Jesus: A Theography

by Leonard Sweet, Frank Viola

Introducing a new kind of Jesus Transform the tired and familiar way you have read the Bible into an electrifying journey of rediscovering Christ. In this compelling work, authors Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola reclaim the entire Bible as a gripping narrative about Jesus Christ.

Jesus says, “The Scriptures point to me!” (John 5:39 NLT). But what does that mean exactly?

Virtually every other “Jesus biography” begins with the nativity account in Bethlehem. In this innovative book, Sweet and Viola begin before time, in the Triune God, and tell the complete interconnected story of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation.

A Theography is the first book ever written to combine historical Jesus studies with biblical theology, crafting together one breathtaking saga that tells the Jesus story in both Old and New Testaments. This groundbreaking book clearly demonstrates that every bit of Scripture is part of the same stunning drama - what the authors refer to as the theography of Jesus Christ.

Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola (authors of Jesus Manifesto and Jesus Speaks) unfold the greatest story ever told in a fresh and invigorating way. Whether you are a seasoned Christian scholar, a new believer, or someone who is intrigued by Jesus, this book unveils the discoveries of a lifetime, transforming the tired and familiar way we have read the Bible into an electrifying journey of rediscovering Christ.

A

Tells the complete and interconnected story of Jesus, from Genesis to RevelationCombines historical Jesus studies with biblical theologyProves that the main subject of the Old Testament is Jesus ChristSecond, standalone volume in the JESUS trilogyLeonard Sweet and Frank Viola set out on a journey of discovery with one to help restore the sovereignty of Jesus Christ above all else. This led to their national bestseller, Jesus Manifesto. Two years later, they released A Theography, beautifully establishing that all Scripture unveils a person—the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2016 they released the final volume in the Jesus Speaks. All three volumes of the JESUS trilogy will lead the reader to a deeper understanding of Christ.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction, Faith, Spirituality, Religion

409 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Leonard I. Sweet is an author, preacher, scholar, and ordained United Methodist clergyman currently serving as the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School, in Madison, New Jersey; and a Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Don Henrikson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started to read this book because it was recommended by someone and I appreciated the expressed purpose of the book. After about 50 pages, I had enough.

The biblical exegesis seems sloppy. It is certainly hard to follow, with most of the textual references and discussions tacked on as end notes. It also seems that any quote from any theologian or commentator is considered as justification for using odd interpretations of what seem to be rather straightforward texts.

Theologically, I was sorely disappointed. The expressions used to describe the relationship between the members of the Trinity were strange, at best. My 'final straw' was chapter that described the works of God through the prophets and the covenants as though they were God's failures ("God tried everything ... Nothing worked.").

I do appreciate the desire to show Christ as the centerpiece of the entire Bible. I just cannot agree with the methods taken in this book to get there.

[Brandon H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Contrary to what many believe the subject of the Bible is not about Israel. It's not about heaven. It's not about end times or figuring out who the anti-Christ is in this generation. It's not about learning the rules in the "good book" in order to be "good people." It's not about learning principles to have a more successful life. It's not about faith, or prophecy, or miracles. The subject of the Bible is really only about one thing, actually only one person - Jesus Christ.

Or as Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet put it,

"Jesus saw His mission as a fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures. Not just of those which predicted a coming redeemer but of the whole sweep of Old Testament ideas. In sum, what the Torah is to Judaism and what the Koran is to Islam, Jesus is to Christianity."

Many Christians know some of the Christological allusions of the Old Testament - The seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent, (Gen. 3:15), Abraham and Isaac on Mt. Moriah, (Gen. 22), the Passover in Egypt, (Ex.12), Moses' declaration that God would raise up another prophet like himself,(Deut. 18:15),David defeating Goliath,(1 Sam. 17), etc. Here Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet flush out a multitude of Christological allusions. They show the beautiful symmetry and integrity of the Word of God.

Why I would recommend this book -

1). This book will give you a clear picture of the character of Christ, enabling you to know Him more fully.

2). If you want to sharpen your understanding of the Bible, this is an excellent resource.

3). If you were taught that the New Testament causes the Old Testament to be irrelevant, you will see how such a view robs yourself of seeing the the fullness of the glory of Christ.

Here's a few observations in the book I enjoyed,

"The seven 'I AM' metaphorical statements of Jesus in the gospel of John are followed by their corresponding circumstances in the story of Jesus birth -

"I am the bread of life" - Jesus was born in Bethlehem which means 'house of bread.'

"I am the light of the world." - Jesus was born under the light of the star of Bethlehem.

"I am the door of the sheep" - the doors of the guesthouse were closed to Mary and Joseph but the gate to the stable was open.

"I am the good shepherd" - The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. Baby Jesus was sought by shepherds looking for a baby wrapped in swaddling bands used for birth or burial, and lying in a manger.

"I am the resurrection and the life" - Jesus survived King Herod's attempt to kill Him.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life." - Wise men found their way to Him, recognized the truth about Him, and defied King Herod's evil plot.

"I am the true vine" - Jesus was born in Bethlehem Ephrathah which means, "fruitful."


"Jesus didn't perform a wedding but He did turn water into wine. Jesus wouldn't turn stones into bread for Himself but He did turn water into wine for friends. In fact, it is not surprising that the first miracle of the Jesus who said, 'I am the Vine' should be turning water into wine."

"When Jesus, the new Noah of Israel, came up out of the waters and saw the dove, the covenant was once again sealed. Jesus' baptism signifies the ultimate restoration of that covenant relationship."

"We meet the atonement again in the wilderness journey when Moses struck the rock and out of it flowed rivers of living waters. It is an apt picture of death - the striking of the rock, and resurrection life - the flowing waters. Paul wrote that the rock was Jesus Christ. Interestingly, when Moses struck the rock a second time, he was barred from entering the land of promise. God had said to speak to the rock but Moses struck it. The striking of the rock a second time and the judgment that follows reminds of us the words of Hebrews which speaks of crucifying the Son of God afresh."

[Liam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw this book when it was first released and had wanted to read it for it’s unique biographical take on the life of Jesus. Instead of starting at the nativity, the book starts in eternity past when the Father, the Son, and the Spirit existed in an overflow of love and joy. The book moves from there to continue the story of Jesus through the Old Testament - and the Nativity doesn’t take stage until about half way through the book. Sounds like a fascinating read right?
Well.. hold on.

The Good
Unfortunately I couldn’t finish it for several reasons (which I’ll get to). However, to be fair, there was a bit to like about the book.
• The organization of Jesus’ bio mentioned above is a very refreshing take when compared to many other critical and cold bios of him.
• There were also actually several allusions to Christ from the Old Testament that I found fascinating and hadn’t seen before. I only read the OT history portion to Genesis 2, so I’m pretty confident there are many more legit allusions to Christ throughout the remainder of the book. Might be worth your time if you are willing to sift through the less than great other areas of the book. See below.

The Bad
• The first jarring thing about this book is how the OT allusions to Christ get stretched a lot. I mean a whole lot! It’s almost as if the authors got together and came up with their own kooky ways to get different random facts and less important details in scripture to somehow point to New Testament concepts. Don’t get me wrong! I’m a firm believer that the overarching story of the OT and a ton of the smaller plots do point to Christ and other NT realities! However these authors seem more like hacks with a lot of this stuff.
When each day of Genesis points to different NT doctrines, and even smaller things in creation such as the birds/fish and jewels in the garden/temple point to specific NT realities it just seems like the authors are really reaching to try and sell their point.
Sometimes a point would be right on target - such as light on the unformed earth in the creation account as representing regeneration (as Paul compares in the NT). Other times the reasons behind something representing a NT concept would be such a long trek through kooky reasoning that I couldn’t help almost laugh. Some of it I had to rewind, thinking I’d misheard the explanation.
For example, the authors assert that fish in the creation narrative represent Christ’s death. The evidence given for this is because early Christians used the fish as a symbol and that symbol represents Christ who died. The authors further extrapolate from this that birds represent Christ’s ascension. So (logically) the 5th day of creation represents Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. - I feel like Monty Python could hop into the narrative at this point to have an equally enlightening conversation about witches.

• Another aversion I had with the book is just how cheesy the authors made a lot of the works of God or other aspects sound. Very Flandersish. For example, the section on God creating humanity out of mud was introduced by them saying something like ‘God likes playing with mud pies.’ The authors then (seriously) commented on how it’s good to play in mud because science has shown it’s healthy. I don’t care for the taking of glorious concepts and dumbing them down to the lowest and cheesiest explanations possible. Maybe just a pet peeve of mine, but when the authors sound as Flandersish as possible, it makes the reading pretty brutal!

• The final straw for me was that the authors also come off as a bit preachy in a negative way. They seem more forceful than they need to be and it just felt off to me.

Conclusion
I didn’t finish the book, and only read about 20% of it. So there’s 80% left here that I can’t comment on. From what I saw it just wasn’t for me. However if you can sift through all the above, you may get some good nuggets of gold in the OT allusions that are legitimate. Just a lot to wade through IMO. Especially when there are better books out there on this subject.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this Advanced Reader's Copy of Jesus: A Theography from Present Testimony Ministry as a part of Frank Viola's Book Launch Team.

For the first time in a long time, I picked up a book to read on a topic of which I was very unaware: the presence of Jesus throughout the entire Bible. Over the years, I had heard about the idea of the pre-incarnate Jesus (which usually was just a checklist of "here's where Jesus appeared), but had not paid it much mind. Until now.

The back cover of the book states that "Biographies of Jesus generally have been written by those trying to investigate the historical Jesus, with little attention given to the grand narrative of Scripture. On the flip side, those interested in tracing the theology of Scripture are typically disinterested in historical Jesus studies. These two approaches have yet to converge. . . until now."

To combine these two ideas is fascinating to me, and to see how Sweet and Viola weave the narrative of Jesus from Creation to The Return of The King made me want to pick up my Bible and compare notes as I read along (in hindsight, having a Bible and a notebook to jot things down in while reading would be something that I highly recommend--simply highlighting text isn't enough!).

I can't begin to imagine the amount of work that went into creating this book. The endnotes are extensive; there are over 80 in the introduction alone. I greatly appreciated that the authors did this; it shows they are willing to let anyone see what they used and where their ideas originated.

While I can't speak for the veracity of their premise and what actual Biblical scholars (of which I am not) might have to say about it, I found it to be a worthwhile read that sparked my curiosity and kicked my questioning and wondering brain into gear. Rather than just telling someone about the Bible, reading this book encourages one to go to the Bible itself to explore the claims. In this, Sweet and Viola place the focus on Jesus, as it should be.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christianity often looks like a lot of things. Many people call themselves Christians and “Christian” as an adjective is slapped onto all sorts of ideologies. I have met people who think the term is so watered down that it has little meaning anymore. What is “Christianity”?

A simple answer – if it looks like Jesus, it is Christian. Christianity, ultimately, is about Jesus Christ.

Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola did a great service in reminding us of the supremacy and centrality of Jesus Christ in their previous book, The Jesus Manifesto. That book diagnosed problems and issues in the contemporary church and offered a renewed look at Jesus as the solution. Their new book, Jesus: A Theography is a sort of next step. Sweet and Viola seek to tell the story of Jesus as the thread that holds all of scripture together. Thus their story begins long before the birth of Jesus, examining the role Jesus Christ played in creation. That is one of many aspects of the book that make it worth a read and much more than just another book about Jesus.

This book is unlike any other book I’ve read about Jesus. It reads almost like a treatise from the early church fathers filled with allegorical interpretation. This is not a bad thing! Their interpretation of scripture, the way they find traces of Jesus on every page of the Bible, is creative and inspiring. But t is not your typical historical-critical analysis. They are not interested in what the original author of Genesis or Isaiah or Leviticus meant, though they do find value in such scholarship. Sweet and Viola are clear in their bias, they come to scripture looking at it through the lens of Jesus. The stories, laws and prophecies of the Bible find their fulfillment, their real meaning, in Jesus Christ.

I found this book engaging and inspiring. Sweet and Viola make it clear early on that their book is not for academics, it is for the general Christian population. I believe that any Christian who picks this up will find it to be a rewarding read. As a sidenote, if the 424 pages appear intimidating, know that about 1/3 of the book is end-notes. So while the book is for the general population, academics or others interested can find a wealth of footnotes if they desire.

This is no light and fluffy “Christian living” book. Such book are quickly read and just as quickly forgotten. If those books are junk food, this book is a feast. Once completing it, the Bible will be understood in a whole new light. Perhaps it sounds cliched, but you could almost say that after reading this book, you’ll never read the Bible the same way again! Highly recommended!

[Frank Olvera · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Jesus: A Theography” (ISBN 9780849947025) by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola starts with words (ideas, actually) of one of my all-time heroes, Einstein.

“According to Einstein’s physics, time doesn’t exist without mass and matter. Time, therefore, begins with creation.”

The book’s sort of a biography although stated not as such but rather as a theography, in which the missing parts of the Christ story are completed with assumptions coming from interpretation of the Scriptures. The book emphasizes that the Old Testament talked about the Christ.

This latter concept’s repeated continuously in the Church. We understand that the Old Testament foretold the birth, life and death of God incarnate (Jesus, the Christ) — referred to as Shadows. The events of Jesus’ life are referred to as Fulfillment (of the Scriptures), which atones humanity (His Sufferings). If the book could be summarized in a chapter or less, it’d be the section of the book named THE ATONEMENT PROPHESIED, which has Jesus’ shadows (OT) and fulfillment of the Scriptures (NT) through His Sufferings. For example, the authors say that Psalms 22:9-13 foretold Matthew 27:33, in which Jesus suffered on the cross.

Shadow: Psalms 22:9-13

“9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly. 11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. 13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.” (KJV)

Fulfillment: Matthew 27:33

“33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull” (KJV)

I don’t get it. Maybe I’m too dumb to understand this or need a master’s degree in divinity. I was fairly disappointed with this book, which I though it’d have been a true learning experience.

[Frank Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus: A Theography by Frank Viola is an outstanding book. Viola seeks to combine a biography with a theology book (which makes complete sense when writing about Jesus) and does an excellent job in completing both elements. Perhaps unexpectedly, the biographical part of Jesus life does not start at Bethlehem but rather before the foundations of the world. These early chapters, relating to Jesus, through whom all things were made, was both interesting and valuable. I do not believe I have ever read anything this significant on the life of Jesus before He was born. The book reminds me of Jesus discussions on the Emmaus road, where he opened the scriptures (thus Old Testament) to the two disciples. In many ways Jesus: A Theography tries to do the same.

The book was extremely well researched and put together. It is filled with insights that require extended reflection. I am really impressed with the extent of deep or profound ideas that were presented in the book. As a result, I expect this book to be a resource for many sermons and discussions. After praising the book as it deserves, I must also say that I found the actual reading of much of the book to be quite irritating. Viola seeks to write at least partially poetically or artistically, and this meant that sections of the book were extremely wordy with very low information content. To be fair, this was likely always done on purpose as the author was likely trying to communicate something through his artistic language. Hopefully his style will result in an increase in readership, where those like me will make it through due the excellence of the contents, and those who would not ordinarily read a theology book will be more likely to make the effort.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus:A Theography is a difficult book to review. The book begins, at the very beginning,,,literally. Before the Earth was created. Before Genesis. The very first chapter is titled "Christ Before Time", preincarnate Christ is the description used by the authors. I am not a theology student, just someone searching for the truth. I found this book to be interesting, but I now have more questions than answers.

I was impressed by the knowledge and writing style of the authors. I did enjoy reading about the path of Jesus. I enjoyed reading about the relationship between the Old and New Testament Books.

One line that stood out, a line I would like to share, "the gospel isn't a postulate; it's a person"...pretty powerful stuff. I'm glad I read this book (for the record, I read this book in a day. It's one I'll keep on my shelves to reread over and over).

I recommend this book to others with questions and others searching for answers.

[C.A. Gray]

I wrote biblical retellings, and love to revisit familiar stories from a new lens. This approach can often make them come alive in a new way. The reviews certainly led me to believe this would do so. But I already study scripture so much, and scriptural commentaries, that it's rare that I come across something truly new. Honestly, this wasn't either--and sometimes that's ok, if I feel like the writing is nevertheless inspired, and said something old in a fresh way. Maybe it will hit some people that way, but it didn't for me, for whatever reason. I found myself skimming a lot. I also know that my theology is different than most --I believe in standing on any promises we find in scripture and believing God for them, whereas most Christians think, you never know what God is going to do-- maybe your situation will work out and maybe it won't, but in the end we can look back and see the reasons why. This doesn't, I think, inspire faith or trust, which are the two components to a vibrant Christian life that are truly indispensable (as these both work through love. If you know God loves You, if you REALLY know it, you can't help but trust Him. You can't help but have faith that He'll come through for you.) The authors of this book are in the traditional school of thought. I stopped reading when I got to the part about how maybe Jesus will heal you by letting you die, and you'll be healed in heaven. No. No, no, no. That's the enemy: *he's* the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. There is no scriptural evidence that Jesus refused to heal any person who came to him; in fact, there are many verses that say specifically that He healed them ALL. And He is the exact, perfect representation of God. He only did what He saw His Father doing. If we've seen Him, we've seen the Father. Let's not confuse the Hero of the story with the villain.

[Maggie Boyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right now there is a lot of discussion about a Jesus on Every Page take of the bible and there is even a Jesus bible which includes essays/notes from prominent bible scholars showing how Jesus is the center piece of all of scripture. For someone who doesn't know that this might be an okay place to start. The author's tell us the story of Christ beginning with Genesis and showing its link to John 1. They show us not just where Christ physically appears in the texts or where prophecies occur but using typology (an event, object, or person that finds a parallel and deeper realization in Jesus Christ, His people, or His work) they show allusions to the Lord which occur in every book (Passover lamb is one we tend to all know but there are many others). However, some of those allusions get stretched to the breaking point. Additionally, some of the information they represent is based on sketchy interpretation of passages which point to something else. For example, they insist that Jesus did miracles not as God but as man, and use the fact that Peter did the same miracles under the power of the spirit as proof. But Peter did his miracles in Jesus name. What made that especially difficult is that they were adamant on their interpretation - the book lacked the humility which an endeavor which deals with typological representation should have.

It would take a mature Christian well versed in scripture to know where all they went wrong but the information they offer might not be of much use to such a soul. I did appreciate the way they phrased some common truths and there are points here that I think would benefit many believers, so my recommendation is a tepid it could be useful.

[Rocky Henriques · Rating 5 out of 5]

After five decades of following Christ...

...I now have a better understanding of what the Bible is about and how it all ties together. I have always believed the Old Testament points forward to Christ, but until I read this book I could not say exactly how. If anything, this book will lead me to dig further into this subject.

Sweet and Viola say at the beginning that this book is written for the general Christian audience, but I am not quite certain they accomplished that on every page. Sometimes they use terms which only a scholar would know.This could be the basis for a good series of in-depth studies on the Person of Christ, but the leader of such a group is going to have to work to simplify the presentation for the "general Christian audience" the authors were aiming for.

Overall, I highly recommend this book! Even if you think you've got it all figured out, you will soon discover that the Bible is a unified whole, telling the same story from beginning to end. And don't overlook the footnotes!

[Tim Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another great book by Leonard Sweet. It helped put Jesus in a different light than I had viewed him before. There were quite a few points he made that helped me to better understand Jesus.

Sweet and Viola discuss the importance of the Bethlehem lamb. They were the “name brand” lame to be sacrificed at the temple in Jerusalem. The book then discusses how this Jewish tradition pointed to Jesus coming from Bethlehem. They also discuss Jewish tradition of needing to bring the lamb into their home after purchasing it so the family would come to live the lamb before sacrificing it.

Another key point they discussed was how Jesus’ twelve disciples represented the 12 tribes of Israel. He also discussed how the first (turning water into wine) and last (Christ dying) signs of Christ corresponded with the plagues in Egypt.

This book helped me to see more connections with Jesus and the old testament than I had seen before. I also liked how the authors referred to them as the first and second testament as well. It helps to show they are both important and relevant today.

[Bill Hooten · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be perfectly honest, I was drawn to this book by the title' "Jesus: A Theography." Now I may have missed it, but I wanted the authors to define "Theography". My supposition was that it was a "theological biography," and that was something I wanted to read. Well, I think it was that, and maybe a little more. As noticed someone saying in one of the reviews, this is a difficult book to review. So let me say it this way: was there parts I really like and agreed with, absolutely; were there parts that I disagreed with, yes; and, and were there parts that made me stop scratch my head and say "hmmm", you bet. I look forward to using parts of this book in an assignment that I have for 2022, and so it was a valuable read for me.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up to skim through, found some great insights in the introductory section so decided to sit down. Sweet has done an amazing job of tying together the various threads of Scripture that point to Christ.

I do feel, outside the realm of being a good introduction to the framework of the Christian worldview system, there are better books out there. I felt there was a lot of fluff that made this text a bit longer then was necessary, and some assertions I did not quite agree with.

Overall, good book to read through. It should challenge you appropriately and be helpful at the same time.

[Josh Samarco · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must Read for all Christ Followers

This book has taken some time for me to read. Not only is it rich in theology but it’s saturated in the overarching story of the Bible; all Scripture points to Christ.

Although I knew this, I got to see the in depth view of what it looks like for all of Scripture to point to Christ. I will continue to circle back, study and reference this book.

My understanding of Christ, myself and Scripture has been enlightened and I’m thankful to have taken time to work and pray through this book!

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this through quickly at the beginning of August, and this weekend decided to give it a second pass, taking notes of parts I'd highlighted and starred. This is a jam packed book! Where to start?

I'd say that in this tome the authors solidly show how Christ is written about all through the whole scripture, right from the first page to the last. But it's not an academic exercise, it really awakens your heart to see Christ anew. He is bigger and more wonderful than we can know, but is foreshadowed in so many ways which display parts of his character and purpose.

[James Matney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful book. If you recognize that the entire bible points to Christ, this book points out to the many details as to how that is absolutely true. This was very helpful, and I am looking forward to reading thought the bible again with many of these insights.

I found a few things that I disagreed with or was confused as to the importance. It seems like there were a few small things that was just adding or stretching the point being made, but nothing that defeats the overwhelmingly useful point that the entire Bible points to Jesus.

[Sierra V · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot of quality examples and information in this book of how Jesus is exemplified throughout the entirety of the Bible. However, it was a long burn of a read, which would be fine if it hadn't become redundant after a while. No shade on the authors though, they thoroughly researched their topic. It just wasn't something I would read again.

[J And · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought Provoking Theography

Although I disagree with a few nonessential conclusions, Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet are at least mostly correct in their description of Jesus, His purpose, and how He and the Church fulfill the First Covenant and herald the resurrection of not only believers, but our planet.

[Emma Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its been a LONG time since I read this book, and I need to actually give it a spin again sometime soon!

But if you are looking for a book that highlights the cosmic foreshadowing of Jesus as our savior in all of scripture... this is it.

[Eula C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful. The historical and cultural perspectives in this book are priceless. Glad there are authors out there who do their research and also believe that the Son of God did not just show up in AD but eternity past with the Father.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful

I like the depth of the book and where it takes us. The authors do a good job keeping the reader engaged. They have a new way of making a point.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The supremacy of Jesus Christ, is our true north, as we continue to vacillate so easily off course. Highly recommend this book!

[Kasia Hubbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that centers back on Jesus's question, "Who do you say I am?"

[Peter McNamee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique look at the story of Jesus throughout all of Scripture. I found some myself amazed by some insights, but puzzled with others.

[forky wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really insightful aspects to this read, definitely an interesting overview of Christian Theology, definitely left me wanting to read more from the author.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

first book ever written to combine historical Jesus studies with biblical theology, crafting together one breathtaking saga that tells the Jesus story in both Old and New Testaments

[Jon Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jesus: A Theography by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola, is a very unique approach to looking at the person of Jesus. The study of Jesus is done through a mix of both theology and biography.

The book is definitely an interesting read and I really enjoyed reading about Jesus not starting with the Gospels, but rather with Genesis. I think this direction is an incredible help especially for those who may be new to scripture, and don’t see the Bible as one flowing narrative. The other thing I appreciated about this book was the numerous cultural descriptions for certain periods of Jesus’ life. I think Sweet & Viola did a pretty good job of trying to paint a picture for readers to really see what was happening in scripture.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“God’s art of communication is incarnation…” (p. 39).

“Without new hearts there can be no new world” (p. 153).

“The action is not initiating something for God but becoming part of God’s initiatives in the world” (p. 275).

“Bring the culture of the heavens to earth” (p. 295).

On the downside, at times there seems to be quite a bit of conjecture when connecting ideas and explaining certain situations. Since not everything is explained in scripture (ie. what Jesus might have been thinking or feeling at times), there is a certain amount of imagination that goes into studying and understanding scripture. I just felt that at times the authors were a little more liberal in their assumptions than I think we can be in our study of the Bible. I don’t necessarily think that this will derail someones theology, or put them on the wrong path, but there is enough of it that it makes me uncomfortable to use parts of the book as fact.

One minor complaint I have has to do with the printing of the book. There are a lot of notes in the book (including scripture references), but they are all at the back which makes reading the book pretty awkward and distracting.

Jesus: A Theography is a long book (310 pages), but it is very easy to read and you can start reading anywhere if you’d like to focus on a particular part of Jesus’ life. This is an encouraging book and a great read for anyone, whether you’re new to studying about Jesus or you’ve been following Jesus for a long time.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

www.jonathanstephens.wordpress.com

Twitter: @jonstephensNY

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Jesus Christ is a somewhat controversial figure. Everyone has or is looking for an answer to the question, "Who is (or was) Jesus Christ?" There is very little denying that Jesus was a real person who really walked the earth in the first century AD, but one you get past that there are many divergent answers. The most popular scholarly thing to do in 21st century American culture is to join the quest for the "Historical Jesus." This view examines Jesus through a historical lens and sometimes discounts scripture as a valid source for understanding Jesus. Apart from discounting scripture, I think that it is valid and helpful to see Jesus through the lens of first century Jewish (and Roman) culture. Where this can fall short, however, is looking at the bigger picture of who Jesus is beyond his life on earth. This is why Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola have written Jesus: A Theography. It is their belief, that while these historical pictures of Jesus are helpful, they are lacking the life of Christ before and after incarnation. The ultimate goal of their book Jesus is to give a picture of Christ in light of the entirety of scripture and not just within the Gospels.

I highly recommend this book. It's not a short read, but it is time well spent. Even in the sections where some might disagree with their interpretation, Sweet and Viola do a fantastic job of digging into the life of Jesus Christ. This is a book that almost anyone can read. They do a great job of showing their research and giving good explanatory notes. While it may not be deemed as scholarly as some works, they have certainly shown their work and anyone studying Jesus would benefit from reading this book. If you are looking for a great biography to read, I suggest Jesus: A Theography. It would an appropriate read for the Christmas season or to start the new year.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.