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The Agony of the Cross Loomed for Jesus …
“Our brother Jesus was on a reckless course
and I had left Jerusalem because I was angry with love for him.
I felt helpless to change him and terrified for his life.”
James and his brothers didn’t know what to do with Jesus. Was their eldest brother the prophesied Messiah, or was he simply out of his mind? Soon enough, events in Jerusalem during Passover bring James and his family to their knees with sorrow: Jesus has been crucified.
But only days later, they hear strange reports—that Jesus has risen from the dead! As the family and followers of Jesus eventually encounter the risen Lord, they joyfully come to believe in him as the promised Messiah. A few weeks later, though, when Jesus ascends to heaven, the first believers feel confusion and even a little surprise at the kind of Messiah that Jesus turned out to be—but they have no time to reflect, as they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives.
Jewish leaders want to stamp out the “heretical” church—and the high priest, Caiaphas, takes extreme measures and enlists a young Pharisee named Saul to begin a violent assault on followers of Christ. In the face of threats, persecution, and even death, James, John, Peter, and the rest of the Jewish believers must rely on raw and untested faith to overcome fearful times and carry out Jesus’ command to build a church that will change the world in his name.
See Christ’s final weeks on earth through the eyes of those closest to him.
Witness the early church’s exciting first days—and then its struggle to remain.
Take an up-close and intimate journey into first-century Israel in …
His Kingdom Come
