Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus

I recently read an autobiography by John Cleese of the Monty Python fame. In that book, Cleese included several “hilarious” (his words) skits that he had performed with other comedy troupes before his Monty Python days. As I read through the skits, I really didn’t think they were that funny. I may have chuckled or snickered a bit, but that was it. I came away feeling a bit disappointed because, you would think if John Cleese thought they were hysterical, I would at least be able to feel somewhat satisfied in the humor department. Well, then, I SAW some of the skits actually being performed on YouTube, and yes, they were quite funny. My point being, if you only read a skit, without actually seeing it, you miss out on too much. The body language, the voice inflection, and the timing are all missing when all you have are the printed words.I mention this because this is the big hindrance when one reads the Bible, especially when Jesus is speaking. If one doesn’t really think too much about what is going on beyond the actual words, you can miss quite a lot. This is what John Eldredge communicates in this offering. To fully appreciate who Jesus was and what he came to do, we have to understand so many more things than what is on the printed page. It doesn’t help that when most of us hear these stories in church, the pastor (or whomever) tends to read through the passages as a fifth grader would read Shakespeare. How can we possibly fall in love with the son of God when an orator doesn’t bother to inject any feeling into the words?So Eldredge takes us through many of the interactions of the recorded Jesus and tries to do just that – inject feelings into the words. We explore many of the events that happened to Jesus, pick apart the scenery, study the other people in the room, and when done carefully, we get a better picture of who the man really was. This is not an easy thing to do. We must remember that Jesus was fully man AND fully God. He’d have to go through all of the trials, tribulations, heartaches, disappointments and anger that a human goes through, yet remain perfectly holy. For the most part Eldredge succeeds. The author is very honest as well admitting that at times he (or anyone) can’t know completely the issues within Jesus ministry, and sometimes even his best stab at what Jesus was really saying and feeling comes across as being a bit obtuse.Example: We read several times when Jesus heals people and then tells them to go back to the town and “not tell anyone what has happened”. Why does Jesus do this? The author speculates that if Jesus actually commanded people to do this, our human nature would, in fact, make us do the opposite. As I read that I thought “um….. no.” I always believed that the reason Jesus told people not to tell people of many of his miracles was because he wanted to have a true, deep relationship with people, and not be looked at as a magic genie that would automatically grant people their wish. So depending on how versed you are in the gospels, you may come across several instances of issues such as this.Still though, Eldredge succeeds in making one stop and think. To view Jesus as fully man and fully God, we must look beyond what appears to be a bland, boring emotionless being. We also can’t do the opposite which is to view a “white” Jesus glowing on a religious postcard with rays of majestic light beaming from his body. This books shows us the REAL Jesus, and for a man to be real, we must see everything, even if “everything” isn’t what we’re accustomed to seeing and hearing about from our Sunday school lessons. I remember one of the Hollywood blockbusters that dealt with the life of Christ (King of Kings?) where the movie producers insisted that the actor who played Jesus have his armpits shaved for the crucifixion scene. They were worried that harry armpits might offend some viewers.Sadly, a little more than halfway through the book, the author seems to have run out of examples and strays from his original line of thought. It seems the last half of the book focuses on simply being one of the many devotionals out there. Not that a devotional is a bad thing, but I found the transition a bit jarring. In fact, when I finished the book, it seemed to be better suited for reading a few minutes each morning with a highlighting pen as opposed to a book that you would want to settle in for an hour at a time. Still, though, the author makes a lot of good points, has a very laidback style, and does a very good job of introducing the real Son of God to many who only know a one dimensional Jesus.

throughly enjoyed reading this book, and most of what Eldredge produces, I have read several of his books. But to be honest, playful is not a word I would use to describe Jesus' while on Earth.

After I read this book I bought several more copies for friends. I have been a Christian for many years and had never gotten the insight into Jesus' personality and prospective on "How to fall in love with Jesus". This is an easy read and you won't regret reading it.

John Eldredge has written a remarkable book here. Beautiful Outlaw is an enlightening, touching, and yes, even humorous look at the Jesus that most people miss. We tend to think of Jesus as a passive and meek, but let's face it, He chose a ragtag group of commercial fishermen and societal outcasts as His closest followers. Using Scripture, Eldredge takes a deeper dive into the Jesus who was both God and man sent to redeem the world. I've given this book to several people. Highly recommend!

Beautiful Outlaw is a gust of fresh air, and it seems to be part of a whole weather front that is approaching.This book is biblical. I counted a full 25 pages worth of quotes from Scripture. Over 10% of the book is just quoting from the Bible, letting the Word of God speak for Himself. It occurred to me there must be a reason why the life of Jesus is told directly four times in the Bible. Maybe God is making a point that this is important. After all, if God really did come in the flesh, it seems that He wants people to know Him, to know who He revealed Himself to be through Jesus.This book simply reveals Jesus. Jesus came jumping out of just about every page. I recommend this book for anyone who truly wants to go from just knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus and loving Him, not a concept of Him, but Jesus as a person who interacts with us and gives us life every day.On the other hand, the Bible warns that those who are Jesus' friends will be hated, because Jesus was hated. Jesus was hated because of who He was, and what that implied about where the haters stood. So it stands to reason that if Jesus' friends reveal who Jesus is, then they will be hated as well. So I'm sure that because of this Eldredge's motives will be questioned (even though I have not read any reviews yet). Perhaps that's why before the Table of Contents he quotes some words from John, "the one whom Jesus loved", including, "Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too [this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ]." And again on page 154 he says, "I'm not looking to fix blame. I'm trying to help us find Jesus."Just as Jesus came to cut through sin and death and the veil, He cuts through the religious fog that is hiding His glory, and I think we see some of that in this book, Beautiful Outlaw.No matter what people say, and no matter how much they try to hide, Jesus is coming. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Quite simply, the best book I've ever read about Jesus! It has made me love Him so much more. Full of startling revelations, and Eldredge's writing is superb. I also found myself frequently laughing out loud at some of his observations about how 'religion' portrays Jesus.

Don't read this book if religious rules, buildings, positions, goods, services and programmes are important to you.If, on the other hand, you are waking up to the fact that Jesus didn't care two hoots for the power games of the religious establishment, and you don't have to either, then you'll enjoy it.Jesus is REAL.This is a clear, no-nonsense look at the best human being who ever lived - which also fully accepts that he was, is and always will be God as well.'Beautiful Outlaw' cuts a clean swathe through the religious rubbish which nearly two millenia of denominations and organised Churchianity have accumulated. Refreshing, inspiring, sobering, funny: makes you long to know Jesus better.Have you ever read a book which takes a good look at his personality from the viewpoint of his ability to be angry? Take a look at his amazing cunning in dialoguing with the Elite who were threatened by his absolute non-interest in their religious games. Or at the way he playfully draws his disciples out, until they finally recognise who he is. Independent of the need to be accepted or admired, he never gives in to the fear of man, which reveals his authority.'Beautiful Outlaw' encourages us to let down the barriers we erect against Jesus actually being able to love us, let him be who he is in and to us, and exposes the religious spirit in our lives and systems.Well written and simple, no woolly theological mumbo-jumbo.Brilliant.

The best book about Jesus of all my livetime!! Aspects of his personality are described so perfectly that you only have one desire - meet Jesus personally!! Wonderful book for every christian and non-christian.....

A book to read and re-read. Irreligious and eye-opening. I can't recommend it highly enough and have bought several copies for gifts.

Pitting the poison of dead religion (and its accomplice''words on a page') against the delight of experiencing the 'real Jesus', John Eldredge invites the reader to re-discover and fall in love with Jesus. To do so, he elaborates on the human personality traits of Jesus we may have missed'his playfulness, intensity, generosity, honesty, cunning, humility and 'trueness' '. He then gives examples of what loving this very human Jesus will look like and practical suggestions on getting started. Running from anything that 'smacks of religion' is essential, as is being open to experiential 'encounters' with Jesus. The book concludes with an epilogue on the inevitability of suffering in the Christian life and the need to keep clinging to Jesus through it.There are some things I loved about this book, some that raised warning flags, and at least one area that must be addressed as good-intentioned but in serious error.I love Eldredge's inclusion of actual portions of Scripture to illustrate the various personality traits of Jesus that he has chosen to emphasize. Eldredge's commentary gives a fresh and convicting realness to these stories of Jesus' ministry and for the most part avoids the pitfall of assuming motives and undisclosed outcomes. I appreciate his evaluation of Jesus as 'cunning' in the way he woos, confronts, delivers, heals, shoots straight and uses intrigue to rescue human hearts and gain their allegiance, rather than resorting to the shortcut of an overwhelming power play to win followers.(103) His final chapter on 'Letting His Life Fill Yours' gets down to the 'how' of obeying, which is requisite to loving Jesus. He clarifies that this is not about trying harder but surrendering self-determination and allowing Jesus' life to accomplish in and through us what only He can. This was one of my favorite chapters!Eldredge's aim throughout is to stir a fresh expectancy in people for 'encounters' with a living Jesus and to foment a discontent with 'dead religion'. I appreciate his intent but his methodology falls short.In attempting to warn of the toxins of 'religious fog' he resorts to harshly characterizing people as 'Pharisees', 'churchy', having 'false reverence' and other labels which measure externals without necessarily seeing the heart.In the process of encouraging people to fall in love with the Jesus they encounter in nature or in random everyday incidents, a reliance on Scripture as the primary communication of God with man is marginalized.The love that is encouraged looks strangely like infatuation. "I love you for how you make me feel". This may be a starting point but is not the whole deal. Though he mentions that we should not compare or try to duplicate another's experience, the message is clear that to settle for a faith in Jesus not marked by regular subjective experiences and emotional moments is to settle for 'dead religion'.But hurrah for the brief epilogue that attempts to balance these impressions by warning that even followers of Jesus will suffer at times and must keep clinging to Jesus when the love affair no longer seems rosy. He's onto something here that needs to be injected much earlier in the book'something about the true definition of love as more than just responding with affection when Jesus makes me feel loved.What are we to do when the feelings die? When bad things happen and it seems to be God's fault? Having faced this very scenario in praying with a hurting woman, Eldredge counsels that we need to forgive Jesus for letting these things happen to us! He acknowledges it's bad theology, wrong-headed doctrine and an alarmingly heretical concept but it doesn't matter, just so long as we go away feeling the love of Jesus again. In my opinion this kind of response to personal discomfort is a dead give-away that our love is really about us and not Jesus. This is a self-centered infatuation that resists bowing to the sovereignty of God, and will struggle to believe in in His goodness when circumstances make us feel otherwise. At some point the truth that we are sinners bent on rebellion against the God that loves us infinitely, must bring us to repentance and humility, not just a quick emotional fix with the 'guilt' pinned on Jesus. Herein lies the hazard of teaching an experiential relationship based on subjective feelings and human standards apart from objective Biblical truth. It is the most glaring error in Eldredge's book.The chapter titled: Letting Jesus be Himself is likewise pre-occupied with Jesus as a human personality at the expense of introducing Him as Lord of the Universe. Both aspects must be part of a genuine relationship with this 'Beautiful Outlaw'. The fact greatly understated in this book's treatment of Jesus is that this One we are invited to know as He is, is not merely a 'beautiful outlaw' but the King of Kings--both beautiful and sovereign! To replace dead religion with anything else is to trade one self-made religion for another.