Who Is This Man?:
The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus

by John Ortberg

About 2100 years ago Caesar Augustus was the most powerful man on earth. Everyone knew who he was, and his word was law. Like all other men, he died. As time went on his impact on the world began to fade. Another man of the time was Jesus of Nazareth. He had no position of power in the world. He never wrote a book. He had a few students who followed him around for a couple of years before he was executed as a criminal and they all scattered. But today the influence of Jesus is everywhere, and he has more followers than ever. Caesar Augustus is most known today for ordering the census mentioned in the story of Jesus’s birth.

In Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus John Ortberg shows how through the years the teachings of the humble carpenter who grew up in Nazareth have shaped history, science, and western civilization. I am a Christian and familiar with the life of Jesus from the New Testament. This book astounded me with how pervasive the impact of Jesus’s life and teachings have been throughout the entire span of history since his death on the cross.

Who Is This Man tells the story of Jesus’s continuing and growing impact on civilization in flowing prose that is easy and enjoyable to read, with a comprehensive bibliography for the scholarly inclined reader.

Who Is This Man is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in how civilization as we know it today came to be.