TGC Reviews

Tullian Tchividjian, Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels. Crossway, 2010. 192 pages.

One of the benefits of the current “gospel-centered” movement is a realization that the Old Testament proclaims the gospel. It is crucial for the church, and for her ministers, to preach and teach the stories of the Old Testament from the perspective of the good news that runs as a stream throughout the Scriptures all the way to the cross and then throughout the world. I am thankful for the work of writers, preachers, and teachers who have been witnesses of this model of interpretation, such as Edmund Clowney, Sydney Greidanus, Graeme Goldsworthy, Bryan Chapell, and Tim Keller to name a few.

Tullian Tchividjian’s book Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels joins this movement of gospel-centered interpretation of the Old Testament by examining the Book of Jonah. The structure of Tullian’s book reads like a play with individual parts and scenes. “Part One: A Deadly Plunge” examines the beginning of the story in Jonah 1-2. Instead of chapters, we have an introduction and two scenes. “Part Two: Hearts Exposed” covers the new beginning that takes place after Jonah’s encounter with the great fish. Again, we have an introduction with three scenes, each covering major narrative sections of Jonah 3-4. In “Part Three: Never-Ending Surprise,” Tullian backs up and examines the big picture of the book of Jonah. These two final sections are titled, “The Larger Scene: The Gospel According to Jonah,” and “The Later Scenes: Something Greater than Jonah.” The titles themselves help you to see how Tullian is trying to draw the story forward toward Jesus Christ and the full revelation of the gospel in the New Testament.

A few prominent features of this book stand out as Tullian is able to combine them in the process of telling the story of Jonah. First, he explains and exegetes important parts of the text. He is sensitive to the narrative flow, highlighting wordplay and narrative detail. Second, he does not lose the forest for the trees. In other words, as he examines the individual details of the text, he continues to step back and ask larger biblical and theological questions about the story and about the gospel. Third, he weaves into the story contemporary elements from art and literature, making applications to our world. In fact, a prominent feature of the book includes plates from various works of art that depict the story of Jonah by artists and sculptors (to mention a few: Raphael, David Sharir, Dennis McGeary, Peter Lastman, Salvador Dali, and Abraham van Linge’s “Jonah Window” at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford). The plates are located near the center of the book, are in color, and are aesthetically appealing. Tullian weaves these works of art into his story, using vivid descriptions of these pieces and referencing them so we can see what he is describing.

Although a minister can use Surprised by Grace to shed light on the story of Jonah and glean several good illustrations for sermon preparation, I would encourage church leaders to use this tool in small group settings. Tullian’s writing style is on a popular level, and he is able to take some of the difficult concepts in Jonah and apply them to our current situation. A small group setting would also bring the added benefit of talking through the many ways Tullian applies the gospel to the Christian life through the life of Jonah.

If you use the book in a small group setting, be aware that Tullian doesn’t address the sticky problem of God’s “relenting” in Jonah 3:10. He reads it in light of his main theme in that chapter: a picture of abundant grace and pardon. That is precisely right, but if you use the book in a discussion format, be prepared to discuss that issue. It would also be nice to see Crossway produce a study guide for the book that contains some basic questions about the flow of the narrative and the application, but you could do that on your own. Neither one of these issues, however, take away from the strength of the book and its particular intention.

Overall, Tullian has provided a good, popular level introduction to the Old Testament prophet of Jonah. The story of Jonah covers the big areas of the Christian faith: our sin, God’s grace, and God’s mission (144). But Tullian has brought these themes to bear on a broad range of concerns for the church today: the need for the gospel for both Christian and non-Christian, rebellion and sin, repentance and idolatry, grace and mercy, compassion and love, and the importance of being missional as opposed to tribal. Tullian understands that these themes play out primarily in the life of Jonah himself. In other words, Jonah’s life is the message (143). This is similar to the way God uses all of the prophets and us too. Tullian points out that this is precisely why the book ends in its unusual way. God’s question about pity is not only a question for Jonah, but a question for us. Ultimately, the story of Jonah is a story about you and me, and Tullian’s retelling of this story helps us see our own need for God’s boundless grace, as well as our responsibility to love those that have not yet received this freedom.