The Greatest Story Ever Retold: Envisioning Jesus Narratives from Gospels to Film

by John Anthony Dunne, Jeannine K. Brown

From Scripture to Understanding How We All Direct Our Own Jesus Story

In this innovative book, two respected New Testament scholars explore the ways the Jesus story has been told and retold from the earliest Gospel writings to contemporary film adaptations. John Anthony Dunne and Jeannine Brown highlight what later narratives can teach us about the hermeneutical process we employ, knowingly or unknowingly, as we read the Gospels.

In this book, you will

● learn how we visualize the Jesus story in particular ways as we read the Gospels, inevitably casting actors, blocking scenes, and interpreting dialogue as we imagine our own Jesus film;
● journey through two thousand years of storytelling to discover how humanity has grappled with the Jesus narrative, from Gospel harmonizations to modern cinema;
● discover how Jesus films illuminate the interpretive choices we make when reading Scripture, from filling narrative gaps to characterizing Judas, Pilate, and Jesus himself; and
● benefit from rigorous New Testament scholarship made accessible through engaging analysis of contemporary film adaptations.

The Greatest Story Ever Retold accounts for the ways humanity has been grappling with the Jesus story for two millennia, often casting it in a way that forms to our own questions and identities. The authors show that Jesus films can help us think through how and why we direct our own film in the way that we do when we read or hear the story of Jesus.

This book is essential reading for students, scholars, and anyone interested in how we interpret Scripture, create meaning from biblical narratives, and participate in the ongoing retelling of Christianity's central story.

240 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2026

Reviews

[Joel Wentz]

A really thoughtful book on hermeneutics disguised as a book about Jesus films. I loved the chapter on the "two horizons," and the work they do on the way tradition impacts our view of Mary Magdalene and Judas is fantastic. A book I liked quite a bit more than I expected.

Full video review here: https://youtu.be/wkVQnsU2evs

[Zachary]

I really appreciated the depth of examples and knowledge that the authors brought to this volume. The main argument that they make is that readers always act as the directors of their own Jesus films/adaptations, even when they are simply reading the Gospels, and they bring that mental sensibility to bear on their interpretations of Jesus films. So, all Jesus films are interpretive, but our responses to them are also interpretive, and we'd do well to keep that in mind. Illustrating the complexity of how this all operates is the volume's biggest contribution and greatest asset. Sometimes it can get a bit bogged down in details of specific films and some of the films/series chosen as larger examples are not necessarily the ones I'd ahve used or thought about but it was really enjoyable to read from start to finish.

[Su Thor]

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2026
Format: Kindle Edition
I found this book difficult to read. In truth I had my own ideas about Jesus and His life. Not every idea put forward in this was in line with my own and so this made me question my own thoughts and feelings.

If you have never thought about Jesus then this book is worth reading, and if you have have then be prepared for finding differences in regards to what you might have previously though.