Derek Dunnagan. The Nazarene. Word and Spirit, 2024.

Readers can probably guess from the title that The Nazarene is about Jesus of Nazareth. It is a novel, so it is a fictionalized but respectful account not unlike the film Jesus of Nazareth or The Chosen series.

What makes this story distinctive is its points of view. The story is narrated in the third person but from the perspective of many different people who encountered Jesus such as many of His disciples, the rabbi Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and even Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate. It is as much their story as His story.

Much of the action focuses on John the Baptist and his followers like Andrew and John the Apostle who would become followers of Jesus. We see, then, some things told from John’s perspective and questions that John’s ministry raises about Jesus. For example, John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God. What exactly did that mean? People discuss this. What do the religious authorities like Nicodemus, Gamaliel, and Caiaphas think about John? What are Herod’s and Pilate’s political concerns?

This is very thoughtful and tries to use story telling to give us an idea of the Jewish, Roman, and Hellenistic cultures at the time of Jesus. For example, we see how Pilate has to learn the hard way how strict the Jews are about idolatry in Jerusalem. This is not in the Bible, but we know the basic story from secular history. We also see, for example, how Pilate’s wife takes dreams seriously.

To give an idea of the story, we see things from the perspective of three different members of the Sanhedrin: Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and the High Priest Caiaphas. Each shows a different perspective and curiosity about both Jesus and John the Baptist. We also are reminded of the differences between the Sadducees and Pharisees.

Nicodemus is initially skeptical, but then he witnesses a miracle that Jesus performed and hears about another one. These are not miracles recorded in the Bible, they are fiction, but we know that when Nicodemus meets with Jesus he tells Him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2)

Now up to that point in the Gospel of John only one miracle has been described, the changing of the water into wine at Cana, which may not have even been observed by people who were at the wedding feast. So we know that Jesus must have performed some miracles not recorded that Nicodemus witnessed or knew about from reliable sources. We know that shortly before the meeting with Nicodemus, Jesus was teaching in the Temple. It is easy to imagine Jesus performing one of His signs there. It likely did not happen exactly the way Dunnagan describes it, but it sets the scene well.

The discussion with Nicodemus, on the other hand, is more or less word for word from John’s Gospel, with the addition of a couple more quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures.

That last piece illustrates a recurring image or theme in The Nazarene. Jesus very skillfully quotes and cites Scriptures to make His point and justify most of His actions. Yet the more religious Jews like Gamaliel wonder how He learned them since He seems not to have studied under any particular rabbi or school. When asked, Jesus says in so many words that the Scriptures speak for themselves and if people can read, they can learn what they have to say.

The main question The Nazarene asks is simply “Who is Jesus?” The answer is not in theological terms but the author lets Jesus, His actions and words, and the observations of many witnesses tell us. Jesus still asks the question, “Who do you say that I am?” (See Mark 8:29.)

The fact that the novel ends not with the death and resurrection of Jesus, but only about a third of the way through His ministry, tells us that that is what the author is trying to do. This is what people saw and heard and said. Who did they think He was? Who do you think He is? Read and discover for yourselves.

N.B. There is a fifties bestseller by Sholem Asch also called The Nazarene about the life of Jesus as told from a Jewish perspective. I recall reading his Moses and The Apostle (about St. Paul). Both books made quite an impression on me. I still recall Moses even though I read it about sixty years ago. Reading this has got me curious about taking a look at Asch’s Nazarene.