The Lost Message of Jesus [Paperback]

Steve Chalke (Author), Alan Mann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 2004

A fresh---and perhaps controversial---look at Jesus by one of Britain's most respected Christian authors. Who is the real Jesus? Do we remake him in our own image and then wonder why our spirituality is less than life-changing and exciting? Steve Chalke---a high-profile visionary in the United Kingdom and an evangelical recognized not only by Christians but by the general public as well---believes that the real Jesus is deeply challenging. And each new generation must grapple with the question of who he is, because only through a constant study of Jesus are we able to discover God himself. The Lost Message of Jesus is written to stir thoughtful debate and pose fresh questions that will help create a deeper understanding of Jesus and his message. It is an encounter with the real Jesus of his world---not the Jesus we try to mold to ours. Themes include: *The Kingdom of God---shalom---is available to everyone now, through Jesus *The world outside your own church needs to hear of the depth of God's love and suffering *Jesus was a radical and a revolutionary! *Jesus offers immediate forgiveness, without cost, to anyone *Jesus shows us repentance isn't a guilt-laden list of dos and don'ts, but an inspirational vision of a new way to live Focusing on some of the key episodes, events, and issues of Jesus' life, we will see how too often the message we preach today has been influenced more by the culture we live in than the radical, life-changing, world-shaping message Jesus shared two thousand years ago.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chalke, a British social activist, broadcaster and author of The Parenttalk Guide to Your Child and Sex and Faithworks, asserts that churches neglect Christ's basic message that "the Kingdom... is available now to everyone through me." Instead, Chalke says, pieces of Christ's message have been overemphasized and distorted. Like a refinisher removing lacquer from antique furniture, Chalke seeks to strip falsity and tradition from the gospel by examining the accounts of Christ's life in their original context. Clear explanations and plenty of anecdotes reveal truths that get little air time in most pulpits. For example, Jesus offered forgiveness outside the temple. In doing so, he brought hope to people the Pharisees had shut out of the temple—and threatened the nation's power structure. Such insights illustrate the immediacy of Christ's message; Chalke says Jesus offered forgiveness " 'right here, right now' and for free." But just as the furniture refinisher risks damaging the original while restoring its beauty, Chalke scrapes the outer boundaries of Christian orthodoxy with questionable treatment of the traditional Western notion of original sin (he cites no scripture in saying Christ emphasized humanity's "original goodness") and of the atonement. Chalke appears to reject the idea that Jesus' death was a sacrifice for sin, maintaining instead that the crucifixion destroyed "the ideology that violence is the ultimate solution." The book's intent—to free the gospel from religious bias and expose its unvarnished power—deserves kudos, but some traditional Christians may greet the specifics with skepticism.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Chalke, a British social activist, broadcaster and author of The Parenttalk Guide to Your Child and Sex and Faithworks , asserts that churches neglect Christ's basic message that 'the Kingdom... is available now to everyone through me.' Instead, Chalke says, pieces of Christ's message have been overemphasized and distorted. Like a refinisher removing lacquer from antique furniture, Chalke seeks to strip falsity and tradition from the gospel by examining the accounts of Christ's life in their original context. Clear explanations and plenty of anecdotes reveal truths that get little air time in most pulpits. For example, Jesus offered forgiveness outside the temple. In doing so, he brought hope to people the Pharisees had shut out of the temple---and threatened the nation's power structure. Such insights illustrate the immediacy of Christ's message; Chalke says Jesus offered forgiveness ' 'right here, right now' and for free.' But just as the furniture refinisher risks damaging the original while restoring its beauty, Chalke scrapes the outer boundaries of Christian orthodoxy with questionable treatment of the traditional Western notion of original sin (he cites no scripture in saying Christ emphasized humanity's 'original goodness') and of the atonement. Chalke appears to reject the idea that Jesus' death was a sacrifice for sin, maintaining instead that the crucifixion destroyed 'the ideology that violence is the ultimate solution.' The book's intent---to free the gospel from religious bias and expose its unvarnished power---deserves kudos, but some traditional Christians may greet the specifics with skepticism. (May) -- Publisher's Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (March 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310248825
• ISBN-13: 978-0310248828
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #780,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Message of Jesus in the Gospels, January 3, 2007

By 

Ben Kickert (Bowling Green, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Lost Message of Jesus (Paperback)

The Lost Message of Jesus (TLMOJ) was assigned as a text for a seminary course I am taking on "Kingdom, Church and World."

This book earns a rating of 4 stars because of its straightforward content and overall approachability. Throughout the book Chalke focuses on the biblical concept of the Kingdom of God, which is the dominant message in the life and teaching of Jesus. In doing so, as other reviewers have noted, the tone of the text emphasizes action, love and justice. Readers who might find this book to be "liberal" are probably approaching the TLMOJ from a different angle than the author and this may result in some discomfort. Chalke focuses on Jesus and the message he brings as is recorded in the Gospels. This message is comprised of his words, but perhaps more importantly his actions. Readers looking for the sinner's prayer or emphasis on personal salvation wont find it in TLMOJ because this idea is largely absent from the Gospels. I can't help but think that most of the objections raised by this book will largely be prompted by an American Evangelical reading of the Bible, rather than an honest assessment of Jesus as he lived and taught in the first century world.

As I read the book I kept thinking to myself "I have heard this before" and in most cases I had. A reader searching for a wealth of "original" material in TLMOJ may be disappointed as most of the content and ideas can be found more fleshed out in other sources; the influence of NT Wright is especially noticeable. That being said, the strength of the book is not its originality, rather it is its presentation. Chalke does a marvelous job of presenting a holistic understanding of the Kingdom of God in a book that is easy to read and easy to recommend. He effectively introduces a variety of insights on the Kingdom and the message and ministry of Jesus. The book perhaps could have been improved if the author had credited his sources so those interested could further investigate the concepts he introduces; however, that desire could admittedly come from my own academic reading of the text.

Overall I would recommend Chalke's The Lost Message of Jesus, especially to those looking for a high-altitude overview of the Kingdom of God. The book is also exemplary of an easy to read introduction into the theology behind the emerging church movement - it would be a great "first read" for someone interested in these topics.

-bk

4.0 out of 5 stars Good accessible reintroduction to the radical Jesus of the Gospels, March 31, 2010

By 

Darren Cronshaw (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lost Message of Jesus (Paperback)

Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003)

This was a controversial book when it came out in the UK. It is a fresh exploration of the radical, life-changing, world-shaping message Jesus brought. Putting aside our cultural lenses, the writers follow N T Wright in inviting us to see Jesus through first-century eyes to see the revolutionary power of the gospel. `What Would Jesus Do' paraphernalia is popular today, but useless without a grasp of how Jesus acted and related. His cultural vandalism, boundary-crossing and party-going nature undermines a lot of legalistic Christian practice today. Chalke and Mann question starting evangelism with a focus on sin; an important doctrine but not as important nor as inviting as God's unconditional love and his plan and destiny for people. And they critique a narrow gospel that saves people for heaven instead of inviting them also to live for the Kingdom now. Instead of `don't do this and that' or `repent and go to heaven' they suggest starting with `if you could know what God is doing and be part of it, would you want to?' They comment: `The world is full of people who have been told, time and again by the Church, what not to do. What they long to hear about is what God wants them to do. People are desperate for a message that they can buy into, that they can see will make a difference to them and to the world in which they live' (p.117).

Originally reviewed in Darren Cronshaw `The Emerging Church: Spirituality and Worship Reading Guide.' Zadok Papers S159 (Autumn 2008).

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Redemptive & Not Condeming Jesus, November 21, 2006

By 

A. Chang (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lost Message of Jesus (Paperback)

Now and then a book comes along that simply reminds us the basic teaching of Jesus, this is that book. Chalke challenges his readers to omit their distorted interpretation and purely focus on the bottom-line of Christ's message, "God is love." The author guides us to remove erroneous teachings, spoon-feed by modern day church, by seeing Jesus's life in it original context. The insights he illustrates are lucid and uncomplicated to follow.
There are certain debatable points, but those are welcome if we are to mature.