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Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters

Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters

byN. T. Wright
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Top positive review

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Becky B.Top Contributor: Graphic Novels
5.0 out of 5 starsFantastic crash course in 1st century culture that leads to a better understanding of the Bible
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2017
Let me tell you a little story (I promise it's related). When I lived in Korea I went to see Shrek when it first came out in theaters. I went with a fellow American teacher, and we were the only foreigners in the entire packed out theater. 80% of the time we were the only ones laughing at the jokes in the movie. Why? It wasn't because Koreans don't have a sense of humor (they do). It was because the Koreans just didn't get the American pop cultural references and so they didn't understand the joke to begin with. To get them to fully appreciate the humor in Shrek they would have needed a crash course in American pop culture prior to the movie to even begin to understand half the references. My friend and I got those references immediately because we had grown up in America and soaked up those things without even realizing it.

In the same way that the Koreans watching Shrek missed a lot of things the creators fully expected the American audience to get without any explanation, the Gospels are full of cultural references 1st century readers would have understood immediately without any explanation, but that we modern readers deeply separated by centuries of time and culture don't even realize we are missing. In this book, NT Wright gives a crash course in 1st century thinking. He tries to help us modern readers step into the shoes of a Hebrew living in the Roman empire and see Jesus through those eyes. He takes us back and sets the tone politically (as those living at the time would have seen it). And it is amazing the things we modern readers miss just because we are so separated from that culture.

I found this one of the most easily read of NT Wrights longer books I've read. I like his For Everyone New Testament Commentaries because they are easily readable. I have found some of his deeper books more scholarly and much slower reads. But this one is written more like the For Everyone series. Anyone can pick it up and easily get through it. You don't need a theological academic background. And what Wright lays out here is extremely important and helpful for the modern Church. In the same way you can't really understand a work of Shakespeare without some help understanding the original historical context and audience and way language worked in Shakespeare's day, you can't profess to fully understand the Bible without understanding it's original context and audience. But the modern Church often forgets that and it leads to a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Scripture. Hopefully this resource will help clarify some of those misunderstandings, and even lead people into a deeper, more rich understanding of the Gospels and who Jesus was and is. I know it helped me see things I've never seen before (and I even have a Bible minor and would read books from my husband's seminary classes with him).
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John
3.0 out of 5 starsUnremarkable
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2022
With respect, I am somewhat unsure what it is that has elicited such rave reviews of this book. Wright's writing is extremely breezy and casual rather than rigorous, at least in this volume. The historical background information is well-known to many lay readers and is common knowledge among scholarly readers. Wright argues at some length that Jesus' message was that "God is in charge" and that the new kingdom was out of line with contemporary expectations. The second claim is an old chestnut, and the first strikes me as obvious. However, I'm glad that so many readers have found the book helpful and inspiring.
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From the United States

Becky B.Top Contributor: Graphic Novels
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic crash course in 1st century culture that leads to a better understanding of the Bible
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
Let me tell you a little story (I promise it's related). When I lived in Korea I went to see Shrek when it first came out in theaters. I went with a fellow American teacher, and we were the only foreigners in the entire packed out theater. 80% of the time we were the only ones laughing at the jokes in the movie. Why? It wasn't because Koreans don't have a sense of humor (they do). It was because the Koreans just didn't get the American pop cultural references and so they didn't understand the joke to begin with. To get them to fully appreciate the humor in Shrek they would have needed a crash course in American pop culture prior to the movie to even begin to understand half the references. My friend and I got those references immediately because we had grown up in America and soaked up those things without even realizing it.

In the same way that the Koreans watching Shrek missed a lot of things the creators fully expected the American audience to get without any explanation, the Gospels are full of cultural references 1st century readers would have understood immediately without any explanation, but that we modern readers deeply separated by centuries of time and culture don't even realize we are missing. In this book, NT Wright gives a crash course in 1st century thinking. He tries to help us modern readers step into the shoes of a Hebrew living in the Roman empire and see Jesus through those eyes. He takes us back and sets the tone politically (as those living at the time would have seen it). And it is amazing the things we modern readers miss just because we are so separated from that culture.

I found this one of the most easily read of NT Wrights longer books I've read. I like his For Everyone New Testament Commentaries because they are easily readable. I have found some of his deeper books more scholarly and much slower reads. But this one is written more like the For Everyone series. Anyone can pick it up and easily get through it. You don't need a theological academic background. And what Wright lays out here is extremely important and helpful for the modern Church. In the same way you can't really understand a work of Shakespeare without some help understanding the original historical context and audience and way language worked in Shakespeare's day, you can't profess to fully understand the Bible without understanding it's original context and audience. But the modern Church often forgets that and it leads to a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Scripture. Hopefully this resource will help clarify some of those misunderstandings, and even lead people into a deeper, more rich understanding of the Gospels and who Jesus was and is. I know it helped me see things I've never seen before (and I even have a Bible minor and would read books from my husband's seminary classes with him).
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art
5.0 out of 5 stars Who Is Jesus
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017
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The author does an excellent job in defining the who, the what and the why of Jesus. I am rapidly approaching my 82nd birthday. As a young boy I attended both Bible school and Sunday school at a Pilgrim Holiness Church. When I was 21 I studied Catholicism and converted. Falling away from that I am now renewing/restoring my Christian faith. This is an excellent book to help on the way.
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Quinby
5.0 out of 5 stars Wright is (so far as I've experienced) always a pleasure to read.
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2015
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NT Wright-Simply Jesus Review.

The book takes us in a very NT wright approach to the gospels and story of Jesus. This means that Wright first gives a large overview of 2nd temple Judaism and the movements that were occurring at Jesus' time, puts Jesus amidst these Messiah movements and shows how what he did, although having some similarities with others, was quite different for the most part. Wright paints the picture of the perfect storm, with Jewish nationalism, the Roman Empire and Jesus. All of these elements came together and thus we have an amazing set of events.
Wright throughout the book tries to keep from agreeing with either the liberal or conservative traditions that would make Jesus into either just a good teacher or someone who came for only the spiritual salvation of some. I probably agree with Wright's stance, but sometimes he seems to go too much out of his way to establish that he is not among the more conservative members of the church. I gather this is so that those who are reading would not simply stick him into such a category.
What I understand Wright to be saying is that, although the coming of Christ and his work do involve the salvation of individuals, this wasn't the main reason. Rather Christ was starting to bring all creation under His rule, as it should be. This involves humans, principalities and powers, etc.. Thus we shouldn't think of the gospel as an "escape from this world" kind of model, but rather a "Kingdom on earth" in which humans are the agents that God has chosen to use.
I agree with the content, Wright is very persuasive and really does build up a good case from both the Bible and history, but perhaps I wouldn't take that amount of stress away from "salvation" that he does, considering the Bible does speak of this. I also wonder if in attempts to bring the narrative to more present matters, he neglects the future hope that Christ will come. For those who are persecuted and killed and see their families killed, putting aside the promises of heaven and of final judgment would be harmful. For those who are lazy, the "present" emphasis is helpful, for those who have lost so much already on account of Christ now, the "future" emphasis is needed. I think there is much more harmony between these two, I think Wright would agree also, but this books stressed one over the other, mainly (I think) due to whom this book is geared towards.
What I really enjoyed was some of the interesting history tidbits and comparisons with other messiah movements (ie, Simon, son of the star and Simon bar-Giora (66-70). Wright has a great way of making the stories of the Bible become alive by giving us a kind of historical background. Like going to Israel and seeing the land, so also knowing the history makes the stories of the Bible more "alive".
In regards to reading the Gospels, the Bible or anything, "we should be prepared to follow where the story leads".

In short, while I will sometimes be weary of some of his emphasis away from personal salvation, my impression is that it comes from motives to reach people who might have already passed off the Bible as some sort of escape from the world fluff. And that does resonate with me. And there are people who do neglect much of the kingdom and exclusively go the route of only "spiritual salvation" in a very much "escape from the world" mentality, and so these people (or maybe we all) need to be careful not to neglect important parts and teachings of the Bible. So again, while I might personally wish for a little more stress on a thing here or there, the contents of what Wright says usually wins me over.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and compelling
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2018
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This short book pulls threads of history and present cultural beliefs together to give a clear view of Jesus - his life on earth, his death and resurrection, and his activity today. An amazing accomplishment.

The book helped me to see clearly what some of the troubling or confusing passages in the Bible were saying, and why they made complete sense. Wow. In addition, the book "kept it simple" so that I could focus on the issues and the meaning of Jesus' life and words, instead of trying to master theological jargon.

I've given this book to friends and can recommend it to all seriously interested in a better understanding of Jesus, and of our role as 21st century Christians.
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Peter McLean
5.0 out of 5 stars Tom Wright Gives an Honest Overview of the Life and Cosmological Impact of Jesus Christ
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2017
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Brilliant and insightful analysis by Wright, filled with his usual metaphor structures that facilitate a continual narrative and analytical thread through his books. Wright also rightly casts doubt on many "accepted" Christian doctrines that "just ain't so" according to Biblical and early Church beliefs, while providing a robust and thoroughly intellectual advance of the divine mission and importance of Jesus' life. If you're a Christian, this is vital reading.

If you are a non-believer looking to honestly assess the life and impact of Jesus Christ, give the works of Tom Wright a go - you will be honestly engaged and have vital reflection, while engaging with one of the most understandable and scholarly minds of Christianity today, yet someone with whom you could have a great conversation. He delves into the history and context of Christ's life, while pointing out the greater impact and why
Christians regard "this Jesus stuff" as important to everyone.
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Oskar
5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't stop reading it!!!
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2016
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N. T. Wright is a brilliant writer, and the book is fascinating. I couldn't stop reading the book even though there were things I didn't agree with, and I guess that's why I can only give it a 5 star rating. Nevertheless, I was captivated by his unceasing push to show that Jesus is Lord and king, and that nothing is more important than that piece of fact. I appreciate his clarity in arguing that the gospel is mainly and most of all about Jesus becoming king, and that all other aspects of his work are subordinate.
What I don't like, is that he leaves you with more questions unanswered than any other book I have read, but maybe that's on purpose. I don't like it when he says everyone else has missed the point, and only sometimes explains it. I don't appreciate that he spends a few pages to answer his toughest question, namely, why and how does the cross bring about his kingship of the world. But, even though I have issues, I still give it a 5 star. It's a must read.
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Grant Marshall
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on Jesus filled with good British common sense.
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2012
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Having read most of what Wright I expected this book to simply be a layman's edition of Jesus and the Victory of God with nothing new or fresh. Yet I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh the book was and how it was filled with such common sense interpretations. I found myself saying "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!" quote often as I read it. This is great news for me because I'm often frustrated by the popular level books about Jesus that get published. One thinks of Bart Ehrman or Deepak Chopra for example.

In part 1 Wright uses the analogy of a perfect storm with different currents of contemporary culture all converging around the person of Jesus to produce a perfect storm. The secular atheistic current eager to stamp out the religion they don't have, claiming Jesus was just a man whose followers made into a god to justify their agenda. Or even worse, Jesus was just a good teacher, one of many through the ages. That current clashes with the conservative Christian current which is eager to affirm traditional orthodox Christianity. Wright was correct to say that both of these groups are eager to answer the question "Did it happen or not". For Wright this is reductionistic and we've missed out these events might mean. Wright then continues the analogy by describing the world of the first century into which Jesus was born and in which his actions make sense. There was the Roman storm with their own Gospel of the Lordship of Caesar with peace at the end of a sword. And there was the Jewish storm which told the story of them as God's chosen people, returned to the land but still under "exile" awaiting the return, awaiting the time when God would fulfill his promises. Wright argues that it is in this world that we can make sense of Jesus' words and actions, why he did what he did.

In part 2 Wright then fleshes out the picture of Jesus. In and through the person of Jesus God was indeed taking charge of his world because it was through Jesus that God's kingdom was coming to earth as it was in heaven. It is through Jesus that we see what God taking charge looks like. It looks like people being healed, set free from demons etc. Wright's discussion of Jesus' parables was also excellent. Jesus told parables not just as illustrations but full of echoes to the Old Testament story and promises that were close to Israel's heart. Through these stories he communicated his revolutionary message of God's kingdom. I was pleased to see Wright's frank discussion of Jesus' battling Satan. Wright carved a path through the demon obsessed and demon-dismissive skeptics that was very well argued. For Wright the Battle with Satan and the forces of evil was the true battle as these are the forces that stood behind the empires of the world, and were even holding Israel captive as they continued in their zealous and violent nationalism.

What I love about Wright is that fresh interpretation doesn't mean heretical as it so often does with others. How often do we hear the claim that the Church has misunderstood Jesus for 2000 years only to be presented with a Jesus that looks more like the 21st century author than a first century Jew? Thank the Lord for the British and their common sense. Lord knows where we'd be without it! Rather Wright establish the orthodoxy but sets it in the larger framework of God's kingdom project to rescue his good creation gone bad. One of the most helpful points was on Jesus' divinity. Jesus through his life and work was embodying the return of YHWH to Zion. Not that YHWH was to return at a separate time and that he was simply a herald. Rather it was through his own work and ministry. Jesus himself was the return of YHWH to Zion.

This book is highly recommended to anyone seeking to cut through all the popular level rubbish out there. This book will satisfy your mind as well as your heart and will give you plenty of meat to chew on. Highly recommended.
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Clem
5.0 out of 5 stars Not really simple at all...
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2013
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I first heard of the scholar N.T. Wright one day, around a year ago, on some news program where the English Bishop was explaining to the moderator what the true Christian meaning of the season of Easter was. I was impressed by his knowledge, but more importantly, his calm mannerisms that were so incredibly non threatening. I immediately Googled the man (or, more appropriately, Amazon-ed the man) to read about some of his published works. Well, a bit later than I intended, I finally got around to reading one of his books.

Although I've been a Christian for more than a quarter of a century, I don't read that many Christian books. Too many of them fall into the "self-help" style of writing, and I'm just not a fan that whole genre. Then, sadly many of the Christian books are a bit too right-brained for my tastes, and I tend to find the whole in-your-face evangelism to be a bit too malodorous, and can't help but wonder if these authors are truly trying to preach to anyone other than to the faithful (a former Pastor of mine referred to this as "Spiritual B.O." That is so good!). So apart from C.S. Lewis and the recently deceased Chuck Colson (whose book "Loving God" is an absolute must), I simply haven't read many works on the subject matter as of late.

Overall, I must say I enjoyed this book. I think this would be a great book for someone that is new to the faith, or even someone who claims to have no faith. Not that this book serves as a great evangelism tool, but one of the best recurring themes of this book that deals with the historical Jesus is simply this:

If Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God, then the time and place where he was born and served in his ministry was the absolute best (i.e. worst) time and place possible.

The vast majority of this work deals with Jesus in his day, what he was saying, and what it truly meant - both then and now. Wright digs in deep, giving the reader an excellent perspective of what it was like living in Jesus' place and time over two millennia ago. He alludes often to the "Perfect Storm" of the many nations, dictators, and authoritarian figures that led the Jewish nation of Israel through tumultuous times in Jesus' day, and "sets up the scene" quite nicely for the appearance of the Son of God.

Of course, those who know their church history are probably familiar with many of the points the author makes. He refers many times to the Jewish nation desiring their messiah to reign on his throne immediately and to impart God's wrath on the wicked that had been torturing them forever. The folks back in the day weren't too crazy about the idea of a meek servant riding into Jerusalem on a donkey talking about his forthcoming crucifixion. Wright also spends a ton of time expounding on the meaning of God's kingdom "in heaven and on earth" that Jesus came to establish. It definitely challenged how I interpreted a lot of things. In other words, Christians should not only be focused on the death and resurrection of Christ, but also on the things he did in his ministry beyond his teachable parables etc.

To be honest, sometimes it seems like Wright wanders a bit from chapter to chapter. I had a hard time finding how consecutive chapters actually connected in terms of thought process. The majority of the time, though, the writing style was so rich that it was easy to become immersed within the writing regardless of trying to keep one's thinking linear.

It was also refreshing to hear N.T. Wright challenge a lot of the status quo with much of the contemporary Christian thought process. Many evangelical churches seem to be intertwined into certain ways of thinking without ever seriously asking themselves why and how they interpret certain scriptures in a way that they do. For example, Wright spends a little bit of time in his work talking about Eschatology, and he boldly states that the idea of "The Rapture" as most Christians understand it, isn't at all what they think - and there will be no literal twinkling of an eye where believers will be gone from the earth and up to the sky. I also found it rather odd that when discussing Satan, he never refers to Satan as `Satan' but rather `the satan'.

He definitely aroused my interest in many of the discussions on various scriptures, and I'm sure that I'll read some of his other works in the foreseeable future. I would recommend this book not only for Christians, but also for those who claim to "hate religion". It would be nice for these misguided individuals on the fringe to at least understand who the real Jesus was when he walked the earth, since most of them obviously do not (I remember when the movie "The Passion of the Christ" came out - it astounded me how many people that were critical of the movie, just never "got it", meaning understanding the whole point of the crucifixion). Sadly, the same can be said for many believers as well, I guess, so maybe this book should be recommended for them as well.
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John Umland
5.0 out of 5 stars an optimistic view of God's kingdom on earth as in heaven
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2013
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I picked up my first N.T. Wright book, Simply Jesus, because it was on sale for Kindle, just $2. He has stirred up controversy in some circles, but in this book, I see no reason why any conservative evangelical would be threatened by his ideas; unless you are threatened by ideas that are no identical to your own.

The irony of the book title, as Wright explains, is Jesus is not simple. He uses the metaphor of the Perfect Storm throughout the book. The three forces of "nature" Jesus wades into are imperial Rome, apocalyptic Israel, and a fresh move of God. Wright strives to find a third way between those who believe Jesus was a really good man who left a good example and those who believe Jesus is a lifeguard trying to pluck people out of a river heading toward a deadly waterfall. His assertion is that Jesus came to install a new kingdom, God's kingdom, that succeeds by living out his teachings, such as the Beatitudes and the Golden Rule.

Jesus is not simple because he frustrates everyone's expectations.

"They were looking for a builder to construct the home they thought they wanted, but he was the architect, coming with a new plan that would give them everything they needed, but within quite a new framework. They were looking for a singer to sing the song they had been humming for a long time, but he was the composer, bringing them a new song to which the old songs they knew would form, at best, the background music. He was the king, all right, but he had come to redefine kingship itself around his own work, his own mission, his own fate." p. 5

Simply Jesus is a brief book on a big topic. Some day I will read his much larger tomes where he develops his ideas more thoroughly. However, there isn't anything in this book that I find controversial, which I would need further argumentation. This book is hopeful and helpful with an optimistic view of the future as God's kingdom continues to grow.
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Hockeyfan
5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus The New Exodus
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2013
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Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters

Part 1 of review: Content-What was most important or interesting?

The story of Jesus is the story about how God became King on earth as it is in heaven, argues first century historian, pastor, professor and former Bishop Tom Wright. Jesus was and is a first century Jew and therefore we must see him for who he is and not study him from our own cultural view. Wright uses the analogy of two perfect storms to describe first, the modern day view of Jesus and then the storm to which Jesus entered into the eye of during his day. The latter I found most interesting and learned the most from. Israel's story is in the exodus and they believed the time was right for God to come and fulfill Biblical prophecy. He will come to his house, the temple in Jerusalem, riding on a cloud of fury to rescue his people from the tyrant Rome. Yes Israel was correct, "the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15 NASB). Fifteen hundred or so years before, Israel crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land. God had delivered his people Israel from the tyrant of Egypt through a miraculous series of plagues. Now Jesus is being baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan, symbolizing his anointing as king (pg. 170). Israel's King had arrived to deliver them from the real tyrant, Satan, and from the power of sin and death. Yes the "time" is right, for the kingdom has come on earth as in heaven, but not in the way you thought it would come. Heaven and earth have come together alright, but not at the "space" at which you thought it would come (the temple in Jerusalem). Heaven and earth have come together in me, the Word made flesh! God had arrived in space, time and matter. Then Jesus showed them what that kingdom looks like-it looks like celebration, healing and forgiveness. "Matter" was transformed by Jesus as he did miracles. Jesus gave a poke in the eye to both Herod Antipas, the unofficial "king of the Jews" (pg. 68) and to the chief priests, who ruled the temple; both of whom tried to kill Jesus, Herod failed, but the chief priests succeeded. This too was to fulfill prophecy and signify Jesus's kingdom, as he was enthroned on the cross.

Part 2 of review: My assessment based on the author's objectives.

In the preface Wright asks the following questions about Jesus: Who exactly was he? What did he think he was up to? What did he do and say, why was he killed, and did he rise from the dead? Since he called people to follow him, and since people have been trying to do that ever since, what might "following him" entail? How can we know if we are on the right track?

I think Bishop Wright did a great job of answering his own questions. Who exactly was Jesus? Jesus is the new temple-the place where heaven and earth meet. He replaced the old incarnational symbol, as Wright puts it (pg.133). Jesus is the jubilee, the time when God's kingdom is coming on earth as it is in heaven (pg. 137). As Jesus said, "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15 KJV); the kingdom of God is already among you" (Luke 17:21 NLT). Jesus was up to being King on earth as it is in heaven and everything he did was to fulfill that calling, "the kingdom project," as Bishop Wright states. Jesus baptism is his anointing as King and the miracles he did show how heaven and earth have come together in his person. This is why Jesus died and ascended to heaven, because in doing so he gained the victory over death, sin and Satan (pg. 126). His resurrection is the beginning of the new creation. Jesus's followers are an extension of the temple-where heaven and earth meet and thus should be about the work of the kingdom-helping, loving, serving the oppressed, impoverished and the sick (pg. 218). Jesus is working in and through spirit filled followers to advance the kingdom of God on earth (pg. 215).

Part 3 of review: My assessment based on my own criteria. 1) What have I learned?
2) What areas are helpful to me in the ministry and how is it helpful? 3) I'm not convinced with...?

Simply Jesus was a very interesting book, which I read on Kindle for PC. Yes Jesus was a first century Jew and I've learned from Wright that we need to place greater emphasis on what this means. Salvation comes through Israel and its history is in the exodus story. Wright states that Jesus fulfilled the exodus story: the tyrant, the new leader, the sacrifice, the victory, the way of life, the inheritance, and the presence of God (pg.64, 174). Jesus defeated sin, death and Satan. He is the Passover sacrifice who provided the victory in his death and resurrection. He offers us a new spirit filled life. He gives us a new creation - heaven and earth as an inheritance and he is the presence of God in the flesh. Yes the kingdom of God is a present reality which will be concluded at Jesus' second coming. This point helps me to understand the Biblical narrative. It also helps me to see our inclusion in what God is doing. As was stated earlier, followers of Jesus are an extension of the temple and this is how God's kingdom has come on earth as in heaven.

Although Jesus was a first century Jew, and the time was fulfilled for him to come as God in the flesh so that the kingdom would come on earth as in heaven, I'm not convinced that Jesus now looks at the world from that standpoint any longer. Jesus has become the reality of all of the signposts, declares Wright. Long before Jesus was a Jew, he was the Word God (John 1). For it wasn't a first century Jew who came to die for our sins, it was God himself. He said, "Before Abraham was I am (John 8:58). Jesus's consciousness of who he was and is as God is greater than the consciousness that he has of being a Jew.

Buy the Kindle version of this book. Kindle allows you to do a word search, save notes, highlighted sections and bookmarks conveniently in a column on the left. It also has a built in dictionary that allows you to quickly look up an unfamiliar word by highlighting it and get its meaning. If you don't have a Kindle, download Kindle for PC for free.
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