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

This came at an interesting moment in discussions between me and my pastor who was voicing a 'complaint' that Wright says he often gets: "If the gospel is this complicated how is it to be shared among regular people who are not trained theologians and historians?' Before "Simply Jesus" came out I was begining to try out what was for me a very different gospel presentattion based on Wright's reading of the gospels and Paul: Jesus is right now in the control room of the universe. He is the true human, true Israelite, the long expected king of the cosmos, YHWH acting in and redeeming his fallen creation as a human being, the plan from the beginning.." In "Simply Jesus" he simplifies it even more, "Jesus is in charge!" That's not a complicated message. In previous works Wright has been demonstrating that the gospel is "Jesus is Lord". Paul found that that declaration was the surprising speech act by which the Holy Spirit powerfully confronted and defeated the forces of death and rebellion and which individuals from every tribe and tounge found themselves inexplicably believing. The power of God. In a cultural (and personal) environment whose operating system has a built-in propositional firewall this narrative of god becoming king opens in my mental foreground as if it knew my username and password from the beginning! Born again as divine identity theft. I feel the focus shifting from how to tell non-believers that Jesus is God to what it would mean, first of all, to me if God were really in charge. Simply Shocking. Simply Amazing. Simply terrifying. Simply no more place to hide.

Excellent book...insightful, rich and variegated in its presentation of the context and culture of the time of Jesus. The best book I have read this year.

Thought provoking and greatly needed message for today's church.