Book Review: Following Jesus — Biblical reflections on discipleship

I’ve mentioned before that I have a renewed interest in discipleship.  While waiting for a stack of books to arrive on the slow boat from Amazon, I picked up a short book by N.T. Wright from my bookshelf that I have not yet read.  It seemed appropriate, as it is called Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship.

  I enjoyed the book, but it isn’t about discipleship in any particular way that I can tell.  That is to say, the book is not so much how to encourage others to grow spiritually.  Instead, it is Wright’s guide to help the reader better understand Jesus and become more like Him.  In that context, I have no problem with the book and rather enjoyed the format.

The book is essentially a collection of Eucharist sermons.  The first six are each focused on a book of the Bible.  The second six are on more random topics: temptation, heaven, the God who raises the dead.  I particularly enjoyed the themes of the first half.  I’ve been on a bit of a Biblical Theology kick after a lifetime of not really getting the “big picture” of the Bible.  I really enjoyed how Wright sets out themes of Jesus and his character in the full books of Hebrews, Colossians, Matthew, Mark, John and Revelation.   For instance, here is the summary of the book of Hebrews:

So the book of Hebrews offers us, quite simply, Jesus.  It offers us the Jesus who is there to help because he’s one of us, and has trodden the path before us.  It offers us the Jesus who has inaugurated the new covenant, bringing to its fulfilment the age-old plan of God.  And it offers us, above all, Jesus the final sacrifice; the one who has done for us what we could not do for ourselves, who has lived our life and died our death, and now ever lives to make intercession for us.

The second half is still Wright, and I like his writing.  I like his example of how Naaman struggled to fully “become Christian,” but he was trying and that received Elijah’s blessing.  I like Wright’s explanation of heaven as not some “place” that exists above the stars, but the alternate reality that is beside us.  And there’s an excellent exploration of the power of Jesus as opposed to the power of the world.

So, if you are looking for a bit of help with the themes of these six books of the Bible, or are just looking for a series of short essays by Wright that focus on Jesus, this is an excellent book.