religion and spirituality

This is by far the best book I have read this year. It is the most clearly laid-out story of the men who were closest to Christ Jesus. I could harldy wait to finish this book so I could loan it out; and now that it is loaned out, I can't wait to get it back and re-read it.

John MacArthur does an excellent job of searching the New Testament for every detail about each apostle and blending it into a wonderful, accurate narrative of their lives and personality. He brought new insight into the special relationship between each pair (Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax-collector - both at extreme polarities of the Jewish political spectrum; Peter the brash loud mouth with his younger quiet brother Andrew, etc.) and the sub-grouping of 3 teams of 4 men.

I have found myself quoting often from this book as I take multiple aspects of each of the 12's personality and apply it to our own present day attitudes while serving Christ. We see that all of them were extremely ordinary, full of character flaws. The death and ressurection of Christ transformed them and their flaws were used in a mighty way. By harmonizing the events of the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, I also learned more about each man. MacArthur concludes each chapter with traditional (not in the Bible) information concerning their area of minstry in the world and their means of death.

I expected a history lesson when I purchased this book and ended up with a beautiful story that has really impacted my life. I strongly encourage you to read this book!

Hello readers, I confess I do not read my Bible as faithfully as I am called to but I did take a break to listen to the audio version of this book. I also wish it was unabridged for its exceptional and well worth your time.

I have long thought/believed I could not compare myself to any of the disciples as they were prayed over and selected by Jesus, but after seeing the humanity and extra-ordinary working of grace in the lives of these men I see things differently. I will be purchasing the longer hardcopy and going back to reread this exhilirating, deeply inspirational book.

Macarthur takes great care in describing each disciple in order and his obvious love for them and their master is evident. In short, this book is extra-ordinary and was a joy to listen to.

This book is great! It is written in an easy to understand, straightforward manner. I have recommended this book to others and they loved it too!! This is one book I wont part with because I know I will read it again.