Charles Swindoll has devoted over four decades to two passions: an unwavering commitment to the practical communication and application of God's Word, and an untiring devotion to seeing lives transformed by God's grace. Chuck graduated magna cum laude from Dallas Theological Seminary and has since been honored with four doctorates. For his teaching on Insight for Living, he has received the Program of the Year award and the Hall of Fame award from the National Religious Broadcasters as well as multiple book awards.
Excellent, excellent, excellent! One of the best books on Christ, besides the Bible, that I have read yet! :D
This has been by far my favorite book about the life of Christ that I have read, next to the Bible. Wow! Mr. Swindoll packs this work with information about the history and society and culture of the times, things I'd never known before though I've heard many speakers and sermons on the life of Christ. It was both awe-inspiring and convicting. Threaded through Jesus story we also get to meet many of my favorite bible characters such as Peter, Thomas, John, and more.
“Peter's destiny lay along a different path from John's. And your calling is unlike anyone else's. But the call remains the same: "Follow Me!”
My favorite part about this book was the extra detail the author went to to enhance the credibility of Jesus life as well as to give the reader a genuine feel for the time period and both the society and political and religious background for everything that was going on from the birth of Christ to His death and resurrection. He even quoted a Dr. who had volunteer's tied to a cross for hours to see how the crucifixions affected the human body from a medical point of view - astounding! It really gave me a grasp for everything the Lord must have gone through in his hours of agony on the cross. I would liken this to The Passion of the Christ film, but without quite as much of the disturbing images. Again, wonderful biblical everyday principles to challenge the reader in each chapter! Excellent!
“[Jesus] tilted His head back, pulled up one last time to draw breath and cried, "Tetelestai!" It was a Greek expression most everyone present would have understood. It was an accounting term. Archaeologists have found papyrus tax receipts with "Tetelestai" written across them, meaning "paid in full." With Jesus' last breath on the cross, He declared the debt of sin cancelled, completely satisfied. Nothing else required. Not good deeds. Not generous donations. Not penance or confession or baptism or...or...or...nothing. The penalty for sin is death, and we were all born hopelessly in debt. He paid our debt in full by giving His life so that we might live forever.”
His arms were now in a V position, and Jesus became conscious of two unendurable circumstances : the first was the pain in His wrist was beyond bearing, and the muscle cramps knotted His forearms and upper arms and the pads of His shoulders ; were momentarily paralyzed. This induced in Him an involuntary panic ; for He found that while He could draw air into His lungs, He was powerless to exhale.
At once, Jesus raised Himself on His bleeding feet. As the weight of His body came down on the insteps, the single nail pressed hard against the top of the wound. Slowly, steadily, Jesus was forced to raise Himself higher and higher until, for the moment, His head hid the sign which told of His crime. When His shoulders were on a level with His hands, breathing was rapid and easier. Like the other two, he fought the pain in His feet in order to breath rapidly for a few moments. Then unable to bear the pain below, which cramped legs and thighs and wrung moans from the strongest, He let His torso sag lower and lower, and His knees projected a little at a time until, with a deep sigh, He felt Himself to be hanging by His wrist. And this process must have been repeated again, again and again. by Jim Bishop.
This book is definitely for those who are new to Christianity or the person of Jesus. And in that purpose, it’s great. For me personally, it didn’t provide many new thoughts or ideas
Jesus by Charles Swindoll is essentially a biography of the life and story of Jesus of Nazareth, and a decent one at that. While not necessarily a deep and soul searching book for someone who has been a disciple of the Christ for many years, it is still a good refresher done in a way that melds together both the spiritual and historical humanity of Him. The beginning started off well, with refreshing insight into the popularized and glamorized birth of Jesus. As the book transitioned into the middle portion of Jesus’ life though, it became more or less mundane in style. Toward the end, the book really began producing some solid content. I particularly enjoyed the legal-historical analysis of the six trials of Jesus, and the vivid detail of the suffering of Jesus at the hands of the Jews and Romans. Swindoll also did a commendable job emphasizing the Greek of the original text and fleshing out the nuanced meaning of the words we often miss in our English translations. It ended beautifully as well, on hope and anticipation. In the end, there are some good nuggets in this book, and I would not discourage anyone from reading it, but then again, I would not go out of my way to encourage anyone to read it either.
Most excellent read! With his historic and vivid explanations, C.R. Swindoll gave an excellent depiction of who Christ Jesus was then and who He is and how He relates to us now! I felt I had a behind the screens, or some may say, "a flie on the wall", look into the what, when, where, why, and how of the things that went on in the peoples lives back then, and then how it all ties in with us in this day in age. Remarkable! I especially love how at the end he opened the doors of the church to invite any readers who haven't given their lives to Christ, to join the body of Christ. I pray that this book will depict the extended arms of Christ and you reading this will join the body of Christ! Amen!
If you want to understand who Jesus is and read about his life, this is the perfect book. I love the weaving of story with Bible passages. Mr. Swindoll puts you in the middle of an event in Jesus' ministry allowing you to be immersed in that moment. It's very eye opening. I would warn you about the chapters in part 3 that deal with Jesus torture and crucifixion. Experts testify to the process of crucifixion beyond any of my previous understanding. I had to read these parts in very small segments.
There is a wonderful prayer at the end of the book that I have written out and recited multiple times. I know as I continue studying Matthew, that this book will help me understand more of the gospel.
Me encantan las biografías de este autor. Definitivamente si se escribiera exhaustivamente sobre la vida de Jesús, tomaría muchísimos tomos para realizarlo.
Me agradó que el libro ofrece un panorama general de la vida de Jesús. La narración es progresiva, pasando por las distintas etapas de la vida de Jesús, desde antes de nacer (muy importante), su nacimiento, su llamado, su ministerio en sus diversas fases, su pasión, muerte y resurrección, así como la vida de Jesús HOY en estos momentos.
¿Quiere alguien conocer la vida de Jesús en un libro? Esta es una muy buena opción, ya que tiene un buen equilibrio entre extensión, detalle, resumen y flujo de la vida de Jesús.
Excelente Libro!! Lo recomiendo totalmente. Mas que leer sobre métodos de oración o sobre formulas de vida cristiana que nos ayuden a mejorar, necesitamos este tipo de material que nos habla sobre CRISTO, nuestro salvador, y nos ayudar a conocerle más y a profundizar en su vida, y en las enseñanzas que el dejó, las cuales están plasmadas en la biblia; y aquí te las explican con bases historicas, linguisticas, culturales y teologicas, a fin de comprenderlas mejor y ser mejores discipulos de CRISTO.
What is the greatest strength of the book? For me, the biggest quality is that Chuck Swindoll wrote like he truly cared for his readers. In the midst of narrating the accounts, it was noticeable that Chuck took time to pause and minister a potential word of encouragement to the reader... pretty much like how he delivers his sermons. Most memorable highlight was the heartfelt way Chuck narrated Jesus' restoration of Peter back into ministry. A much recommended book for churches to use during their lent season.
Although Swindoll did not go through every single detail and story of Jesus’ life in the Gospels, he definitely had a great amount and covered many crucial points. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a starting grasp about Jesus or a simple refresher on Christology.
As Palm Sunday and Easter approaches every year I try to read something that will take me back to that time. Swindoll is amazing and I look forward to getting deeper into this writing...
Finished the book today...WOW!...incredible. I really enjoyed it and the Lord used it to speak to my heart about so much that's happened in my life in the last year. I love how God does that. His timing is perfect...even in the choice of a book to read. Absolutely amazing!
The subject of this book is a bold choice for Chuck Swindoll to tackle. But it fits very nicely in the series of character books that he has composed over the years. What should we do in any given situation that we face today? This book shows how Jesus dealt with things. This book is worth your time. Even non-believers should take a moment to read it. They must be curious why a good percentage of the population still care about the teaching of this Man Who lived two thousand years ago.
Charles Swindoll is a great theologian who has written many books on the people of the Bible. This one tops them all. It is the life of Jesus from prophesy to His resurrection. It is very well written using scripture and secular historical references to Jesus' life. I enjoyed reading this book because it gave me a different perspective on our Messiah. It helped me to see more of His humanity without losing His deity.
If you enjoy biographies and Biblical studies, you will enjoy this book!
This book helped me better frame the very familiar stories of the New Testament into the context of the theological and political realities of that time. The narrative actually gains power for me (if that were possible) using this lens.
Not heavy theology, but this book served as an effective tool to get my thinking straight. (which tends to drift off course if I don't work at it)
Excellent. One of the most thoughtful and detailed books about the life of Jesus I've ever read. It was thought provoking and really gave you a new appreciation for all the things Jesus went through and did in His life to complete His mission. I thank God for what He did because He didn't have to do anything for us.
Overall a good book, but he contradicted himself a couple of times. He even used scripture to support himself that contradicted his point! These points made me question his theology though I feel most of it is sound. A good read to read and discuss in an adult Sunday School class or something. Happy Reading!
It is not an fiction but an authentic real experience of the truth about life and facts . There is one great truth that hangs in the balance our trust in the Savior . I'm looking forward to the next adventure in reading more about in the series good reads.
The author is an expert in detail about the life of Christ. Thank you and the publisher for the project
A good addition to this series of books by Charles Swindoll. As usual, I learned some things without feeling like he was flooding me with too much. His conversational style kept the narrative flowing and interesting, and he added in enough history from other sources that it kept the familiar passages fresh.
Fall in love with Jesus! Swindoll does a great job of explaining the relevance of Jesus' life and teachings within His time period. Very relevant and offered insight and depth to Scripture I never had.
I wasn't able to finish this books. I got to the 3rd chapter and stopped. It was really good, but the level of reading is high adult. I was confused with alot of the words used. And had to keep looking them up.
The book is okay, definitely not great. We are reading this in my Sunday School class. Otherwise, I would have put the book away by now. Some chapters are interesting, some not. However, it can never hurt to look back over Jesus' life again.
Excellent book series by Charles Windol. He makes the life of Jesus come alive by expanding on the story using historical data from Josephus and and other historical data. He is an amazing storyteller!
I was blessed richly by this book so much that it's highlighted and underlined a lot. I got a deeper appreciation of the death and resurrection of Jesus as I completed the second half of this book in 2 days, 2 significant days - Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
Wonderful book. Makes you feel like you're there. Walks you through Jesus life in a chronological order with explanations of the events that were taking place in and around the region at the time. Also explains many of their customs. Am hoping we will pick this for book club.
Chuck Swindoll is always a great read. The book explores Jesus' life from beginning to end. He includes biblical and historical facts, builing an indepth and worthwhile read.
What can I say, yet another great character profile book by Swindoll. I was skeptical that there would be much new info for me about Jesus, but I was wrong. Great historical background and insight!