Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better [Paperback]

Mark D. Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2002

A sense of comfortable familiarity with the Savior can cloud people’s vision–and even prevent them from drawing closer to Jesus as he really is. His titles and descriptions are heard so often that it’s easy to miss the impact of their true meaning. Even the name Jesus is so well known that it has lost much of its power in believers’ lives.

But now Jesus Revealed reintroduces readers to the true Son of God, helping them see him with clear vision, so that they can love him more fully and follow him more completely Readers will be surprised and delighted as they get to know the Jesus whose face is clearly revealed through the titles God gave him and the names used for him by his earliest followers.

In these pages, readers will encounter a Jesus who surprises and unsettles, who comforts and empowers, in astonishingly authentic ways. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of Jesus’ identity–such as Rabbi, Son of Man, Light of the World. As pastor and scholar Mark Roberts explores what’s behind each of these titles, he brings insight into the theological and historical meanings, and then relates them to life today.

Readers will travel back to first-century Palestine, meet the God-man we know as Jesus, and experience a soul-changing encounter with him. Because to know him is to love him.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Few Christians would take issue with Roberts's premise that the majority of mainstream followers of Christ have a limited understanding of Jesus' complexity. Using a wide selection of Scriptures to unpack Christ's myriad character qualities, both divine and human, pastor Roberts does an exemplary job soliciting the details found in biblical texts to assist believers in knowing Christ more fully. Roberts covers the field as he ambitiously describes Jesus as a rabbi, prophet, holy one of God, Son of Man, Messiah, Savior, Lord, Son of God, Word of God and light of the world. Using modern-day scenarios as lead-ins, Roberts brings the ancient Christians' understanding of Christ to bear on today's conceptions. He claims that Jesus, the ultimate paradigm-shatterer, was never afraid to dismantle people's understanding of who he was. Unlike the teachers of the day who waited to be sought out by potential students, Jesus reversed this tradition and went after his own disciples. Christ also forsook the oral tradition of referring to the wisdom of acknowledged learned men when he spoke to followers. Rather, he voiced his own thoughts without relying on oral interpretations of former wise leaders. Roberts's book will be a great help to those interested in gaining a more biblically accurate picture of Christ, but it can be dull reading; the prose is not lively enough to capture and maintain the attention required for such a multifaceted, in-depth study.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

A sense of comfortable familiarity with the Savior can cloud people?s vision?and even prevent them from drawing closer to Jesus as he really is. His titles and descriptions are heard so often that it?s easy to miss the impact of their true meaning. Even the name Jesus is so well known that it has lost much of its power in believers? lives.

But now Jesus Revealed reintroduces readers to the true Son of God, helping them see him with clear vision, so that they can love him more fully and follow him more completely Readers will be surprised and delighted as they get to know the Jesus whose face is clearly revealed through the titles God gave him and the names used for him by his earliest followers.

In these pages, readers will encounter a Jesus who surprises and unsettles, who comforts and empowers, in astonishingly authentic ways. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of Jesus? identity?such as Rabbi, Son of Man, Light of the World. As pastor and scholar Mark Roberts explores what?s behind each of these titles, he brings insight into the theological and historical meanings, and then relates them to life today.

Readers will travel back to first-century Palestine, meet the God-man we know as Jesus, and experience a soul-changing encounter with him. Because to know him is to love him.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (August 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578565391
• ISBN-13: 978-1578565399
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,189,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifacted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before then, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles).

Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Mark writes an "almost-daily" blog, found at www.markdroberts.com. He also writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His "Daily Reflections" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email (www.thehighcalling.org).

Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column "Lyrical Poetry." Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read on Jesus, July 2, 2003

By 

Milton Jantzen (Pismo Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better (Paperback)

Today's growing interest in all things spiritual has resulted in all kinds of books about Jesus--many of which are simply wrong. This book corrects errors, not so much by attacking them specifically as by carefully showing the reader the many dimensions of who this amazing person Jesus is. The topic is deep and the author is a brilliant scholar so one should expect to be dazzled. You will, but in the end I found it is the subject--Jesus--who dazzles most brightly.

Dr. Mark Roberts has systematically set out who Jesus is, presenting the best scholarship in this well-footnoted book. And he does this in a way that interlaces serious theological insights with captivatingly folksy illustrations--a conversation with his little daughter reveals deep theological truths. We are lead through detailed aspects of the many-faceted Jesus, yet the teaching is easy to follow.

But the Jesus the author presents is not found solely in facts. Rather, as the title suggests, Mark provides information so you can know someone who will capture your heart and your mind. And challenge you to a life radically different from today's culture, one in harmony with God's plan for a more abundant life.

Other than the New Testament, I can't recommend a better read today by which to know Jesus better.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great help for understanding Jesus, June 9, 2003

By 

Kevin Davis (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better (Paperback)

Considering this book was written by a guy who got his undergrad B.A. in philosophy and religion at Harvard and a Phd. in New Testament at Harvard, you'd think that this would be a liberal perspective on Jesus. However, this is a very inspiring look at Jesus, his claims, and his purpose through the eyes of an evangelical preacher and scholar. In addition to some profound points, he also brings out the simple points that we often overlook, and he does so in a fresh manner. While this isn't a ground-breaking account of Jesus, it is a much needed one for those of us who want to understand the Jesus who lives today and not just the "historical" Jesus.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A humbling and inspiring book, August 13, 2007

By 

Gary R Karr (Vienna, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better (Paperback)

I learned of Mark D. Roberts when reading his response to Christopher Hitchens' screed against God. It prompted me to want to read more from Dr. Roberts, and I started with this. It is a humble book that examines Jesus' roles in our lives: as rabbi, prophet, the Holy One of God, the Son of Man, the Messiah, the Savior, the Lord, the son of God, the word of God and the Light of the World. Each role is discussed thoroughly, yet in a tone that is as conversational as your favorite pastor. It should inspire Christians to know Jesus more, and love Him more deeply.