Who Is Jesus? Why Is He Important?: An Invitation to the New Testament

Harrington, professor of New Testament at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., focuses on the most basic of all Christian doctrines: the identity of Jesus. He leads readers step-by-step through the entire New Testament, outlining each book and using literary, historical and theological criticism to interpret what it tells us about Jesus. For example, Harrington breaks the Gospel of John into three sections: ""The Word of God (John 1-4)"", ""Jesus and `the Jews' (John 5-12)"" and ""The Son of God (John 13-21)."" Who is Jesus according to John, then? Harrington shows readers that the Jesus in John's Gospel is the Word of God and the Son of God; Jesus is both the revealer sent by God and God's revelation. Harrington concludes the section by pointing out that John says the proper response to Jesus is to ""to love God and one's neighbor."" Harrington asserts that by prayerfully using this reflective method on the New Testament texts, readers can discover who Jesus is and why He is important to their lives today. This is a reliable and accessible introduction to Jesus and the New Testament. (May)