The Challenge of Jesus (with DVD)

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 is widely recognized for providing a fresh, provocative and historically credible portrait. Out of his own commitment to both 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. Now included in this special edition is the fifty-minute DVD Resurrection, shot on location in Israel, Greece and England. Here Wright presents the political, historical and theological issues of the first century and today regarding the startling claim that Jesus rose from the dead. Throughout he brings clarity and insight to one of the most profound mysteries in human history. Free group discussion guide to Resurrection DVD available at ivpress.com.