Book Bite: Who Is This Man?

Are you looking for a great Christmas gift for under $15 that is stimulating, lightweight, enduring and captures the true meaning of Christmas? You might consider Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus by John Ortberg.

I am finding it a great slow read. Ortberg has done his homework and uses his humor well. He helps us connect the dots between seemingly unrelated events in history to see God’s amazing love and plan for the nations unfold through the life of Jesus Christ. For instance, in our viral age of “bigger, better, faster, more,” we probably wouldn’t even notice if someone attempted to launch a worldwide movement by spending three years with a few men and women in near obscurity. Ortberg observes:

At the end of their time together, they had not caused much of a stir. If you could have been there on the day after he died, if you could have seen the Roman Empire with its Pax Romana and its 250,000 miles of roads and its extension from Asia to Africa to Europe and its history of dominance and its social status that was envied throughout the Mediterranean…. And then if you could have seen a few dozen failed, frightened, demoralized, defeated, confused former followers of an executed carpenter … If someone had asked you to place a bet on which group would still be around in two thousand years, all the smart money would have been placed on the Roman Empire. Which is as extinct as the dodo bird. Who was this man?

Before you spend good money on a gift for a friend or family member, consider this option. After all, this Man is the reason for the season.