The Jesus You Can't Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ

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The Jesus You Can't Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ

by John F. MacArthur Jr.

3.96 · rating details · 94 ratings · 27 reviews

Best-selling author John MacArthur gives readers a fresh look at how Jesus addressed attacks against the truth.

Meek and mild. Politically correct. A great teacher. These are the popular depictions of Jesus. But they aren't the complete picture. Maybe because it's uncomfortable, or maybe because it's inconvenient, Christians and non-Christians alike are overlooking the fi...more

Hardcover, 218 pages

Published July 28th 2009 by Thomas Nelson Publishers

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Dec 22, 2011

Brenten Gilbert rated it

iâ€™m sure youâ€™ve seen the bracelets that say WWJD for â€œwhat would Jesus do?â€â€¦ theyâ€™re designed to remind people to really think about their actions and consider whether or not theyâ€™re acting in accord with what they say they believeâ€¦ (the term actually stems from a book called In His Steps written in the late 19th century, but thatâ€™s a different story)â€¦ unfortunately, when considering the question at hand â€“ or, on the wrist, so to speak â€“ most people think the answer lies in taking the action tha...more

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Jul 09, 2010

Pastoralmusings added it

A dozen years have passed since I first began reading books by John MacArthur. I have never failed to be blessed by them. This is no exception.

I shall first mention that, to be honest, it was a little less engaging and took me longer to read than a book normally does. It didnâ€™t seem to be typical MacArthur.

The book, however, is a very good book. The subject matter is of great importance today. Evangelicals do not seem to confront evil and false doctrine much at all....more

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Nov 17, 2011

Sarah rated it

WOW! WOW! WOW!ï¿½ John MacArthur has summed up precisely what Iâ€™ve thought and said for awhile now, of course people listen to him!ï¿½ We are so often told or hear that Jesus was a man who would have patted a sinner on the back and just excused the personâ€™s behavior â€“ kind of like aï¿½â€™well itâ€™s okay for you but not for meâ€™ï¿½ mentality.ï¿½ Iâ€™m so glad to hear someone speak up and defend the Word of Godï¿½and say Jesus got mad â€“ He ran the money changers our of the Temple.ï¿½ He didnâ€™t pat the adulteress and ...more

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Feb 05, 2011

John rated it

How do you handle people you disagree with?

An honest answer would be "it depends." If it's a trivial issue, then often you ignore it. Othertimes you negotiate, or acquiesce. We often hear that the wisest and most productive path is to find common ground, to engage, to dialogue, to fully understand the other person so that they will try to fully understand you.

But what do you do when the issue concerns God, concerns worldview or religion? Many Christians would say ...more

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Oct 17, 2010

Julia rated it

The Jesus You Canâ€™t Ignore written by John MacArthur is a spiritual journey into the often overlooked parts of Christâ€™s ministry. Modern Christianity has turned a little soft as time goes by. Society teaches tolerance of all things, all peoples and often time all actions. This book delves deep into the realistic approaches of Jesus and his approach to religious sinners. We all know that Jesus helped sinners, treated them with love and respect and did not shame them. He really wanted to help and ...more

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Sep 15, 2010

Cassandra rated it

Shelves: nonfiction

I received The Jesus You Can't Ignore (John MacArthur) awhile ago for review but it took me weeks to finish it. There is so much information packed into the book that I kept stopping to take notes or ponder what had been written.

The introduction states why this book is so important.

"Of all the things you might ever study or reflect on, nothing could possibly be greater than God. So your view of Him automatically has more far-reaching ramifications than anything els...more

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Aug 19, 2010

Mike rated it

Shelves: books-read-in-2010

Right from the beginning, MacCarthur shows through explanation, the lessons which must be learned from the â€˜Bold Confrontation of Christ.â€™ This is noted prominently on the cover, as well as the title page.
â€œThe Jesus You Canâ€™t Ignore,â€ by John MacCarthur, is a premier explanation of Godâ€™s love for us. MacCarthurâ€™s depiction and clear cut explanation of Jesusâ€™ time on earth should convince even the hardest heart that He came to earth as the Savior of all mankind. I would venture to say...moreRight from the beginning, MacCarthur shows through explanation, the lessons which must be learned from the â€˜Bold Confrontation of Christ.â€™ This is noted prominently on the cover, as well as the title page.
â€œThe Jesus You Canâ€™t Ignore,â€ by John MacCarthur, is a premier explanation of Godâ€™s love for us. MacCarthurâ€™s depiction and clear cut explanation of Jesusâ€™ time on earth should convince even the hardest heart that He came to earth as the Savior of all mankind. I would venture to say that even the hardest heart would be transfixed and softened by the descriptions and the Scripture used throughout this Study Guide. If the Preface and Introduction donâ€™t convince the reader of the power of God, all they need to do is begin reading Chapter One, â€˜When Itâ€™s Wrong to Be Nice.â€™
This chapter begins with Scripture from Luke 20:45-46 â€“ Then in the audience of all the people He said unto His disciples, â€œBeware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the market, and the highest seats in the synagogues. And the chief rooms at feasts. (KJV). In this portion of the Scripture, Jesus is speaking of the Sanhedrin and the Sadducees, not to mention the Pharisees themselves.
Jesus came to earth to teach and of course take away our sin. The question which arises here is whether we as sinners are going to accept Jesus as our Savior.
In â€œThe Jesus You Canâ€™t Ignore,â€ the reader is confronted with the Truth. Jesus was not always kind or gentle in His teachings. Sometimes He needs to be blunt, as evidenced with His conversations, battles and confrontations with the Pharisees. MacCarthur explains how the religious leaders tended to add rites and rituals beyond what God intended, and when Jesus confronted them with it, the Pharisees rebelled. Such a waste on their part.
I could go on for quite a long time, but, I strongly urge everyone to purchase and read/study the manuscript of John MacCarthurâ€™s â€œThe Jesus You Canâ€™t Ignore.â€
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Aug 11, 2011

Jared Totten rated it

· review of another edition

I have long respected John MacArthur for his passion for God's sovereignty, his devotion to biblical studies, and his love for the truth. His tenacity for the truth, however, became a repeated Achilles' heel in this book.

I agreed with many of MacArthur's premises in The Jesus You Can't Ignore in principle: Jesus did not shy away from conflict, in fact he seems to pursue it often with the religious leaders of his day. Jesus did not soft-pedal around his points of disagreement with them. Many Chri...moreI have long respected John MacArthur for his passion for God's sovereignty, his devotion to biblical studies, and his love for the truth. His tenacity for the truth, however, became a repeated Achilles' heel in this book.

I agreed with many of MacArthur's premises in The Jesus You Can't Ignore in principle: Jesus did not shy away from conflict, in fact he seems to pursue it often with the religious leaders of his day. Jesus did not soft-pedal around his points of disagreement with them. Many Christians today are afraid to step on any toes in defense of the Gospel.

However, there was one distinction that I felt was not made clear enough often enough. Jesus did not handle all his conflicts in the same manner, he did not treat all his audiences with the same aggression. In fact, Jesus reserved his fiercest combativeness solely for the religious leaders of the Jews. Jesus held those who "were entrusted with the oracles of God" to a higher standard. Many others (the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Pilate, the disciples) had wrong beliefs that Jesus addressed in a manner far different from the manner he used with the Pharisees and their ilk. While the Gospel essentials were worth fighting for, both his audience and subject matter influenced the response that Jesus delivered.

The Jesus You Can't Ignore fails to make this distinction often enough and reads like a overly reactive response to the new postmodern, permissive, and passive Christian stereotype. MacArthur's battleground seems to revolve around "the truth" rather than the Gospel and fails to make some important distinctions (i.e. Gospel essentials vs. non-essentials, Christians vs. non-Christians, sincere but mistaken believers vs. malicious twisters of the Gospel). It would be a great mistake to tell Christians to handle each and every confrontation with the same aggression as Jesus did in his disagreements with the Pharisees.

Unfortunately, when we shift from contending for the Gospel to fighting for the truth, the battle lines we draw exclude everyone we disagree with and every disagreement becomes grounds for a fight. Everyone would be much better off taking the whole counsel of Jesus' example in addressing conflict both as bold and gentle, at times harsh and other times cordial.
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Aug 09, 2011

Andy Mitchell added it

John MacArthur has a bone to pick...with seeker-sensitive congregations, with Emergent Christians, with believers who emphasize orthopraxy at the expense of orthodoxy.

However, I sense that the author has missed one important point: Jesus' strongest attacks were against the religious leaders of his day. The author himself may be railing against the specks in others' eyes while ignoring the plank in the orthodox church's eye.

Despite these misgivings, MacArthur's expositions on Jesus' hard teachin...more

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Aug 10, 2010

Cory Howell rated it

I was not too impressed by this book. McArthur makes his point: Christians are often so worried about causing offence, that they refuse to stand up for the truth. This can lead to a compromise in doctrine, and a capitulation to false teachers. The problem for me was how belabored the point became, and how McArthur simply kept complaining about the Pharisees. I joked when I was done with the book that it should have been called "Pharisees Is the Stupidest Folk." Over and over, McAr...more

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Jul 24, 2011

Brian Eshleman added it

Forceful reminder that Jesus is far from only meek and mild. MacArthur uses extensive biblical passages to show that Jesus is more assertive than passive and in fact provokes confrontations with those most opposed to His actual mission -- the religiously comfortable.

Whether this book changes you will depend upon which side of the confrontational horse you fall off on. If you feel safest being passive and use your portrait of Jesus as an excuse, watch out. But if you, as I suspect is the cas...more

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Aug 23, 2010

Regular Joe rated it

This book has a intriguing title. One that I'm sure will draw both the interested and many who are just curious. Written by Pastor John MacArthur, this new book entitled "The Jesus You Can't Ignore" seems to pick up where one of his previous books, "The Truth Was" left off. Only this one has what could be called a "how-to" book style. The subtitle bears this out--"What You Must Learn From the Bold Confrontations of Christ."

I found the Prologue ...moreThis book has a intriguing title. One that I'm sure will draw both the interested and many who are just curious. Written by Pastor John MacArthur, this new book entitled "The Jesus You Can't Ignore" seems to pick up where one of his previous books, "The Truth Was" left off. Only this one has what could be called a "how-to" book style. The subtitle bears this out--"What You Must Learn From the Bold Confrontations of Christ."

I found the Prologue and Introduction to be essential to understanding the purpose, focus and structure of this book. MacArthur seems to have taken a lot of time building a road map in these two sections, so failure to take the time to read and grasp his purpose could lead to a complete misunderstanding of what he wants the reader to know prior to entering chapter one. After reading a number of the book reviews and comments, I can see there is a lot of confusion and scratching of heads going on. My guess is they failed to read or carefully read the Prologue and Introduction before jumping into the first chapter. As an extreme example, one reviewer selected this book without knowing anything about John MacArthur and only because he liked the book cover. It should come as no surprise that he was extremely confused and offended by this book.

MacArthur takes a systematic approach in presenting his material. In chapter one he introduces the main characters of the book by providing information about the Pharisees, Sadducees and Sanhedrin, as well as an introduction to a modern day equivalent, the postmodern churches. According to MacArthur, each of the two groups represents the predominant false teachers of their age. I think this is one time in this book that he uses a specific group as representative of the postmodern church--the Emergent Church, specifically Brian McLaren.

Quite a number of readers seem to lose MacArthur's usage of these two groups--one ancient and the other a modern portrait of false teachers. He weaves these two throughout the rest of the book. If you don't catch that point early you may come away thinking, as more than one reviewer did, that MacArthur seems to arbitrarily throw in rude and "snippy" criticism of the postmodern group. Not so; his inclusion of this group is both intentional and carefully placed into the text as a warning to this generation.

According to MacArthur, this group of false teachers, like their predecessors the Pharisees during Jesus' earthly ministry, look like, sound like and teach like the real Christian church, but in reality are wolves in sheep's clothing. Instead of preaching the unvarnished Gospel, they have striped away the powerful heart of the message and tailored it into their own, more appealing and less confrontational friendship style of evangelism.

After introducing the cast of characters, MacArthur lays out in the next few chapters a chronological look at how Jesus confronted the false teaching of the Pharisees and other religious leaders. He begins with the first recorded contact when Jesus was just 12 years old and proceeds through each recorded encounter up to his illegal arrest and trial. At one point, MacArthur zeros in on Jesus' complete denunciation of the Pharisees in the Sermon on the Mount. That section is especially detailed and shows just how confrontational Jesus became in putting his finger on the very pulse of their self-righteous religiosity.

MacArthur uses Jesus as a model of how to confront false teaching with the scriptures. A number of readers seem to think MacArthur was saying this is the abrupt and militant approach the modern church should use with everyone we encounter. I thought he was very clear that this was a model for challenging false teachers and false religious systems. The everyday folks who were drawn to Jesus and his teachings, who knew they were sinners and needed a savior always received his most tender compassionate approach. According to MacArthur, this is also our model for this group.

There were several sections that I found especially helpful. I recall one in particular, a short study of Jesus' secret nighttime encounter with Nicodemus, which he humorously calls "Nic at Night," in John chapter 3. MacArthur's explanation of the unusual statements from both Jesus and Nicodemus during this well-known "you must be born again" interview is helpful and dismissed many of the explanations I have heard in the past.

As usual, MacArthur has written another in a line of controversial books. I'm sure he will draw a significant amount of criticism and even a little denunciation himself over his highlighting the dramatic comparative differences between the post-modern church today and The Jesus You Can't Ignore." (less)

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Nov 28, 2010

Sunflower rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-book-reviews, thomas-nelson-reviewed

What would you think if you were told,â€Harsh words are not always inappropiate. Unpleasant and unwelcome truths sometimes need to be voiced. False relgions always needs to be answered. Love may cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), but the gross hypocrisy of false teachers desperately needs to be uncovered-lest our silence faciliate and perpetuate a damning delusion. The truth is not always â€œnice.â€ (John MacArthur, The Jesus You Canâ€™t Ignore, pg. 171)

Probrably for many, react with t...more

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Sep 07, 2010

Katie rated it

I give this book 5 STARS!!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to understand and follow as it brought up certain aspects of Jesus that many would not otherwise consider. It is bubbling with scripture quotes, which helped to both keep my mind on the Bible and its truths and show me that MacArthur is not drawing his conclusions out of thin air! Each point that MacArthur covers is well thought out and fully explained to the reader, making it a very enlightening read for all ages! ...more

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May 29, 2010

Noelle rated it

"I believe it to be a grave mistake to present Christianity as something charming and popular with no offense in it. Seeing that Christ went about the world giving the most violent offense to all kinds of people, it would seem absurd to expect that the doctrine of His person can be so presented as to offend nobody. We cannot blink at the fact that gentle Jesus, meek and mild, was so stiff in His opinions and so inflammatory in His language and He was thrown out of church, stoned, hunted fro...more

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Jul 28, 2010

Liz rated it

Shelves: christian-living, non-fiction, jesus

In The Jesus You Can't Ignore Dr. MacArthur wanted to show from scripture how that the Jesus whom some of our current-day churches have minimized to a meek and mild Messiah is not the full portrayal of Jesus. He is certainly meek and mild, but He is also confrontational and did not allow distortion of truth to get in the way of the gospel message. This is evidenced numerous times in the Gospels when He provoked the Pharisees by performing miracles in their presence or intentionally breaking Je...more

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Jul 23, 2011

Jean Pierre rated it

In a society when most people perceive Jesus as some hippie with long-flowing hair, rosy cheeks, and very very good looking, John MacArthur takes to the Scriptures to give people a more accurate description of Yeshua. One of the first books I read when I got saved in 2009. It helped me to open my eyes and really gaze upon the true Son not Western culture's perception of him. Great read

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Aug 02, 2011

Elenareads added it

Fantastically eye opening about the heart of Christ's ministry on earth. Truly an honest look at the Jesus who turned heads and cut to the hearts of those who followed and those who despised him. Cannot come away with the idea that Jesus was merely a good teacher or a prophet. Every teaching and challenge spoke to his proclamation of Godhood.

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Oct 06, 2010

Claudia rated it

Shelves: non-fiction-christian

Very awesome how MacArthur can shed light on the stories in Scripture and bring them alive. One of the BEST books I have ever read. Bottom line: Christians are to war against false teaching which refutes pure, authentic Christianity. It is what Jesus spent much time doing during his years on earth, and it is one of our roles as His followers.

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Sep 08, 2009

Daniel Vojta rated it

Galli's - Jesus: Mean and Wild was a much better written book on the subject...

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Jul 27, 2011

Roger Sigmon added it

Reminds of who Jesus really is and what He came to earth for.

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Nov 07, 2009

Dave rated it

Really really interesting - definitely proves that Jesus wasn't a snuggle bear who wanted to hug everyone he met, that he couldn't stand the people who misused and pimped Truth. Amazing stuff...

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Jun 13, 2010

Tom rated it

The chapters read like sermons....but they're good sermons, anyway. I always appreciate a tonic to the Hippie Jesus that is floating around out there.

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Jul 14, 2011

Amber rated it

· review of another edition

Loved it!!!!

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Nov 04, 2011

Tre rated it

Shelves: john-macarthur, christianity, christian, nonfiction, jesus, discipleship, read-in-2011

John MacArthur shows us how Jesus was not "seeker friendly", clearly from the pages of the Bible.

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Jan 27, 2011

Marc rated it

· review of another edition

It's not always inappropriate to confront--even boldly and publicly.

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Mar 11, 2011

Chris rated it

· review of another edition

Solid read.

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Feb 09, 2012

Michael rated it

Feb 06, 2012

Timothy rated it

Feb 06, 2012

John added it

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About John F. MacArthur Jr.

John F. MacArthur, Jr. is a United States Reformed evangelical writer and minister, noted for his radio program entitled Grace to You and as the editor of the Gold Medallion Book Award winning MacArthur Study Bible. MacArthur is a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker and has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969, and as ...more

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