Unlike so many books concerning the New Testament written by academics during the 1930s, Purinton’s The Reinterpretation of Jesus in the New Testament endeavors to keep the person of Jesus firmly entrenched in his approach to understanding the New Testament. Believing that a firm basis for understanding Jesus could be found in the sources of the Bible, Purinton undertook to justify such sources as Paul’s letters and the gospels as authentic source material. Not eschewing scholarly developments, such as Q or biblical criticism, for understanding Jesus, the book sets out to describe the life, teachings, and death of Jesus, based primarily on the Gospel of Mark. This is followed by an examination of the later books of the New Testament, but with the realization that not all of the Epistles add to our knowledge of who Jesus was. Purinton wished to make Jesus accessible by means of a scholarly study of his life, in this venture his book has few equals even today.

Carl Everett Purinton (1900-1982) earned his doctorate at Yale University and taught at Smith College and Beloit College before moving on the Adelphi College, where he became the chair of the Religion Department. He later became the chair of the religion department at Boston University.