The Scriptures, the Cross, and the Power of God

by N. T. Wright

Publisher:

SPCK

, 2005

Tom Wright examines accounts of the events from Palm Sunday to Easter as they appear in the gospels of Matthew and of John, looking at these familiar passages from many unfamiliar angles to help us see them afresh.

Both Matthew and John understand the events of Jesus’ last week as the climax of the entire biblical narrative, and as the great moment when God’s power—made known, paradoxically in the human weakness of Jesus himself—was unveiled for the rescue and remaking of the world.

The Scriptures, the Cross, and the Power of God is accessible for anyone who wants to make Bible study and meditation part of their Lent. There are nine sessions covering the Passion narratives from Palm Sunday to Easter, all contained in this pocket-sized Lent book.

Contents

Top Highlights

“At the end of the sixth day in Genesis, God finished all his work (synetelesen, Genesis 2:2 lxx). At the end of the sixth day in John, Jesus declared, ‘It is finished’ (tetelestai). It is accomplished. Creation is healed.” (Page 64)

“The message is that new creation has begun, and you are called to belong to it and to make it happen in the world” (Page 81)

“Jesus goes to the cross as the climax of the long story of confrontation between the creator God and the principalities and powers of the world.” (Page 60)

“Far and away the most frequent commandment in the Bible is what the angel says to the women, and what Jesus then repeats: ‘Don’t be afraid.’” (Page 69)

“Easter is not about the fact that ‘Heaven’s bright gates are open held’, though they are; it’s about the fact that the powerful new life of heaven has come to birth on the earth, and that we are to be its agents as well as its beneficiaries.” (Page 81)

Product Details

• Title: The Scriptures, the Cross and the Power of God
• Author: N. T. Wright
• Publisher: SPCK
• Print Publication Date: 2005
• Logos Release Date: 2011
• Pages: 84
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Christianity › Easter--Lent--Palm Sunday
• ISBNs: 9780281057702, 0281057702
• Resource ID: LLS:SCRPTCROSSPWR
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-02-07T01:08:07Z

About N. T. Wright

Nicholas Thomas “Tom” Wright (1948–) is a New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian, and Anglican bishop and currently Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at St. Mary's College in the University of St Andrews and Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. Christianity Today named him one of today's top theologians. 

Wright was born in Morpeth, Northumberland, and recounts an awareness of God's presence from a young age—and that relationship with God ever since is reflected in his life and work. He's a prolific author; one of his most popular books, Surprised by Hope, frames the resurrection of the dead as the appropriate hope for all believers rather than an overemphasis on just "going to heaven when you die." He's among the leading theologians in the New Perspective on Paul debate. Wright has several honorary doctoral degrees, and in 2014, the British Academy awarded him the Burkitt Medal "in recognition of special service to biblical studies." In 2015, he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Wright served as chaplain at Cambridge from 1978 to 1981, then as assistant professor of New Testament language and literature at McGill University in Montreal. Before becoming a chaplain, tutor, lecturer, and fellow at Oxford in 1986, Wright served as dean of Lichfield Cathedral, canon theologian of Westminster Abbey, and the bishop of Durham from 2003–10. In addition to the entire New Testament for Everyone Series, some of N. T. Wright's books include The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians, Who Was Jesus, The New Testament and the People of God, God and the Pandemic, Evil and the Justice of God, Surprised by Hope, and Simply Christian. He coauthored Jesus the Final Days with Craig A. Evans.