Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ

By Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

Jesus Manifesto presents a fresh unveiling of Jesus, seeking to restore the supremacy and sovereignty of Christ in a world—and a church—that has lost sight of Him.

Christians have made the gospel about so many things—things other than Christ. Religious concepts, ideas, doctrines, strategies, and methods that begin to eclipse the beauty, the glory, and the reality of the Lord Jesus Himself.

We know a lot about our Lord, but we don't know Him very well. We know a lot about trying to be like Jesus, but very little about living by His indwelling life. Jesus Manifesto provides clarity on the most important points of our faith. It is a prophetic call to restore the supremacy and sovereignty of Christ in a world and church that has lost sight of Him.

This manifesto emphasizes ten crucial areas of restoring the supremacy of Jesus Christ, noting:

• Christians don’t follow Christianity; they follow Christ
• Christians don't proclaim themselves; they proclaim Christ
• Christians don’t point people to core values; they point people to the Cross
• Christians don't preach about Christ; they preach Christ

Read this book to see your Lord like you've never seen Him before and restore the sovereignty of Jesus in your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 30, 2010
• ISBN: 9781418560355

Leonard Sweet

Leonard Sweet is an author of many books, professor (Drew University, George Fox University, Tabor College), creator of preachthestory.com, and a popular speaker throughout North America and the world. His “Napkin Scribbles” podcasts are available on leonardsweet.com    

Book preview

PRAISE FOR JESUS MANIFESTO

Of all the doctrines, debates, and decisions throughout the history of Christianity, none has ever been as important as what we do with one simple question posed by Christ: "Who do you say that I am?" It is with this question that Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola begin a journey with the reader that leads to the very essence of the Christian faith.

Whether you are a seminary professor or someone seeking answers about Christ for the first time, Jesus Manifesto promises to illuminate the truth about the greatest personality to ever walk the earth. And along the way you will rediscover, or experience for the first time, the power, prestige and primacy of Jesus Christ.

— Ed Young

Pastor, Fellowship Church

Author, Outrageous,

Contagious Joy

Today’s church desperately needs that trumpet-like certain sound heard when Jesus’ own voice is heard—just as He spoke in the Revelation. Our hour is similar to that; one of doctrinal drift, double entendre, and deepening deception, both in the church as in the world. Jesus Manifesto calls us to Jesus’ person and position as Lord of the church, to hear Him call us to truth’s clarity, power’s purity, and obedience’s reward, to restore that saltness that will keep His church alive and penetrating in its impact.

— Jack W. Hayford

Founding Pastor, The Church

On the Way

Chancellor, The King’s

Seminary

As we move further into the 21st century, it is becoming evident that there are many voices rising with the intent of redefining the real Jesus of the Gospel. Yet these voices reveal a real Jesus that is far less the Jesus of Scripture and far more a Jesus made in their image and in their likeness. What is needed in this hour is a clear, compelling, and uncompromised declaration that Jesus is more than a spiritual guide, more than a sacrificial leader, more than one of many ways to God. He is indeed the Supreme Ruler of All Creation, and He is Lord of All. As many are defecting the ranks of the faithful for a gospel of their own making, we are indebted to Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola for unhesitatingly issuing a call for the recovery of the true testimony of Scripture, that Jesus indeed is Sovereign Lord, and that He reigns supreme over all the universe, and there is no other God but Him.

— Mark J. Chironna, M.A. Ph.D.

The Master’s Touch

International Church

Orlando, Florida

In a day when much of Christianity seems to have missed the main point of our faith, Jesus Manifesto brings us back to center. Sweet and Viola have given us a matchless presentation of Jesus—one that combines poetic artistry, gripping metaphor, and profound insight. The book masterfully reflects what the Spirit is saying to the church today.

— Dr. Kenneth C. Ulmer

President, The King’s College and Seminary

Los Angeles, CA

Brilliant, refreshing, soaring—and that’s just the first chapter! This book is destined to be a classic devotional volume that will inspire generations of Jesus-followers. The line from the song goes, you can have all this world, but give me Jesus. This book does just that.

— Reggie McNeal

Missional Leadership

Specialist, Leadership Network

Author, The Present Future

and Missional Renaissance

Amid the many voices calling the church to the work of justice, Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola call us first to Jesus from which all justice flows. Together they help us see how the vision of Christ’s supremacy makes possible any and all faithful engagement with the world. There are times when a profound and significant truth needs to be said simply. The Jesus Manifesto does just that with an intensity appropriate to the message! I applaud it, and I recommend it.

— David Fitch

Author, Pastor, Professor

Northern Seminary

Evangelicals have tended to focus on the work of Christ to the exclusion of valuing the life and model of Jesus as archetypal Christian. By helping us realign ourselves around the magnificent Person at the heart of our faith, this book goes a long way toward correcting that imbalance. Devout, intelligent, challenging, Len and Frank deliver. I sign the manifesto!

— Alan Hirsch

Author, ReJesus: A Wild

Messiah for a Missional

Church and Untamed:

Reactivating a Missional Form

of Discipleship

Jesus Manifesto is a priceless treasury revealing the riches of Christ in unique depths yet written with simple language. Prophetic and poignant, Sweet and Viola’s words soar high as they glorify the greatest Person in the universe—our Jesus Christ.

— Anne Jackson

Speaker and Author,

Permission to Speak Freely:

Essays and Art on Fear,

Confession, and Grace

Whenever Len Sweet writes something, I am challenged and learn so incredibly much. Whenever Frank Viola writes something, I am challenged and learn so incredibly much. So with both Len and Frank writing together here, you are reading an exponential Jesus-focused challenge and learning experience. They write not just words and sentences, but this is seriously a Spirit-shaped breath of fresh air for the church at large, in all her beautiful and messy forms and shapes, and for Christians of every age and diversity.

— Dan Kimball

Author, They Like Jesus But

Not the Church

From now on my friend Frank Viola will not be known solely by his proposals regarding the church. Len Sweet, my teacher, will not merely be known as a brilliant and original professor. With the writing of Jesus Manifesto, they will now be known as followers, broadcasters, ambassadors, and articulators of Jesus. There is no higher role in life. I can offer no higher compliment. Best yet, this role can be taken on by us all: doctors and nurses, policewomen and firemen, teachers and counselors—you name it. In the Jesus Manifesto there is room for everyone.

— Todd Hunter

Author, Christianity Beyond

Belief and Giving Church

Another Chance

Anglican Bishop

Do you ever feel that Jesus has left the building? The Christian religion promises so much in terms of power, forgiveness, joy, and intimacy, but sometimes it feels that those promises are just words. Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola have a radical and Biblical solution, to wit, Jesus. Read this book and you’ll find your heart strangely warmed. That warmth is Him . . . Jesus. This book could change your life and the lives of everyone who cares about the church. I rise up and call the authors blessed!

— Steve Brown

Seminary Professor, Reformed

Theological Seminary,

Orlando, FL;

Author; Host of the syndicated

talk show Steve Brown, Etc.

Gandhi once said, Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. Maybe if we actually knew Christ, we would reflect Him more. Sweet and Viola’s Jesus Manifesto is the quintessential reintroduction.

— Sally Morgenthaler

Worship Evangelism

Jesus Manifesto is a passionate invitation to fall head over heels in love with the Son of God. Prepare to be shaken. Prepare to be awakened. And prepare to answer the call to follow Jesus with wholehearted abandon. After reading this book, you’ll never be the same.

— Margaret Feinberg

Author, Scouting the Divine

This little book is a fresh and elegant portrayal of Jesus Christ that’s epic and timely. It puts a pulse on the main problem in the church today and uniquely stirs both heart and head as it points us to the only solution, Jesus.

— Pastor Tommy Barnett

Phoenix First Assembly

Dream Centers: Phoenix,

LA, NY

I look for books that call us to love Jesus and make His name more widely known. In Jesus Manifesto, Sweet and Viola ask us to step away out of the Youniverse (their word) of narcissistic religion and away from the pop-culture Jesus who is just a nice man. Throughout the book, they exalt Jesus as the divine Savior and ask the church to do the same. I believe this book will spark a renewed love for Christ by pointing us to the deep mystery of His person. You will be motivated to love and serve more deeply as your life is focused on Jesus the Messiah.

— Ed Stetzer

President, LifeWay Research

I love this book simply because I love Jesus. It will deepen, widen, and heighten your love for Christ; and few books can make that claim.

— Mark Batterson

Lead Pastor, National

Community Church

Author, Primal: A Quest for

the Lost Soul of Christianity

Wow! What a message, what a word, what a masterful work. My friends Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola have again challenged us to think deeper and go higher in our commitment to the call to genuine and authentic Christian ministry. Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ is a must read for all serious students, teachers, and leaders in the Lord’s church. In this post-modern, high-tech age, where we talk on iPhones, listen to iPods, and write on iPads, but have lost the power of the great I Am, we are called through this book to come back home—to indeed return to our first love. I believe that this book will cause more than a ripple in the body of Christ.

— Bishop Donald Hillard, Jr.

Senior Pastor, Cathedral

International

Presiding Prelate, Covenant

Ecumenical Fellowship and

Cathedral Assemblies

The unrelenting purpose of the Holy Spirit is to lead us into the living presence of Jesus Christ. If we follow the Spirit, Christ can become as real to us as the world was when we were sinners. Jesus Manifesto is a compass pointing toward this holy pursuit.

— Francis Frangipane

Pastor and Author, And I Will

Be Found By You

The beauty of this book is that it not only deals with the identity of Christ, but the ways that we are made to relate to this Living and Liberating King. I will be buying this book by the caseload to invite others to contemplate the question that has the power to change everything.

— Chris Seay

Pastor, Ecclesia Houston Author,

The Gospel According

to Lost and The Gospel

According to Jesus

President, Ecclesia Bible

Society

JESUS

MANIFESTO

JESUS

MANIFESTO

RESTORING THE SUPREMACY AND SOVEREIGNTY OF JESUS CHRIST

LEONARD SWEET

AND

FRANK VIOLA

9780849946011_0010_001

© 2010 by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Leonard Sweet is published in association with the literary agency of Mark Sweeney & Associates, Bonita Springs, Florida 34135.

Frank Viola is published in association with the literary agency of Daniel Literary Group, Nashville, Tennessee 37215.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [e-mail].

Unless otherwise noted, scriptures are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked ASV are taken from the AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION (public domain).

Scriptures marked CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version. © 1991 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scriptures marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®. © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked NRSV are taken from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible. © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked RSV are taken from the REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible. © 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sweet, Leonard I.

Jesus manifesto : Restoring the supremacy and sovereignty of Jesus Christ / Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-8499-4601-1 (hardcover)

1. Christian life. I. Viola, Frank. II. Title.

BV4501.3.S9435 2010

248.4—dc22

2010005667

Printed in the United States of America

10 11 12 13 14 WC 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

Introduction: Who Do You Say That I Am?

Chapter 1 The Occupation of All Things

Chapter 2 A Bottle in the Ocean

Chapter 3 If God Wrote Your Biography

Chapter 4 A Violin Called Messiah

Chapter 5 A Ditch on Either Side

Chapter 6 His Face or Your Face?

Chapter 7 A Collision of Two Empires

Chapter 8 The Forgotten Tree

Chapter 9 A House of Figs

Chapter 10 Who Is This Lord of Yours?

Afterword: A Personal Letter from Your Lord

Notes

Connecting

About the Authors

Christ will even now, as always, be exalted.

—PHILIPPIANS 1:20 NASB

INTRODUCTION

Who Do You Say That I Am?

The body of Christ is at a crossroads right now. The two common alternatives are to move either to the left or the right. It’s our observation, however, that we are living in a unique time, when people are frozen as they look in either of those directions. When they look to the left, they decide that they cannot venture there. When they look to the right, they feel the same.

Whether they realize it or not, people are looking for a fresh alternative—a third way. The crossroads today, we believe, is one of moving forward or backward.

What we will present in this book, therefore, is razor-sharp, cut-glass clarity of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Alpha and the Omega. We will show that He is that third way—and the only way—that we can forge a secure path into the future. If the church does not reorient and become Christological at its core, any steps taken will be backwards.

We are aware, of course, that we are swimming upstream in writing a book exclusively about Jesus. It used to be that people had a problem seeing the human in Christ. That sidelined any need to talk about incarnation. Now it seems that more people have trouble seeing the divine in Christ. This sidelines the need for any Christology. And beyond both, the reality and experience of an indwelling Lord has been almost lost to the Christian faith.

The Lord Jesus Christ is far beyond what most of us could ever dream or imagine. His greatness, His beauty, and His splendor are unknown to many Christians today. This is why a fresh look at Him—a fresh Christology—is so vital. To put it in a sentence: To faithfully represent Jesus in our time requires re-presenting Him. And that’s what we are attempting to do in this book.

We believe that if people will catch hold of the vision that’s contained herein, they will find the confidence needed to face an uncertain future.

The book you hold in your hands provides an alternative path that is neither left nor right, but forward. It will lead you to exploration rather than fortification. It is our conviction that we can only cut a path to such future exploration when we take Christ as our All, our North Star or Southern Cross.

As we will argue, the holy Scriptures serve as our road map, or compass, pointing us toward the person of Jesus in all of His riches and depths. So this volume is a means to an end, the end being Christ.

Put another way, Jesus is God’s perfect pitch—the divine tuning fork to the eternal.

Every tuning fork needs to be struck to be heard. The striking of the eternal, unchanging tuning fork of heaven took place when a young virgin gave birth to God’s only Son in an obscure village in first-century Israel. It struck again on a never-forgotten Friday, with the pounding of six-inch nails. The fork struck a third time—on the third day—when a meek and lowly Nazarene split a tomb wide open and came forth in resurrection life.

Heaven’s tuning fork continues to strike today. But whenever we Christians fail to hear it, we lose our

Reviews for Jesus Manifesto

[nlaclaire_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What is Christianity? It is Christ – nothing more and nothing less. Unfortunately, the church has lost sight of this simple fact, say Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola in their new book, Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ. We focus on Christianity and not on the living Christ. We are meant to be living epistles – “Jesus Manifestos” – in our world, but we are instead trivializing the gospel by practicing religiosity rather than fostering relationships with our Savior. It’s time for a change.The book starts off very slow. Although the introduction caught my interest, the writing style didn’t keep my attention. Also, while extensive endnotes are included, I didn’t like the fact that most of the scripture references are found in the endnotes rather than in the book’s text.After the first few chapters, though, the book improved. I found myself questioning, checking references, confirming the validity of the statements, and moving on, thoroughly enjoying seeing scripture in a new light. The book presents the case for where the church is lacking and how an authentic application of Christianity should look. It challenged me to examine scripture more closely and was both inspiring and enlightening.I encourage you to read this book and to keep a Bible by your side when you do.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[dvdbrumley_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Puts Christ exactly where he belongs. At the head, foot, and center of everything.

[sheriefx · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just ask yourself this simple question "Who do you say that Jesus is?". If the answer is I don't really know or I think... but I'm not really sure. You need to read this book. Even if you think you know who Jesus is this is a great read. It will open your eyes to the real Jesus. You will start to see Him in a new light and realize how you should be living. It will change the way you view worship and even your prayer life. With so many churches now days preaching the "health and wealth" message and not preaching on the Bible and Jesus and the need for salvation this book is a much needed read. This is a good reminder that we are not to follow Christianity but follow Christ. I encourage all self proclaimed Christians to read this book. Our focus should always be on Christ and nothing more, this book helps us as Christians to get back to that main focus and realize that without Christ we have nothing but in Christ we have everything! Nothing is more important than Christ and our relationship with Him! "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7