Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament
This paper reviews Christopher J.H. Wright's Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (1992), a work of accessible yet serious biblical scholarship that examines how the Hebrew scriptures shaped Jesus' identity, mission, and self-understanding. The review summarizes Wright's five-chapter structure — covering Israel's history, messianic promise, typological models, Christ's mission, and his engagement with contemporary Judaism — while highlighting Wright's invitation to readers to approach Christ personally through his own use of scripture. The paper also compares Wright's broad ecumenical appeal with O'Collins and Jones's more focused treatment of Christ's priesthood, ultimately commending Wright as an excellent guide for anyone seeking to preach or teach from the Old Testament.
- Overview of Wright and His Work: Background on Wright's scholarship and the book's purpose
- Structure and Argument of the Book: Summary of the book's five chapters and central claims
- Christ Reading Scripture: An Intellectual Biography: Wright's invitation to read scripture through Christ's eyes
- Wright's Ecumenical Appeal and Denominational Reception: Cross-denominational endorsements and Wright's Anglican approach
- Comparison with Related Scholarship: Wright compared to O'Collins and Jones on Christ's priesthood
- Conclusion: Final assessment of Wright as teacher and guide
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What makes this paper effective
- The review goes beyond plot summary to evaluate Wright's central argument — that the Old Testament provides the intellectual and spiritual formation of Jesus himself — and engages with it theologically.
- The writer supports evaluative claims with direct quotations from Wright, allowing the author's voice to demonstrate both the scholarly depth and the accessible tone of the book.
- Bringing in a comparative text (O'Collins and Jones) adds critical perspective without overwhelming the primary review, showing awareness of the broader scholarly conversation.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This review models the technique of evaluative synthesis: rather than simply describing each chapter, the writer identifies a unifying interpretive thread — Wright's invitation to readers to inhabit Christ's own perspective on scripture — and uses that thread to assess the book's success. This approach transforms a chapter-by-chapter summary into a coherent critical argument.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by introducing Wright and contextualizing his scholarly background, then moves through the book's five-chapter structure with selective emphasis. The central section develops the reviewer's own thesis about the book's "intellectual biography" quality. A discussion of cross-denominational reception broadens the evaluation, and a brief comparative analysis with a related monograph provides scholarly context before a concise conclusion.
Overview of Wright and His Work
Christopher J.H. Wright's Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament is a book written to connect the two halves of scripture in a way that helps Christians better understand that "it is Jesus that gives meaning and validity to the events of Israel's Old Testament history."1 Wright is an Old Testament scholar — an Ulsterman whose parents had been Presbyterian missionaries in Brazil, though he would convert and become ordained in the Anglican church, and now resides in London where he directs an international ministry. His academic background is in the historical study of the Old Testament, and his first full-length book was a study of economic ethics in the Old Testament. He confesses endearingly, though unnecessarily, in the present work that he feels much less at ease with the New Testament as a scholar.
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament is his second work, first published in 1990 and aimed at a more general readership. It is, ultimately, a work of serious scholarship whose goal is to investigate "the full significance of the Old Testament…in the light of where it leads — the climactic achievement of Christ; and on the other hand, we are able to appreciate the full dimensions of what God did through Christ in the light of his historical declarations and demonstrations of intent in the Old Testament."2
Bibliography
Alexander, Paul. "Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament." IX Marks. http://www.alliancenet.org/CC/article/0,,PTID314526_CHID598026_CIID2438290,00.html (accessed 15 April 2011).
Murray, David. "Jesus Never Read the New Testament." The Gospel Coalition. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/04/21/jesus-never-read-the-new-testament/ (accessed 15 April 2011).
O'Collins, Gerald, and Michael Keenan Jones. Jesus Our Priest: A Christian Approach to the Priesthood of Christ. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Wright, Christopher J.H. Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.
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