What do you think?
Rate this book
The Prisoner in the Third Cell
Imprisoned by Herod, John the Baptist struggles to understand a Lord who did not meet his expectations; a dramatic account offering insight into the ways of God.
94 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
Gene Edwards
107 books243 followersGene Edwards is one of America's most beloved Christian authors. He has published over 25 best-selling books, and his signature work, "The Divine Romance," has been called a masterpiece of Christian literature. He has written biblical fiction covering nearly the entire Bible, with titles that include the following: "The Beginning," "The Escape," "The Birth," "The Divine Romance," "The Triumph," "Revolution," "The Silas Diary," "The Titus Diary," "The Timothy Diary," "The Priscilla Diary," "The Gaius Diary," and "The Return."
Gene grew up in the East Texas oil fields and entered college at the age of 15. He graduated from East Texas State University at 18 with a bachelor's degree in English history and received his M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Gene is part of the house-church movement, and he travels extensively to aid Christians as they begin meeting in homes rather than in church buildings. He also conducts conferences on living the deeper Christian life.
Gene and his wife, Helen, reside in Jacksonville, Florida, and have two grown children.
Gene grew up in the East Texas oil fields and entered college at the age of 15. He graduated from East Texas State University at 18 with a bachelor's degree in English history and received his M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Gene is part of the house-church movement, and he travels extensively to aid Christians as they begin meeting in homes rather than in church buildings. He also conducts conferences on living the deeper Christian life.
Gene and his wife, Helen, reside in Jacksonville, Florida, and have two grown children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 249 reviews
December 2, 2011
From the author of The Three Kings: A Tale of Brokenness comes a book of equal profundity in its simplicity.
This book takes its approach from the point of view of John the Baptist and answers the question, "What is my response when God doesn't meet my expectations?"
While reading, I felt convicted of my slow fade into the belief that my sacrifice and suffering and pain will translate to something I can see in this lifetime that tells me it's all worth it. God will bless. This will all make sense someday. It'll be worth it.
But is that really true? JtB never got to understand how his investment reaped results. He never got to hear the words from Jesus that he was among the greatest that the world would ever know. There was no evidence that his life of living for a calling was anything more than a waste. Though he prepared the way for the Son of God, he didn't have the joy of seeing Jesus come in glory.
Yet what was his response when God didn't make sense? When his life felt unfair?
"Shall we scorn that God has revealed so little concerning His ways, or rejoice that He has revealed so much?
This book does not disappoint. It challenges me to trust and see beyond my circumstances, and my devotion that desires some reciprocation.
This book takes its approach from the point of view of John the Baptist and answers the question, "What is my response when God doesn't meet my expectations?"
While reading, I felt convicted of my slow fade into the belief that my sacrifice and suffering and pain will translate to something I can see in this lifetime that tells me it's all worth it. God will bless. This will all make sense someday. It'll be worth it.
But is that really true? JtB never got to understand how his investment reaped results. He never got to hear the words from Jesus that he was among the greatest that the world would ever know. There was no evidence that his life of living for a calling was anything more than a waste. Though he prepared the way for the Son of God, he didn't have the joy of seeing Jesus come in glory.
Yet what was his response when God didn't make sense? When his life felt unfair?
"Shall we scorn that God has revealed so little concerning His ways, or rejoice that He has revealed so much?
This book does not disappoint. It challenges me to trust and see beyond my circumstances, and my devotion that desires some reciprocation.
January 18, 2022
4.5 stars ~
I'm definitely not crying. 💔💔💔
I'm definitely not crying. 💔💔💔
June 3, 2022
I’ve never thought much about John the Baptists life but I learned a completely different perspective of following Jesus through his life. The most challenging thing about the book was the question: are you willing to follow a God who doesn’t meet your expectations? The characteristic of God I saw the most was that even in the midst of evil, brokenness, pain, and uncertainty, He is still sovereign and good. We won’t always get the answers to our questions and doubts or always be healed from sickness but He is still gracious and worth following.
June 24, 2022
Powerful little book that adds so much context and depth to the doubts presented by “John The Immerser”, but in a larger sense to his entire life and ministry. How he concludes the book was a little inconclusive to sit in as application for the Christian reader, but the book as a whole is still a very useful tool for those who are suffering and asking God, “why?”
“Shall we scorn that God has revealed so little concerning His ways, or rejoice that he has revealed so much?”
“Shall we scorn that God has revealed so little concerning His ways, or rejoice that he has revealed so much?”
May 13, 2014
I was given the book by one of my Pastors 4 years ago, right after my 30 Y. O. Son as killed in an accident, and this was a week after they found out they were having there first child. Excellent book for ANY Christian who is struggling with anything in life, when you ask yourself "where is God?" Fast and easy read with a VERY POWERFUL ENDING! I've read this 5-6 times now and always keep a couple on hand to share with anyone.
It's a quick read. Read it again tonight for reassurance.
It's a quick read. Read it again tonight for reassurance.
August 30, 2020
This is an excellent book. It is meant to be brief, but almost is too much so. Several parts of the story could have been better developed. His goal is to stimulate thinking rather than tell you what to think. In this way, he is quite successful. God often doesn’t explain His ways and that is his nature. Worth your time.
May 17, 2011
Very easy and quick read. One of my favorites. Makes you think about your relationship with the Lord. Will you love a God whom you do not understand?
June 5, 2012
I usually like Gene Edwards, he has great insights and perspectives. This book is a real home run. It puts personality into the life of John the baptizer.
January 20, 2024
“Blessed is he who is not offended by me.” This book offers no answers to suffering - just a mysterious God whose ways you cannot understand this side of heaven but whose heart you can trust without reservation.
April 3, 2024
Super Interesting. Genuinely don’t know how to feel about this book — It is a fictionalized account of John the Baptist’s life that offers a really interesting perspective on his devotion to the Lord and his relationship with Jesus. Simple and yet profound writing — A quick read that definitely has me thinking!
June 10, 2011
This novella is a nice quick read. The writer's purpose seems to be to address the eternal question "Why does God let bad things happen to good people." His fictionalized account of John's early life makes sense.
I liked the flashback, showing that Jesus was in Egypt when the Israelites were slaves, that he walked among them and saw their pain and cared. Although they didn't immediately know there was an answer to their anguish, Jesus knows there will be a deliverer in Moses.
I was disappointed in the description of John's encounter with Jesus at the river Jordan. I felt that the most dramatic encounter between the two of them was totally down-played. You wouldn't even know that Jesus was baptized by John--it sounds like he never even left the river bank.
My favorite quote from the book is before the story even starts--and seems to be a summary of the author's point, "It has been said that it is impossible to forgive a man who deliberately hurts you for the sole purpose of destroying you or lowering you. If this be true, you have but one hope to see this unfair hurt as coming by permission from God for the purpose of lifting your stature above that place where formerly you stood."
I liked the flashback, showing that Jesus was in Egypt when the Israelites were slaves, that he walked among them and saw their pain and cared. Although they didn't immediately know there was an answer to their anguish, Jesus knows there will be a deliverer in Moses.
I was disappointed in the description of John's encounter with Jesus at the river Jordan. I felt that the most dramatic encounter between the two of them was totally down-played. You wouldn't even know that Jesus was baptized by John--it sounds like he never even left the river bank.
My favorite quote from the book is before the story even starts--and seems to be a summary of the author's point, "It has been said that it is impossible to forgive a man who deliberately hurts you for the sole purpose of destroying you or lowering you. If this be true, you have but one hope to see this unfair hurt as coming by permission from God for the purpose of lifting your stature above that place where formerly you stood."
January 6, 2019
"The verdict was simple. And familiar. It is laid on every nonconformist of every age. "He has a demon."
This is a touching, at times heart wrenching, account of the days immediately before the execution of John the Baptist. Well worth a read.
This is a touching, at times heart wrenching, account of the days immediately before the execution of John the Baptist. Well worth a read.
June 22, 2020
I’ve rarely read something that so strongly and unashamedly faces the fact that God does not meet our expectations or answer our questions. Now I better understand Jesus’s statement, “Blessed is the one who is not offended with Me.”
January 15, 2017
The book was amazing. Shares some insights on what John could have thought. Give you something to think about when your going through things that life brings us.
January 28, 2024
Wow… This book was so short but so impactful. It’s crazy how I was having a bad morning and I was like, “God, this sucks, why does this keep happening to me?” Upon reading this book, I am humbled.
This book is a beautiful dramatized version of John the Baptist’s life unto his death. It was heartbreaking to realize the verses I have read so many times have never impacted me as much until this moment. How incredible it was for John to truly live his life fully serving the calling of God, never knowing the joys of mundane human life.
I teared up reading so much of this. We will truly never understand why God is the way He is as that knowledge is being human understanding. We can, however, take example from John to live our life in faith that there is more after this life and although our questions in this life may never be answered, we have faith in the things unseen. All praise be to God!
Wanted to end my review with a quote that left me thinking-
"A day like that which awaited John awaits us all. It is unavoidable because every believer imagines his God to be a certain way, and is quite sure his Lord will do certain things under certain conditions. But your Lord is never quite what you imagined Him to be.
You have now come face to face with a God whom you do not fully understand. You have met a God who has not lived up to your expectations. Every believer must come to grips with a God who did not do things quite the way it was expected.
You are going to get to know your Lord by faith or you will not know Him at all. Faith in Him, trust that is in Him...not in His ways."
This book is a beautiful dramatized version of John the Baptist’s life unto his death. It was heartbreaking to realize the verses I have read so many times have never impacted me as much until this moment. How incredible it was for John to truly live his life fully serving the calling of God, never knowing the joys of mundane human life.
I teared up reading so much of this. We will truly never understand why God is the way He is as that knowledge is being human understanding. We can, however, take example from John to live our life in faith that there is more after this life and although our questions in this life may never be answered, we have faith in the things unseen. All praise be to God!
Wanted to end my review with a quote that left me thinking-
"A day like that which awaited John awaits us all. It is unavoidable because every believer imagines his God to be a certain way, and is quite sure his Lord will do certain things under certain conditions. But your Lord is never quite what you imagined Him to be.
You have now come face to face with a God whom you do not fully understand. You have met a God who has not lived up to your expectations. Every believer must come to grips with a God who did not do things quite the way it was expected.
You are going to get to know your Lord by faith or you will not know Him at all. Faith in Him, trust that is in Him...not in His ways."
February 6, 2024
Powerful. Moving. Challenging.
A simple profound retelling of John the Baptizer. Truly, as Jesus said, the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven would be John. A man who gave up all comforts and luxuries of life to be true to the call of God on his life to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah. But he didn't understand and he lived his life without full knowledge and died a young death still not having seen the fulfillment of his preaching. And yet, he was not offended. And he was blessed. I have so much more. Will I be offended by a God whose ways I do not understand?
A simple profound retelling of John the Baptizer. Truly, as Jesus said, the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven would be John. A man who gave up all comforts and luxuries of life to be true to the call of God on his life to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah. But he didn't understand and he lived his life without full knowledge and died a young death still not having seen the fulfillment of his preaching. And yet, he was not offended. And he was blessed. I have so much more. Will I be offended by a God whose ways I do not understand?
May 5, 2022
Loved this book. I would recommend to every Christian. Especially if you have ever wondered ��why?” And, haven’t we all?
April 5, 2023
Wow! Powerful. I truly enjoyed this quick read. This book sits with the question John the Baptist asked Jesus. “Are you the messiah or should we wait for someone else” this book addresses our doubts as followers in such a helpful way. I really enjoyed it.
April 29, 2023
What a very sobering, quick read that really humanizes John the Baptists story. I recommend this for anyone as we all inevitably experience suffering repeatedly. I’m thankful I came across this book during a time of grief.
June 26, 2022
“Faith in Him, trust that is in Him… not His ways.”
October 18, 2013
Interesting...
I understand why some wouldn't like it. Anytime you weave scripture many consider sacred with fictional dialogue/events it can ruffle some feathers. However I believe the author stays true to scriptural themes, particularly in its focus on the unfathomable-ness of God. A lot of Christians try to answer the unanswerable questions of "why?" The simple point of this book is we don't know why. The author doesn't try to theologize his way to an intelligent answer. It provides an emotionally wrought story saying we don't get to know why. This doesn't mean God loves us less. If he will deny John answers, then who are we to claim more?
On a side note, it can be revelatory to read a drawn out, fictionalized account based in a bible passage. How many people read the account of John's execution and see through to the intense emotion of the event? It's easy to forget that these stories encompass real people and real lives
I understand why some wouldn't like it. Anytime you weave scripture many consider sacred with fictional dialogue/events it can ruffle some feathers. However I believe the author stays true to scriptural themes, particularly in its focus on the unfathomable-ness of God. A lot of Christians try to answer the unanswerable questions of "why?" The simple point of this book is we don't know why. The author doesn't try to theologize his way to an intelligent answer. It provides an emotionally wrought story saying we don't get to know why. This doesn't mean God loves us less. If he will deny John answers, then who are we to claim more?
On a side note, it can be revelatory to read a drawn out, fictionalized account based in a bible passage. How many people read the account of John's execution and see through to the intense emotion of the event? It's easy to forget that these stories encompass real people and real lives
January 28, 2018
"Will you follow a God that does not live up to your expectations?"
May 15, 2020
Has God ever not met your expectations? Oh man, this was good! Short story, powerful message!
June 5, 2022
“And blessed are you
if you are not offended with me.”
~1 hour read. Worth it.
if you are not offended with me.”
~1 hour read. Worth it.
January 17, 2023
My biggest complaint is that it wasn’t longer.
January 25, 2024
An absolutely guttural paradigm shift. The most compelling book on suffering I’ve ever read.
Read
January 26, 2022This book has been sitting on my "to-read" list for years. I've loved Gene Edwards' other stories, and The Prisoner in the Third Cell did not disappoint as well. Edwards has a gift of parting the curtain of well known biblical stories and letting the readers get a sneak peek of what might have happened (but told in a very believable way).
November 15, 2020
A semi-fictionalized account about John the Baptist who devoted his life to God, yet died a brutal death. This book (more of a short story) provides some thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter. especially how do we handle our faith when God doesn't do what we expect.
February 8, 2021
“Do you trust God or do you trust your understanding of God?” Anyone walking through trial or tragedy who is struggling with knowing He is a good, loving omnipotent God but wondering why He would let this is happen to you..this is the perfect read.
January 12, 2022
As you can tell by reading it in one day it is a small book. I have read it multiple times. It is one of my favorites as far as Christian books go. When times are challenging this book helps to bring your thoughts back around to who Jesus is and the hope we have in Him. A great easy read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 249 reviews