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| Jesus and the four Gospels: An Illustrated Documentary (1979) by John W. Drane |
On the back cover: “Jesus Christ is a crucial figure of history. Today he is worshiped as God by millions, and his teaching continues to influence individuals, even whole societies. His life has been dramatized and written about many times; he is the star of film and musicals.” This book is 44 years old and yet this statement is even truer today! What’s the hype about The Chosen TV series? What’s the talk about The Asbury Revival? What’s up with The Jesus Revolution movie? You might have some thoughts about all these things (or have no idea at all) but I assure you I have both optimistic views and skeptical opinions about how the modern churches, the world, and the culture take interest in the person of Jesus. Either for goodwill or money, out of love or selfish ambition, sincere from the heart or with dark agenda, I stand with the Apostle Paul’s attitude: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18. Although I might quote this verse out of context, I just want to highlight his attitude that no matter what, at least, Jesus is known).
As a Man, Jesus’ personality, character, conduct, and teachings are amazing beyond description. As God, Jesus stands above all else in heaven and on earth. I sometimes tell people that the cure for most depression is the study of the Scripture, especially if we focus on the person of Jesus. Why? Most depression is due to overthinking about one’s own self. The key is to focus and think about something or Someone more glorious, beautiful, epic, amazing, divine, and great. Mere human beings - you and me! - are not. So, fix your attention on joy and the source of joy, Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man. How to do that? First, I told you already, to read and study the Scripture particularly the New Testament. Then, read books that help you understand the Scripture (But then again, the thought of ‘reading’ books can make someone more depressed. I say, try to actually read).
Books such as this one are excellent companions to the Scripture. It's not boring. It is well-informed but not overtechnical. The main text is written in an easy-to-understand style for the general reader but there are dozens of heavier subjects also included that might interest you because as you know, Jesus is popular and yet controversial. There are some amazing photographs too that help to stimulate the information. The book is divided into three main sections and twelve chapters: 1) God’s Promised Deliverer (The world of Jesus; Jesus’ birth and early years; Who was Jesus?; Why did Jesus die?; The resurrection); 2) God’s New Society (The nature of the new society; Pictures of the new society; The power of new society; God’s society in action); and 3) Knowing about Jesus (What are the gospels?; The four Gospels; Are the Gospels true?). John Drane ends his remark like this: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then we must face the implications, the need to submit to the risen Lord and his demands over our lives. But it also assures us that both his demands and promises are reasonable, fair, and true because they can be vindicated by reference to the events of history.” The Jesus of history is the Christ of faith.
Here are some other books (of its kind) that I would like to recommend too:
- Stephen M. Miller’s The Jesus of the Bible (2009). I read this a long time ago. Superb!
- Donald L. Blake’s Jesus, A Visual History (2014)
- Robert H. Stein’s Jesus the Messiah (1996)
- R.T. France’s A Portrait of Jesus (1975)
- Leon Morris’s The Lord from heaven (1974)
- David Limbaugh’s The True Jesus (2017). I’m halfway through the book. Pause.
#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #JesusChrist #TheGodMan #TheGospel #HistoryFaith #JohnDrane #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain
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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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