Wright is Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and was formerly dean of Lichfield Cathedral. He taught New
Testament studies for twenty years at Cambridge, McGill and Oxford Universities. Wright's full-scale work Jesus
and the Victory of God is widely regarded as one of the most significant studies in the contemporary "Third
Quest" of the historical Jesus. It follows The New Testament and the People of God as the second volume in
his projected six-volume series entitled Christian Origins and the Question of God. Among his many other published
works are The Original Jesus, What Saint Paul Really Said and The Climax of the Covenant. He is also coauthor with
Marcus Borg of The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (1998).
Summary
Today a renewed and vigorous scholarly quest for the historical Jesus is underway. In the midst of well publicized
and controversial books on Jesus, N. T. Wright's lectures and writings on have been widely recognized for providing
a fresh, provocative and historically credible portrait.
Out of his own commitment to both historical scholarship and Christian ministry, Wright challenges us to roll up
our sleeves and take seriously the study of the historical Jesus. He writes, "Many Christians have been, frankly,
sloppy in their thinking and talking about Jesus, and hence, sadly, in their praying and in their practice of discipleship.
We cannot assume that by saying the word Jesus, still less the word Christ, we are automatically in touch with
the real Jesus who walked and talked in first-century Palestine. . . . Only by hard, historical work can we move
toward a fuller comprehension of what the Gospels themselves were trying to say."
The Challenge of Jesus poses a double-edged challenge: to grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within
the Palestinian world of the first century, and to follow Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the
twenty-first century.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
provides helpful insight into Scripture and the life of Christ
gives a historical picture of Jesus that also rings true to the resurrected Christ of Christian belief, worship
and experience
offers scholarly, historical analysis of first-century Judaism and Christianity
useful for those just learning about Jesus as well as for the seasoned scholar in search of fresh perspectives
written by one of the leading Jesus scholars of our day
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Challenge of Studying Jesus
2. The Challenge of the Kingdom
3. The Challenge of the Symbols
4. The Crucified Messiah
5. Jesus & God
6. The Challenge of Easter
7. Walking to Emmaus in a Postmodern World
8. The Light of the World
