"In the composition of this book I experienced a growing conviction that the thing with which we believe we are familiar is not the New Testament; it is a conventionalized popular understanding of the New Testament. The simplicity of the New Testament can be deceptive. We have lived with it so long that its explosive power has become sweet reasonableness. I have noticed this not as a preacher but simply as a professional interpreter. It is our office to explain the text....The New Testament interpreter finds that he has the unpleasant task of liberating the text from certain encumbrances." John L. McKenzie, from the preface