The Original Jesus

Reviewed by: Henry E. Neufeld

Purchase this book from Amazon.com Energion.com Detail Page

Wright, Tom; The Original Jesus: The Life and Vision of a Revolutionary
Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996.

Tom Wright, the dean of Lichfield Cathedral in England, has made a name for himself in moderately conservative studies of the historical Jesus. In this book, he presents Jesus for a lay audience. Wright is not a fundamentalist. He's willing to see difficulties in the gospel story, but he concludes that we can know much about the historical Jesus from the gospels, and he takes their central picture of Jesus as Messiah, as seeing his death coming, as truly resurrected as the core of his own presentation.

Wright is critical of the Jesus Seminar, and he expresses that briefly in this book, but he does not elaborate. For that one would have to see one of his other, more scholarly works. He concludes his presentation with some ideas for laypeople who wish to read the gospels and find a picture of Jesus for themselves.

The book is divided into two sections: 1) Jesus Then and Now, which is largely a narrative of the late ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus, and 2) Reading the Gospels with Both Eyes Open, which is an aid to reading and understanding the gospels.

Beautifully illustrated, clearly presented, this is a good book for a layperson to read. It will help find a deeper and better understanding of the gospels. Scholars will certainly find it less than enlightening as it presents conclusions without adequate referencing and support such as would be required of a work of scholarship. Those who desire such references will be more than amply repaid if they read his series Christian Origins and the Question of God: The New Testament and the People of God, Jesus and the Victory of God, and more to follow. Wright discusses the details very thoroughly and then apologizes for what he has left out.

Purchase this book from Amazon.com

Other books by N. T. (Tom) Wright:

Go to the Energion.com Author Page for N. T. Wright

What Saint Paul Really Said

For All God's Worth

The Lord and His Prayer

(These books may be purchased by clicking on the title.)

Related Energion.com pages:

• Historical Jesus Bibliography
  A bibliography representing various views on the search for the historical Jesus.
• Energion.com Readers Guide - Gospels
  Our reader's guide to the gospels.
• Understanding the Search for the Historical Jesus
  Participatory Study Series pamphlet from Energion Publications