The Secret Message of Jesus:
Uncovering the Truth that Could
Change Everything by Brian D.
McLaren
Another Teacher Of God, That Makes Sense
When Brian McLaren began offering an alternative vision of Christian faith
and life in books such as A New Kind of Christian and A Generous
Orthodoxy, he ignited a firestorm of praise and condemnation that
continues to spread across the religious landscape. To some religious
conservatives, McLaren is a dangerous rebel without a doctrinally-correct
cause. Some fundamentalist websites have even claimed hes in league
with the devil and have consigned him to flames.
To others though, Brian is a fresh voice, a welcome antidote to the
staleness, superficiality, and negativity of the religious status quo. A wide
array of people from Evangelical, Catholic, and Mainline Protestant

backgrounds claim that through his books they have begun to rediscover
the faith theyd lost or rejected. And around the world, many readers say
that he has helped them find-for the first time in their lives-a faith that
makes sense and rings true. For many, he articulates the promise of what
is being called emerging Christianity.
In The Secret Message of Jesus youll find whats at the center of Brians
critique of conventional Christianity, and whats at the heart of his
expanding vision. In the process, youll meet a Jesus who may be
altogether new to you, a Jesus who is…
Not the crusading conqueror of religious broadcasting; Not the religious
mascot of partisan religion; Not heavens ticket-checker, whose words
have been commandeered by the church to include and exclude, judge
and stigmatize, pacify and domesticate. McLaren invites you to discover
afresh the transforming message of Jesus-an open invitation to radical
change, an enlightening revelation that exposes sham and ignites hope, an
epic story that is good news for everyone, whatever their gender, race,
class, politics, or religion.
Pastor and best-selling author McLaren revisits the gospel material from
a fresh-and at times radical-perspective . . . He does an excellent job of
capturing Jesus quiet, revolutionary style.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Here McLaren shares his own ferocious journey in pondering the
teachings and actions of Jesus. It is McLarens lack of salesmanship or
agenda that creates a refreshing picture of the man from Galilee who
changed history.
--Donald Miller, Author of Blue Like Jazz
In this critical book, Brian challenges us to ask what it would mean to truly
live the message of Jesus today, and thus to risk turning everything upside
down.
--Jim Wallis, Author of Gods Politics and editor of Sojourners
Compelling, crucial and liberating: a book for those who seek to
experience the blessed heat of Christianity at its source.
--Anne Rice, Author of Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
Personal Review: The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the
Truth that Could Change Everything by Brian D. McLaren

McLaren presents this discussion out of concern for the current generation
of Americans and other Westerners who have dismissed the church and
standard Christianity as out of touch, irrelevant and perverted. He
discovers that a large percentage of the current population actually are
very open to Jesus, even have a quite positive attitude toward Jesus, but
not the Christianity as an established religious system.
McLaren takes a look at Jesus in the Gospels and the teaching of Jesus
there. He attempts to probe the original contexts of the life and times of
Jesus. Outlining the social and political setting, McLaren takes a look at
Jesus' teachings and finds more of them make sense without the cultural
and philosophical blinders that have accrued in the western culture we
have inherited.
McLaren starts with the assumption that the actual teachings of Jesus
were and properly should be the core and foundation of "Christianity." He
finds that the core and thrust of that teaching is referred to as "The
Kingdom of God/Heaven." The Gospel of John represents this state of
spiritual living by the term "eternal life."
This insight will not be new to most "evangelical" believers, who are
familiar with the emphasis that "eternal life" is a quality of life we have now,
based on the words in John 3 that "the one who believes already has
eternal life." But McLaren rightly points out the strong tendency to strip the
term "eternal life" of its contextual meaning, and apply it to a life after
death, stripping the Kingdom of God of its power to bring life abundant
now.
This "Kingdom" concept or experience of the Rule of God in our lives was
a radical idea that challenged the Roman society's approach to rule by
violence. McLaren's investigation makes sense of Jesus' teachings about
peace and non-violence in the dynamic first-century Jewish-Roman social
context, attempting to redeem it from the sentimental dismissals of that as
naive.
After examining the Gospels he considers how overlooked emphases in
the writings of Paul actually support and extend this same perspective as
the core of the Gospel message Paul lays out in practical terms of the
believing community in a hostile empire with radically different values.
As McLaren looks at the teaching and actions of Jesus, it becomes clear
that the traditional view lost focus on the contextual meaning of Jesus'
teaching. This accounts partly for the obscuring or ignoring key aspects of
the Message of Jesus. The reader can identify with the steps in McLaren's
investigation, because McLaren is explaining his own experience in
coming to some realizations and finding answers to his questions.
In Part 1 the author analyzes the message of Jesus under its
characteristics as the Political Message, the Jewish Message, the

Revolutionary Message and the Hidden Message. In Part 2 he wrestles
with the Meaning of the Message. Part 3 considers the ways in which this
discovery of the "hidden message" of Jesus will change our approach to
everyday life. He makes so bold as to propose that following Jesus'
teachings can actually change the world in which we live.
Many readers will be especially interested on his focused treatment of
Apocalyptic concepts in the light of the consistent concepts of God's
radical rule in our lives. He thoughtfully considers various implications and
perspectives. I was glad to see he focuses on the worldview context for
this treatment also, helping the reader reclaim the historical and cultural
context and the special literary characteristics of Apocalyptic literature. Be
sure to give Chapter 19 serious attention.
McLaren makes sense of the radical, revolutionary message of Jesus, and
portrays the dangerous role of his message of a new Rule of God that
challenged the established Divine Empire of Rome with its Emperor Cult.
This author has shared with us his own spiritual journey and the process
by which he encountered Jesus directly, rather than through layers of
historical tradition.
McLaren lays bare the Good News in this message and the radical
possibilities that offers to us today. He will enable many readers to see
Jesus where he has previously been obscured by formal religion in
whatever form.
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