The NerdHerd Reads: The Friends of Jesus {by Karen Kingsbury}

Title: The Friends of Jesus

Author: Karen Kingsbury

Series: Heart of the Story #2

Genre: Biblical Fiction

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Source: publisher

America' favorite inspirational novelist and #1 New York Times bestselling author offers a richly told tale about six of Jesus' closest friends and companions, bringing biblical truths to life in this captivating continuation of her Life-Changing Bible Study series.
In our everyday lives, friends are the people whom we spend the most time with, go through struggles with at times, and who know us best. Each of Jesus' friends--Peter, John, Matthew, Judas, Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus--traveled with Jesus and were part of His daily ministry, and each has a compelling story to tell. There were some who would question or doubt Him, and one would even betray Him. Kingsbury brings these fascinating personalities to life in ways that will not only help bring you closer to the truths found in Scripture, but also to Christ.
By combining valuable, instructive Bible study with compelling, insightful character sketches of Jesus' companions, Kingsbury provides you with a deeper understanding of the scriptural teachings featuring these fascinating people. Emotionally powerful, thought-provoking, and soulful, The Friends of Jesus will help you to appreciate the Bible and understand how it applies to your relationships with the most important people in your life.

As you know, I enjoy Biblical fiction and seeing how different people imagine Biblical characters and the times. This series is interesting to me because its imagining the people closest to Jesus. I didn't feel this was quite as good as the first one, The Family of Jesus, but still interesting.

We get six stories from different friends of Jesus: Simon the Leper, Martha, Jairus, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John. I've never really thought of Simon and Jairus as "friends" of Jesus, necessarily, but they were interesting additions.

We got to see three stories before Jesus' death, three stories of healing and raising from the dead. We get one story during His crucifixion, and two stories after His death and resurrection. So we get to see all different sides of Jesus.

But although this series is about Jesus, He himself doesn't appear all that much in the stories. Some of the stories were told in flashback of what Jesus actually did for them. But also, we get to see the lasting impression Jesus had on these people's lives, and how their encounters with Him lasted long after the event.

I think Mary Magdalene's story was my favorite. But Peter and John's stories were pretty interesting, as we see that they aren't exactly the perfect people we might think the disciples as being. But all in all, this was a pretty fast read, and I enjoyed it.

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