The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus's Crucifixion

by N. T. Wright

Overview

The renowned scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author widely considered to be the heir to C. S. Lewis contemplates the central event at the heart of the Christian faith—Jesus’ crucifixion—arguing that the Protestant Reformation did not go far enough in transforming our understanding of its meaning.

In The Day the Revolution Began, N. T. Wright once again challenges commonly held Christian beliefs as he did in his acclaimed Surprised by Hope. Demonstrating the rigorous intellect and breathtaking knowledge that have long defined his work, Wright argues that Jesus’ death on the cross was not only to absolve us of our sins; it was actually the beginning of a revolution commissioning the Christian faithful to a new vocation—a royal priesthood responsible for restoring and reconciling all of God’s creation.

Wright argues that Jesus’ crucifixion must be understood within the much larger story of God’s purposes to bring heaven and earth together. The Day the Revolution Began offers a grand picture of Jesus’ sacrifice and its full significance for the Christian faith, inspiring believers with a renewed sense of mission, purpose, and hope, and reminding them of the crucial role the Christian faith must play in protecting and shaping the future of the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062334398
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/27/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	221,546
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

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

Part 1 Introduction

1 A Vitally Important Scandal Why the Cross? 3

2 Wrestling with the Cross, Then and Now 19

3 The Cross in Its First-Century Setting 51

Part 2 "In Accordance with the Bible": The Stories of Israel

4 The Covenant of Vocation 73

5 "In All the Scriptures" 89

6 The Divine Presence and the Forgiveness of Sins 107

7 Suffering, Redemption, and Love 121

Part 3 The Revolutionary Rescue

8 New Goal, New Humanity 145

9 Jesus's Special Passover 169

10 The Story of the Rescue 195

11 Paul and the Cross: Apart from Romans 227

12 The Death of Jesus in Paul's Letter to the Romans: The New Exodus 263

13 The Death of Jesus in Paul's Letter to the Romans: Passover and Atonement 295

Part 4 The Revolution Continues

14 Passover People 355

15 The Powers and the Power of Love 383

Acknowledgments 417

Scripture Index 421

Subject Index 427

Editorial Reviews

Wright delves into the Crucifixion and, surprising himself, he says, finds it the mainspring of the faith and the church. Wright’s exegesis should inform and encourage everyone concerned with Christianity’s continuing vitality.

Booklist

The question ‘Why did Jesus have to die?’ has haunted the human race for two thousand years. Wright locates the crucifixion in the sweep of Israel’s story (and ours) with power, depth, and freshness of thought.

John Ortberg is senior pastor of Menlo Church

Praise for Surprised by Hope: “This book is N.T. Wright at his finest.

Rob Bell

With this work, N.T. Wright topples the simplistic, personalized view of the cross and the bloodthirsty God that once wrecked my own faith. Instead, we find the cross illuminated by a God that invites us to bring goodness into this world instead of trying to escape it.

Mike McHargue

Wonderfully rich and provocative . . . this book could be entitled Your Cross Is Too Small. Our individualistic views of the atonement and, for that matter, the gospel, don’t begin to do justice to the full implications of the New Testament understanding of the implications of Jesus’s death and resurrection.

The Covenant Companion

From the day Christ was crucified his followers have sought to understand the meaning of the cross. Wright has written one of the most important books on this subject ever written. Something deeper, more revolutionary, happened on the cross. This book will help you discover the meaning of the cross.

Adam Hamilton

Wright’s bracing and thought-provoking exegesis should inform and encourage everyone concerned with Christianity’s continuing vitality.

Booklist (Starred Review)

Relevant Recommends: Wright invites us to explore the crucifixion within the broader story of what God is doing in creation

Relevant

N. T. Wright’s The Challenge of Jesus revolutionized my theology. As I read The Day the Revolution Began, I kept thinking that it will similarly revolutionize the understanding of a new generation of readers. It is lucid, engaging, thorough, compelling, and profoundly important.

Brian D. McLaren

The question ‘Why did Jesus have to die?’ has haunted the human race for two thousand years. Wright locates the crucifixion in the sweep of Israel’s story (and ours) with power, depth, and freshness of thought.

John Ortberg

Many have wondered where N.T. Wright stood in the atonement debate. He applies his story of Israel and the church to the cross, setting it into a historical and narrative matrix that sheds light on the heart of the gospel that comes from the heart of God’s love.

Scot McKnight

Wright’s unwavering faith in the resurrection is quite evident as he defends the Easter narratives on historical and theological grounds.

America Magazine

In his new book, Wright explains that Jesus’ death does more than just get us into heaven.

Christianity Today

With this work, N.T. Wright topples the simplistic, personalized view of the cross and the bloodthirsty God that once wrecked my own faith. Instead, we find the cross illuminated by a God that invites us to bring goodness into this world instead of trying to escape it.” — Mike McHargue, author of Finding God in the Waves and host of The Liturgists Podcast and Ask Science Mike

“The question ‘Why did Jesus have to die?’ has haunted the human race for two thousand years. Wright locates the crucifixion in the sweep of Israel’s story (and ours) with power, depth, and freshness of thought.” — John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Church and author of All The Places To Go

“Many have wondered where N.T. Wright stood in the atonement debate. He applies his story of Israel and the church to the cross, setting it into a historical and narrative matrix that sheds light on the heart of the gospel that comes from the heart of God’s love.” — Scot McKnight, author of The King Jesus Gospel

“Wright’s unwavering faith in the resurrection is quite evident as he defends the Easter narratives on historical and theological grounds.” — America Magazine

“From the day Christ was crucified his followers have sought to understand the meaning of the cross. Wright has written one of the most important books on this subject ever written. Something deeper, more revolutionary, happened on the cross. This book will help you discover the meaning of the cross.” — Adam Hamilton, author of Making Sense of the Bible

“Relevant Recommends: Wright invites us to explore the crucifixion within the broader story of what God is doing in creation” — Relevant

“N. T. Wright’s The Challenge of Jesus revolutionized my theology. As I read The Day the Revolution Began, I kept thinking that it will similarly revolutionize the understanding of a new generation of readers. It is lucid, engaging, thorough, compelling, and profoundly important.” — Brian D. McLaren, author of We Make the Road By Walking

“In his new book, Wright explains that Jesus’ death does more than just get us into heaven.” — Christianity Today

“Wright’s bracing and thought-provoking exegesis should inform and encourage everyone concerned with Christianity’s continuing vitality.” — Booklist (Starred Review)

“Offers a comprehensive interpretation of Jesus’s sacrifice and its significance for the Christian Faith” — Publishers Weekly

“A thought-provoking book…both simple and world-shaking. Highly recommended.” — Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Wonderfully rich and provocative . . . this book could be entitled Your Cross Is Too Small. Our individualistic views of the atonement and, for that matter, the gospel, don’t begin to do justice to the full implications of the New Testament understanding of the implications of Jesus’s death and resurrection.” — The Covenant Companion

From the Publisher

★ 11/15/2016
Scholar and prolific author Wright (New Testament & early Christianity; Sch. of Divinity, Univ. of St. Andrews; How God Became King) pens a thought-provoking book to "help ordinary Christians grasp, and be grasped by, the multifaceted glory of Jesus's cross." He investigates questions such as: "When the early Christians summarized their 'good news' by saying that 'the Messiah died for our sins in accordance with the Bible,' what precisely did they mean?" In answering such queries, Wright desires to help avoid "domesticating or distorting the cross" and controversially asserts that the goal of Christ's death was not to help us escape hell or go to heaven. Instead, he sees an overarching theme of exile and Passover restoration by the forgiveness of the sins that caused the exile. The cross thus established "the kingdom of God through the agency of Jesus" so that both Jewish and Gentile Christians may "share in the royal and priestly human work within both the present world and the world…to be." VERDICT This book is highly recommended for all libraries and will appeal to general readers interested in current theological thought.—Ray Arnett, Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI

Library Journal