Analyzing Philip Yancey's Interpretation of the Life of Jesus Christ

This essay explores Philip Yancey's book, 'The Jesus I Never Knew,' which aims to rediscover the true essence of Jesus Christ, often obscured by centuries of commercialization and preconceived notions. Yancey encourages readers to engage with scripture without bias, finding new meaning in familiar passages. The essay summarizes each chapter, from Jesus' birth and Jewish roots to his temptations, teachings, miracles, death, and resurrection. It highlights Yancey's efforts to connect Jesus's life to contemporary issues and literature, revealing a more relatable and human Jesus. The essay concludes by noting the book's strengths in portraying Jesus's compassion and advocacy, while also pointing out its limitations in addressing key theological themes such as salvation and justice. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar essays and study resources.

Running head: LIFE OF JESUS
Life of Jesus
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The theme of the book entitled, ‘The Jesus I Never Knew’ by Philip Yancey is that Jesus
Christ has been so commercialized by churches and Christians for the past two thousand years
that the true essence and persona of Jesus Christ has been lost. Philip Yancey urges his readers to
read about Jesus Christ in scriptures without ‘flash forwards’ so that those parts of the gospel that
one normally skips will have a new meaning. Philip Yancey in his book, tries to provide an
insight to the reader as to why it is absolutely alright to go through trials because Jesus Christ too
had to undergo them; to deal with sorrow and grief because Jesus Christ too had suffered from
sadness and grief and even be enraged because Jesus Christ got angry just like any other person.
It was fascinating to read how he connected the real life experiences of Jesus Christ to modern
literature, i.e. to Fyodor Dostoevsky and to politics, i.e. to communism. Readers who read the
book entitled, ‘Jesus I Never Knew’ will develop a new understanding of Jesus Christ and his
life.
. The theme of the thirteenth chapter is the Kingdom of God. The theme of the fourteenth
chapter is how the church should emulate Jesus Christ. (Goodacre, 2016)
The theme of the first chapter is about Jesus Christ and his teachings. In Chapter 1,
entitled ‘Who He Was’ Philip Yancey tries to present an unbiased view of Jesus Christ. Having
studied the life of Jesus Christ and his teachings, Philip Yancey in the opening chapter describes
his preconceived notions of who Jesus Christ is.
The theme of the second chapter is about the birth of Jesus Christ. In the second chapter,
Philip Yancey talks about the birth of Jesus Christ and how the Holy Ghost came and
impregnated Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ who was a virgin. Philip Yancey talks about how
Christmas cards of the modern day have commercialized Jesus Christ and taken us away from

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what truly happened at Christmas. While the Christmas cards of the modern day, provide a
serene, calm and peaceful Christmas, replete with pictures of shepherds and angels, the actual
day when Jesus Christ was born was not peaceful and calm at all according to the Gospels.
The theme of the third chapter is reuniting Jesus Christ with his Jewish roots. In the third
chapter, Philip Yancey tries to reunite Jesus Christ with his own roots. According to Philip
Yancey, in order to completely understand Jesus Christ, a person should study the background of
Jesus Christ and the culture of Jesus Christ.
The theme of the fourth chapter is the encounter of Jesus Christ with Satan. In the fourth
chapter, Philip Yancey recounts how the Holy Spirit takes Jesus Christ into a desert where he
fasts for forty days before His Temptation. The author writes about how Jesus Christ
encountered Satan who tried to lure and tempt him.
The theme of the fifth chapter is about the physical appearance of Jesus Christ. In the
fifth chapter, Philip Yancey tries to portray who Jesus Christ is by imagining himself to be a
journalist in the time of Jesus Christ. He wonders how Jesus Christ looked like, in terms of his
physical appearance.
The theme of the sixth chapter is Beatitudes. In the sixth chapter, Philip Yancey admits
that he struggles to interpret and understand the Beatitudes. According to him, these words of
Jesus Christ may be puzzling but they are the heart and purpose of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
(Lord, 2017)
The theme of the seventh chapter is the sermon of Jesus Christ. In the seventh chapter,
Philip Yancey tries to comprehend the remainder on the sermon of Jesus Christ on the Mount.
He wonders if anybody can live up to such high ideals and standards as preached by Jesus Christ.

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The theme of the eighth chapter is how sinners flock to Jesus Christ. In the eighth
chapter, Philip Yancey observes how sinners go to Jesus and feel at ease around him while those
who are good people according to the standards of the world shun and scorn him. Philip Yancey
writes that this can be explained by saying that Jesus always forgave sinners who came and
admitted their sins to him (Edward, 2016)
The theme of the ninth chapter is miracles. In the ninth chapter, Philip Yancey writes
about miracles such as giving life to a person who has passed away. The New Testament tells us,
that when Jesus Christ was on earth, he performed a plethora of miracles like converting water
into wine and healing people who were unwell. The author recounts and describes the miracles
performed by Jesus Christ. Philip Yancey recalls how Jesus Christ had performed a miracle for
the first time by turning water into wine at a Jewish wedding because the host of the wedding
had run out of wine (Davidson, 2016).
The theme of the tenth chapter is the death of Jesus Christ. In the tenth chapter, Philip
Yancey writes how the death of Jesus Christ received a lot of attention. He ascribes this to the
fact that people thought Jesus Christ to be a Messiah and therefore could not believe that their
God Jesus Christ could die. In this chapter Philip Yancey writes about the death of Jesus Christ.
The theme of the eleventh chapter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the eleventh
chapter, Philip Yancey writes about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Death cannot be reversed
but only Jesus Christ could reverse death. According to Christianity, after the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ and his subsequent burial in a tomb, Christ rises from his tomb and ascends towards
heaven to be with God.

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The theme of the twelfth chapter is how the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the high point
in Jesus’ time on earth. In the twelfth chapter, Philip Yancey writes how the resurrection of Jesus
Christ is the high point in Jesus’ time on earth. The author further writes how Jesus Christ never
wanted to stay on earth. From the very beginning, Jesus Christ plans to leave his ministry under
the care of his disciples.
The theme of the thirteenth chapter is the description of the Kingdom of God. In the
thirteenth chapter, Philip Yancey writes about the Kingdom of God as told by Jesus Christ when
he was on earth.
The theme of the fourteenth chapter is how everybody should emulate Jesus Christ, as he
was a personification of perfectness. In the final chapter, Philip Yancey writes how Jesus Christ
exemplifies perfection and how the Church should emulate him.
Philip Yancey, in his book, entitled ‘The Jesus I Never Knew’ tries to find the true Jesus
Christ and not as the Church or society portrays him. This is a courageous attempt and brings to
light the true Jesus Christ. The author’s honest portrayal of Jesus Christ helps the readers to
know who Jesus Christ truly is. Philip Yancey shows the softer side of Jesus Christ as he says
that Jesus can help one to break out of restrictive stereotypes of masculinity (Davidson, 2016).
He tries to show how Jesus embraced all the right causes from women’s empowerment to
helping the poor and the physically challenged people of our society. Philip Yancey however
does not address the questions of salvation, sin, justice and redemption which is a major
drawback of the book.

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REFERENCES:
Davidson, J. A. (2016). A Power or Person: The Nature of the Holy Spirit. Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society, 27(1), 3.
Edwards, J. (2015). Freedom of the Will. Lulu. com.
Goodacre, M. (2016). Do You Think You're What They Say You Are? Reflections on Jesus
Christ Superstar. Journal of Religion & Film, 3(2), 2.
Jones, C. (2017). The study of liturgy.
Kostenberger, A. J., & O'Brien, P. T. (2017). Salvation to the Ends of the Earth. Salvation to the
ends of the Earth.
Levine, A. J. (2014). The Misunderstood Jew. HarperCollins e-books.
Roberts, F., & McMahon, C. M. (2015). The Natural Man Directed to Jesus Christ. Puritan
Publications.