Jesus Theography – A Theological Biography

There are two kinds of books I read most: books about the church and books about Jesus. So it was with great excitement when I learned that one of my favorite authors who writes about the church, was publishing a book about Jesus. The book is Jesus: A Theography, by Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet. Sure, they have both written a previous book about Jesus, Jesus Manifesto, but this was their most recent endeavor and I was excited to read it.

And let me just say that I was not disappointed. While many of the books about Jesus are written in scholarly language and primarily for other scholars, Viola and Sweet have written a well-researched and documented biography of Jesus, but in a way that the average Christian can read and understand.

The book also approaches the life of Jesus from a perspective that is not found in most other books about Jesus. Although Viola and Sweet are primarily using the four Gospels as their source material for retelling the life of Jesus, they also include theological material and ideas from the rest of Scripture. Not only that, but rather than begin their theological biography with Matthew 1, they begin with the pre-existence of Jesus before time began (chapter 1), and the work of Jesus in creation (chapters 2-3).

Then, their retelling of the story of Jesus does not conclude with the end of the Gospels, but carries on into the birth of the church as the Body of Christ (chapter 15) before concluding with a study of the return of Jesus (chapter 16).

There are many biblical and theological insights in this book which will aid any student or teacher of Scripture, and Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet have managed to write a well-researched scholarly level book which is still readable for the average person.

If you want to learn more about Jesus, not just what He did in the past, but also how He is continually involved in our lives today, I highly recommend this book. Viola and Sweet present Christ with refreshing clarity and memorable insights. In this book, they lift up Jesus for all to see.