Rating: 
Summary: Great Study of the Disciples
Review: MacArthur does it again. Great look at the apostles' lives. You will never look at "the 12" in the same light/
Rating: 
Summary: Let me introduce to you again for the first time....
Review: MacArthur gives a fresh look at the men Jesus chose to change the World through.It's interesting that a man of letters such as John MacArthur can admire the qualities of these common First Century men 2000 years later. I was extremely disappointed this is an abridged version, but then again MacArthur's voice on a long drive...could induce sleep. No offense John. It was fun to see the qualities of these men, both good and bad, in my own life. It's an encouragement to see even through their faults, they never lost the love of the Master. All Christians could enjoy this expository look at the 12 Disciples of Jesus. Its a perfect contrast to famous evangelist and learned Theologians of the current day. We should never forget, "It's not what you know, but WHO you know."
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Summary: A fresh and delightful read.
Review: OK, name the 12 apostles. Chances are you can't. Disconcerting, no? These twelve, who most Chistians think they know, took the teachings of Jesus and changed the world by establishing the Christian church. They were chosen from among hundreds of "disciples" (meaning learners or students) of Jesus to be apostles: "messengers, sent ones". Who were they, why were they chosen, and why were they so successful? It's important to consider who Jesus did NOT select for his inner circle. He chose no rabbis, no scholars, no one from the religious establishment who could have given him an inside track to power and authority. Instead, he picked a ragtag bunch of people who couldn't comprehend the power of God, struggled with their own sins, wrestled with the cost of committment and too often, to put it plainly, could be quite dense as to what was going on. Jesus taught them Scriptures and theology. He taught them how to pray, forgive, and serve one another with humility, gave them moral instruction, spoke to them of things to come, and used them to heal the sick and do other miracles. Three of them were given a brief glimpse of His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. In all, they had about 18 months of training and were then sent out on a mission too vast for any reasonable expectation of success. This book examines everything known about these quite ordinary people who achieved the extraordinary. It's a fresh and delightful read.
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Summary: Encouraging Book That Should Prove Beneficial to Many
Review: The best thing about Twelve Ordinary Men is that it's an encouraging book that can inspire many to live a faithful Christian life. The title spells out for you MacArthur's intentions: He wants you to be influenced by the lives of the apostles, who were in every way "ordinary." The book is very accessible as well; it's not one of MacArthur's deeper theological studies, and it has an almost devotional feel to it at times.
Personally speaking, this is not one of my favorites of MacArthur's books. The transcripts of John's sermons don't seem to have been edited as well as usual, and you get almost as much content from the daily devotions for the month of May in MacArthur's excellent devotional Drawing Near. (The month of May covers the same topic as this book does.) Occasionally, as well, John makes some generalizations about the apostles' motivations when the biblical record is, I think, more unclear about them. Still, because this book succeeds well in its general purpose (i.e., to encourage), it deserves 4 stars.
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Summary: History, understanding and application.
Review: There are three aspects I like bout this book. First is the fact that it provides a solid historical background of the twelve most influential men - aside from Jesus - in world history, complete with understanding on a personal level. Second, the author will teach you how these ordinary men were used of God; what they did and what motivated their actions. Third, MacArthur teaches how we can learn from them and apply what we learn. I also recommend Kenn Gividen's [[ THE PRAYER OF HANNAH ]].
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Summary: BRILLIANT! Which disciple are YOU?
Review: These is a truely fabulous book! I was always interested in the twelve disciples, and wanted to know more about them. I would watch documentaries and such about the 12 on the history channel, discovery channel, ect. They were all cool and informative, but they didnt give me the information I wanted- so i went to the internet, and found this book. Immediently, i was drawn to this book and ordered it. Well, Ive had it for 3 days and im already finished. This book knocked my socks off! It takes each disciple and tells about thier personality, how they viewed Jesus, how they are presented in the bible, what they did after the resurrection and how each of us can relate them. This book really brought the disciples to life and made me want to meet them now. I cant wait to go to heaven and meet Peter & John. Also, the books take the time to let us know more about the disciples who alot of people arnt really familiar with (like Simon the Zealot, James the less, and bartholomew (nathaniel)) In the reading, you can almost always see alittle bit of you in each of them. I can most identify myself with Thaddeus, or John. Please get this book- You will NOT regret it!!
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Summary: disciples for dummies
Review: This book is great! It is written in an easy to understand, straightforward manner. I have recommended this book to others and they loved it too!! This is one book I wont part with because I know I will read it again.
Rating:
Summary: disciples for dummies
Review: This is by far the best book I have read this year. It is the most clearly laid-out story of the men who were closest to Christ Jesus. I could harldy wait to finish this book so I could loan it out; and now that it is loaned out, I can't wait to get it back and re-read it. John MacArthur does an excellent job of searching the New Testament for every detail about each apostle and blending it into a wonderful, accurate narrative of their lives and personality. He brought new insight into the special relationship between each pair (Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax-collector - both at extreme polarities of the Jewish political spectrum; Peter the brash loud mouth with his younger quiet brother Andrew, etc.) and the sub-grouping of 3 teams of 4 men. I have found myself quoting often from this book as I take multiple aspects of each of the 12's personality and apply it to our own present day attitudes while serving Christ. We see that all of them were extremely ordinary, full of character flaws. The death and ressurection of Christ transformed them and their flaws were used in a mighty way. By harmonizing the events of the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, I also learned more about each man. MacArthur concludes each chapter with traditional (not in the Bible) information concerning their area of minstry in the world and their means of death. I expected a history lesson when I purchased this book and ended up with a beautiful story that has really impacted my life. I strongly encourage you to read this book!
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Study of Jesus Christ's Closest Friends
Review: This is by far the best book I have read this year. It is the most clearly laid-out story of the men who were closest to Christ Jesus. I could harldy wait to finish this book so I could loan it out; and now that it is loaned out, I can't wait to get it back and re-read it. John MacArthur does an excellent job of searching the New Testament for every detail about each apostle and blending it into a wonderful, accurate narrative of their lives and personality. He brought new insight into the special relationship between each pair (Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax-collector - both at extreme polarities of the Jewish political spectrum; Peter the brash loud mouth with his younger quiet brother Andrew, etc.) and the sub-grouping of 3 teams of 4 men. I have found myself quoting often from this book as I take multiple aspects of each of the 12's personality and apply it to our own present day attitudes while serving Christ. We see that all of them were extremely ordinary, full of character flaws. The death and ressurection of Christ transformed them and their flaws were used in a mighty way. By harmonizing the events of the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, I also learned more about each man. MacArthur concludes each chapter with traditional (not in the Bible) information concerning their area of minstry in the world and their means of death. I expected a history lesson when I purchased this book and ended up with a beautiful story that has really impacted my life. I strongly encourage you to read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: This is the kind of book that reads well in bed at night. It is calm, interesting and generally informational. it is not a classic MacArthur book dealing with a hard-hitting theological issue.
In fact, this book is the first one by MacArthur that actually reads into scripture a certain quantity of "dot-connected" conclusions. For example, the personalities of the apostles are described by MacArthur where there is no true description revealed in scripture.
The chapter on Peter is fantastic, as is the one on Judas Isacriot. However, MacArthur's treatment of Nathaniel was my favorite.
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