Which Jesus?: Choosing Between Love and Power

by Tony Campolo

What if there were two men named Jesus in the city of Nazareth? One was Jesus Barabbas, son of Abbas. One was Jesus Barjoseph, son of Joseph.
One man was famous for his hatred and destruction. One was famous for his love and compassion. They lived, played, studied, and worked side by side, with one crucial difference: only one of them offered the way to salvation and eternal life.
In Which Jesus, Campolo follows the divergent paths of the two until they converge at the feet of Pilate. Comparing the lives of two distinctly different men, a portrait emerges of One who had power over life and death versus one who would live by the sword and die by the sword.
As Campolo draws the compelling distinction between true power and love and ill-gotten power and hate, Christians see that they have the ability today to do even greater works for the Kingdom than they ever believed possible. It's a simple question of choosing which Jesus to serve.

Genres: Faith, Christian, Religion, Christianity

97 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2003

About the author

Anthony Campolo was an American sociologist, Baptist pastor, author, public speaker, and spiritual advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. Campolo was known as one of the most influential leaders in the evangelical left and was a major proponent of progressive thought and reform within the evangelical community. He also became a leader of the Red-Letter Christian movement, which aims to put emphasis on the teachings of Jesus. Campolo was a popular commentator on religious, political, and social issues, and had been a guest on programs such as The Colbert Report, The Charlie Rose Show, Larry King Live, Nightline, Crossfire, Politically Incorrect and The Hour.

Reviews

[Donna Glazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is well worth the short read. In Hebrew "bar" means "the son of". The author compares and contrasts Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph and therefore, Jesus Barjoseph with Jesus Barabbas, the criminal that Pilate released in place of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth represents love while Jesus Barabbas represents power. He explains that God cannot be both a God of love and a God of power at the same time. Therefore Jesus of Nazareth chose love over power. He explains how this explains why many of our prayers are not answered the way we wish they would be. In the end at the Second Coming Jesus of Nazareth will come in both power and love and destroy all those who refused to be changed by love. In the meantime we are encouraged to live by God's love which is Jesus of Nazareth's sacrificial love. He describes how we can pray in the Holy Spirit to be changed by this love. This would be a good book for a small group book study.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a reason to think that the Zealot who was released while people called for Jesus to be crucified, was also named Jesus. The idea being "Which Jesus do you Choose"? Campolo gives the backstory to this event along with it's significance. Today, there are still 'two Jesus.' Many continue to choose "Jesus Barabbas" over Jesus of Nazareth. Barabbas represents doing things in the power of one's own will, manipulation, and attempted control over people and circumstances. Jesus of Nazareth represents the transforming power of love.

[Pau Khai · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is really good to read and easy to follow. Some leads me to think and points me to God's love.
Every Christian should read this book.

This book is highly recommended for pastors. Without love, there is impossible to lead God's people and the church! We need a lot of things in ministry but God's love is our main source of everything!

[MichaelD Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, easy read discerning the truth of Jesus from the cult belief of Jesus, using objective, documentative facts.

[Hanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this tiny book was so good! It paralleled Jesus Barjoseph (son of Joseph) with Jesus Barabbas (son of Abbas). Did you know Barabbas's name was also Jesus?? But this juxtaposition eloquently displays the way Jesus Barjoseph came to the win the world through Love when others (like Jesus Barabbas) tried to with Power.

At times we pray, ask, and even demand God to do things out of His power. Jesus did not go around healing people in order to prove His power and show that He was the Son of God; He displayed His magesty in exhibiting unexplainable Love.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book encouraged me to press in harder on pursuing my walk with God with all my heart, and to remember that nothing else matters.