The Manger – Jesus’ Incarnation
The River – Jesus’ Baptism
The Wilderness – Jesus’ Temptation
The Mountain – Jesus’ Transfiguration
The Garden – Jesus’ Decision
The Cross – Jesus’ Passion
The Tomb – Jesus’ Resurrection
The Throne – Jesus’ Ascension
The Return – Jesus’ Coming
No Christian could ever tire of hearing the story told in these great events. To borrow a line from our hymnal, “those who know it best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest,” and “it seems each time we tell it, more wonderfully sweet.” And when two well-informed, long-experienced, gospel-loving pastor-theologians team up to tell us the story of Jesus by way of these “high points” of his life, all the better.
From the Authors’ Introduction
ICHTHUS. It may seem a very strange title for a book, but the chances are you have seen an ichthus. It is the Greek word for a fish. You have probably seen an ichthus on the rear bumper of an automobile, or as a lapel badge, or perhaps on a poster.
It is an ancient symbol for the Christian faith – a simple sign, perhaps traced on the ground by a stick, or doodled somewhere as an indication that the person drawing it was a Christian.
How did this symbol come to be associated with Christianity? Perhaps because four of Jesus’ first disciples were fishermen? Perhaps. But undoubtedly because the five Greek letters which spell ichthus are also the first letters of a simple confession of faith: ‘Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Saviour.’ To draw the sign was to say wordlessly: ‘I am a Christian.’
To be a Christian, according to the New Testament is ‘to know Christ’. But how? In fact the only reliable sources we have for knowing anything about him are to be found in the New Testament.
Our aim, then, in these pages is to explore what the New Testament has to say about the identity of Jesus. We plan to do this by looking at nine critical moments in his life and ministry. These form a series of dots on the pages of the New Testament which, when joined up, give us a portrait of Jesus and help us to see the significance of who he is and what he has done. That, in turn, is what helps us to trust him in exactly the same way the first Christians did, as our Saviour and Lord.
Ichthus is a book for everyone and anyone. We hope it will be a help to believers because of what it says about our Master. But we also hope it will be read by those who are not – or perhaps not yet – believers, because all of us should at least know who Jesus was and what claims he made. It would be less than honest to reject him without knowing anything about him.
Recommended!
Neither Sinclair Ferguson nor Derek Thomas need introduction to our readers here at Books At a Glance. If you’re like me, when you see the title, look through the table of contents, and notice the authors, you know you’re in for a refreshing gospel read.
An excellent book to introduce your friends to Jesus. Rich and refreshing for any and every Christian. “Take and read!”
Fred Zaspel
Buy the books
Ichthus: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the Saviour