THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD:
An Eyewitness Account
By Bear Grylls
Hodder & Stoughton. 277pages. £14.99
ISBN 978 1 399 820 141
I am a Bear Grylls fan yet read this sceptically. Why do we need Grylls’ version of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus when we have four reliable apostolic eyewitness accounts in the Gospels? Any addition or subtraction surely rings alarm bells.
That said, I was encouraged by how closely Grylls stuck to the Gospel accounts, and particularly the words of Jesus (p.273). Whilst there is gap-filling and embellishing to support context and flow, this is not excessive and does not detract from the central message about Jesus. Expect something akin to a well-written child’s storybook Bible about Jesus, but for adults or teens. For someone who may be reluctant to pick up a Bible or read a Gospel, this is a faithful and compelling introduction.
Grylls structures his material in five parts: Part One written from the perspective of Mary (Myriam, Mother) covering the period from Jesus’ birth to the wedding in Cana. Part Two from the perspective of Thomas (Ta’om, Sceptic) covering the early years of Jesus’ ministry, particularly His miracles. Part Three from the perspective of Peter (Simon, Fisherman) covering the last year running up to Jesus’ death. Part Four from the perspective of John (Yohanan, Friend) covering Jesus’ final week from Palm Sunday to Good Friday. Part Five from the perspective of Mary Magdalene (Myriam of Magdala) covering the resurrection of Jesus. Each part draws on the four Gospel accounts using interpretative storytelling. Together these point to Jesus as God’s Son, who died innocently and rose from death providing eternal life for those who put their faith in Him.
I commend this as a well-written, moving, and accessible story about Jesus, through the eyes of those He walked with. No substitute for the Gospels but commendable, nevertheless.
