John MacArthur provides a good character study of each of twelve important historical figures: Jesus' apostles. He does well even with not having much to work with -- some of the apostles barely garner more than a few appearances in the Bible.

Fitting with his theme, MacArthur tries to prove the apostles' "ordinariness" by pointing out character flaws or weaknesses in each one. These flaws are illustrated by various Biblical quotations, although one or two seem to be a stretch. Then he turns each story into a commentary on how to live more spiritually.

The book might have been a little longer if MacArthur had used extra-Biblical sources; the only time "tradition" is used is when ending each chapter, hinting at the apostles' later lives and eventual deaths. ( )

Several years ago the adult Sunday School class at our church did a study on the twelve disciples which the teacher loosely based on this book by John MacArthur. Since then I have been anxious to read it, and finally got my chance.

It most certainly lived up to my expectations. MacArthur is characteristically thorough in his treatment of the lives of the twelve men who accompanied Christ. I particularly enjoyed his insights into the lives and personalities of Andrew, Nathanael, and Thomas. Concerning the latter, this quote jumped off the page:

"Thomas was devoted to Christ. He may have been the equal to John in this regard. When we think about someone who loved Jesus and was intimate with HIm, we usually think of John, because he was always near Jesus. But it is clear from this account that Thomas did not want to live without Jesus. If Jesus was going to die, Thomas was prepared to die with him. In essence he says, 'Guys, suck it up; let's go and die. Better to die and be with Christ than to be left behind.'"

When referring to the same disciple's famous "unless I see the hands" quote from whence comes his nickname, MacArthur makes the following observation:

"When Jesus showed up in the room where the disciples are gathered, 'He showed them His hands and side' (John 20:20). Then they believed. So they were all slow to believe. What set Thomas apart from the other ten was not that his doubt was greater, but that his sorrow was greater."

Awesome!

MacArthur's treatment of Judas is especially interesting. He brought out a point that I had never noticed before: Christ only celebrated the Last Supper (which was also the first Communion Service) after he had sent Judas away. That should enter into the thinking of us all as we prepare our hearts for the Lord's table.

"Twelve Ordinary Men" is a great read for ordinary men like me. It is encouraging, engaging, and challenging.

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Michael Comments:
What I liked most about this book was getting the opportunity to see how much the bible has recorded about each of the 12 disciples. John MacArthur discusses each disciple in the context of what the bible tells us about each of the disciples. In some cases, not much is said about a disciple, it may just be a matter of a couple things a disciple did that reveals their character. Our church gives all the men a free book every Father Day and this book was the one we received this year (2007). Another good pick that has provided me an opportunity in this case to see the lives of Christ and his disciples. ( )

With books catalogued 3-30-07