresh Air. Wright is the award-winning author of many books, including Paul: A Biography, Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, The Day the Revolution Began, Simply Jesus, After You Believe, and Scripture and the Authority of God.
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Part 1
1 A Very Odd Sort of King 1
2 The Three Puzzles 9
3 The Perfect Storm 13
4 The Making of a First-Century Storm 27
5 The Hurricane 37
Part 2
6 God's in Charge Now 57
7 The Campaign Starts Here 67
8 Stories That Explain and a Message That Transforms 87
9 The Kingdom Present and Future 105
10 Battle and Temple 119
11 Space, Time, and Matter 131
12 At the Heart of the Storm 151
13 Why Did the Messiah Have to Die? 167
14 Under New Management: Easter and Beyond 191
Part 3
15 Jesus: The Ruler of the World 207
Further Reading 233
Scripture Index 235
What People are Saying About This
Kimberly Mauck
When today’s leading New Testament theologian has something new to say about anything, readers pay attention. In his latest work, he again exhibits his gift for making in-depth scholarship vivid and accessible.
Rowan Williams
“Tom Wright is, as always, brilliant at distilling immense scholarship into vivid, clear and accessible form. This book is yet another of his great gifts to the worldwide church.”
Jon Meacham
“No one living today is writing more thoughtfully and compellingly about Christian theology than N.T. Wright. With Simply Jesus, he takes readers on an illuminating intellectual expedition to recover the Christian Messiah. If you have not read Wright, start now, and start with this book.”
Timothy George
“Tom Wright has a fresh way of presenting the story of Jesus, the one and only Savior and Lord of the four canonical Gospels. This book retrieves Jesus from the margins of contemporary ideologies and places him once again at the heart of biblical faith. A compelling read!”
Lauren F. Winner
“N. T. Wright’s introduction to Jesus is erudite (and yet also entertaining), and decidedly thought-provoking. Somewhat to my surprise, I felt that, in reading Simply Jesus, I was really coming to know Jesus better; reading Simply Jesus, I actually felt Him near.”
