When Jesus Wept
The Jerusalem Chronicles, Book 1
By Bodie and Brock Thoene
David ben Lazarus has poured his life into the vineyard
passed down through generations of his family.
He has learned the meticulous trade of watering, pruning, harvesting,
and fermenting the fruit of the vine.
Lazarus has also longed for the promised Messiah to come and rescue
Israel from her oppressors, especially the Romans. When he hears John the Baptizer proclaiming
that the Promised One is here, Lazarus is afraid to believe that the wait is
finally done. Will this Jesus overrun
the Roman government by starting a rebellion that will also drive the corrupt
religious leaders from their positions of political power? But, as he walks with Jesus, sees His miracles,
and hears Him teach, Lazarus wonders if there might be a much deeper
implication for every man. Jesus speaks
not of rebellion, but of loving your enemy.
Jesus also teaches Lazarus about the Father using illustrations of a
Master Vinedresser. Can Lazarus trust
Jesus to be the fulfillment of everything for which he has longed?
This is the first book of a new series by the Thoene’s
the follows the relationship of Lazarus and Jesus. The book was filled with so much information
about the painstaking job of the vinedresser as he coaxes his vines to produce
the best fruit. It gave me a new perspective
on all of Jesus’ teaching about Him as the Vine and we being His branches. The storyline was well developed and easy to
follow, but a little slow in places. I
had a few questions about whether Mary the sister of Lazarus was the same woman
that Jesus saved from a stoning by the religious leaders on accusations of
prostitution. I had never really thought
that they were the same so it skewed my view of the story a little. However, I know that the Thoene’s are
excellent researchers and they may have drawn this conclusion from their
extensive studies. I can overlook our
differences for the sake of the story.
The important thing is that they got Jesus right in the book - loving, kind, master teacher, peacemaker, God
in the flesh. Overall, I grade this
book an A-: not my favorite Thoene book, but I’ll definitely be looking for
book 2, because even though I know how it ends……, I’ve got to know how the
story ends!
I received a free e-version of this book from the
publisher in exchange for my honest review.
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