N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003). $24.57.

Reviewed by Michael Brown

A couple of years ago I asked Dr. Peter Jones what he suggested I read for some work I was planning to do on 1 Corinthians 15. Knowing that Dr. Jones has for more than a decade engaged in extensive exegetical work on 1 Corinthians 15 (especially v.45), I figured he would be the guy to ask for suggested reading on this topic. Without hesitation he said, “The Resurrection of the Son of God by NT Wright!” Surprised, I replied, “NT Wright? You mean, NT Wright as in NPP NT Wright?” “Trust me,” said Jones, “this is the NT Wright we like.” Yes, I was skeptical. As a Reformed pastor who subscribes to the Three Forms of Unity and the Protestant (read: Pauline) doctrine of justification by faith alone, I am not a fan of NT Wright in general. I am committed to opposing the New Perspective on Paul and warning Christ’s sheep of this subtle but potentially deadly compromise of the gospel. Nevertheless, Jones was right about this Wright: The Resurrection of the Son of God is a brilliant book that will take your breath away. It is nothing short of a monumental defense of the doctrine of the resurrection and an indispensable explanation of how the new creation has been inaugurated in this present evil age. This book is a credit to orthodoxy that will surely serve the church for many years to come.

Wright divides his 738-page work (817 pages with the bibliography and index – yes, it’s massive, but it is very well-written and hard to put down) into five major parts. The first part is on “Setting the Scene,” in which he surveys pagan eschatologies and the ancient Greco-Roman concept of the afterlife (especially found in giants like Homer and Plato). He points out that “Christianity was born into a world where its central claim was known to be false. Many believed that the dead were non-existent; outside Judaism, nobody believed in resurrection.”

Part two is on “Resurrection in Paul” (and was my favorite part of the book, not that that matters much). Wright does a spectacular job combing through the Pauline corpus to show the significance of the doctrine of the resurrection for Paul. He devotes a full hundred pages just to Paul’s correspondence with the Corinthians, half of which is on 1 Corinthians 15 alone. Thus, the book is not only a biblical theological treatment of the doctrine of resurrection, but also provides a considerable amount of useful exegetical commentary.

Part three is on “Resurrection in Early Christianity (Apart from Paul)” in which he provides a helpful section on the doctrine of resurrection in the Patristics and non-canonical early Christian texts. He shows that the actual, physical resurrection of Jesus as the guarantee of our physical and glorious resurrection was confessed universally in the ancient church.

Part four is on “The Story of Easter.” Here Wright gives an excellent exposition of the Gospel accounts of Christ’s resurrection. He makes clear the fact that far from being a powerful piece of fiction, the Gospels record the historical event that caused Christianity to be launched in the first century.

Finally, part five is on “Belief, Event and Meaning,” and includes a valuable apologetic for the resurrection of Jesus. Wright carefully shows that the testimony of the empty tomb coupled with the testimony of the resurrection appearances of Christ, constitute “necessary and sufficient conditions of evidence” that compelled people in the first century to believe the gospel.

This book is the third in Wright’s series, Christian Origins and the Question of God. I cannot speak for the other volumes, but having just finished an eight-week series of sermons on 1 Corinthians 15, let me make this bold statement: no serious preaching or teaching on the doctrine of the resurrection should be done without Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God!