"Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus" (Nancy Guthrie)

TITLE: Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus
AUTHOR: Nancy Guthrie
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020, (240 pages).

People are complicated. No one likes to be stereotyped on the basis of one event. it is also unfair to caricature them in one image, for whatever the reason. The same applies for characters in the Bible. Typically, in many story-telling contexts, including Sunday School classes, we use labels such as "Peter the rock," "Brilliant Paul," "Doubting Thomas," "Gentle John," or "Sacrificial Stephen" on the basis of significant events and behaviors recorded. Understandably, it is a case of oversimplifying for kids' sake. During such times, we can go deeper into the study of the character and discover more truths about the person beyond the superficial labels. When people grow up, they would realize that people do change over time, and their different emotions and reactions will also change. Driven by curiosity, author Nancy Guthrie takes a deeper look at some common characters in the gospels and Acts to nuance the same kind of person under different circumstances. Whatever "saints" or "scoundrels" behaviour in any one person, they all need Christ. This makes this book a powerful Bible Study series on ten biblical characters found in the gospels and Acts.


We start with John the Baptist as "The Voice" who for all the good things he had done with regard to proclaiming and baptizing Jesus, he fails to affirm Jesus directly when he was asked specifically in prison whether Jesus was the Messiah. In "The Family," Guthrie traces both Matthew's genealogy and the family of Jesus. Other than Jesus, all the other members have their share of ups and downs. They spend a long time not believing in Jesus until the end. Such imperfect records should bring loads of encouragement to those of us who feel discouraged or down with regard to our own spiritual records. When we think of the "rock," we would immediately think of Simon Peter. The author looks at his life and shows us the gradual transformation from fear to fearless. There are the hypocrites, the ones Jesus use on the Pharisees and religious leaders. After a long exposition on the flaws of these leaders, Guthrie floats up some glimmers of hope in the person of Nicodemus. The "crook" might make us think of Judas Iscariot, but Guthrie shows us that there are more in the gospels. As again Zacchaeus the unscrupulous tax collector was transformed from scoundrel to saint when he met Jesus. In contrast, Judas Iscariot is seen as "the opportunist" who gets from bad to worse. Guthrie makes an interesting insight that sees Judas as one who had all the opportunity to be saints, but squandered everything and chose "scoundrel" instead. Calling "Caiaphas" the "wicked, corrupt judge," Guthrie highlights other priests in the Bible as well to show us the spectrum of priestly types, eventually leading us to the Perfect Priest of all. Then there are the two sides of "criminal," the obvious and the insidious. We are reminded that we too as sinful people are guilty of it, and because it it, we need Jesus.

Guthrie closes the book with a "Group Discussion Guide" that not only summarizes the chapter's main points, but leads us toward deeper implications.

My Thoughts
Each of the ten chapters presents to us a triple challenge: To identify who it is the author is speaking about; to expand our understanding beyond any one person, and to see how many of these categories we fit in. In identifying what the person is, readers would be piqued to try to guess exactly who is the voice, the hypocrite, the criminal, the opportunist, and so on. In some cases, we would be surprised when our answer differs drastically from Guthrie's. When that happens, I would urge readers to try to understand from the author's perspective. Like an experienced Bible teacher, Guthrie begins each chapter with a story or an illustration before bridging it to the biblical story. I would advise readers not to be hasty about linking the title to the suspect too quickly. We might be surprised at the conclusion. This makes the reading quite intriguing with the twists and turns.

Second, we learn to see the label applied to more than one person. For example, when referring to the "disciple," we see different examples of people who follow Jesus. The using the life of Stephen as an illustrative point, we learn about the cost of discipleship that following Jesus is not about obeying a set of rules but living out a life of conviction in Christ, whatever it takes. Or to try to do guesswork on who is the "worst" person of them all. Is it some atheist or is it a tyrant in history? Alas, Guthrie uses the story of the transformation of Saul to Paul, using the words of Paul as launchpad, that he considers himself the worst of all sinners.

Finally, perceptive readers will recognize that the study on saints and scoundrels could very well be a mirror of our best and worst selves. Those who think they are saints might be guilty of scandals and unscrupulous behaviour. Or they might think they are the worst of sinners like Paul, only to find themselves forgiven in the grace of God.

I enjoy this book because it is not only challenging but forces us to look at ourselves and especially into our own quadrants of the Johari window.

Nancy Guthrie teaches the Bible to women at her church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, and at conferences worldwide. She and her husband, David, are the cohosts of the GriefShare video series used in more than 10,000 churches nationwide and also host Respite Retreats for couples who have experienced the death of a child. Guthrie is also the host of Help Me Teach the Bible, a podcast from the Gospel Coalition.

During this launch, there is a special 6-day video devotional by the author here. In mid-May, readers may download the Personal Bible Study and Leaders' Guide at her website here.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.