ePub Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel by Luke Timothy Johnson in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A NOTED SCHOLAR ASKS THE QUESTION: "DO WE THINK JESUS IS DEAD; OR ALIVE?"By Steven H ProppLuke Timothy Johnson (born 1943) is a professor at Candler School of Theology and a Senior Fellow at Emory University. He has written many other books; such as The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why it Matters; Prophetic Jesus; Prophetic Church; etc. He wrote in the Preface to this 1998 book; "In this book I venture to think through the implications that a strong belief that the real Jesus is the living; resurrected Jesus and that being a Christian means modeling one's life on that Jesus as best we can. In that sense it is a less polemical and more constructive sequel to my [The Real Jesus: The Misguided Quest for the Historical Jesus]... I have written this book for people who; like me; find much of what is called spirituality too far removed from traditional Christian faith... Spirituality here means... the response of human freedom to the Holy Spirit of God. For Christians; this encounter involves the person of Jesus..."He states early in the book; "The most important question concerning Jesus; then; is simply this: Do we think he is dead or alive? If Jesus is simply dead... we cannot reasonably expect to learn more FROM him. If he is alive; however; everything changes... If Jesus lives; then it must be as life-giver. Jesus is... an agent who can confront and instruct us." (Pg. 4-5)He observes; "Paul places the death of Jesus in Judea (1 Thess 2:14) and blames it on the Jews; 'who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets' (1 Thess 4:15)... In 1 Timothy 6:13 he is more precise: 'Christ Jesus... in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession.' Paul obviously knows that Jesus was crucified ... and he knows the tradition of Jesus' burial (1 Cor 15:4) and of appearances after his death... This is no small fund of information about the life and death of Jesus. Paul's letters; in fact; are the most comprehensive and reliable source of factual information---apart from the Gospels themselves---about the human Jesus." (Pg. 106) He adds; "Paul's distinctive insight is that the PARTICULARS of Jesus' historical existence are simply past and in some sense irrelevant. It is the PATTERN of Jesus' story that the Spirit can reshape; again and again; in countless lives." (Pg. 111)He admits; however; that "John is so distinctive among the canonical Gospels that the best way to approach his rendering of Jesus may be through a comparison with the Synoptic witness... The Synoptics all sketch a one-year active ministry of Jesus that begins and centers in Galilee; moving to Jerusalem only for Jesus' climactic death. In John... Jesus moves back and forth between Judea and Galilee... Jesus' work centers in Judea rather than Galilee; it lasts three years rather than one... Even the circumstances of Jesus' death and resurrection are different in John's Gospel. Jesus is crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover in John (19:31); so that his final meal is not a Passover celebration as it is in the Synoptics... It is impossible... to fully harmonize the facts of Jesus' ministry; death; and resurrection in the Fourth Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels." (Pg. 177-178) Later he adds; "Despite the many differences between the Fourth Gospel and the Synoptics---differences that are real and resist harmonization... we find in this narrative recognizably the same Jesus we have encountered throughout the New Testament." (Pg. 194)This book will be of prime interest to those less concerned with the details about the "historical Jesus;" than with what Jesus MEANS to modern Christians.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Good Read; Not Quite As Powerful as The Real JesusBy LeeLuke Timothy Johnson picks up where his; The Real Jesus; left off. His main premise is that we worship a living Jesus of the present; not a dead and static Christ of the past. This sterling truth is forgotten by those whose searching for the historical Jesus often reflect their prejudices going in more than anything else. He demonstrates this admirably. Learning Jesus is more than an academic exercise. While grateful for the work and insights of the academic community; I have often found that the academy is less often about searching out the truth than discovering a novel approach which; of course; they rush into print to share with the world (which all too often is reduced to the 'world' of other academics). Johnson's anchoring of learning Jesus to the community of believers and tradition begins to look less like the impingement of academic freedom it is often represented to be; for tying it only to the academy has its own problems. Worth reading and pondering from an excellent scholar presenting a truly alive Jesus.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This book is a thoughtful defense of the Bible as ...By William P. Shackleford; Jr.This book is a thoughtful defense of the Bible as the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus as the Christ. Johnson carefully outlines the many different ways of portraying Jesus that are provided by the writers of the New Testament. There are differences in perspective; but all work together to help us to know the real Jesus.Johnson also defends the church in rejecting efforts of Marcion and Tatian to streamline the New Testament in ways that would present only one point of view. The diverse witnesses to the character of Jesus help us to develop a relationship with him.