Beth Given's Reviews > Jesus the Christ

2008 REVIEW: One of my resolutions for 2008 was to read Jesus the Christ — and look, I made it! ;-) This is not exactly light reading — besides the sheer number of pages, the writing was scholarly and the words densely packed onto the page (especially in the footnotes, which I included in my reading). In fact, it took me a couple months of dedicated study to make my way through it (my friends might notice I haven’t been posting many reviews lately!).

But what a wonderful subject to consider! I actually really appreciated the comprehensive scope of this book, which not only outlined Christ’s life from Bethlehem to Golgotha (and to the Garden Tomb and beyond) but also Christ’s roles before and after his mortal existence: as the creator of the world; as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; as God of Israel, Jehovah; and as the glorified Christ who appeared to the Nephites in the Americas, to Joseph Smith, and to the world at some future time during his glorious Second Coming.

The bulk of the pages, however, still focused on Christ’s mortal ministry. I found that these chapters read almost like a story: Talmage would usually set up the story with some narrative, then quote directly from the scriptures, then summarize what happened and add a few of his own insights. Reading about the life of Christ in this way helped me gain a more complete understanding of His teachings; stories were placed in context and further explained so that I might better understand them. I highly recommend this book for this very reason.

Every chapter was full of interesting insights, but a few were things I had never considered before and made special note of. First:

“The comparison between effective faith and a grain of mustard seed is one of quality rather than of quantity; it connotes living, virile faith, like unto the seed, however small, from which a great plant will spring, in contrast with a lifeless, artificial imitation, however prominent or demonstrative.” (p. 381)

I was certainly familiar with the comparison of “having faith as a mustard seed,” but yes, I had always thought that referred to simply having a tiny amount of faith. I like thinking of it instead as faith that was active, fertile, ready to grow. It made me realize that it doesn’t matter if I have a long way to go to perfection (i.e., if I’m a tiny mustard seed) — as long as I’m cultivating my faith as best I can.

Second:

This one was in the footnote to the story of the Savior casting out a particular sort of evil spirit: “this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Here’s what Talmage inquires of the reader in regard to this story:

“Have you some besetting weakness, some sinful indulgence that you have vainly tried to overcome? Like the malignant demon that Christ rebuked in the boy, your sin may be of a kind that goeth out only through prayer and fasting.” (p. 395)

An interesting principle, one I hadn’t really considered before, and one I might have to experiment on. (Man, I’m glad I didn’t gloss over the footnotes. There’s some good stuff in there!)

Third:

This insight is in regard to the story of Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, whom Christ raised from the dead. Thought Christ was the one who performed the miracle, He also commanded others to participate inasmuch as they could: he inquired where he was laid, he asked someone to roll away the stone from the tomb, he commanded that he be loosed from the burial clothes. Obviously if he could reunite body to spirit, he could have done these smaller tasks, too. Talmage points out this principle:

“All that human agency could do was left to man. In no instance do we find that Christ used unnecessarily the superhuman powers of His Godship; the divine energy was never wasted; even the material creation resulting from its exercise was conserved, as witness His instructions regarding the gathering up of the fragments of bread and fish after the multitudes had been miraculously fed.” (p. 495)

Between reading this and the fictional Kingdom and the Crown series by Gerald Lund, I feel like I have gained such a deeper knowledge of the life of Christ this year — something I’ve wanted for a long time. I highly recommend Jesus the Christ for those who are looking to get more out of their study of the New Testament gospels.

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2014 UPDATE:

I have a friend who is amazing and reads this every Christmas (!), and this year she invited me to read along with her. I was daunted (I mean, this is a brick of a book, during one of the busiest times of the year!), and I sort of felt like I'd checked this book off my bucket list already. But when I heard that she had formed a Facebook group to discuss our insights, I wanted in! I can't resist a good discussion about the gospel. Or books. :-)

At first I thought I would just listen to the book while I folded laundry or something (there is an audio version available through the Gospel Library app), but I soon realized that I could not focus enough unless I read along while I listened. I did that through most of the book, although there were a few chapters I just read.

Reading this book at this unrelenting pace (I devoted between 30-60 minutes per day for about six weeks) was, actually, really rewarding. What better way to celebrate Christmastime than to immerse myself in the life of Christ? I felt like I had a jump on the season (since I started in mid-November) and, when the hustle and bustle hit, I felt happy to know that I had dedicated some time for true celebration and dedication in my life. As I sang hymns and listened to Christmas talks and devotionals, I felt as if I could understand and appreciate them more deeply than I would have otherwise. I had a daily reminder that "He is the gift."

There were so many insights I had this time around that I shared with my friends on the Facebook group -- too many to detail here (though I guess I still have another 10,000+ characters left on this review?!). It truly was rewarding to have the opportunity to articulate my thoughts on each chapter, because it helped to me solidify and remember what I had learned.

My favorite sentence from the book this time around: "Mothers brought their little children to Jesus, reverently desiring that the lives of those little ones be brightened by a sight of the Master and be blessed by a touch of His hand or a word from His lips." When I read that, I felt the Holy Ghost testify to me that I, as a mother, need to do all I can to lead my four little children to Christ, that they also may be blessed!

Highly recommend that everyone read this book, either quickly or slowly -- you will be richly rewarded if you do!

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2015 UPDATE:

Read this again with my inspiring friend. This time my husband read some, too (he listened while commuting). I fell a little behind but managed to catch up in this limbo-week between Christmas and New Years.

This year, one of my favorite parts was when Jesus fed the five thousand. The disciples searched the multitude and found only five loaves of bread and two fishes -- it would not be enough to feed such a crowd. But Jesus took it, brake it, and there was plenty for all to be filled -- in fact, the leftovers were more than what had been started out with! So many times we come upon a trial thinking that what we have to offer will never be enough, but through Christ, our efforts will be multiplied to overflowing.

I also loved reading about the resurrection this year. I was turning pages like it was a gripping novel. Isn't the story of Christ the "greatest story ever told?" It was definitely true here. So grateful for the good news of the gospel!

If you want to feel closer to the Savior, let yourself be immersed in this book!!

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2016 UPDATE: Thanks to my friend, I read this again this year.

I did a lot of listening on audio this time around, because I didn't have a lot of time to sit and read. I know I missed a lot this way. But I do think that taking the time to learn of Christ, in whatever imperfect ways I can, helps me feel closer to Him.