Jesus I Never Knew, The

Over the past two thousand years, Christianity has grown as a religion, not only in the number of Christ's followers, but also in the breadth of its traditions. In many ways a mythology of sorts has developed around Christianity and even Jesus Christ himself. Stories and assumptions about Jesus and his life abound, but how much of many traditionally held beliefs are grounded in actual scripture, which we cling to as the ultimate unblemished source of facts and enlightenment about Jesus? For example, was Jesus tall and slender and handsome? Was he kind to everyone he met? Was he always unshakably confident in everything he said and did? In researching and composing The Jesus I Never Knew, author Philip Yancey chronicles a journey of discovery, looking past traditionally perpetuated beliefs about Jesus and reporting facts about him and his teaching as recorded by the authors of the gospels. Yancey's purpose in presenting this book is to reintroduce readers to Jesus by focusing the reader's attention on Jesus as a man who was born human, lived a fantastic and unpredictable life, taught how to live against the grain, offered paradigm shifts in the understanding of God, loved the simple and despised the self-righteous, and ultimately died to fulfill his mission. Walter Wink sums up the complex, incredible life of Jesus by saying, "If Jesus had never lived, we would not have been able to invent him" (Yancey, 1995, p. 23). Candidly recalling his own journey of rediscovery of Jesus, Yancey demonstrates to his audience the arc of many Christians' intellectual faith walk. After the initial Sunday School felt-board lessons have been ingrained, often there is a time of reevaluation and seeking the real authentic Jesus. He sincerely questions preconceived notions about who Jesus was and is, drawing from a multitude of sources including many of Hollywood's various celluloid representations. Some examples will make the reader snicker at their silliness, but many will cause the reader to deeply reconsider what they thought they knew. More than once, Yancey references Jesus' reputation among his contemporaries as "a wine-bibber and a glutton" (p.15, p.86-87), which certainly must fly in the face of any contemporary Christian's beliefs about Jesus' actions and character. Over the next several chapters, Yancey creates what is essentially a prose harmony of the Gospels, reconstructing Jesus life, challenges, and teachings in easy to comprehend language. Throughout each meticulously and diversely researched (but not academically dry) section, he explores, asks vital questions, and reminds us of significant details of Jesus' life we may take for granted: "Distrusting crowds and public opinion, he spent most of his time in towns of small size and little importance" (p.92). While Yancey could have speculated about how Jesus' ministry would have been different had it been centralized in a major metropolis (ultimately a moot point), his reminder of this detail shines additional light on the wonder that Jesus' ministry became a worldwide phenomenon. The portrait Yancey presents in chapter five fleshes out our understanding of Jesus brilliantly from multiple angles. First he addresses our possible misconceptions about Jesus physical appearance (probably not tall and lanky, based on what we know of Jews of the time), moves onto his character, and his interactions with people and his disciples. "Part Two" is an examination of Jesus' mission on earth. Line by line, Yancey analyzes the Beatitudes and the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, giving vibrant, modern-day applications for each lesson. Yancey then examines the role of miracles in Jesus' ministry, highlighting how "outstanding faith never failed to impress him" (p.174) and how Jesus was moved with compassion to heal those who had faith. Yet, Jesus' priorities weren't with becoming a physical healing ministry. He is far more interested in the health of human souls. Yancey concludes that miracles were signs "to prove that he was `the one'" (p.182) and a physical demonstration that God is not satisfied with a broken, sinful world. The core theme of "Part Three" is the aftermath of Jesus' time on earth. Jesus' legacy and Christianity's mission is featured, along with some subsequent and saddening misinterpretations of Jesus' teachings. The chapter "The Difference He Makes" is an intensely personal conclusion where Yancey brings the story of Jesus full-circle, expressing the Bible as a "story of a God reckless with desire to get his family back" (p.268). The human condition is then summarized well by novelist Reynolds Price: "He says in the clearest voice we have the sentence that mankind craves from stories - The Maker of all things loves and wants me..." (p.269). Concluding Personal Reflection: Sticking to scriptural descriptions and avoiding established popular theories about Jesus, Yancey unveils Jesus' complex character with such vibrancy it's nearly impossible to not catch his enthusiasm and want to explore more of who Jesus is and what his teaching is all about. In the opening passages when Yancey frankly shares his personal experience of having the sheen come off his understanding of "traditional" Jesus resonated deeply with me, as his journey closely mirrored my own. Yancey's personable and straightforward style, openly unafraid to ask legitimate questions that many in the church might try to marginalize for the sake of Christian customs is refreshing and gives this book a good dose of credibility. He is never disrespectful, merely seeking truth and always using the actual Gospel texts as his measuring stick. I am left with a fuller, more relatable, more applicable, more "life-like" understanding of Jesus after reading this book. The Beatitudes chapter has caused me to fully reconsider whom Jesus finds precious, of what character traits he wants to see exalted, and how they are in stark contract to the "Beatitudes" of the world: "Happy are the `pushers': for they get on in the world" (p. 113) is an example of a character trait celebrated in the world but would not please God's heart nor advance His kingdom. Jesus said that there are no greater commandments than loving God and loving your neighbor (Mark 12:30-31), and Jesus was the living embodiment of both. He loved and honored his father by submitting to die for our sins despite his own misgivings (Matt. 26.42), and he loved us enough to "go to any length to win us back" (p.269). Jesus is a sinless friend to sinners. That's great cause for celebration and reason enough for me to spend a lifetime endeavoring to return his gift of love. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to, well, pretty much everybody. It's an easy read, full of fascinating insight and open, candid exploration of Jesus. Please read it and (re)discover Jesus.

For seven weeks, taking two chapters each week, nineteen women met for two hours once a week to discuss this book . We can highly recommend the group study concept. These comments were turned in during the last session to be sent to AMAZON. 1. The JESUS I NEVER KNEW by Philip Yancey presents to the reader an "uncomfortable" view of Jesus. Uncomfortable because, though am I called to emulate Jesus, I find that after reading this book, I more often reflect a counter portrait, a fake view of the Christ. This book, which involves technical reading, vast references, and extensive research presents an earthy view of Jesus not often considered. 2. WANTED - TRAVELERS: 5 stars The extraordinary expedition that Yancey takes anyone who wants to learn more about Jesus on is most rewarding adventure, drama, exploration, spiritual and historical enlightenment. Thought provoking, questionable,and informative are words that could be descriptive of this honest presentation. Yancey has done extensive research and allows, not sways, the reader to form concepts and opinions about Jesus as written in the gospels. The reader is enlightened as to His being a man of many moods, emotions, feelings and actions. As one reads about Jesus the man and Jesus the Christ he or she will be surprised, informed, saddened, awakened, happy and there will be a new and/or deeper relationship formed. 3. Philip Yancey has given me much food for thought and has encouraged me to examine "the way we've always done it." I have come to know a much more human Jesus who would probably feel very much out of place in my church. How sad!! 4. Of all the books that I have read in recent years THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW best describes the Jesus that I know and love. 5. 5 stars As a group, we really entered this study expecting to find many answers. We found answers to some of our questions, but others remain as distant as ever. We learned so many new things about Jesus. Jesus also became so human and His presence was so powerful in our group. Yancey brought out so many wonderful messages that really made the group stop to ponder, such as "Where is the church when it hurts." He also brought to the forefront quotations from other notable authors such as Flannery O'Conner's "Church is founded on Peter who denied Christ three times and who couldn't walk on the water by himself. You(we) are expecting his successors to walk on the water." I am sure that we all walk away better Christians because of this study. 6. Yancey does a good job helping us to understand the human side of Jesus. If this understanding is not balanced with knowledge of Jesus' deity, our perception of Jesus will be just as warped as Yancey's flannelgraphs. 7. 5 stars This book brings us face to face with Jesus. 8. 5 stars THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW has truly been an inspiration for me. It has been thought-provoking and caused me to think about what I believe. Yancey did an excellent job of recreating situations that happened almost 2,000 hears ago - making them seem real. I come away feeling as if I know Jesus in a much more personal way. 9. Philip Yancey's THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW is a fresh way of bringing the mystery of the human Jesus to the forefront. As I read his statement, "God gave himself to us in the form of a person", I now look at that person with a new concept-more human, more compassionate, merciful and gentle, yet holy and awesome as the divine King of Kings and Lord of Lords-and still my very personal Saviour-all mine and yet for everyone the same. My concept of Jesus has been forever changed, enlarged and enlightened by this study. It was a wonderful spiritual study and a Kingdom Experience. 10. This book has shed some light on who Jesus was, is. It opened my eyes to his Jewishness and helped me understand their customs , traditions, religions, and more. It has helped me to realize he was human, to see his human side but, also worship his as God-head. He was God and also man. I've grown to understand the beatitudes more and have seen how they are to be applied to my life now. The miracles were not just miracles then but are miracles that still happen today. I have taken on a whole new view of the crucifixion. death, and resurrection of Jesus and know it is a triumphant victory to be celebrated every day! As Yancey put it "He is who I want my God to be!" Jesus is everything I want my life to be. 11. In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey was scripturally accurate in describing Jesus as a man and also very much God. He reminds me that the ultimate necessity is to know Jesus in a personal way. The book was very thought stimulating and made me more aware of all that He did for me. 12. Philip Yancey exploded all my pre-conceived ideas about Jesus and made me actually take a hard look at my beliefs. I came to appreciate Jesus so much more as God-man who embodies total love and acceptance and a desire to save all mankind. I fell in love with Jesus all over again as I did when I was a child....total acceptance. Thank you, Philip Yancey, for your marvelous book!

Although I don’t agree with some of the things the author says, this is a wonderful book that makes you see and realize some of the facets of Christ that you may not have before. Anything that can bring us closer to God is worth reading.

"Jesus was indicating that the kingdom of God comes with a resistible power. It is humble and unobtrusive and coexistent with evil." Jesus can become over-familiar in so many ways. We associate him with the stories told to us as children. We become fixated on the Christmas story - often not the Gospel version. He becomes an over-cuddly friend. Philip Yancey wrote his book some time ago, but its edge to cut through our existing view of Jesus is still keen. Some of the themes are not as fresh as when written - in particular, the idea that Jesus was, in fact, a Jew and not a specimen of the Aryan race has become more common. More preachers now focus on what it means for Jesus to have been a Jew than would have done when this classic was first penned. But this book still has plenty to challenge. Yancey examines both the person and teachings of Jesus and many of his observations were simply things that I had not thought of. He looks at how the Temptation of Jesus illustrates God's great restraint and how this restraint echoes through Jesus' story - particularly his crucifixion and ascension. He spends a chapter on his meditations on the Beatitudes, contrasting the versions in Matthew and Luke to throw up why God would prefer the weak, the sick, the poor to the strong, the well, the rich. He looks at what it means for us to be the body of Christ turning the question of "Where is God when X happens?" to "Where is the Church when X happens?", "Where are you - Christ's follower - when X happens?". He examines the expectations of the Jews of the first century for their Messiah with our expectations of the Second Coming. He shows how in many ways we fall into the same traps as those early Jews. He asks questions about the compatibility of Christianity and the state. Can a Christian state even exist? Throughout the book, Yancey raises tantalising and challenging questions. He doesn't always answer the questions, but he provides a lot of food for thought and prayer. I would recommend this book to any Christian whose view of Jesus may have become stale or over-familiar.

So far, with the exception of a Children's Bible and the Bible itself, this is the only theological book I've ever read. I had the idea that rather than read various books ABOUT the Bible, why not just read the accepted Baptist canon over and over? I fancied my method as somewhat lazy and sneaky and thought I had mastered it enough to continue it indefinitely until my Bible study class said we were going to read "The Jesus I Never Knew." In my mind I thought, "Darn, isn't reading the Bible ENOUGH? Look how big it is! How much more do you need? Just read a chapter of this one book a day, meditate on it, and you're all set." Maybe this is true. I'm not sure. But certainly additional reading doesn't hurt as long as it doesn't stray too far away from the Bible's message. I feel that Yancey's book stays close to the Bible, and it provides some useful insight that unimaginiative persons like myself probably won't consider by sticking to the Bible alone. I must say that I'm impressed with Yancey's zeal. I'm wondering how many hours he spent thinking about Christianity to come up with his ideas. Also his honesty is impressive. He admits he has his occassional doubts about his religion, and sometimes struggles with lust. I believe most all Christians are battling similar devilish ideas in some form or other but are far too ashamed to admit it. It makes us look weak, which we are. Takes a big man to put faults like that in print. I think what Yancey really showed me was that Jesus didn't really care who ran the government. He didn't try to turn the disciples into political figures who would make laws to mandate values of cleanliness. He knew that no matter WHO was controlling the government, he could get people to believe. I think the main point here is Christians aren't the morals police for the entire world. They can tell believers how to behave like Christians of course, but they pretty much have to leave non-believers alone. Non-believers don't have to act like Christians if they don't want to. However, if we get to vote on laws we want to have for everyone in our country, I'd like to vote against anti-Christian stuff, thank you very much. Of course, I might end up breaking the very laws I vote for, but oh well. I think another point Yancey made was that even though Jesus probably had long hair, a lot of Christian schools only allow the clean-cut look. I don't think there's anything in the Bible saying long hair is sinful, but lots of folks no doubt are convinced that long hair is a sure sign of a secular lifestyle. I like my hair short of course. Yancey makes a lot of good points showing how the church strays from its original intention in many ways. The thing he DOESN'T mention that he probably should have mentioned is that many, many non-christians are working for altruistic causes like feeding the homeless and doing cancer-fighting fundraisers and stuff. This REALLY makes Christians look outdated. How can Christians argue that people who are visiting the sick, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, and what-not, just like Jesus did, are not going to heaven? I think we need to be careful with our words, especially when we don't do stuff like that. When I see all these volunteers doing stuff I don't do, I feel like that tax-collector who prayed, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." As long as I honestly believe I'm a sinner who needs God's mercy, I have faith that his wonderful plan of grace will deliver it. This is what I believed before reading Yancey's work, and Yancey's work has reinforced my belief. Jesus died to forgive sins. Sure God loves it when people are good to others, but he also loves when people are humble, and you can't admit you're a sinner without a little humbleness. Yancey is quite humble himself throughout this book with his honesty, and seems like a genuinely nice guy. Notice how little I mentioned Jesus in this review. Twice maybe. Although the book follows the life of Jesus very well, it contains a lot of other stuff that's well worth considering. It's not just a reprint of the gospels. I recommend it to get some new viewpoints, but I still think if you read the Bible without reading any other books about Christianity, you're no worse off.

I am half-way through the book. It has been challenging but very worthwhile. It has taken me half-way before I am beginning to understand and appreciate the author's perspectives which are changing mine. I would call this book a 'life changer'. I'm 90 years old and a minister. Reading this book and Bonhoeffer. both books are challenging and life changing from different perspectives. I've been reading them both together. Surprisingly, there is much in common. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a tremendous Christian, unfortunately he became involved in the conspiracy against Hitler and was executed along with many high level German officers. He would have played a valuable role in restoring post-war Germany. Update 1/7/2124 What a tremendous book. It is impossible for me to adequately review it. The author not a theologian or pastor has written a book that is tremendous in presenting his views on Christianity in a clear and precise manner that few others have. Just listing the the reviewer's comments and who they are is telling. I have hardly been able to lay this book down. After an intense Christian education this book is superb. But the main revelation it gives us is the Love God has for us, through Jesus Christ.

What a thoughtful, heart felt and heart searching book this is. I was drawn in by the first few pages and enjoyed it very much. It was so worth it I wanted to read it carefully, with as much care as it Yancey took in writing it. The pace of modern life and the endless noise tends to drown out and numb us to spiritual things. This book is best read in the quiet, slowly, taking time to let yourself be drawn back into life in Jesus' day, and what His life was like as God with us, experiencing humanity and earthly life as we do. I loved this book. I read the Kindle book and highlighted so much I ordered a hard copy. I look forward to reading more Philip Yancey books.

Good book to read

i love how Philip Yancey discussed the arguments, i am so amazed of this guy, praying God will continue to bless him with godly wisdom.

This is a must to read book. I am thankful to the person who recommended me this book. This book provides very hood insights on the period when the Son of our God was with us in physical form. This can potentially give view point of Jews belief as well.

Yancey opened my eyes to see the real Jesus. Not the church or the religious Jesus, but the one that came to transform the world. The one and only way for humanity to be reconciled with God. The just and merciful one that urges us to “love the Father with all our mind, heart and soul, and love our neighbors as ourselves”. Yes, we must love ourselves too.

The Book is amazing!, I'm so thankful that I could got it in Kindle version. Some times is difficult to find some books printed. I recommend this great book in any version.

One of the most amazing books i ever read!