First Line Friday – 14 April 2017 – Behold the Man (Bodie & Brock Thoene)

Welcome to the Easter edition of First Line Friday. 🙂 I hope you have a blessed time celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour this weekend.

One of my all-time favourite series is Bodie & Brock Thoene’s A.D. Chronicles. If you’re after fiction that explores the parables and accounts from the Gospels, this series will blow your mind. Such rich detail and characterization, and wonderful insight into all the layers of meaning! Wow! Talk about bringing the Gospels to life!

Following on from the A.D. Chronicles is the Jerusalem Chronicles, culminating in my choice for today, Behold the Man:

~ About the Book ~

How could Jesus—who preached righteousness before God, and love and mercy toward neighbors—be so hated and pursued? To the Temple officials, he was a threat to the livelihood and authority of the priesthood. To Herod Antipas, he was a threat to his ambition to be the King of the Jews. And to the Roman overlords, he was seen as a dangerous threat; a man who commanded an army of the common people. He could heal wounds, offer miraculous provisions, and even raise from the dead. If Jesus had accepted popular acclaim and become an earthly king, he would have been unstoppable.

Jesus’s last days are explored through three people who interacted with him: Governor Pilate, for whom Judea will either make or break his career; Pilate’s wife, Claudia, desperately seeking aid for her much loved, crippled son; and Centurion Marcus Longinus, caught in the middle between loyalty to the Empire, love for Claudia, and an ever-increasing belief in Jesus as the Son of God. After encountering Jesus, none of them will ever be the same.

Amazon  //  Goodreads

~ First Line(s) ~

It was market day in the open square beneath the Roman Senate and the temples of the gods. The stalls and shops of the Forum Romanum were packed with citizens of Rome. Clothed in hues of yellow, blue, and rusty red, the buyers and sellers seemed to be a human flower garden swaying in the wind.

Okay, so it’s the first paragraph, but it sets the scene so well. 🙂

If you’d like to read my full review for the novel, you can find it here.

Don’t forget to share your first line in the comments, and then hop on over and find out what the other First Liners have for you today:

Jessica ~ A Baker’s Perspective  //  Sarah ~ All The Book Blog Names Are Taken
Bree ~ Bibliophile Reviews  //  Rachel ~ Bookworm Mama  //  Amanda ~ With a Joyful Noise
Heather ~ Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen  //  Beth ~ Faithfully Bookish
Kathleen ~ Kathleen Denly  //  Lauraine ~ Lauraine’s Notes  //  Andi ~ Radiant Light
Carrie ~ Reading is my Superpower  //  Robin ~ Robin’s Nest  //  Sydney ~ Singing Librarian

 If you would like to join us for First Line Friday, contact Carrie at Reading is my Superpower.