The Priest With Dirty Clothes A Timeless Story Of God's Love And Forgiveness

by R.C. Sproul

When Joshua, the high priest, soils his clothes, he goes in search for something clean to wear and, in turn, finds himself meeting the Prince who gives him his own clothes in this story about Jesus and sharing.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Christian, Fiction, Christianity, Theology, Christian Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 1997

About the author

Dr. R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.

Ligonier Ministries began in 1971 as the Ligonier Valley Study Center in Ligonier, Pa. In an effort to respond more effectively to the growing demand for Dr. Sproul’s teachings and the ministry’s other educational resources, the general offices were moved to Orlando in 1984, and the ministry was renamed.

Dr. Sproul’s radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. Dr. Sproul produced hundreds of lecture series and recorded numerous video series on subjects such as the history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, and Christian living.

He contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, spoke at conferences, churches, and academic institutions around the world, and wrote more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and Everyone’s a Theologian. He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and wrote a commentary on that document. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible, previously known as the New Geneva Study Bible.

Dr. Sproul had a distinguished academic teaching career at various colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and Jackson, Miss. He was ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Reviews

[Riley Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s good, but Sproul explains the allegory in the allegory, which seems like a sin in allegorical writing. The message is beautiful nonetheless.

[Kaitlyn Pindak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful children’s book reflecting the beauty of the gospel in a way that children can understand and bring sweet conversations about the Great Prince who saved us. 💛

[Christian Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great children’s book from Dr. Sproul as he simply tells the great hope of the king who washes us clean.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely parable-like story based on Zechariah 3:1-5 illustrating the everlasting truth of Christ the Son's sacrifice on our behalf in order that we may receive His eternal righteousness before God the Father.

The family discussion questions at the conclusion reinforce the truths of the story simply, efficiently and biblically.

[alwayss.rejoice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this beautiful story with my youngest. Both really enjoyed it.

[Natalie Nimmers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audio version read by Sproul with the kids. It had me in tears!

[Kiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audiobook is great!

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is always a joy to come across a book that helps to explain the gospel in a way that children can grasp. This is especially nice when the telling of the story brings to light important and often-neglected aspects of the good news. The Prince with Dirty Clothes is one such book.

This little book by R.C. Sproul presents the picture of Christ’s imputed righteousness for the believer. Paralleling the scene in Zechariah 3, Sproul tells the story of a priest whose clothes were too filthy for him to stand in the presence of the king. The prince, the son of the king, gives the priest his perfect clothes in exchange for the priest’s ruined ones. In this picture, children and grown-ups are reminded of how Jesus not only took the punishment for the sin of Gods’ children, but how he also granted to believers his perfect righteousness by his grace through faith alone.

My family enjoyed the book. The story is short and sweet, which allowed my seven-year-old to be able to read the book herself. She grasped the concept very well, and we had a helpful discussion about the story. Also, while I am not one to have an opinion about art, my wife tells me that she is fond of the illustrations in this work.

At the end of the book, Sproul includes a set of helpful questions for discussion. Parents and teachers will be able to not only read this story to their little ones, but also use the story as a helpful teaching tool.

So, with the approval of my wife and my daughter, I am happy to recommend The Priest with Dirty Clothes to parents, Sunday School teachers, Children’s Church workers, and any who want to share the gospel with young ones. I Would recommend that this story be told alongside The Prince’s Poison Cup in order to give a more full-orbed presentation of the gospel. Putting these two books together will help to display the imputation of Christ’s perfect righteousness (The Priest with Dirty Clothes as well as his penal substitutionary atonement The Prince’s Poison cup).

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among the hundreds of books I have reviewed over the years this is the second time that I reviewed a children’s book (the first was God's Servant Job: A Poem with a Promise). I am reviewing this book because I really enjoyed The Priest with Dirty Clothes by Christian theologian R.C. Sproul. My three little girls who are all pre-school age also enjoyed this book very much and the book has led to deeper conversations about spiritual matters.
Sproul bases this story loosely on Zechariah 3:1-5 of Joshua the High Priest and his unrighteous soiled garments before God’s presence in which Satan stands accusing Him. In Sproul’s story the priest instead is a man name Jonathan who appears before a great king to preach. Of course the story is an allegory of God (the king), Satan (the character Malus whose name seems to be a play on word on “malice”) and Jesus Christ (the Prince). Instead of taking place in heaven in this story the setting is in a kingdom sometime during the middle ages (or at least it was an age of kings, priests and bishops). The story was beautifully written and also beautifully illustrated. The illustrated Justin Gerard did a good job and I love the paintings, the details and expressions of the characters. They capture so much in such limited space. My daughters would ask me about the expressions of the character and it capture the mood of the characters as told in the story very well. The book is quite beautiful, appearing as a nice hardcover with quality glossy pages. The analogies to the Christian faith is wonderful. I also appreciated how in the end of the book there’s a section for parents in which Sproul provides questions and Biblical passages for deeper discussions with one’s kids to help facilitate a deeper understanding of God’s truth. Its beautiful to see how a work of fiction for young children can be so Christ-centered, edifying and evangelistic! I give this a five out of five which of course means I recommend the book.

[Nickida Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a parent I think it’s very important to teach your children how to treat people well. I really loved this book because it retold a well know bible story in a way for kids to understand and learn from it. The story is about the priest who had to do a sermon in front of the king. On his way to the castle he fell in a puddle of mud and got dirty. He felt horrible about his clothes and tried to clean him self up. When he couldn’t get clean he still went to the castle to preach his sermon. When he stood in front of the people someone stood up and said something about his clothes. The king asked him about it and he told him how he fell so the king told him to come back when his clothes was clean. He was on a quest to get clean. In this story you learn about how the priest clothes was not just dirty but so was his heart and he needed to get it cleaned.

This story broke it down so easily so my kids understand that God sent his son to clean their heart and soul so they can be clean. I liked teaching them that they should treat all people kindly and to help others when they need assistance. In this book they didn’t make any of the story complicated and God was referred to as the Kind and Jesus was the kind and caring Prince. He gave his clothes to the priest as a way of making him clean again. The book wasn’t long and drawn out and in the back it had a guide for parents use to ask questions and teach your children even more. It’s a book I plan to revisit several times when my children are older and they are more aware of the lessons in this book. I also liked all the illustrations from the book. They were creative and told the story of the words on that page. They were just right for children of all ages.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This was a simple level of teaching the truth of Christ's righteousness imputed to us. I read it to my 2 1/2 year old and he listened intently the few nights I read it. But I had the opportunity to read this to my friends daughter who is about 6, and the discussion questions in the back were fantastic! It really fostered great back and forth questions and answers.

Truly every book of RC Sproul I've read thus far have not disappointed. I am grateful to have such biblically sound and rich children's literature.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, with a well told story, but unfortunately very reformed in theology. Which is excellent, since it's written by and for Protestants, but sad because we have to get rid of it. I had to skip over a few paragraphs when reading it to my brothers. It's supposedly told by a Scottish grandfather, so if you can do accents it would make an amazing read-aloud.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It takes a great theologian to write a children's book.
Sproul bases this story on Zechariah 3:1-5 and brings it to a child's level to illustrate how Christ covers us in His righteousness.
The questions at the end are a helpful guide for parents to continue the discussion with older children.
What a beautiful way to introduce children to the deep truths of God.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously, the story misses out on a lot of aspects of God's love and forgiveness, and the change that was made when Jesus took our sins, but the allegory is well done for what it is. I appreciate the picture of exchanged clothes, for our exchanged records.

[Tom Brainerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the best children's book I have ever read. From time to time I'll gather the kids at church or at our home around me and read it. I have not been able to read it once without tears welling up in my eyes.

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite children's books of all time! I cried when I read it the first time, and still get teary when I think about it's message of imputation and how beautifully this story is told for children.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I previewed this book to read to my children. My only complaint is that I didn't like that the priest got dirty by accident through no fault of his own. I don't think children will realize that is not true in relation to sin.

[Laura Martínez · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro es cautivador y me hizo sentir como una niña al leerlo. Me robó un par de lágrimas al ver el regalo del príncipe al sacerdote y verme reflejada en él. Gracias a Dios por estos recursos, espero un día que Dios me regale hijos, leerlo con ellos.

[Billy Schiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has blessed my children immensely!

[Arin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review here: http://lunchboxsw.wordpress.com/2011/...

[Becky Pliego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it.

[Danette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this so much.

[Emily Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice illustration of wearing Christ's righteousness for kids!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story to teach about God's great love for us, and the imputed righteousness of Christ. The children loved the story too!

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Sproul's better children's books.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sproul is a great storyteller for this tale of a priest named Jonathan whose clothes get dirty on the way to preach to the king. There are marvelous parallels between what happens in the story to Jonathan and what happens to all who put their trust in Jesus. Jonathan discovers that he and no one else can clean his absolutely filthy clothes, except for the great prince, who eventually exchanges his own beautiful clothes for Jonathan's. For any who struggle to see how the tale compares to what happens to a sinner saved by grace, the last five pages of the book is a parent's section that clearly delineates each of the parallels and lists corresponding Bible verses. This story of a priest with dirty clothes is told in-between a story of two grandchildren who play in the mud and a grandfather who tells Jonathan's tale and then explains the gospel connections. Ages 8-12. Highly recommend this book as a way to explain the gospel with a story that kids can grasp and apply.

[Angie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband read this out loud to the boys last night. It was such an enjoyable family time. The boys really enjoyed the story. Watching my son, Lucas's (8) eyes light up when he understood the symbolism just melted my heart. There were deep theological lessons in here, that might have gone over the kids heads, but perfect for us adults. The questions at the end of the book were a great way to engage as a family and have lots of discussions and connect the dots to what the story is actually saying. All in all a great book and wonderful family experience.

[Shaina Herrmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read once with the kids during morning time. Listened again this week to a free dramatic audio recording by R.C. Sproul. I don't usually review children's books on here, but I felt it was worth saying that this is now one of my favorite children's books. Very well written and I'm sure we'll be repeating it again and again over the years!

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this one last year, but I decided to make it an annual summer night read aloud with my toddler! She doesn’t understand the depths of truth found in these pages but I pray these words never return void - that years from now, the little ember of words read before bed in tender years sparks into a flame of truth that she will truly be able to say she never knew a day without Christ!

[Dwain Minor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to advertise this book rather than review it by telling a story.

I read this with my daughter who is 5. I said, “Why can we stand before God?” Her answer was, “Because Jesus gave us His clothes.”

The doctrine of imputation taught in this wonderful story.