Review: Seeing Jesus from The East

Ravi Zacharius and Abdu Murray, Seeing Jesus from the East: A Fresh Look at History's Most Influential Figure (Zondervan Reflective, 2020).

I have been anxious to read this book, and it did not disappoint. Ravi Zacharius was not on my radar prior to the beginning of June 2019, when he was recommended to me by the mother of a friend. Some time after that I planned to go to a Christian Legal Society retreat where the guest speaker was Abdu Murray, the senior vice-president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. In between those two events Ravi was diagnosed with cancer and after the retreat COVID-19 hit, Ravi died, and the release of the book was delayed by an extra month.

Abdu Murray was one of the most powerful speakers I have had the privilege of hearing. Born to a Muslim family from Lebanon (the country, not the city in Pennsylvania) he converted to Christianity. Along the way, he also became an attorney.

Both Murray and Zacharius excel at apologetics- the defense of Christian beliefs or, as Peter states, "being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you....." (1 Peter 3:15, ESV). Murray's legal training and construction of his defense issuperb, but that is not what fascinated me.

In this book, Zacharius and Murray write separate chapters highlighting how the Western interpretation of the Bible is different from the Eastern interpretation. While we know intellectually that Jesus was from the Middle East, we seem to think of his teachings as Westerners. We force the "Jesus-peg" into our hole. When Murray spoke at the retreat, he re-cast the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard into an Eastern perspective. That was one of the "a-ha" moments I had.

If the book was just a matter of demonstrating how we miscast the teachings of Jesus, it would be well worth the price. There is, however, so much more.  The reader learns how to witness to others and exposes some of the popular fallacies and misconceptions of Christianity and other faiths. 

In a little over 200 pages, plus endnotes, there is too much information for me to cover here. Just buy two copies- one for you and one to give to a friend (or donate to a church library) and keep your eyes open for another book from Abdu Murray- he intends to write a book on the subject of Jesus and slavery.