Book Review: Captivated: Beholding the Mystery of Jesus Death and Resurrection

by Thabiti M. Anyabwile
review by W. Dana Perkins

A very ill 10 year old grandson, a father approaching his 90th birthday and the upcoming Good Friday and
Easter Holidays made me eager to gaze upon the mystery and meaning of Christs death. In that
readiness, I was not disappointed as I read through Pastor Anyabwiles new book.
I am a frequent listener of sermons, so I felt quite comfortable reading this collection of sermons
reworked as meditations. Throughout the book, reference is made to numerous scriptures, reminding us
of the unity of the history of redemption that exists from Old to New Testament and providing that
much needed pause to gaze upon the necessity of the Christs death, the abandonment of God, the
death of death, the resurrection and the way of knowing how these things are really true for us
personally.
I thought Pastor Anyabwile does a particularly good job in chapter 2 of making relevant to todays
readers the acts and words of Jesus at the time of his death and resurrection. Using the part of the
armed forces creed that says Leave no man behind, he shows how we are taken home by Gods
willingness to go to great lengths to bring members of his family to heaven.
This book is not for the reader antagonistic to the Christian faith. It does not attempt to convince, as
much as provide good meat to chew on and be nourished by. And much as a good meal brings
refreshment and new strength to a hungry body, these meditations will help bring solid hope and
clearer definition to what death is and what it is not.
Each chapter is followed by a set of questions I found quite helpful for seeing if I understood the chapter
and for practice in articulating the contents. These questions would make good questions if using the
book for small group discussion.
I received this book for free from Reformation Heritage Books via Cross Focused Reviews for this review.
I was not required to write a positive review