When I started reading Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible by J. Warner Wallace, it was with my carpool group. Reading a book out loud on our daily drive offered a chance to not only read but discuss what we read. We found the book interesting and the premise different than others on the topic. As a cold-case homicide investigator, the author brought his investigative expertise to the subject of Jesus and why he still matters even to a world that rejects the Bible. He approached it like he would a cold case.
Covid put a crimp in carpooling reading group. Due to lockdowns and social distancing, we set the book aside. We thought we’d be back in the car within a couple of weeks, but those weeks turned into months and years. It sat, but I still pondered the findings offered by the author, that even without the New Testament, evidence that Jesus matters in a world that rejects the Bible still exists all over the place. I finally picked up the book and finished reading it on my own. I was not disappointed.
Wallace interlaced how he and his partner solved a cold case using innovative procedures and then applied them to the case for Jesus and whether or not he matters. To his surprise, Wallace uncovered evidence everywhere he looked that Jesus does matter. Our calendars, literature, the arts, songs and music, education, exploration, science, and more provided a wealth of evidence. Wallace reveals this wealth of evidence and shares how it transformed his thinking from atheist to believer.
This book held my interest with the unfolding of the cold case as it evolved from a missing person to suspected murder. The author applied the same techniques to Jesus and unpacked substantial evidence of how much Jesus influenced this world and what the evidence reveals about him. The book is also loaded with visual illustrations that hammer home the findings. I’d recommend this book to people who enjoy history, those who think Jesus was a good teacher, prophet, or something along those lines, people interested in religion, and even people who believe Jesus is the Son of God. This book offers something for everyone.
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