The Greatest Story Ever Told
Sunday 31st August 2025
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Luke 1:1-2 (NIV)
The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Ever Told is the title of a new book by Bear Grylls, re-telling the story of Jesus from his birth to his ascension. The well-known adventurer, TV presenter and author of over 100 books says, “if he were only to have written one … this book would be it.”
The book is “an eyewitness account,” and it’s told from the viewpoint of five eyewitnesses, each one taking up the story where the previous one left off – first Mary (Jesus’s mother), followed by the disciples Thomas, Simon Peter and John, and finally Mary Magdalene.
Grylls explains that, “To be authentic, I’ve uses a mixture of Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic names for people and places to reflect the social context of [Jesus’s] time.” So, Mary becomes “Myriam”, Thomas becomes “Ta’om”, Simon becomes “Shimon”, John becomes “Yohanan” and Jesus himself becomes “Yeshua”. Personally, I found this detail helped to make the re-telling feel both authentic and fresh.
The presentation as an eyewitness account means that some parts have to be ‘made up’ in order for the re-telling to ‘work,’ but I didn’t find any of it jarring or implausible. And Grylls has taken care not to distort the words of Jesus, quoting them from existing English translations.
To give you a feel for how it reads, here’s the episode where Mary Magdalene discovers that the man she thought was the gardener is in fact Jesus himself, raised from the dead:
“The man stood silent.
Heaven seemed to hold its breath.
And then he spoke again.
And it was now that I recognised him.
‘Myriam.’
That voice.
It was all I needed to hear.
The voice that I could not mistake. The voice I had first heard years earlier in my time of illness and despair.
The voice that I feared I had lost forever.
I leapt up and screamed, ‘My Lord!’
I ran to him.”
My feeling, and my prayer, is that this book could well refresh the faith of Christians, lead to fruitful conversations about Jesus, and help to introduce people to the greatest person ever, Jesus of Nazareth – especially those who may not want to read the Bible. The Authors’ Note concludes: “Please join us in praying that this book will bring many millions to know for themselves the truth that sets us free…” May it be so.
Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)