Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Jesus Scandals by David Instone-Brewer

A contextual look into why Jesus was so scandalous to his contemporaries and why he continues to be today.




This book was fantastic. Instone-Brewer breaks the scandals into three parts:
Scandals in Jesus' life
Scandals among his friends
Scandals in his teaching

The chapters are very short but he packs a wallop in each one. He brings to light social and community insights that I never thought of before. And that is saying something with all of the "Jesus in his First Century Context" books I have read.

You'll learn a possible reason why Jesus remained single (Who would want to marry an illegitimate son?), how it was the children that perpetuated the chanting while Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and all the gritty details  as to why his relationships were fodder for anger.

The section on his teaching scandals is worth the read. You'll learn about Jesus' stance on divorce, child abuse, anger and oaths along with a number of other topics that ring true in our world today.

There is so much nuance and aspects to social life that we take for granted. By taking the time to relearn some of these aspects, you gain a fuller understanding of Scripture and the truth behind Jesus' words and actions. To be sure, the stories of Jesus were not written in 2012 USA.

This is a great book to read in one sitting or as a daily study. It will whet your appetite to dig further and explore the life of first century Palestine.




This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Monarch Books.

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