The Jesus Who Surprises by Dee Brestin

The Jesus Who Surprises by Dee Brestin ISBN-13: 9780735291805 Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Multnomah Books Released: July 23, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Join beloved Bible teacher and best-selling author Dee Brestin in discovering the surprising places Jesus shows up in the Old Testament and the unexpected ways He speaks into our lives today.

Offering a fascinating perspective on the historic, poetic, and prophetic books of the Old Testament, Brestin draws on her deep understanding of the full scope of the Bible to explore the timeless story of God's quest to rescue each of us. She combines rich teaching, memorable storytelling, and an in-depth Bible study component to create a resource that shows readers how the story began (the books of Moses), how to live in the story (the poetic books), and how the story will end (the prophets).


My Review:
The Jesus Who Surprises is a Bible study that explores the Old Testament for references to or foreshadowings of Jesus. The author pondered what things Jesus would've talked about with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. She started this study with Genesis and then moved into the Psalms (and poetic books) and then the prophetic books. Each chapter started with her talking about a place in the Old Testament that points to Jesus. She'd connect it into New Testament references and then into a Christian living application. She used examples from her life to illustrate her points. For example, she looked at the child of promise given to Sarah versus the child that Hagar bore. She tied this into following religious rules versus having a personal relationship with Christ.

She followed this commentary with five days worth of Bible study on that topic, which can be done individually or in a group. She mainly had you look up verses and asked reading comprehension and personal questions. There were also free videos that can be watched as a part of this study. Overall, I'd recommend this book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.