I should say this up front: the idea that I’m going to be able to intelligently “review” Wright’s massive Jesus and the Victory of God in a 250-word blog post is ridiculous at best, and insane at worst. But I’m posting individual reviews for each book I finish this year, so here goes.

I first became familiar with N. T. Wright through some of his shorter books: What Saint Paul Really Said, Simply Christian, and, of course, Surprised by Hope. Somewhere along the way I found out that he has written a three-volume set specifically about Jesus, and so I requested one of the volumes for Christmas back a year ago. (Why I requested Volume Two of a three volume set is beyond me… but I did.)

Sure, there have been a million books written about Jesus. So why does Wright’s stand out? Wright takes the angle of exploring what I’ll call the “historical” Jesus. What was Jesus, the man, thinking? What were his goals? How did the things he said fit into the theological and political scene of first-century Palestine? Wright answers these questions brilliantly, with clarity and insight.

As just a small example, Wright at one point asks this question: Did Jesus know that he was the Son of God? Certainly we affirm that Jesus was fully man and fully God, but how did Jesus the man know that he was God? Wright gives by way of answer this analogy: Jesus knew he was the Son of God in the same way a musician knows they are a musician. They have the skills and abilities of a musician, and something deep within them says ‘I simply must make this music’. As such, a person knows they are a musician. Similarly, Jesus knew he had the skills and abilities of the Messiah, and had the internal calling. It may not be a perfect analogy, but it certainly provides opportunity to stop and think.

Jesus and the Victory of God deals with Jesus’ life and teaching, leading right up to his death. Wright then devotes the entire third volume in his series to the Resurrection. (I got that book for Christmas this year.) Jesus and the Victory of God isn’t a simple read - it’s more like a college-level scholarly text. But if you’re willing to make the effort to dig through it, it will reward you with insight into the life and purposes of Jesus. ( )

Outstanding book - first he deals with the history of 'the quest for the historical Jesus' and then he examines the key texts in the NT as interpreted along the lines he proposes. Essentially, he follows along the lines of E P Sanders in putting the emphasis on the kingdom as a hope of a renewed Israel - realised eschatology but without the other-worldly emphasis of Sweitzer. He interprets some familiar texts as apocalyptic in style and suggests that the message was radical and subversive. Much food for thought here. ( )

http://www.wordandspirit.co.uk/blog/i... ( )

An excellent study of the historical Jesus. Wright argues, conclusively in my opinion, for the viability of the New Testament Jesus as a credible historical figure. A very readable, if extensively footnoted book. Wright's major thesis is that the Jesus of the NT and the Jesus of history are one and the same person, fully human, as a first centruy apocalyptic prophet, and Messiah, and fully God as the only one who can do and be for Israel what only Yahweh can do and be for Israel. Truly a great read! ( )

Wright cuts through a lot of the nonsense in current Jesus studies, with a hardnoses approach that takes the text seriously, but which engages well with modern scholarship.

My only complaint is that he raises an excellent question (We know why Jesus died--Why did Jesus live?) but I think he punts when it comes to an answer. But given the depth of material he offers, this is a small criticism. ( )