The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is
By N. T. Wright
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About this ebook
Today a renewed and vigorous scholarly quest for the historical Jesus is underway. In the midst of well-publicized and controversial books on Jesus, N. T. Wright's lectures and writings have been widely recognized for providing a fresh, provocative and historically credible portrait. Now this most recent edition of Wright's classic work contains the same original content plus even more insight with an all-new introduction by the author. Out of his own commitment to both historical scholarship and Christian ministry, Wright challenges us to roll up our sleeves and take seriously the study of the historical Jesus. He writes, "Many Christians have been, frankly, sloppy in their thinking and talking about Jesus, and hence, sadly, in their praying and in their practice of discipleship. We cannot assume that by saying the word Jesus, still less the word Christ, we are automatically in touch with the real Jesus who walked and talked in first-century Palestine. . . . Only by hard, historical work can we move toward a fuller comprehension of what the Gospels themselves were trying to say." The Challenge of Jesus poses a double-edged challenge: to grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within the Palestinian world of the first century, and to follow Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the twenty-first century.
N. T. Wright
N. T. (Tom) Wright is bishop of Durham and was formerly canon theologian of Westminster Abbey. He taught New Testament studies for twenty years at Cambridge, McGill and Oxford Universities. He is the author of dozens of books, including Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, Evil and the Justice of God, Justification and The Challenge of Jesus.
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Reviews for The Challenge of Jesus
137 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I didn't think Wright offered anything new and fresh in this book. Learning more about the historicity of Jesus and understanding Him within the context of 1st century Judaism is certainly not a new concept. Hermeneutics has applied this method to all aspects of Scripture for many years. Wright claims we now have more resources at our disposal than ever before to help us better understand who Jesus is. But, with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (which Wright often alludes to) we have had these "new resources" for over 50 years. The Dead Sea Scrolls have only verified and confirmed what we already know about a messiah, Judaism, and Jewish culture.Wright suggests that Jesus' proclamation about the kingdom of God was not about a future heavenly abode where believers will eternally dwell, but a charge for 1st century Jews to enter into a new covenant and fulfill the Abrahamic promise that Israel will become a great nation. This is certainly one aspect of the kingdom of God, but there are several more components as well. Confining Jesus only to the context of 1st century Judaism is I believe a grave mistake. Jesus' messages transcends all ages and time and should never be limited to the hearers of 1st century Palestine. Proper hermeneutics certainly allows for this to some extent, but should not be solely limited to it. If the message is applicable to our time and culture, then we must certainly apply it to our lives today. And, the kingdom of God is a kingdom that exists on earth today with the presence of the church and the Holy Spirit, and will someday be fully consummated upon Christ's return when He establishes His kingdom on earth.I heard great things about N.T. Wright and I've always enjoyed many of his articles and podcasts online. I agree in most part with his theology. But overall, I wasn't that impressed with what was my first N.T. Wright book. I didn't find anything new and fresh, but found it to be full of presuppositions and speculations. Nothing scholarly nor life-changing. Wright certainly had some interesting perspectives and good insight, but nothing profound. However, I haven't given up on Wright and look forward to reading some of his other works.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A shorter discussion of Wright regarding his understanding of Jesus in His first century context and how believers today can reflect that image in a postmodern world.While much of the discussion about the historical quest and the analysis of Jesus' life is covered in the Christian Origins and the Question of God series (with many quotations, especially from Jesus and the Victory of God), here Wright goes beyond just discussing how it is that Jesus can be properly understood in His first century context and goes on to provide those who believe in Him today a way to begin to communicate the message of Jesus to our own age.Chapter 7 at least, if not also chapter 8, should be required reading for all believers. Wright does quite well there at showing the challenges of the Enlightenment and postmodernity and viable means by which the ethic of the Kingdom can be communicated in such an environment.Many great thoughts here; very much worth consideration.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Listen to some and Wright is a demon. Listen to others and he's the savior of Christianity, at least academically. I find him somewhere in between. I've read the first three chapters and I certainly don't agree with everything, but his historical research really brings Jesus teaching about the Kingdom of God to life. Unfortunately, his new spin on what it means to be justified comes throught, and I can't endorse that at all. He recast justification to mean inclusion in the covenant community rather than a legal declaration of righteousness before God. This seems to undermine the historic Reformational teaching on justification. That being said, I'm really enjoying the other 85% of this book...
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While readers who are new to "Historical Jesus" studies might find the first chapter (which summarizes the so-called First, Second and Third Quests) to be a bit off-putting, this is an excellent work that engages honestly with historical criticism of the Gospel traditions and both encourages and challenges "traditional" Christian conceptions.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5good book. I think Wright's understanding of repentance in light of Josephus command to repent during a skirmish is not good exegesis. You can't isolate one use of the word in a definite war context and then interpret Jesus' use of the word and assume the same.