Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Jesus I Never Knew
    The Jesus I Never Knew
    The Jesus I Never Knew
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Jesus I Never Knew

    Written by Philip Yancey

    Narrated by Bill Richards

    4.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    How does the Jesus of the New Testament compare to the Jesus we think we know so well? Join bestselling author Philip Yancey as he conducts an enlightening biblical and historical investigation into the real Jesus.

    From the manger in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem, Philip Yancey presents a complex character who generates questions as well as answers--a disturbing and exhilarating Jesus who wants to radically transform your life and stretch your faith.

    In The Jesus I Never Knew, Yancey:

    • Cuts through existing views and preconceptions of Jesus, citing experts from church history, modern history, and popular culture
    • Discusses how different people and cultures view Jesus
    • Dissects popular quotes about Jesus
    • Points us back to the Bible

    The Jesus I Never Knew will engage your heart, mind, emotions, and senses, preparing you for a new, life-changing encounter with the real Jesus described in the Gospels.

    Praise for The Jesus I Never Knew:

    "This is the best book about Jesus I have ever read, probably the best book about Jesus in the whole century. Yancey gently took away my blinders and blazed the trail through my own doubting fears, pious know-it-all, and critical balderdash until I saw the Savior anew and thought I heard him ask me, 'Now whom do you say that I am?' and I understood the question as I never had before."

    --Lewis B. Smedes, Senior Professor, Fuller Seminary

    "Philip Yancey takes the reader with him on his very personal journey to Jesus. In The Jesus I Never Knew, I became convinced that the Jesus I met--in some ways for the first time--has known me all along. This book is destined to become a favorite--to recommend to those still seeking Jesus and to pass along to those who've met him, but long to know him more."

    --Elisa Morgan, President Emerita, MOPS International

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateNov 19, 2003
    ISBN9780310261575
    Author

    Philip Yancey

    Philip Yancey previously served as editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine. He has written thirteen Gold Medallion Award-winning books and won two ECPA Book of the Year awards, for What's So Amazing About Grace? and The Jesus I Never Knew. Four of his books have sold over one million copies. He lives with his wife in Colorado. Learn more at philipyancey.com.

    More audiobooks from Philip Yancey

    Related to The Jesus I Never Knew

    Related audiobooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Jesus Christ Was A Trans Woman

      Jun 29, 2023

      I RECENTLY PAID A VISIT TO THE VATICAN, a city in Italy made famous by Tom Cruise when he used it for a location in Mission Impossible 3. There’s an art gallery there and plenty of churches, many of which feature religious paintings. Having examined

      1 min read

    • Article

      A Question of Faith

      May 15, 2020

      A Question of Faith
      5 min read

    • Article

      HE IS Alive!

      Mar 8, 2024

      HE IS Alive!
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Question of Faith

      May 15, 2020

      A Question of Faith
      5 min read

    • Article

      Commentary: How Can You Be Christian Without Caring for the Poor?

      Dec 22, 2017

      The minuscule Galilean town in which Joseph and Mary spent their lives and raised their son Jesus was, quite literally, a joke. "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" asked one disciple, when he heard where the Messiah was from. Some scholars posit

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Image of Christ this Christmas

      Nov 27, 2020

      It’s not unusual to see nativity scenes this time of year. They’re often lovely scenes, complete with robed figures nestled among sheep, donkeys, and cows on beds of straw. But one thing frequently amiss in these scenes involves the portrayal of Mary

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Problem With White Jesus

      May 24, 2021

      The Problem With White Jesus
      3 min read

    • Article

      Jesus's Lucky Break?

      Apr 11, 2024

      Jesus's Lucky Break?
      2 min read

    • Article

      Roman Soldier At The Cross

      Mar 16, 2020

      Roman Soldier At The Cross
      3 min read

    • Article

      Passion Project

      Jun 2, 2019

      Passion Project
      7 min read

    • Article

      What Happened Next?

      Feb 24, 2022

      What Happened Next?
      9 min read

    • Article

      Death Of a Prophet

      Sep 24, 2021

      Death Of a Prophet
      16 min read

    • Article

      Film

      Nov 6, 2023

      Film
      4 min read

    • Article

      Charlatans, False Prophets, And Flimflammers

      Jun 27, 2023

      My late father-in-law, an Episcopal priest, had a cartoon taped to his kitchen wall in Sherman that skewers an obnoxious feature of American religion. In the cartoon, a grinning devil, sitting on a throne surrounded by flames, instructs a horned appr

      5 min read

    • Article

      Sunday, October 7

      Aug 15, 2018

      MANY TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY CHRISTIANS DON’T WANT to linger on the thought of a devil, let alone one who actively prowls for prey; yet, the Bible asserts that he is real and looking to do us harm. Authors like C. S. Lewis and Frank Peretti have written

      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Jesus I Never Knew

    4.5/5

    74 ratings17 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Philip Yancey reveals the real Jesus beyond the stereotypes, revolutionizing the reader’s passion for Christ, and offers a new and different perspective on the life of Christ and his work—his teachings, his miracles, his death and resurrection—and ultimately, who he was and why he came. Relating the gospel events to the world we live in today, The Jesus I Never Knew gives a moving and refreshing portrait of the central figure of history. Yancey looks at the radical words of this itinerant Jewish carpenter and asks whether we are taking him seriously enough.
    • 5/5
      This is a really good book on who Jesus really was. I highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Very readable book, exploring the reality of the life of Jesus Christ. Cultural contexts and examination of the writings of the Gospels, in a clear and well-explained format. Not really for reading at one sitting, but definitely recommended for anyone who would like to know more about the real Jesus.
    • 5/5
      It was a great straightforward look at Jesus. will reread.
    • 5/5
      This book has shaken my faith and helped me see Jesus in a new way.
    • 3/5
      Yancey is one of my favorite theological writers, and is both an accomplished writer and a man who holds views that coincide with my own faith. This book is about Jesus, with the intent of re-examining His life and work through fresh eyes, as contemporaries may have seen Him, and attempting to shed the many layers of religious tradition and worship and that have accumulated around His name over the centuries. Not that Yancey is disregarding Jesus' divine nature or the importance of traditions that have been established in the church; rather, Yancey's goal is to see more authentically. Sometimes it is all too easy to accept what human history has gathered and handed down to us, including accepted cultural mores and prejudices, instead of the truth that God gave us. Yancey's claim at the beginning of the book is that he will examine the gospels with a journalist's eye, trying to release preconceived notions and experience Jesus in a new way, hopefully a truer way. What he learned falls under several broad themes of the book. One, that we have softened Jesus over time, that He was full of grace but also drew clear lines of the way to live that were even more exacting than the original law. Two, that Jesus' controversy of being divine was explosive in His time, while now, it tends to be the reverse - we are all so used to seeing him as the Son of God that it is hard to remember his man nature, which was an equally necessary part of the formula to save us. Three, that many of the issues most addressed by Jesus are underplayed in our society, while we focus on our own problems that are more superficial and that Jesus rarely addressed. We tend to ignore those sins that we all struggle against, like divorce, sexual impurity, lies and dishonesty, and emphasize our own social agendas.While I enjoy Yancey's writing style, and agreed with his major points, this book was not as gripping as the two others that I have read by him. Perhaps none of his other books can compare to What's So Amazing About Grace, which I absolutely love. I consider this book an interesting read, and useful to further exploration and understanding of Jesus and faith, but not an essential. It didn't convict me, or reveal to me truths about the Bible that were startling and new, or make me feel that it was maturing my faith. A good read, and I am trying to read more and more about my beliefs and the Bible as I think it is important to spend part of my love of reading in service to my God, but there are other religious books out there that have more impact.
    • 4/5
      This book has helped me gain a better understanding of who Jesus really is void of any preconceived notions. I too have struggled with who exactly Jesus is. Yes, I know He is the Son of God and yes, I know He died on the cross for my sins. But, in His humanity how does He relate to me? Through this book, I have learned that Jesus in many ways is like me in that He was human. He endured much of the pains, the struggles, and the intricacies of being human. Because of this revelation there is no excuse in thinking God doesn't understand me. He does, because He became human... like me.Theologically speaking I was struck by Yancey's descriptive of Jesus' last words on the cross. While He was hanging and slowly dying on the cross, Jesus cried out not to Abba, not to Father, but to God. He uses the name of God for the first time in His earthly life. This is when Jesus says, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" This is indicative of a feeling of abandonment, distance, and loneliness. For a brief moment on the cross, Jesus was left alone. Why? God turned His back upon Jesus. God cannot look upon sin and Jesus had become fully sin. He himself did not sin, but He bore the burden of the sins of the world upon Him. He was forsaken, and Jesus in His humanity did not understand why. Was this a result of all the sin that was heaped upon Him while on the cross? Probably.Understanding Jesus in the way that I have come to understand Him through this book will help me better teach others about Christ. As a missionary to Albania, people who have been oppressed under Communism for many years will relate to the way Jesus lived under oppression. They will also relate to the way that Jesus taught true liberation, a spiritual freedom found only in Jesus Christ.
    • 4/5
      What I love about Yancey is that he takes you on a journey, his journey. This book is killer, with wonderful insights into who Jesus was. Priceless.
    • 4/5
      Philip Yancey explores several perspectives on Jesus that would benefit both Christians and non-believers. He shows the humanity and how it let God experience our lives. A dominant theme is freedom. Jesus established a kingdom of goodness from the bottom up. God wants our love, but love must by definition be voluntary. God gave us love and the freedom to choose him. Yancey also advocates separatism from government as the way to ensure a religion imbued with this freedom and distinction. He is skeptical of the extent to which Christian leaders pursue goverment roles and Christians advocate for policy. Yancey describes the politically charged time of Jesus' life and brings out the humanity. He conveys the messages of Jesus actions, a style that included immediately addressing issues, speaking out against hypocrisy, needing time alone to reflect and pray, and demonstrations of strength and compassion.
    • 5/5
      Philip Yancey reveals the real Jesus beyond the stereotypes, revolutionizing the reader’s passion for Christ, and offers a new and different perspective on the life of Christ and his work—his teachings, his miracles, his death and resurrection—and ultimately, who he was and why he came. Relating the gospel events to the world we live in today, The Jesus I Never Knew gives a moving and refreshing portrait of the central figure of history. Yancey looks at the radical words of this itinerant Jewish carpenter and asks whether we are taking him seriously enough.
    • 5/5
      Yancey made Jesus real! The narration makes it come alive too. Well worth the time. In fact will come back to this title again.
    • 4/5
      Yancey, who wrote this book as a journalist and not as a Bible scholar, is not afraid to express his doubts. He writes about a Jesus who is never boring or predictable. I liked the way he approached the question of who Jesus was. His low-key rational appeal is probably more effective to someone new on their spiritual journey than a more "preachy" style. This is not to say that this is a lukewarm portrayal of Jesus. By the end of a book, the reader has a clear idea of Yancey's deep faith in a loving God.
    • 4/5
      I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this book (which now that I think of it is particularly appropriate, Jesus), so naturally it surprised me, but I was surprised again that it impressed me too. Evangelical dude Yancey, you are an imagination blowout! An emotionless cosmic God, becoming human through the Jesus Experiment? A showdown in the desert, Messiah and devil growling each other out? Jesus as either/or? Either God or madman, blessed surcease or demented malevolence? Saviour or monster? This book made me feel good about Christianity, and there wasn't much that could do that at this point in my life.
    • 4/5
      A fine exploration of the life of Christ with great insight into the way we see our Savior. Yancey intentionally tries to get away from our modern cultural perceptions of Christ to see things from a different angle. The result is not a "different" Jesus of course, since the truths of Christ remain constant despite culture, but it is a deep look at the Lord.I would have given it five stars, but for two reasons I could not. In the first place, there were a couple of times I disagreed with Yancey. These were minor, and it probably still would have gained the fifth star with these except for the more major issue.Even though Yancey tried to get away from our cultural views of Christ, he fell into the largest of cultural traps -- seeing Jesus only as a poor Galilean carpenter. He seems to forget the Jesus that created the world or the Jesus that will return with a sword. By only seeing Jesus in the relatively short 33 years, he loses the magnitude of Christ. The result is what seems to be a hippie Jesus. It is the Jesus that we are most familiar with in today's America, but it is an incomplete picture of Jesus. If Yancey really wanted to blow away cultural stereotypes, he would have reminded us of the Jesus who will return to claim His kingdom; he would have reminded us of the Jesus who spoke the world into being.So he loses one star by claiming to examine Jesus, but only examining the part he was already comfortable with. A gret book nonetheless, but one that should be a suppliment to Scripture and not take the place of it.
    • 4/5
      Easter was such an appropriate day to finish reading this book! Yancey doesn't shy away from mystery and apparent contradiction. He stays true to the context of Jesus' life and expands on what it all means for those of us who believe.
    • 5/5
      I really feel like I've gotten to know Jesus more through this book and stripped away some of the layers of dust added by centuries of institutionalized religion and theology. I just wish I could be more like him and less like me. All I want to do half the time is hide away somewhere with a good book.
    • 5/5

      I thought this was a very intelligent, perceptive account of the life of Jesus.

      Since childhood - in the West anyway - we've all got used to the story of Jesus, and so to see the Virgin Birth, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and all of the other aspects of Jesus' life in their historical, political and social context is fascinating.

      Phillip Yancey is an incredible writer and, as he states himself, his background is not theology but journalism. This means he approaches subjects from a very analytical perspective, and is often brave enough to say that at certain times in Jesus’ life, he wouldn’t quite know how to act as a bystander.

      This is definitely a highly recommended book, and not just for Christians, but for anybody who wants to understand more about the life of Jesus.