The Greatest Story Ever Retold

Envisioning Jesus Narratives from Gospels to Film

John Anthony Dunne, Jeannine K. Brown

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781493453078
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Film History & Criticism

From Scripture to Screen: Understanding How We All Direct Our Own Jesus Story

In this innovative book, two respected New Testament scholars explore the ways the Jesus story has been told and retold from the earliest Gospel writings to contemporary film adaptations. John Anthony Dunne and Jeannine Brown highlight what later narratives can teach us about the hermeneutical process we employ, knowingly or unknowingly, as we read the Gospels.

In this book, you will

● learn how we visualize the Jesus story in particular ways as we read the Gospels, inevitably casting actors, blocking scenes, and interpreting dialogue as we imagine our own Jesus film;
● journey through two thousand years of storytelling to discover how humanity has grappled with the Jesus narrative, from Gospel harmonizations to modern cinema;
● discover how Jesus films illuminate the interpretive choices we make when reading Scripture, from filling narrative gaps to characterizing Judas, Pilate, and Jesus himself; and
● benefit from rigorous New Testament scholarship made accessible through engaging analysis of contemporary film adaptations.

The Greatest Story Ever Retold accounts for the ways humanity has been grappling with the Jesus story for two millennia, often casting it in a way that forms to our own questions and identities. The authors show that Jesus films can help us think through how and why we direct our own film in the way that we do when we read or hear the story of Jesus.

This book is essential reading for students, scholars, and anyone interested in how we interpret Scripture, create meaning from biblical narratives, and participate in the ongoing retelling of Christianity's central story.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsements
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. The Question of Faithfulness
• 2. Harmonization: The Lure of a Single Story
• 3. A Need to Fill in the Gaps
• 4. Characterization: Putting Flesh on the People of the Jesus Story
• 5. The Centerpiece: Portraying Jesus
• 6. Casting the Villains: Portraits of Judas, Pilate, and the Jewish Leaders and Crowds
• 7. Themes Woven into the Jesus Story
• 8. The Two Horizons of Jesus Stories
• Conclusion
• Appendix: of: Films Cited
• Bibliography
• Film Index
• Name Index
• Scripture and Ancient Sources Index
• Back Cover