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

N. T. Wright

Oct 2011 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

In Simply Jesus, bestselling author and leading Bible scholar N.T. Wright summarizes 200 years of modern Biblical scholarship and models how Christians can best retell the story of Jesus today. In a style similar to C.S. Lewis’s popular works, Wright breaks down the barriers that prevent Christians from fully engaging with the story of Jesus. For believers confronting the challenge of connecting with their faith today, and for readers of Timothy Keller’s The Reason for God, Wright’s Simply Jesus offers a provocative new picture of how to understand who Jesus was and how Christians should relate to him today. 

Ratings and reviews

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.

About the author

N. T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and one of the world’s leading Bible scholars. He serves as the chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews as well as Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University. He has been featured on ABC News, Dateline, The Colbert Report, and Fresh Air. Wright is the award-winning author of many books, including Paul: A Biography, Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, The Day the Revolution Began, Simply Jesus, After You Believe, and Scripture and the Authority of God.