The Day the Revolution Began

N. T. Wright has become probably the most prolific biblical interpreter of the twenty first century. His refocusing the Scriptures back on their Jewish origins and their historical context of exile has been revolutionary to say the least. His earlier work is fast becoming a classic, Surprised by Hope, a game changer in the world of conflicting understandings of a new heaven and new earth and how it relates to the Christian life today. I am only half way through it but now his new work, The Day The Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus Crucifixion (Harper One, 2016) is going to be another challenging work in how we have short changed the meaning of Jesus death and its cosmic implications for today.

Wright decodes the popular notions of "going to heaven" and atonement theologies like "penal substitution" and places the whole biblical narrative in its larger historical context and global story. There have been so many abuses of the Christian story that its very common for people today to refer to God as committing cosmic child abuse when it comes to the sacrifice of God's son on the cross. Too often we have de-biblicized, de-judaized, and even paganized the biblical story to suit our personal current needs. What we actually find in the Bible is not some wrathful God trying to kill someone for a blood sacrifice. What we rather find is a covenant keeping God who takes the full force of sin upon himself..

N. T. Wright doesn't totally reject the popular notions many Christians have been taught about the Bible but he places the biblical story of Jesus in a larger story where its not just about sin but also about idolatry. It's not just about the church but its about God's cosmic kingdom. It's not just about heaven when we die but its about the new heaven and new earth and the story of bringing heaven to earth in the present! N. T. Wright is challenging Christians to go deeper and farther in their understanding of the cross of Christ that transform nothing less than the whole cosmic universe as God is reconciling all things to himself!