Customer Reviews

Three from Galilee: The Young Man from Nazareth

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It was a real and personal way for me to see Jesus. Because he was fully man. Sometimes when we think of Jesus we forget that he was fully Man.

While this was a very well-written and inspiring book, I didn't like it as much as I enjoyed Two from Galilee. I felt that the author took too many liberties, deviating from the Bible and religious teachings about Jesus's life. (One example that bothered me that before He began his ministry, the author has Him fall in love and intend to marry a local woman. I felt disrespectful thinking about Jesus as a sexual/romantic being). As I read along, I had to constantly remind myself that this is a work of fiction and is not meant to be Biblically accurate, yet I didn't have these issues with the prequel to this book. Still, it was a worthwhile and reflective book to read, because it helps us to focus on the humanity of Jesus, and adds to the development of our personal relationship with Him.

I find this book well written and useful. Of course most of it is speculation based on what is known from ancient documents about Jesus' life from age 2 to 30 (of which there is little). But I think it is very helpful to speculate and have done so myself. It helps us to realize that Jesus was not some lofty deity who can't know what we go through, but himself experienced all the problems we have in this life, went through the same process of maturation and can sympathize and help us as we face the perplexities of life.

This is a beautiful fictional story about the childhood and early adulthood of Jesus. This could have happened. Since there is not much about His childhood in the Bible, it makes you wonder even more about His actual life and family and if it really could have been this way. This book is great for any age person who wants to get a small glimpse of that time period and what it may have been like to live then. Some biblical references make it more real for a Christian. Also read the first book about Mary and Joseph - Two from Galilee.

This book is by far one of the best books you can possibly get your hands on. Marjorie Holmes is such an extraordinary author. She writes with such vivid detail that it's like you're really there. She also has a decent vocabulary, and her descriptions are absolutely luscious.

Best of all, she has taken the time to make sure her book is fairly accurate.

You can really lose yourself in this book. Hours could go by as you're reading, and you wouldn't even realize it. I absolutely love this story. I can hardly bring myself to put it down, it's just so lovely and inspiring. I love the relationship between Joseph and Mary, but reading about Jesus is by far the best part of all. Holmes teaches us that Jesus had feelings just like the rest of us. He laughed, he cried, he cared for others, and it's possible that even he could have fallen in love.

Full of sweetness, mystery, and poetry, this is one book that no living soul should go without reading.

An excellent book which gives you more information on Jesus that is not in the Bible. Tells about his life growing up. Very descriptive & great.

Easy reading; good book to read aloud with somebody.Some speculation about Jesus' romantic interest-not found in Bible.

(Note: Need to read "Two From Galilee"first.
We read the books in two consecutive Christmas seasons.

Loved getting book "second hand" for less than four dollars!

I recently re-read Two From Galilee and enjoyed it so much that I decided to read this sequel, Three From Galilee. It covers Jesus' life from his birth until his temptation in the wilderness. Given that this is a period on which the Bible is silent (except for Jesus' appearance in the Temple at age 12), there is a lot of room for an author to interpret Jesus' boyhood and early manhood. As the author expresses in her Author's Note at the beginning, this book is her attempt to tell what could have happened.

For the most part, she creates a story that seems to be in accord with the spirit of the scriptures. She emphasizes Jesus' humanity more than his spirituality, which I liked; far from the serene, distant, tranquil being that is usually depicted in art, she shows him as a red-blooded human, misunderstood by his brothers, who was tempted, hungry, dirty and smelly (after tending sheep), and lonely. He is largely unaware of his own God-ness until, at age 30, he reaches a crisis point in his life and his mother tells him the truth about his conception and that he is destined for great things. It seemed unlikely to me that Jesus would have been so unaware of his own makeup and calling for so long, but perhaps. At any rate, the author was never disrespectful or blasphemous in her portrayal, and so I can accept it as a possibility for the way things were.

I thought a particularly strong scene was her portrayal of Satan's temptation of Jesus in the wilderness (except for one part where she changes Jesus' words quite significantly from the way they are recorded in the Bible). The weakest scenes were, for me, those involving his encounters with Tamara. They felt jerky, with emotions and behavior changing erratically and without proper development. There was one other small scene, when Jesus first began school as a young boy, where I felt she missed the mark.

All in all I enjoyed this book, although not nearly as much as Two From Galilee. Although I suppose that is to be expected; Two From Galilee covers a period of time that is thoroughly related in the scriptures. Therefore, all she had to do was fill in a few small gaps to make a story that is beautiful and riveting. By tackling the "silent" period of Jesus' life, the author set herself a much greater challenge. She created a story that is respectful and thought-provoking, but that leaves me unconvinced and uncertain. Which is probably as good as any modern-day writer could do when imagining this time of Jesus' life.

Nevertheless, I do recommend this book for fans of Two From Galilee. It is a book I will keep, and I also plan to re-read the final book in Marjorie Holmes' trilogy, The Messiah.

The book was in excellent condition. Recived in a very short time. Evey thing was great

Shipped on time. Very interesting book about the way things could have happened in Jesus early life.