Christ The Lord: The Road To Cana
By Anne Rice

This is the second book in the series telling the story of Jesus from his perspective: quite an ambitious undertaking. When I read the first book I expected to be disappointed and critical concerning all the “mistakes” I thought I would find. After all, what is right does an author known for vampire stories have to write about Christ? Ms. Rice answers that question in a lengthy personal testimony as an Afterward to the first book. It seems that a few years ago she returned to the faith of her childhood and felt that God was calling her to use her gifts in a way that would bring him glory. One of the things that made her vampire stories so popular is the research she did about the historical periods in which she sets her stories. Her readers learn a good bit of history and culture in each book. I remember hearing some critic commenting that she did a similar level of research as James Michener did for his epic novels. Ms. Rice shares with her readers that she read over 300 books in preparation for writing this series. That amount of reading, of course, does not guarantee success but in her capable hands it brings first century Palestine to life.

Now that I have finished the second book I confess that I was actually very intrigued by both the story lines and by the way Ms. Rice gives us insights into what the God-man may have been thinking. The first book begins with the return from Egypt and carries through the journey to Jerusalem when Jesus is 12. The second book picks up just before Jesus begins his public ministry and carries through the wedding feast and the calling of the first group of Apostles. In the second book she gives her opinion on what it was like for Jesus to be tempted: both in the day-to-day occurrences of life and by Satan after his forty days in the wilderness. In some respects I don’t like to think about Jesus being tempted because I closely acquaint temptation with sin. How could Jesus look at a woman and somehow be sexually tempted? I don’t know – but if he didn’t then he has not walked where I walk and Scripture and the Church Fathers are wrong about his humanity. Even more interesting is the way she handles the encounter with Satan. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s reading, so I won’t give any details. I will say that it is very creative, consistent with the Biblical account, and, I think, most insightful into the character of the Great Deceiver.

Luke 2:52 tells us that after the visit to Jerusalem and Jesus’ encounter with the Teachers, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.” In both books, Ms. Rice gives an glimpse as to what it may have been like for Jesus to grow in wisdom while being fully God and fully man. I look forward to the next story.