Kirjahaku

After encountering John the Baptist, Jesus’s work begins. He will meet many people; some will help him, many will need his help, and some will become his enemies. Jesus challenges the way people live, the way they relate to God, and the way Jewish law is enforced. Although he is a man of peace, he is not afraid to challenge authority, no matter where this might lead. What exactly are Jesus’s responsibilities as God’s son? How will he lead people towards a new relationship with God? How much can a man achieve in one short lifetime? How much more can he achieve by his death?

The foundations of Jewish law are under threat from the followers of a man called Jesus. These people have reached Damascus. They must be stopped. Saul, uncompromising and brutal, is the man for the job. But by the time Saul reaches Damascus he is blind and in shock. What could have happened to him on that journey? How does a man react when his beliefs are turned upside down? Now calling himself Paul, can he convince his former enemies to trust him? Can he convince the world that Jesus’s teachings are for everyone? Through treacherous journeys, passionate preaching and long letters, Paul tries to tell the world what he believes, but will it make any difference?

Mary is a young woman living a simple life in Nazareth, when an angel’s visit changes her life forever. She has been chosen by God to bear him a son. She alone amongst women has been chosen to bear the agony and the joy. From the moment of his birth, she knows that Jesus’s life will be like no other: she has been warned of the pain that lies ahead. When Jesus begins his work, how will she react to her increasing awareness of the dangers facing her son? When Mary experiences anguish that no mother should ever experience, is her faith strong enough to sustain her? Might there be grounds for joy in the midst of such brutality?

Although Simon has no idea why Jesus is beckoning to him from the beach, he agrees to leave his nets and follow him. A robust, enthusiastic fisherman, Simon makes more mistakes and asks more questions than the other disciples. Why then, he wonders, does Jesus call him Peter, which means ‘rock’? When Jesus is arrested everybody except Simon Peter flees, but is he brave enough to stand by Jesus until the end? After Jesus’s death, how will Simon Peter spread Jesus’s teachings? Will he make the right decisions? Can he calm the rivalries developing among Jesus’s followers? Is he brave enough to die for his beliefs?

Mary’s childhood in Magdala leaves her with emotional scars she fears will never heal – until she meets Jesus. Recognising the importance of Jesus’s work, she decides to do all that she can to support him, but what good can a woman do in a man’s world? Will Mary ever be accepted by Jesus’s other disciples? What will she learn from the miracles she witnesses and from her many conversations with the Son of God? To Mary the message seems simple, so why can’t others believe? After witnessing Jesus’s agonising death, Mary is the first to see the empty tomb, the first to see the risen Christ. What role can she play in spreading the news about Jesus after his death?

Poor Judas – he just can’t decide what to do with his life. Everybody expects him to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he has too many doubts. Then one day he meets a man who changes everything. With new hope and a new sense of purpose, Judas leaves his home and his family to follow Jesus. But for how long can Judas accept the simplicity of Jesus’s work? How soon will his mind return to its former complex ways? Tortured by increasing doubts, troubled by rivalry within the group, and sensing that time is running short, Judas feels compelled to take action. What will he do? How will he do it? Why has this man, so anxious to do good, become one of the most notorious people in history?