1000 Days

Jesus walked this Earth for roughly 33 years.  We don’t know much about the first thirty years, other than that His birth was pretty incredible, and He taught the teacher in the temple when He was twelve, but otherwise life before thirty is pretty hazy, but then Jesus goes to John and gets baptized, and everything changes.  For the next three years or 1,000 days, Jesus starts teaching, preaching, healing, and transforming common people into world changers.

Those incredible three years related in the Gospels are the subject of Jonathan Falwell’s book: 1000 Days: The Ministry of Christ. 

Falwell doesn’t necessarily talk about those three years chronologically, but rather organized by themes.  He begins each theme with a modern day story to engage the reader, and then relates the story to a teaching or event in Jesus’s three-year ministry.

Often times the Gospel is referred to as being simple much to the chagrin of the folks who write systematic theology textbooks, and I think Falwell would drive those folks crazy because 1000 Days is pure Gospel in its simplest terms, and I loved it.  I didn’t learn anything new and Earth shattering, but I was reminded that my Savior shattered sin and death and set me free.  I was reminded that Jesus taught us how to love and what’s important, and He did it in a way that was simple and approachable much to the chagrin of the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees.

Yes, 1000 Days is simple, but the simplicity of the Gospel is one of its most beautiful aspects.  There’s no work, there’s no special knowledge we need, no ritual, no fill in the blank.  The Gospel just says repent and believe; Jesus paid it all.

I definitely recommend Falwell’s book if you find yourself needing a reminder of the simplicity of the Gospel.

I received the book free from the publisher for review.  All opinions are my own.