I picked up Matt Mikalatos’ new book Imaginary Jesus the other day based mostly on the cover. Who could resist a book with a mug shot of Jesus wearing plastic star-framed glasses? My husband gave me an “are you sure about that?” look, but I ignored him. He’s the serious one.

I expected a fun frolic of a book that somehow tied into Jesus, and was very pleasantly surprised to find that the book has some serious theological teeth.

The “not-quite true” story starts out in exactly the kind of yuppie Portland, Oregon café I could imagine. As Matt and Jesus hang out with their iPods, a man claiming to be the Apostle Peter comes in and punches Jesus in the face. After a chair-breaking romp, Jesus flees, and Peter explains, “…that was an imaginary Jesus, my friend.” What follows is a fantastical adventure in and out of time with a talking donkey, a motorcycle-riding angel, and countless imaginary Jesuses. My personal favorite was Political Jesus, promising a moral utopia through political activism if we’d just follow him.

What surprised me was the depth of Matt’s message and how much it pertained to my life. Imaginary Jesus opened my eyes to a whole new realm of thinking, in the same way that The Screwtape Letters did the first time I read it. With the introduction of each new imaginary Jesus, I laughed heartily, but began to see some of the fake Jesuses that I’ve created for myself at times. Meticulous Jesus struck a little close to home for me.

With this tongue-in-cheek writing style, it would be easy to cross the line into sacrilegious, but it doesn’t. The humor surrounding our false versions of Jesus stays in its lane and only serves to contrast with the real Jesus. When we finally get to him, the reality of the real Jesus is so powerful and deep, it knocks you off your feet. It was like meeting Jesus for the first time all over again.

I loved the flow of this book. It was complex and thought-provoking, but in short, stream-lined chapters. I read most of it in one day, but mostly because I couldn’t put it down. With the right variables, this would be the best Jesus movie ever.

I can’t wait for Matt’s next book: The Night of the Living Dead Christians. Seriously, who could wait for a title like that?