Who Is Jesus?
Who is Jesus? Don’t answer so quickly. What we do with Jesus has massive implications on how we interact and see the world around us and our part in it. We often miss the things that make Jesus so compelling because we are trying to figure Him out, place Him in a box, or explain Him away. All at the same time, Jesus was overtly subversive, puzzlingly clear, and profoundly deliberate. The message He proclaimed was a radical one that tore down the rule of law and religious establishment. So, we want to slow down and look at the way of Jesus and what made Him unique. We perceive the Word of God by tuning our ears to His Son. To know what God’s character is like, we must pay attention to Jesus. With this in mind, we wanted to provide you with some recommended books that delve deeper into the life, character, and impact of Jesus.
The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancy
This honest book will help you discover a different Jesus from the flannelgraph Sunday school figure, the sweetly smiling Victorian Savior, and all the cultural clichés that have tamed Jesus and kept him in comfortable religious boxes. From the manger in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem, Yancey presents a complex character who generates questions as well as answers, a disturbing and exhilarating Jesus who wants to radically transform your life and stretch your faith. The Jesus I Never Knew engages your heart, your mind, your emotions, and your senses, preparing you for a new, life-changing encounter with the real Jesus described in the Gospels.
Jesus Is: Find a New Way to Be Human by Judah Smith
Jesus is ____. How would you finish that sentence?
The subject is there, and so is the verb, but what comes next? Your answer could shed light on the path to becoming who you were made to be. In these pages, Judah Smith fills out that sentence again and again, each time further revealing the character of Jesus. He writes as if to a friend, revealing the Jesus that somber paintings and hymns fail to capture. With passion, humor, and conviction, he shows that Jesus is life. Jesus is grace. Jesus is your friend. Jesus is a new and better way to be human.
You know Jesus, think he’s a nice guy, and you never forget his birthday. But the truth is…you want more than that. You’re bored. Exhausted. Tired of the grind. You’re done with hearing about Jesus in sermons. Reading about Jesus in devotions. You want to encounter Jesus—and know him for who he really is. You want to experience Jesus’ love, not just admire him. To become a follower, not just a fan.
Packed with easy, natural, everyday life practices that transform how you see Jesus, The Jesus-Centered Life is the perfect companion to the Jesus-Centered Bible. This book helps you chart a clear, fulfilling path straight to the Jesus who loves you. It is the perfect antidote for a ho-hum connection to Jesus—a fresh invitation for you to make Jesus the center of your life.
Who Is Jesus? by Greg Gilbert
A famed historian once noted that, regardless of what you think of him personally, Jesus Christ stands as the central figure in the history of Western civilization. A man violently rejected by some and passionately worshipped by others, Jesus remains as polarizing as ever. But most people still know very little about who he really was, why he was really here, or what he really claimed.
Intended as a succinct introduction to Jesus’s life, words, and enduring significance, Who Is Jesus? offers non-Christians and new Christians alike a compelling portrait of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, this book encourages readers to carefully consider the history-shaping life and extraordinary teachings of the greatest man who ever lived.
We have grown used to the battles over Jesus—whether he was human or divine, whether he could do miracles or just inspire them, whether he even existed. Much of the church defends tradition, while critics take shots at the institution and its beliefs. But what if these debates have masked the real story of Jesus?
Wright summarizes a lifetime of study of Jesus and the New Testament in order to present for a general audience who Jesus was and is. In Simply Jesus, we are invited to hear one of our leading scholars introduce the story of the carpenter’s son from Nazareth as if we were hearing it for the first time.
Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God by Timothy Keller
The most influential man to ever walk the earth has had his story told in hundreds of different ways for thousands of years. Can any more be said? Now, Timothy Keller unlocks new insights into the life of Jesus Christ as he explores how Jesus came as a king, but a king who had to bear the greatest burden anyone ever has. Jesus the King is Keller’s revelatory look at the life of Christ as told in the Gospel of Mark. In it, Keller shows how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical, and personal, calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God. It is an unforgettable look at Jesus Christ, and one that will leave an indelible imprint on every reader.
End of Religion by Bruxy Cavey
Sick of religion? So was Jesus. In this book, Bruxy Cavey asks: Has Christianity missed the point? Was Jesus setting up a new religion or abolishing the entire concept? Have Christians gotten faith in Jesus pretty much right or all wrong? Join Bruxy Cavey in a dynamic, breath-taking investigation into what Jesus was all about. Find out how twenty-first-century people can live into the subversive spirituality of Jesus. Jesus lived a scandalous life. Shouldn’t we?
Jesus, the One and Only by Beth Moore
In Jesus, the One and Only, best-selling author and Bible teacher Beth Moore invites you to know Christ personally. Watch and listen as He breaks up a funeral by raising the dead, confronts conniving religious leaders of His day, teaches on a Galilean hillside, or walks on the waves and calms the storm. Like a ragtag band of followers two thousand years ago, you will never be the same again after such an up close and personal encounter.“He is Jesus, the One and Only, transcendent over all else,” writes Moore. “To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to long for Him. To long for Him is to finally reach soul hands into the One true thing we need never get enough of . . . Jesus Christ. He’s all you need.”
Throughout these pages, Ravi Zacharias invites readers to rediscover the cultural insights we often miss when we ignore the Eastern context of the Bible. He offers a refreshing picture of Jesus, one that appeals to Eastern readers and can penetrate the hearts and imaginations of postmodern Westerners. In Seeing Jesus from the East, Ravi Zacharias shows us why a broader view of Jesus is needed - one that recognizes the uniquely Eastern ways of thinking and communicating found in the pages of the Bible. Zacharias captures a revitalized gospel message, presenting it through this Eastern lens and revealing its power afresh to Western hearts and minds. Incorporating story, vivid imagery, and the concepts of honor and shame, sacrifice, and rewards, Seeing Jesus from the East calls believers and skeptics, both Eastern and Western, to a fresh encounter with the living and boundless Jesus.
Is there credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God? Former atheist and Chicago Tribune journalist Lee Strobel takes an investigative look at the evidence from the fields of science, philosophy, and history. In The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel cross-examines a dozen experts with doctorates from schools such as Cambridge, Princeton, and Brandeis, asking hard-hitting questions--and building a captivating case for Christ's divinity.
Strobel asks challenging questions like:
How reliable is the New Testament?
Does evidence for Jesus exist outside the Bible?
Is Jesus who he said he was?
Is there reason to believe the resurrection was an actual event?
