Mild. Quiet. Non-threatening. Docile. Do you use these words to describe Jesus? In The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, John MacArthur presents additional characteristics of Jesus – bold, demonstrative, confrontational, and accusing. By describing Jesus’ running battle of words with the Pharisees, this book reminds us that our Lord met false teaching head-on, even in the face of rejection, threats, and attacks.
MacArthur’s chronological approach taps all four gospels to bring the reader to an understanding of Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees over their false teaching and burdensome laws and requirements. Examples from Jesus’ private and public ministries are used to define His personality – from the one-on-one meeting with Nicodemus to the the Sermon on the Mount. MacArthur skillfully weaves Old Testament references and cultural explanations to bring the reader to an understanding of the subtleties behind Jesus’ statements to the Pharisees.
Rather than tip the scale away from a description of a calm and loving savior, MacArthur’s goal is to leave the reader with an accurate and balanced depiction of Jesus. Many times, MacArthur reminds readers that as Christians, we aren’t to seek arguments or violently react to the little things. But when faced with false teaching, we should be prepared to dispute the falsehood as Jesus did with the Pharisees – good advice for our postmodern-thinking world.
(four stars out of five)
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16
