Book & Chapter Summaries

Jesus Manifesto

Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ

by Leonard I. Sweet & Frank Viola · Thomas Nelson · 2010

Book summary

A Christ-centered manifesto calling the church away from causes, techniques, and self-preoccupation toward the supremacy, centrality, and living presence of Jesus.

Chapter & section guide

  1. Introduction: Who Do You Say That I Am?

    The church's defining crisis is Christological.

  2. Chapter 1: The Occupation of All Things

    Christ fills and interprets the whole created order.

  3. Chapter 2: A Bottle in the Ocean

    Christian witness carries a message whose center is Jesus himself.

  4. Chapter 3: If God Wrote Your Biography

    A human life finds coherence inside Christ's larger story.

  5. Chapter 4: A Violin Called Messiah

    The church becomes an instrument resonating with Christ.

  6. Chapter 5: A Ditch on Either Side

    Reductionist extremes are avoided by holding together the fullness of Jesus.

  7. Chapter 6: His Face or Your Face?

    Discipleship displaces narcissism with attention to Christ.

  8. Chapter 7: A Collision of Two Empires

    The reign of Jesus confronts rival powers and loyalties.

  9. Chapter 8: The Forgotten Tree

    The cross remains the decisive revelation of divine power and love.

  10. Chapter 9: A House of Figs

    Fruitfulness, judgment, and communion are gathered into the life of Christ.

  11. Chapter 10: Who Is This Lord of Yours?

    Confession of Jesus as Lord requires embodied allegiance.

  12. Afterword: A Personal Letter from Your Lord

    The book closes by turning doctrine into personal encounter.

Editorial note: these are original thematic summaries prepared as a research and reading aid, not quotations from the book itself.