Book Review: Jesus is ____? (Judah Smith)

You’re probably not going to like me for saying this, but I didn’t want to like this book. I didn’t think I would and I didn’t want to. Why? I’ve only heard one sermon by Judah Smith (from the last Passion conference), and I didn’t like it. I thought it was shallow and boring. He was clever and had some jokes, but that’s all there was too it.

The idea of the book is discovering out who Jesus is. It’s not an in-depth, scholarly study of the real Jesus. This is not a continuation of the third quest for the historical Jesus. The question asked in this book is “Jesus is ______? How would you finish that sentence?”

There are 6 major sections (answers to the main question) in the book:

• Jesus Is Your Friend
• Jesus is Grace
• Jesus is The Point
• Jesus is Happy
• Jesus is Here
• Jesus is Alive

Judah intends to point us to a Jesus who is in love with us and wants to be with us just like He was with men and women in the Scriptures. He attempts to help give us the opportunity to drown out the lies that we’ve heard and get down to the basics of who Jesus really is and what He did for us.

So how well does this come across?
It’s iffy.

The Chocolate Milk

Judah has a pretty engaging style, and I’m sure that’s why most people like him. He’s clever, he’s funny, and he makes some interactions in the text that aren’t the most obvious to see (he puts us in the shoes of the prodigal son quite nicely).

Judah believes the Bible is inspired by God. It is written to all people to show us how God loves all of humanity. The Bible is down-to-earth. It’s for real people facing real issues. I’m just glad to know that he takes the Bible for what it says it is: inspired by the Holy Spirit (that includes 1 Chronicles 1-9).

He makes a good analogy of how we put ourselves under legalism to try to get better. We think about our sin all day and how we aren’t going to do it. However, instead, it’s just like looking at a donut and hoping to lose weight. It ain’t gonna happen. If you think about the sin all day, you’re going to eventually give in. But the more you focus on Jesus, the less you will focus on your sin and the more you will want to please Him.

Some things he says is almost (if not more so) convicting. He tells a story of a pastor friend asking him if he knew any crackheads, prostitutes, or drug dealers. Smith said, “No.” His friend said the same thing, and that might be just the problem. Some of us don’t know the worst people, while Jesus went to the worst. While we don’t need to spend every day in the slums of life, but it should lead us to stop and think about how we treat other people who we see as ‘dirty and dingy.’ They’re still people and God still loves them too. Every one of us are dead in our sins without Jesus Christ (Eph 2). Every one.

The Spoiled Milk

Smith uses Scripture to support his message, but the pop culture references were a bit much. In fact, the way Judah writes is a bit much. I like jokes and I’m all for humor. I probably joke too much myself. But there were more references, jokes, anecdotes, and stories than even Samson could shake a jawbone at. Smith writes a lot of stories about himself, his family, church, and friends (especially in the second half of the book) to help give a visual picture of his biblical points. But at times he just gets wordy.

“[Jesus] came down to their level because they could never rise to his. He wasn’t out to prove how good he was or how bad they were. He just wanted to offer them hope” (22).

When reading the whole book you can see Judah talk about the gospel, but then there are times when he just says things like this, and I think, “Why? Why are you saying this?” Jesus was out to prove how good He was and how bad others were. He is the standard bar none. No one would follow the Messiah if He wasn’t perfect, or if they thought they could get to God themselves. Everyone needed to see how perfect Jesus was, how filthy they were, and how much He loved them.

It’s pivotal for the gospel to show us how horrible we are. Because that’s the good news: We’re filthy, yet God still loves us and took the initiative to make a way for us (Eph 2:10). And Jesus wanted to offer us more than just hope. He wanted to offer us abundant life with and in Him. To have a relationship with Him that would one day be perfect and unbroken by sin. I look forward to all of that in my hope. 

Some of Smith’s stories drag on for pages at a time, some analogies almost don’t work (Worthy World vs. Grace Land), some don’t work (Love languages, Freudian slips, and Martha and Jesus), and his writing reads like he is speaking.

Recommended?

For the most part, aside from the way he wrote, I liked this book. I read a few Amazon reviews, but reading in context, their negative comments didn’t make much sense. Some thought Judah was too high on God’s grace and not enough on works (to show your faith). While I agree to a point, he never tells us to live how we want. He tells us to live in a way that pleases God.

Who is this book for?

1. This is a book for anyone dealing with legalism or earning their salvation. The main emphasis is on God’s grace. Judah emphasizes God’s grace and ultimately resting in Jesus. While he didn’t fully answer his main question “Who is Jesus?”, it makes sense. How could anyone fully answer that question (especially in a 200 page book)?
2. New Christians.
3. Youth group/high school age.
   

Who is this not for?

1. Scholars (what is good enough for them?)
2. Those who want more on what a text says over applicational anecdotes.
3. Older Christians.

Lagniappe

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 26, 2013)
• PDF: Just a taste of the book
• Book website
• Official website

Buy it on Amazon!

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