Jesus an Interview Across Time

The conservative evangelical environment that I was brought up within leaned heavily upon the presentation of the divinity of Jesus, the second member of the Triune God. In that setting we doted upon his prophetic utterances and the tricks with fish and bread that he did. In that "us versus them" we thought it okay to hope for the day when Christ would return triumphantly as a judge to, well, vindicate "us" and polish off the various groups of "them" that we had so clearly defined.To twist the Apostle Paul's statement around, when I was a child I thought as one.Andrew Hodges book helps readers to wrestle with a very human Jesus, a flesh and blood person that is probably more important on a micro level than the sort of divine superman disguised by sandals and toga that we were used to hearing about. It is a misnomer to think that we are "saved" solely by what Jesus did on the cross. We are also saved by what he did in his life, his struggle to overcome, to wrestle with the forces of evil and to walk blameless and uprightly. If he did all these things with aid of divinity, then it really has no bearing on me as a fumbling morass of material existence. This book gets into that struggle, offering potential insights into the thought process that a human being wrestling with real issues would go through. Hodges helps me identify with the person Jesus so that he is much closer. I have more affinity with a Jesus in Gethsemane where he angsts over what is to come than I do the resurrected Lord. At least, at this point of the journey.When you're done with lapping up the milk, buy this book and chew on some meat.

Dr. Hodges takes a fictional "what if", a sitdown interview with Jesus Christ, and presents a fascinating look at the historical Jesus. This very thoughtful and researched book provides inspiration because Dr. Hodges' own professional background allows a unique insight into the events that shaped Jesus' life and his mission. I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN! I have READ the book at least a DOZEN TIMES. I am a PLAYWRIGHT and this book inspired me to write my own one person play about the life of Jesus. I used Dr. Hodges' book as one of the background sources for my play, AN EVENING WITH JESUS. Let me tell a story about the first time I presented this work. Because of my background in theatre, I was asked if I would provide entertainment to an audience of severely mentally handicapped men, women and children. They were on a weekend retreat and my time was to be on Saturday evening. I really didn't know what to do so I thought I'd take the rough draft of AN EVENING WITH JESUS. After about an hour and a half, I still had the attention of an audience that I was told "would probably fall asleep" on me within the first 15 minutes. They loved the story of Jesus that I had written because it gave Jesus a very human presence in their lives. And this is what Dr. Hodges' book, JESUS AN INTERVIEW ACROSS TIME, gives readers - an intimacy with a very real Jesus who we are able to see and understand from his life on earth.

This is one of my all time favorites - the insights reveal a Jesus that is warm, wise and personable and more. I had several "Light bulb" moments - things I had not considered or brought a new light to what I did know: Jesus, as a boy, being teased as illegitimate; some of the sublties of the devil's temptations; how the splinters irritated his raw back when carrying the cross to his crucifixion which was nothing compared with the real penalty he paid for us - separation from God. The Q & A format is very readable, and Dr. Hodges has taken great care to be faithful to Scripture, lending tremendous credibility to his work. Only two people I know did not like this work - their reason: it made Jesus too real. That is an effective work. I can't recommend this work more highly.

This book has had a major impact on my life. I read it for the first time about ten years ago, lost my copy, and then it suddenly reappeared at an opportune time. I recommend reading this book at least once a year. Buy all the copies you can find.

Although it is fiction, this 1st person account of Jesus' answers to the interviewer's questions is completely Scriptural. I found myself identifying with Jesus as He Himself identified with people. Checking Biblical references validated His statements of being both fully man and also God. Aside from the Bible itself this book has given me insights into the life of Jesus above anything else I have read. I recommend Jesus: An Interview Across Time for thoughtful reading, Scriptural investigation, prayerful meditation.