Home Pastors Articles for Pastors Reading the Bible in 3D

Reading the Bible in 3D

If such a red-letter First Testament existed, it would glow in the dark. And if Jesus is YHWH, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, N. T. Wright, Scot McKnight, Richard Bauckham, and others have argued, then it could light up a living room.

One of our favorite metaphors for reframing how people see the Bible is to approach it as a movie. But not any simple, straightforward movie—one filled with flashbacks, interweaving relationships and plotlines, metaphors and narratives, multiple voices, and circles of meaning, an organic and rich symmetry of dynamic signs, a story that reveals the truth of Jesus Christ in freshness, surround sound, and living color.

As with any great story, there are characters, sequence, conflict, climax, and resolution. Unlike any other story, however, this is a never-ending story. This story invites you to become part of it with its main character, who wants to merge His story with yours.

Let the Bible tell its own story to you. Trust the Jesus story as it moves from Genesis to Revelation. And see if the Holy Spirit doesn’t open your eyes to see the greatness of Christ anew and afresh.

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This is an excerpt from the new groundbreaking book Jesus: A Theography (Thomas Nelson, hardcover, 424 pp.) by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola. For details on the book including the a free sample of the entire Introduction with endnotes (which this article is excerpted from), go to http://frankviola.org/jesuschrist  

FRANK VIOLA is a popular conference speaker and the best-selling author of numerous books on the deeper Christian life, including “Revise Us Again,” “From Eternity to Here,” “Epic Jesus,” and “Jesus Manifesto” (co-authored with Leonard Sweet). His blog, “Beyond Evangelical,” is rated as one of the most popular in Christian circles today.

LEONARD SWEET is the author of more than two hundred articles, 1000 published sermons and almost forty books, Leonard’s most current publications are the best-seller Jesus Manifesto (with Frank Viola) and the just released Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who Is Already There. In 2011 three publications will be released: a textbook on preaching entitled Giving Blood; Len’s first novel The Seraph Seal (with Lori Wagner), and a commentary and commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version, Googlier Than Thou. Len often appears on the “50 Most Influential Christians in America” list, and his popular weekly podcast called “Napkin Scribbles” is widely used and quoted. Len’s microblogs on twitter and facebook are ranked as some of the most influential social media sites in the world. Currently occupying the E. Stanley Jones Chair of Evangelism, Len served from 1995 to 2001 as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Theological School at Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. He is also a Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon, and President Emeritus of United Theological Seminary. He is a weekly contributor to the online preaching resource, sermons.com.