Book Review: Reading the Gospels Wisely

(This book review first appeared on For Christ and Culture and on the Baker Academic Blog)

Jesus once told a story about a wise man and a foolish man. In the story, the wise man built his house upon the rock and the foolish man built his house upon the sand. Now the main distinguishing element in the story is that the wise man heard and acted responsibly as opposed to the foolish man who just heard and did not act responsibly.

The same distinction applies to those who approach the Gospels. This is the premise for Jonathan Pennington’s new book, Reading the Gospels Wisely. As Pennington, an associate professor of New Testament interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, states:

Wise people must hear correctly what Jesus teaches, but they must also respond to this grace with faith and faithful living (xi).

In Reading the Gospel Wisely, he uses the idea of “building a house” and divides his book into three parts: “Clearing Ground, Digging Deep, and Laying a Good Foundation,” “Building the House through Wise Reading,” and “Living in the Gospels’ House.”

Clearing Ground, Digging Deep, and Laying a Good Foundation (1-8)

In chapters one and two Pennington addresses the question “what are the Gospels?” He answers this question by examining the similarities between the “oral” and “written” gospel, church history, and literary genre. In chapter two he provides his working definition of the Gospels:

Our canonical Gospels are the theological, historical, and aretological (virtue-forming) biographical narratives that retell the story and proclaim the significance of Jesus Christ, who through the power of the Spirit is the Restorer of God’s reign.”(35).

In chapter three Pennington gives nine reasons why we need the Gospels, and in chapter 4 he provides a discussion on harmonization, diversity between the Gospels, historical accuracy, and finally the joy of having four Gospels.

Chapter five, the weightiest according to most reviewers, revolves around history and theology, historical Jesus considerations, and the historical-critical method and leads Pennington to draw out five important implications:

·        There is a limited and circumscribed role for historical Jesus studies

·        We should focus on vertical over horizontal readings of the Gospels

·        We should read the Gospels as witnesses

·        We should receive the Gospels as testimony – a blending of fact and interpretation

·        We should read the Gospels according to the purpose – theological and transformational

Chapter six provides three avenues for reading the canonical Gospels: behind the text, in the text, and in front of the text. Pennington states that to be a wise reader of the Gospels one must read the text through all three avenues. In chapter seven Pennington discusses authorial intent, meaning, and application, and in chapter eight he sums up the first seven chapters and states what our goal should be in reading the Gospels:

Therefore, our hermeneutical approach and methods must be more than excavational; they must be personal and application driven.” (159).

Building the House through Wise Reading (9-10)

Pennington argues in chapter nine against the “Whatever Strikes Me” hermeneutic (only reading the elements that strike the reader’s particular fancy) and proposes the tool of narrative analysis (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement) to better grapple with the Gospels. In chapter ten Pennington makes the observation that,

Most of the stories can be enjoyed, appreciated, and even learned from when taken in isolation. But the best, most powerful, and deepest reading will come when they are read and experience din the narrative story line of which they are a part. (184).

The best way to understand the message of a text is to look at the circles of contextual meaning: canonical story, whole gospel story, literary structures, cycles, acts, and individual story (204).

Living in the Gospels House (11-12)

Chapters eleven and twelve provide some practical advice for using the Gospels, including a proposal for the following form of sermons drawn from Gospel texts: (1) Introduce the situation; (2) Retell the story; (3) Draw out the main points; and (4) Apply the story with illustrations.

He concludes his book with the statement, “My desire for this book…is that readers will be invited into the joy of studying the Gospel more deeply and more often.” (258)

Conclusion

If I could recommend a book on the Gospels it would be this one. Pennington is engaging, not only on an academic level but also, most importantly, on a practical level. The book is organized, clear, and very accessible for future reference. The book is not an introduction to the Gospels nor is it a survey. It is simply a guide to a hermeneutical approach. It presupposes the reader is familiar with various issues concerning historical Jesus studies and Gospel development.  What I found most helpful was his definition of the Gospels, primarily the aspect of virtue forming, and the Gospel sermon form. In the short time of reading the book I have used the practical sermon form. If I could pick out one “weak” area, it would be the lack of discussion concerning historical research in preparation for the sermon. Pennington would agree with the use of historical research but not as the governing foundation for truth. Of course, I agree with that as well. However, my two questions would be: What is the benefit of historical research in sermon preparation and proclamation? And how would a preacher go about using that historical information responsibly?

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and I would highly encourage people to pick it up, read it thoroughly, and apply the practical instructions to form a wise Gospel reading.