It’s generally understood that Jesus is the centre of the New Testament, and beyond this, the centre of the Christian Bible. However, the picture we have of Jesus is an amalgam of images we were raised with rooted in a mash-up of portrayals from across the New Testament. In Jesus According to the New Testament, James D. G. Dunn describes Jesus as he is presented by the different New Testament authors, from Matthew through to Revelation.

The New Testament authors emphasize and omit data about Jesus in fascinating ways. For example, John has no account of Jesus’ baptism or the Last Supper in his gospel. Dunn suggests that this may be John’s reaction to Ignatius’ sacramental ecclesiology. Acts is another good example. In Luke’s history of the early church we find “the absence of any theology regarding the death of Jesus” (89). Rather, Jesus’ resurrection is repeatedly highlighted.

This raises an interesting question. When I learned the Synoptic gospels for the first time, I was urged not to lose their distinctive messages in a rush to harmonize the data. Should the same thing apply to the whole New Testament? Do we lose distinctive presentations of Jesus in an effort to bring everything into harmony?

A further question: how much room is there, or should there be, in our understanding of Jesus today? The New Testament authors wrote books and letters with divergent emphases. Perhaps the truth is too big to apprehend from any one contingent perspective.

Short and concise, Dunn’s book on Jesus is an excellent introduction to Jesus and a healthy reminder for seasoned pastors and theologians.

Dunn, James D. G. Jesus According to the New Testament. Eerdmans, 2019.