Book: Following Jesus - Biblical Reflections on Discipleship (Amazon)
Author: NT Wright, renowned New Testament scholar (wiki)
This book is good for: Newer Christians who want to understand more deeply what it means to follow Jesus, and older Christians who want to be 'wow'-ed by familiar Scripture.
Difficulty level: - Medium-low difficulty - Fairly easy read for most Christians.
My rating: - 7/10 - A worthwhile read, mainly as a supplement. Not an "essential" read.
Overview
This book is split into two halves, where the first six chapters of the book are a collection of sermons focusing on the Eucharist and the last six chapters tackle specific topics concerning Christian life. In each of the chapters in the first half of the book, Wright takes us through a big-picture summary of a New Testament book of the Bible. These chapters are absolutely amazing as we get to trace through the major themes and motifs of the book, many of which aren't very obvious and which were new to me at least, as NT Wright brilliantly shows the connections between passages I had never considered, all spectacularly pointing to the all-important death and resurrection of Christ. I absolutely loved the first six chapters of Following Jesus, as Scripture just came alive to me in a way I've never experienced before as I got a unique bird's eye view of some of the books of the New Testament.
Unfortunately, the second half of the book wasn't quite as spectacular or groundbreaking, but still good reminders nonetheless. Where the first half was more about how all of Scripture declares the supremacy of Christ's death and resurrection, the second half lays out more clearly what that looks like for believers. NT Wright expands on the significance of Christ raised from the dead and its implications in our lives for thinking about things like heaven, hell, temptation, and a new life and new mind. This half of the book would, in my opinion, be helpful for the thoughtful new believer trying to connect all the Christian lingo and traditions he hears with the biblical support for it and the life application for these principles.
Why I read it
I had recently listened to a few NT Wright lectures and I really loved them. I had always known that he was one of the Bible scholars of the day, so I thought it would be worthwhile to read something of his. Looking through the Kindle store, Following Jesus seemed to be a relatively easy (and cheap) read with pretty good ratings, so I just chose bought it to read.
Why you should read it
If you feel like you haven't been getting much out of Scripture recently or have been getting 'bored' with reading familiar passages, I think that reading Following Jesus can really be a breath of fresh air and a big reminder that there's so much of Scripture that we, especially as young people, have yet to discover. If you are a new believer and want to know what Christianity is all about, this could be a good book to read, though I imagine that there are also a million other books that may be more suited for a new believer. All in all, I really enjoyed the book, and I think that you will too!
This book is also a pretty easy read and a great way to ease into Christian literature for all those who aren't big readers. The chapters are written in manageable sizes, easily finished in one sitting. [Personally, I read an average of two chapters a week, finishing the book in a little over a month.] NT Wright writes in a way that is understandable, relate-able, and surprisingly simple for the profundity of the content he presents. To me, his writing in Following Jesus is comparable to that of RC Sproul - simple and understandable yet illuminating and at times, quite profound.
Quotes
[It is somewhat difficult to pinpoint specific amazing quotes here and there from the book that were good because the beauty of the book comes mostly from the interweaving of thematically connected Scripture and the buildup of that Scripture pointing towards the cross and the resurrection. Again, this is a big-picture sort of book.]
"The world is not ultimately divided into bits that are irreducibly good and bits that are irreducibly bad. Everything - the invisible things as well as the visible - was made by the creator, through the agency of his eternal Son, whom we know as the man Jesus."
"The cross was not the defeat of Christ at the hands of the powers; it was the defeat of the powers at the hands - yes, the bleeding hands - of Christ."
"Paul's vision of the Christian life is thus of a life lived between D-Day and V-Day. The decisive battle has been won; the battles we face today are part of the mopping-up operation to implement that victory."
"John does not describe the transfiguration, as the other Gospels do; in a sense, John's whole story is about the transfiguration. He invites us to be still and know; to look again into the human face of Jesus of Nazareth, until the awesome knowledge comes over us, wave upon terrifying wave, that we are looking into the human face of the living God. And he leads us on, with our awe and bewilderment reaching its height, to the point where we realize that the face is most recognizable when it wears the crown of thorns. When John says, 'We beheld his glory', he is thinking supremely of the cross."
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