Author’s subject is the One

Avondale alumnus returns to Jesus in lifelong writing project

 Jesus of Nazareth Volumes 1 and 2 (Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2016)
William Johnsson

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At the conclusion of his gospel, John makes this comment: there’ll always be more books written about Jesus (see John 21:25). Across his decades of writing and editing, Dr William Johnsson has taken this seriously, returning regularly to the story of Jesus and His centrality to our lives, our faith and our church. His newest instalment in this lifelong project is the two-volume Jesus of Nazareth, and it’s a worthy addition to the library of re-tellings of the stories of Jesus that John anticipated.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Biblical Research Institute commissioned Jesus of Nazareth, in part, to serve as a textbook for Bible and Christian studies classes in church higher education providers around the world. But Johnsson’s passion for his subject, and the warmth and personality of his writing, moves this study beyond its textbook style and presentation. Instead, it’s a devotional study, informed by scholarship and personal experience, and it’s also an attractive portrait of a Man who both changed the world and still changes individual lives.

The sequence of Jesus of Nazareth’s two volumes begins with the context in which Jesus came and the history of His life. It then explores His teachings and culminates in His death and resurrection. To this extent, the treatment is methodical but that’s the structure not the heart of this work. The heart is one in love with and in awe of Jesus, who has been transformed by His continuing presence and whose life has been lived in service to Him.

This relationship between the author and his subject is the real impulse for this book and makes Jesus of Nazareth well worth listening in on. I think John would appreciate it, too.