What If Jesus Was Serious?

Title: What if Jesus Was Serious? A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore

Author: Skye Jethani

Genre: Christian Nonfiction, Christian Living, Bible Study

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Source: Own

My Review:

I thought with the size of this book, it would be a quick and easy book to read. I was wrong. While it can be read quickly , because it does not have a lot of pages, you would miss so much. What If Jesus Was Serious? A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore is best to be read slowly, thinking over each section. 

What if the underlying malady afflicting Christians today isn't that we take Jesus too seriously, but that we've failed to take Him seriously enough? What if much of the culture's judgment of Christians isn't the result of obeying Jesus, but the result of Christians ignoring Him?

Each section is between 2-3 pages in length with Scripture verses at the end of each section to enforce the points that the author was making in that particular section. The book is divided into nine parts, with multiple subsections related to the heading of that part. This book focuses on Matthew chapters 5-7. The first section takes an in-depth look at the Sermon on the Mount.

Dallas Willard defined the kingdom of heaven this way: "Where what God wants done is done." In other words, it is the realm where God rules and evil is powerless.

Many things make this book stand out among others like it. The first is the little drawings that are on the pages. I love them! They are like the ones on the cover of this book. When you look at this book you do not get the sense that it is going to be very deep, you think it is more of a graphic, novel. It's not a graphic novel, and it is very thought-provoking. The author was genius in his designs because he knew we better digest information in smaller sections with visuals to keep us interested.

In other words, Jesus identifies Himself as what the Old Testament has been pointing toward, and to understand Jesus we must see Him through the lens of the writings of the Law and the Prophets.

So that brings me to the next thing I love about this book: its short sections. I can read several sections during my devotions, or just one, but that is the beauty of this book; it can be read at our own pace. One more thing that I loved about this book is the amount of research the author has put into it. Not only has he done he researched, but he also took the time to put the notes in the back of the book.

I love this book and highly recommend it to anyone who desires to understand more about Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, his parables, and so much more. This book will give you much to think about and challenge you. I would recommend buying a copy as you will want to highlight the quotes that speak to you.

★★★★/5

 Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

Daily Devotions for People Who Hate Daily Devotions

Let’s face it. A lot of Christian resources can feel cheesy, out-of-touch, and a little boring. But when Skye Jethani started doodling and writing up some of his thoughts about God, his Twitter and email list blew up. What If Jesus Was Serious? is a compilation of all-new reflections (and hand-drawn doodles) from Skye. He takes a look at some of Jesus’ most demanding teachings in the Sermon on the Mount and pushes us to ask whether we’re really hearing what Christ is saying. The visual component of the book makes it memorable and enjoyable to read, and Skye’s incisive reflections make it worthwhile for any Christian. If you’ve traditionally been dissatisfied with Christian devotional resources but love to learn about Jesus and think deeply, this book was written for you.