JESUS OF NAZARETH poses a question and a challenge two thousand years after his lifetime. The question is fairly simple: who exactly was he? This includes the questions, 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? The challenge is likewise fairly simple: 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?
—-from “Simply Jesus” by N. T. Wright
I have recently begun a study group based on N. T. Wright’s Simply Jesus. In his book he attempts to explain what Jesus was up to in historical context to correct the misconceptions of modern skepticism and contemporary conservative Christianity. The goal is to frame Jesus in a way that can be acceptable to all and reach the world with His message of grace.
A Pastor's Thoughts 