the key to understanding the New Testament has to be the person of Jesus, and that therefore he is the correct person and place with which to begin as well as to end … The biographical genre of the canonical gospels redirects our gaze back to begin with the historical Jesus, and in particular to a stress upon both his deeds and his words.24 For Burridge, the Scriptures reveal a tension between Jesus’ rigorous moral demands and his inclusive approach to sinners. This tension colors his reading of