The Murder Of Jesus

Rating:
Summary: the "murder" of Jesus ??
Review: Crosses are everywhere: Jewelry, Tattoos, Bumperstickers, church ornamentation, artwork, etc. Almost so commonplace as to be trivialized. This welcome book reminds us just what the Cross was all about: the awesome price the Lord of Glory paid on our behalf to satisfy the justice of God. It wasn't nails that held Jesus on the Cross, but His great love for us and obedience to the Father. But the nails, the wounds, the bloodletting, the scourging, the tortuous thirst, the splinters, the agonizing rejection, the humiliation, the full attacks of Satan, the suffocation, the forsakenness - all were part of a very human, very evil conspiracy, kangaroo court, mock trial and miscarried justice: Murder in the Supreme Degree! Yet what evil made into Wicked Friday, God turned Good: Sunday was coming! "I will rise again". This book is a solemn reminder of just how serious it is to neglect, downplay, overlook,fail to appreciate, take for granted Christ's work of redemption. A rereading of Hebrews would wonderfully supplement this work, as well as Lee Strobel's Case For Christ, where forensic medical interviews are conducted to detail the horrors of Roman crucifixion. You will never be the same after reading this book - prayerfully, reflectively, humbly, gratefully.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, Biblical exposition
Review: I love studying MacArthur's books. He doesn't write terribly well, but he is thorough and insighful. This is one of his better books. It's a study of the crucifixion - written well before the movie The Passion of the Christ and so obviously not written to capitalize on the film, as other books on this topic seem to be. He focuses on how God displayed His sovereignty through the events of the crucifixion. Very, very well done.

Rating:
Summary: Too Anti-Catholic
Review: I picked up this book after watching "The Passion of the Christ" to get a further explanation of the last hours of Jesus' life from a trusted biblical scholar. Once again, Macarthur did not disappoint and he really has put together here an entertaining, inspiring, and educational book on the death of Jesus. I recommend this book to anyone who has seen "The Passion" and walked away with certain questions. While you read this book, you can visualize the movie. The Chapters are short and make for easy reading, especially for commuters.

To those whose review of this book was limited to the "Jesus' death wasn't murder" variety, miss the point completely. First, the legal definition of murder, with slight jurisdictional twists, is essentially, "an intentional and unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought." Thus, Jesus death was murder in the sense that it was an intentional and unlawful killing. There were certainly no grounds for his crucifixion and calling it murder is actually accurate. Parenthetically, calling it involuntary manslaughter (e.g. an accident) would of course be incorrect. Despite the "in your face" title, Macarthur makes great strides to point out that the death of Jesus was prophesized and part of God's plan. In fact, Isaiah states it pleased the Lord (which is included in the book). The book also includes the fact that Jesus laid down his life on this own accord.

The book also interestingly points out why Jesus had to be pointed out by Judas when he was always teaching in public, which I thought was a great and insightful analysis.

I hope you found this review helpful!

Rating:
Summary: Almost as riveting as Scripture!
Review: I read MacArthur's book in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the physical torture that crucifixion brings. I finished the book with a deeper and keener awareness of what Jesus Christ endured for me and EVERY other mortal human being who has lived, is living and will live on this earth.

When reading Scripture, I've found that unless you know the contextual background, you won't realize the Word's full impact. Study aids help to understand cultural, grammatical and traditional customs of biblical times. MacArthur provides that and much, much more. In reference to the Passion Week, he smoothly blends top-notch research with the holy narrative to illuminate the goings-on in Jerusalem, detailing the mechanisms of Jewish law, Roman law and how the two should work together. He unveils the Jews' blatant disregard of the government in conspiring to kill the Son of God and the reckless, desperate abandon and hypocrisy they used to do so.

MacArthur makes you feel like an eyewitness to the events, offering emotional insights that will pull on your heart, water your eyes and drop a lump into your throat. The disappointment in the apostles, the Lord's physical fatigue and the bloodthirst of the Jewish leaders smacks you in the face!

You can't help but notice a difference when you read the crucifixion accounts after reading this book. Besides reintroducing you to your need for God's salvation through Christ, MacArthur gives you a moment-by-moment description of every slap, whip, spit, thorn, nail and spear that should have been borne by ALL of us. He spurs you to meditate why Jesus, being perfect, holy and righteous in all things, volunteered to receive the treatment, punishment and fate of common criminals and miscreants.

MacArthur allows you to feel the humiliation, disgust and agony in your spirit. Therefore, he helps you to appreciate even greater how much God loves us. This book will revolutionize your spiritual thinking and humble you at His feet with awe, submission and gratitude.

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Summary: Finally, the REAL murderer of Christ is exposed -God Himself
Review: Many Christians blame the Jews for killing Christ, but what few really know is that Christ was slain by God. This book corrects wrong theories of the Crucifixtion and examines the passion that Christ had for us. Through His shedding His blood for us and laying Himself down as a living sacrifice, paying for our sins and reconciling us back to God, His love is exposed. John F. MacArthur catches this love suberbly by studying Jesus' words on the cross! Even in His most humble moments, He pitied man and pleaded with the Father on our behalf. In fact, it takes the anger that many wrongly have towards the Jews away by revealing that Christ wasn't killed by them! He had a mission when He came, and the Jews and Romans were merely vessels used by God to fulfill this mission. This book has the definite ability to move any reader to tears, stirring great emotion and reality in a believer. When one fully grasps what Christ went through to atone us, he or she will truly be a different person. John F. MacArthur takes all of these sensitive subjects and brings them out in such a way that brings the reader closer and closer to Christ. The intimacy with the Lord that you'll feel while reading this book is unparallel. If you are a believer that is completely unfeeling when thinking about Christ's work on the cross, this is the book for you. Or even if you do have feeling and are close to God, this is THE book that will further improve your relationship with Jesus.

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Summary: ? ? ? ?
Review: This book will no doubt answer the questions that many people will raise after they see Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ." Jesus allowed Himself to be murdered for God's divine purpose, and it was the greatest act of love the world has ever, or will ever experience. The question of "why" it was necessary for Jesus to be crucified is answered clearly.

Rating:
Summary: Too Anti-Catholic
Review: This is a good book, but I had to give it one star to offset all the other great reviews. The author lets his anti-Catholic prejudices get in the way of his story, as he will leave the actual story line to give reasons why the Catholic Church has "bad" teachings.

The most obvious problem with this is that the book is supposed to be about the death of Jesus (which wasn't a murder, because murder is a legal term and a government cannot murder anyone) not about why the Roman Catholic Church is wrong.

The second problem is that he gives no evidence that the Church is really wrong. He says things like "common sense tells you" or "Let's be perfectly clear: this is the case," etc. Common sense obviously tells the one billion Catholics in the world differently. If he would view the scriptures in a historical and traditional context he would see things differently.

If you can discard his anti-Catholic approach it really is a great book on the death of Christ. I would recommend getting it from the library, though, and not wasting money on it.

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Summary: Jesus did not "Just" die on the cross
Review: This is an excellent book for anyone who wants a clearer understanding to what the cruxifiction was about. This book opened my eyes to the reality of the sufferings he bore for us on the road to Calvery. This book has gifted me with a much deeper appreciation of what Jesus did for me, especially during this Easter season. The cruxifiction was not just a man hanging on a cross. Jesus did not "Just" die on the cross. This book helps the reader understand, and emotionally feel, the undescribable pain and suffering Christ bore for our sins and for the salvation of the world. A must read for all!

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: While I admire John MacArthur for his doctrinal orthodoxy and his willingness to stand for Biblical truth, however unpopular that may make him, what I most admire about him is his remarkable ability to teach from the Scriptures. I have found few people who are better able to carefully and accurately exposit God's Word. Because of this ee has become one of my most trusted teachers.

The Murder of Jesus showcases exactly what I most admire about MacArthur. The Murder of Jesus is a fascinating study of last hours of Jesus' life, beginning with the Last Supper and concluding with his death. It is no coincidence that I decided to read this book around the time that The Passion of the Christ was released for it covers the same period of time, though in far greater detail and with superior accuracy. The book is filled with interesting insights concerning the plot to kill Jesus and the way the story unfolded. The author's research leads us through all of the gospels, many of the prophecies concerning Jesus' death and even into the writings of early historians. While he covers the events, he also shows the theological importance of each of them, whether there were in fulfillment of prophecies or because they supported Jesus' claim to divinity.

I would unreservedly recommend this book to anyone who is seeking a deeper understanding of the meaning of Jesus' death. If you have seen The Passion of the Christ and are looking for answers to your questions about the movie, you could not do much better than this book - it is the best treatment of the subject I have found outside of the Bible.