The Priest with Dirty Clothes was written by R.C. Sproul and illustrated by Justin Gerard. This book presents the truth of Christ's redeeming and atoning work through an interesting story.Before coming across this book, I myself was not familiar with the account in Zechariah 3 on which this story is based. However, it is a great picture of our status before and after we are in Christ.
This picture book begins with the tale of two young children whose clothes become dirty while playing in the mud. Their grandfather begins to tell them the story of a new priest who is to preach a sermon before the king. As he is making his way to the castle, the priest's clothes become dirty, muddy and stained. He is not able to stand before the king wearing these filthy garments. Later, the prince presents the priest with his own clean clothes in exchange for the priest's filthy clothes.
In the story, the king represents God the Father, the prince represents Jesus, and the priest represents a Christian. The allegory presents weighty truths such as salvation by grace, justification through faith, and the believer's righteous standing before God. The priest in the story learns that there is nothing he could do to earn new clothes, and he is told that he must continue trusting in the prince's goodness as he continues to wear his clean garments.
The book includes a section for parents that helps to explain the meaning of the story and who or what each character represents. This is an important section to review as it helps readers to better understand the concepts presented through the story. Children may not fully understand the concepts; however, reading through the story more than once may be a good idea.
Disclosure: I am to receive a free copy of this book from Reformation Trust Publishing as compensation for my review.
Read the biblical story of Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3:1-5.
