An old adage says, "God created man in His own image and man has been returning the favor ever since." Philip Yancey realized that despite a lifetime attending Sunday school topped off by a Bible college education, he really had no idea who Jesus was. In fact, he found himself further and further removed from the person of Jesus, distracted instead by flannel-graph figures and intellectual inspection. He determined to use his journalistic talents to approach Jesus, in the context of time, within the framework of history.

In The Jesus I Never Knew, Yancey explores the life of Jesus, as he explains, "'from below,' to grasp as best I can what it must have been like to observe in person the extraordinary events unfolding in Galilee and Judea" as Jesus traveled and taught. Yancey examines three fundamental questions: who Jesus was, why he came, and what he left behind. Step by step, scene by scene, Yancey probes the culture into which Jesus was born and grew to adulthood; his character and mission; his teachings and miracles; his legacy--not just as history has told it, but as he himself intended it to be.

Yancey is not alone in his examination of the "real" Jesus. Publishing today is replete with writers committed to setting the story "straight,quot; joining countless others who, over the past 2,000 years, have determined to discover the truth about Jesus. But where others would deconstruct and discount, Yancey disarms and discloses. We become colleagues with him as he examines the accounts of the life of Jesus. And among the things that we discover is that Jesus himself leaves us few options: either he was who he said he was or he was nuts.

Philip Yancey was awarded the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year award for this book in 1996 by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. It's not the first, nor the last, award Yancey has won for his writing. But the writing is not necessarily the great gift of this book. Yancey allows the reader to discover, along with him, The Jesus I Never Knew. --Patricia Klein


Book Description
Philip Yancey reveals the real Jesus beyond the stereotypes, revolutionizing the reader's passion for Christ.


From the Publisher
In 1996, Philip Yancey's best-seller, The Jesus I Never Knew, was chosen as the Gold Medallion Book of the Year. This provocative journey through the Gospels peeled back stereotypes to give readers a literate and piercingly honest look at the teachings, person, and life of Jesus of Nazareth. The remarkable popularity and impact of Yancey's book has led to the development of an entire teaching curriculum. Now churches and study groups can experience firsthand the dynamics of Yancey's initial church Bible study that grew beyond all expectations to become the seed of The Jesus I Never Knew. Besides written material, this 14-session curriculum kit also utilizes video clips from well-known and little-known movies portraying various views of Jesus, as well as video input from the author. The Jesus I Never Knew Curriculum Kit includes a 120-minute video a Participant's Guide a comprehensive Leader's Guide for conducting powerful sessions with minimal preparation This exciting new program is designed to get groups of any size actively involved--thinking, discussing, interacting, and growing as they make life-changing discoveries about the most compelling, convicting, comforting, challenging, and ultimately satisfying person anyone can know: Jesus Christ.

FROM THE PUBLISHER