Book Review: Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 12:41PM 
Clicking on this image will take you to this product at Monergism BooksExperiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas, edited by Nancy Guthrie.
Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus, is a collection of short essays on Christmas topics from writers that Nancy Guthrie respects—
essays that reflect a high view of Scripture; and that put the incarnation in the context of God’s unfolding plan of redemption.
Included are pieces from the sermons, essays or books of both historical and contemporary Christians. I’ve decided that listing the contributors would be more useful than anything else in helping you decided whether these are essays you would enjoy reading, so here you are, from first to last.
- George Whitefield
- Joseph “Skip” Ryan
- Martin Luther
- John Piper
- Tim Keller
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones
- J. Ligon Duncan III
- Jonathan Edwards
- Charles Spurgeon
- Saint Augustine
- J. I. Packer
- John Calvin
- Alistair Begg
- Randy Alcorn
- John MacArthur
- Raymond C. Ortland, Jr.
- Francis Schaeffer
- J. C. Ryle
- James Montgomery Boice
- R. C. Sproul
- R. Kent Hughes
- Joni Eareckson Tada
Impressive, isn’t it?
Some of the specific topics of the reflections are Mary, Joseph, the shephards, the wise men, the wisemen’s gifts, the Holy Spirit (he did, you remember, have a big role in the incarnation story), Christ’s humility, his poverty, and what it means that he became flesh. Like any collection from various authors, some pieces are easier to read than others. Some you’ll whip through like a summer breeze, and for a few, you’ll need your thinking cap.
And as you might also expect, some readings are better than others. The selections are mostly (maybe always) excerpted from larger works, so when I used the word essay to describe them, that was not quite right. That they are parts of larger wholes shows more in some readings than others. If you are expecting tight packages with precise beginnings, middles, ends, and all strings knotted, you may be disappointed a few times as you read through this book.
There were two essay that I marked with an X, which is my indication that didn’t enjoy it or strongly disagreed with it, and one marked with a question mark because I am unsure whether the whole premise stands. About half of the rest I enjoyed but didn’t love, and I thought nine out of the twenty-two were quite wonderful. I won’t be telling you which ones are which, since I read this book over a few weeks and have a hunch I didn’t judge consistently over time.
I will tell you that my favorite reading was the last one, A Christmas Longing, by Joni Eareckson Tada. Christmas, Joni says, is still a promise, even for those who live on our side of the first Advent.
Yes, the Savior has come, and with him peace on earth, but the story is not finished. Yes, there is peace in our hearts, but we long for peace in our world.
Every Christmas is still a “turning of the page” until Jesus returns. Every December 25 marks another year that draws us closer to the fulfillment of the ages, that draws us closer to … home.
When we realize that Jesus is the answer to our deepest longing, even Christmas longings, each Advent brings us closer to his glorious return to earth. When we see him as he is, King of kings and Lord of lords, that will be “Christmas” indeed!
Ah yes! We don’t reflect on this often enough, do we? Christmas calls us to celebrate a glorious event of the past, but it is (and maybe more so) a call to celebrate what is to come.
All in all, Nancy Guthrie gets a blue ribbon from me for her editing choices. The shortcomings in Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus are minor, and not really shortcomings at all, but rather, the unevenness that comes in any collection of essays, particularly when the selections are taken from many authors and from different centuries. I can’t think of a Christmas anthology that is better than this one.
Have a peak inside and read chapters 1 and 2 (pdf).
Reader Comments (2)
Adding it to my wish list!
Thanks for this review Rebecca - I haven't come across this book before.