Williams focuses this book on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. His exegesis on this parable is outstanding. He highlights words and 'what's not said' that I had never considered before, even though I have spent much time contemplating the parable.

After a short bible study which also in some ways serves as a little devotional too as there is so much to glean and contemplate, Williams outlines how his audience, many well versed in the Torah, would have been amazed by how Jesus links aspects of the parable to some of the key stories in Genesis (Jacob and Esau, Joseph, for example). Only a brilliant teacher would have been able to do this.

In addition, Williams compares a number of the parables to demonstrate the wonder of the teacher.

I especially enjoyed the first 60% of the book and was in awe of Williams knowledge, wisdom and his many references to other commentators. However, I found the latter part to be a little repetitive and wondered if he felt he needed to stretch the book out. I found I started skimming some of the last chapters.

However, it is still tremendous and would recommend it especially if you are studying the Prodigal Son parable.

I received an early ebook copy of the book from the publisher via Net Galley. This has had no bearing on my review.

Just a lovely Christian novel with all the feel goods and reminders needed for every day. Thank you.

This one was a mixed bag for me. There were several moments where my mind was blown by connections between Jesus' teachings and the Old Testament that I had never even thought put together. Then there were several moments were things were unclear or repetitive, and I found myself skimming. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is...one of the most unconvincing books I have ever read. And to be honest, I'm not really sure what conclusion I was supposed to walk away with.

Let me preface this by saying that I have an MDiv. I know both Hebrew and Greek. I LOVE language. And I have invested two decades of my life in the Bible. I am also a practical theologian and known for finding those beautiful connections that help folks put things together and be awed by the incredible awesomeness of God. So when I hear the passion in the author's voice...I feel that. Deeply.

But every point in this book has a counterpoint. Every example of a connection has a least one example of what's NOT a connection. A place that matches always has a place that doesn't match. The connections he's claiming to make are so thin and so tenuous that it's kind of the equivalent of a young child walking up and saying you're twins today because you're both wearing green - you have on a forest green shirt and she has lime green laces in her shoes. For me, this book was THAT thin.

But then, inexplicably, right in the middle, it starts to shift and the author starts trying to prove that it was even Jesus at all who said the things the Gospels tell us Jesus said. It's a question that hasn't really been asked in the text, so it seems weird that he becomes hyper-focused on it all of a sudden. And again, here, his evidence is unconvincing. In fact, in most places, he admits that other theories might be possible, but they aren't AS possible as his theory, so...take his word for it? The evidence just isn't there for me.

Even if the evidence were there and this book was pieced together in a better manner, I'm not sure I arrive at the same conclusion. That is, the premise is that by looking at one really good story Jesus tells (which the author actually immediately expands to THREE stories), we can prove that Jesus is a genius. I might be convinced by this thread that Jesus told a really good story, maybe even more than one, and that He might have even had an incredible knowledge of what we know as the Old Testament, but I'm not sure that would make Him a "genius." I have spent much of my adult life around children and around the neurodivergent (those with autism), and they all develop a special interest at some point that they can rattle on about for quite awhile just because they're good at remembering what they read. That doesn't make them geniuses that they can explain something well. There...there has to be more to it.

So, I'm sorry. I just wasn't convinced by this book, and I wasn't even really sure what I was trying to be convinced of. It was very thin and very messy for me.

Jesus was (and is) a genius. As a statement of fact that’s unlikely to surprise you, after all, He is the Son of God (Luke 1:35), King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16)! And yet in a world where we’ve had Jesus’ teachings taught, analysed and criticised for the past two thousand years, sometimes we lose sight of the earth-shattering intellectual geniusness of Jesus’ message itself. His teachings would easily stand in their own right, even if we were to put Jesus’ authorship aside for a moment. Christians know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, but have you ever stopped to think of Him as the world’s foremost intellectual powerhouse, dwarfing our Aristotles, Leonardos, Newtons and Einsteins?

Peter Williams is principal of Tyndale House in Cambridge and a Bible scholar who has previously written Can We Trust the Gospels? (Crossway, 2018), an excellent and easy-to-read defence of the historical reliability of the four Gospels.

In his new 128-page paperback, The Surprising Genius of Jesus: What the Gospels Reveal about the Greatest Teacher (Crossway, 2023), Peter Williams revisits these same Gospels and aims to surprise newcomers and even seasoned readers of the Bible with a fresh look at the sheer intellectual brilliance of the man Jesus Christ.

I found The Surprising Genius of Jesus a fascinating journey of discovery across ‘Old’ and ‘New’ testaments, along with some great insights into Jesus’ teaching in this parable and others. For me it was a joy to understand more of how Jesus composed His parables and an encouragement to see how the Holy Spirit breathed them out in the form they have existed in for the past two thousand years. Good study will indeed leave you lost in wonder, love and praise!

See full review on eatwritesleep.com

The author begins by mentioning Jesus' parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.
He brings out the fact that the younger son split the inheritance at the same time as the older son, the younger son was not the only recipient. The younger son also called his father "Father", whereas the elder son called his father "you". He pointed out that the younger son may have had a closer relationship to his father than the older son.
The parable of the two sons is contrasted with that of Jacob and Esau, in that the younger son goes into a far country and herds animals and the older son Esau hugs and kisses Jacob, unlike the older brother in the parable who is unwelcoming to the younger son who came back home.
The story of Joseph has similar aspects too, Joseph is the one who goes away to a far country and his father thinks he is dead but he returns alive. Just as the returning son received a ring and a robe - Joseph receives a ring and a robe from Pharaoh.
Jesus used one parable that contained references to previous ways in which God dealt with His people He welcomes the repentant and restores them.

What a book! I love this kind of analysis about Jesus' life and lessons, and How can We discover layers from his humanly experience in order to make a Way back to Us with a true relationship with God and also to teach Us how to live Our daily lives as well. The author had concentrate the narrative in Luke 15 and the famous parable of Christ, but it was indeed enough for the reader deiscover How Jesus was in fact, a genius. Well done, guys!

This is an excellent little book for understanding more about Jesus and his method of teaching. Williams is attempting to show that Jesus is a genius, a description normally reserved for people who create great works of art or thought, like Michelangelo or Einstein. Williams demonstrates Jesus’ genius by highlighting the many potential Old Testament connections to the short story of the prodigal son from Luke 15. Then he shows that Jesus’ rhetorical genius extends beyond that story and the book of Luke by tracking OT connections across 14+ parables found throughout the gospels. Finally, he suggests that Jesus’ genius comes from the reality that Jesus is God himself, come to provide the ultimate sacrifice and save the world, a reversal of Genesis 3.

As a committed Christian with an M.Div., I trust Jesus as Savior, know the gospels well, and have read the story of the prodigal son probably hundreds of times. Nevertheless, from the first chapter Williams taught me much about the way Jesus used the OT. Williams is excellent at clearly and concisely proving his point, and he does so without bravado. The book is complex enough for any seminary course and yet easy to read. I can’t comment on whether skeptics would enjoy this book, but it was certainly enlightening to me and deepened my trust in Jesus as an intellectual genius.

I will say that some of the connections Williams makes feel like a bit of a stretch. For example, he connects Jesus’ use of the phrase “three seahs of flour” in the parable of the leaven (Mt. 13:33, Luke 13:20-21) to Abraham’s use of the same phrase in Gen. 18:6. It could have been an intentional connection to that story, or it could’ve been a normative Hebrew phrase to describe the amount of flour used to make cakes. Still, part of his argument there is to suggest that it was Jesus and not a later author who told the parable, so in that context, even a potential Hebrew connection would prove his point.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It deepened my understanding of Jesus’ use of parables and enriched my perspective on Old Testament connections to the New Testament. I’ve seen Williams’ talks from ELF annual conferences via YouTube and find him to be an excellent teacher and scholar. I would totally recommend this book both for the content and for the author.

While I’ve never questioned the genius of Jesus, I’m not sure I have adequately marveled that quality in Him either. The Surprising Genius of Jesus is a succinct and well written book which invites the reader to be awe filled at the knowledge and mastery Jesus commanded of the Old Testament by highlighting the connections, parallels, and contrasts Jesus exercised as he taught the parable of the prodigal son.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author was not self promoting but instead walking alongside the reader marveling with them. He did not drown the reader in words intended to make himself look brilliant, but just like the parables he’s exploring, he used just enough words to make his point. Additionally, this book is readable. It’s written for the average person to be able to follow along and understand. I love this book because it fills you with fresh excitement to go read the Bible, and any book that can do that is five stars for me every time. I started this book yesterday and finished today. I couldn’t put it down, and truly, I will read it again. I cannot recommend it enough.

I’d like to thank Crossway and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.