Lazarus occupies a surprising position in
the Gospel accounts. Widely known as the man Jesus raised from the dead, his
story is actually much broader and richer than that. Living as he did at
Bethany, near Jerusalem, Lazarus was uniquely placed to witness the swirl of
events around Jesus. When Jesus Wept, the first novel in The Jerusalem
Chronicles series by bestselling authors Bodie and Brock Thoene, unfolds the
turbulent times in Judea during Jesus' ministry, centering on the friendship
between Jesus and Lazarus. With rich insights from vineyard owners and vine
dressers, the Thoenes explore the metaphor of Jesus as the True Vine, harvesting
the ancient secrets found in the Old Testament. Weaving the life of Lazarus, who
owned a vineyard, into the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ will help you
understand it is the hand of Love Divine that holds the knife, that cuts and
breaks with such tender and loving touch, and that we who have born some fruit,
after the pruning, can bear much more.
My review:
Anything that comes from the pen of Brock & Bodie Thoene is instant gold. I really enjoyed their A.D. Chronicles series and was happy to see they were starting another series. The Thoenes did an excellent job on their last Biblical fiction series, and this one promised to be as good from the sounds of it.
As much as I was looking forward to reading the book, I had a hard time getting into it. Part of it may be the fact that it was written in the first person point of view. I could be wrong, but I think this is a first for the Thoenes. It isn't my favorite, but some authors can pull it off more than others. My personal opinion: The Thoenes should stick with the third person point of view. They excel with it, and I truly believe this book would have been better and flowed better with the third person point of view.
That said, after a while, I did get into the book more and did enjoy reading it. The authors took some liberties with Lazarus, but it only added to the story and made his character more interesting thinking about what he may have done and been like. They try to fill in some gaps around the little we know about Lazarus, and do it well.I came away with a better knowledge and understanding of the story of Lazarus and new insight into why Jesus may have wept. The book was an interesting and enjoyable read, but I repeat my statement that I feel it would have been better if it had not been in the first person point of view.
About the authors:Bodie and Brock Thoene (pronounced Tay-nee) are bestselling authors of over sixty-five works of historical fiction. Their timeless classics have sold more than thirty-five million copies and won eight ECPA Gold Medallion Awards. The Thoenes have four grown children and eight grandchildren. They divide their time between Hawaii, London, and Nevada.
Find out more about the Thoenes at http://www.thoenebooks.com/.
When Jesus Wept is available from Zondervan Publishing.
Thanks to Litfuse for the review copy.
One fortunate winner will receive:
- A brand new iPad Mini
- A book club kit - 10 copies of When Jesus Wept
So grab your copy of When Jesus Wept and join Bodie and Brock on the evening of the April 23rd for a chance to connect with the authors and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book - don't let that stop you from coming!)
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