Book Review – Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus by John Eldredge

Welcome to the end of yet another month! It doesn’t seem possible, but 2021 is already halfway over. After the tumultous year that was 2020, it almost doesn’t make sense that we are already halfway through the year, yet… here we are.

As the title of this week’s post suggests, we will be looking at another book. Since it is my desire to close out each month by bringing you another book to consider, I thought it would be wise to simply continue this trend.

Before we dig into this book, allow me to address a few comments that I made in my last post regarding up and coming topics, specifically in the fact that I have yet to pick back up our discussion of the 5 Solas of the Reformation. The reason that we haven’t picked back up much over the last few weeks is that my wife and I have been house hunting in our new city and may have finally (Lord willing) found a home. This has been a long process that will hopefully bring to an end our 5 months of commuting back and forth multiple times a week. We have a heart and desire for hospitality ministry, and that is simply difficult to do when you live over 50 miles away. So, we covet your prayers as we continue the home buying process in what is a difficult buying market. But, quite honestly, that’s taken up so much of my though process over the last month that I haven’t felt like writing lately. In fact, I even took this summer off of seminary just to try and complete this move and to be able to focus on it. Anyway, enough of my complaining. Let’s take a look at our book for the month!

Allow me to first give you the premise of this book from inside jacket:

“Reading the Gospels without knowing the personality of Jesus is like watching television with the sound turned off. The effect is a dry, two dimensional person saying strange, undecipherable things. But when we discover his true character – this man who made the wind, music, and flying squirrels – suddenly all of the remarkable qualities of Jesus burst forth with color and brillance like fireworks…

‘We need Jesus like we need oxygen,’ says Eldredge. ‘Like we need water. Like the branch needs the vine. Jesus is not merely a figure for devotions. He is the missing essence of your existence. To have Jesus, really have him, is to have the greatest treasure in all the world. To have his life, joy, love, and presence cannot be compared. A true knowledge of Jesus is our greatest need and our greatest happiness.'”

Doesn’t this sound just simply delightful?!?!

Review

Just to give you a little background one why this book – this book was loaned to me by a friend who is a fellow leader in the church where I am an elder. This friend enjoy’s Eldredge’s work and I have read a few others of his as well.

The reason he loaned me this book was becuase of a comment I made during an early sermon at my new/old church (so, take note pastors and preachers… people really are listening!). In that particular sermon, I was preaching from John 1 where we see Jesus calling the first disciples. In that recording from the Apostle John, I have always felt that Jesus was a little playful with these first disciples, particularly when Philip brings his friend Nathaneal and Jesus says, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity” (NLT), especially in response to Nathanael’s comment “can anything good come out of Nazareth?”.

Everytime I read this section I always get the impression that Jesus sort of elbows Peter when he sees Philip and Nathanael approaching and says with a chuckle, “hey, watch this!”

This is exactly what this book by John Eldredge is about! All throughout the book he is constantly reminding his readers that Scripture confirms that Jesus is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) and because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then if Jesus had a personality while he ministered on earth shouldn’t he still have a personality while sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven? Eldredge believes so, and I am more than inclined to agree.

Eldredge spends this work bringing out examples from each of the four Gospel accounts of where we see the personality of Jesus shining forth. Not only is Jesus playful and light hearted with his closest friends, he’s also honest (many times bluntly and disruptively so), generous, and even fierce. If we Christians believe that Jesus is both fully God as well as fully, 100% man, then we must accept that in his humanity Jesus has a personality and a sense of humor. In fact, we must be willing to accept that Jesus, in his humanity, is exactly like us yet without sin (Hebrews 2:16-18). Once we learn to fully grasp what this means, notes Eldredge, our relationship with Jesus opens itself to a deeper and more intimate one.

Two Critiques

I won’t mention much here, but allow me to preface this short section with this comment: I did very much enjoy this book and do highly recommend it. I think Eldredge is on to something that we have a tendancy to forget in our attempts to honor Jesus as Lord (which is good). So, what are my critiques?

First, Eldredge is a bit more charismatic than I am and moreso than a majority in my own denomination. This is not a bad thing, it’s just an honest point to note. Some of what Eldredge states in this work (and in many others) tends to lean in a direction that some could assume is not only extra-bibilical but almost heretical. Let me note that Eldredge is solid, but in his charism he forces us boring Baptists to deal with questions and issues that make us uncomfortable, and this should be welcomed with gladness. While we Baptists may not agree doctrinally with everything our charismatic friends do, they do remind us that we have neglected the person and work of the Holy Spirit, as well as His gifts for us, out of fear that we will take things too far. Perhaps its time we dip our toes in the charismatic stream just a bit and be more open to the moving of the Spirit of God.

Second, while I am in whole hearted agreement with Eldredge’s premise and his approach, I do think that he tends to over emphasize the rejection of “religious” language and practice. This doesn’t mean that he’s saying we should abandon orthopraxy (right practice), but in his attempt to help us discover the humanity and personality of Jesus I personally thing he leans a little too far away from “religious reverence.” If we are able to find the right balance, I think that reverence in the way in which we practice our faith is a wonderful thing! I’m in the minority in the Baptist world on this opinion, but I adore high church rituals, chants, incense, kneeling and standing, the whole works. I think there is a place for it in worship because we are at worship. We could do more of this, not less, and still be very honoring to the Lord – while also remembering that Jesus still has a very vivid and active personality.

Final Thoughts

I would highly recommend this book. I think it is challenging in its simplicity as well as helpful for us as we consider who Jesus is. While we rightly understand that God is “wholly (and holy) other” in Jesus, God intentionally meets us in our humanity. Jesus became one of us in order to redeem us. He become one of us in order to give us our true humanity back after our fall into sin.

In this work, we get a little glimpse of what a true human personality looks like in the perfect person of Jesus. Please read this book.

Have you read it? What did you think?

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