A while back I was sitting at my computer – a book was inside me, waiting to burst out. I imagined I was Nicodemus, the man who met Jesus, as recorded in John chapter 3. I’d heard many talks on this passage, how he came to Jesus at night and the conversation that then followed. But I wanted to put the whole episode into a contemporary setting. It was something of an experiment at first – would it work? I’d always imagined I was more of an editor than a writer – and here I was editing the Bible text, or as I put it, thinking aloud. I imagined what might have gone on in Nicodemus’ mind as he was about to meet up with Jesus that evening… how he may have avoided a committee meeting, how he had heard about Jesus, what his hopes and fears were. I went back to the Bible text and imagined the situation… he’d rung Jesus from a call box at lunch time… they were due to meet in a new Thai restaurant in town, where people hopefully would not recognize him… what were his thoughts as Jesus talked? and what might have been his response? And then I thought of other New Testament people. In today’s setting, might Joseph (husband of Mary, mother of Jesus) have played football with Jesus? Taken him to school? What might it have been like to have been there when Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple? And what about the guard at Jesus’ tomb that first Easter Day, as he really wanted to do some DIY?
I worked on a few stories, showed them to some friends, who reacted positively, and passed them to Mark Woods, editor of the Baptist Times, who responded enthusiastically and in due course published well over a dozen of these stories.
So here we are: encounters that Jesus had with 52 men as recorded in the New Testament, put into contemporary settings as the individuals themselves might have retold them.
Those unfamiliar with the New Testament record, who perhaps dismiss the validity of Jesus Christ and his claims. Many books have been written on the evidence of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and I don’t want to add to them. Instead I’ve zeroed in on human character, which hasn’t changed in the 2,000 years or so since Jesus walked on earth. I invite you to read these stories and allow Jesus to challenge you.
Those who are familiar with the New Testament. You know the stories, their content and their form. Perhaps you are so familiar with them that they have lost some of their impact. Come with me and transfer these stories to our present-day culture.
My ultimate aim in retelling these stories is to see ourselves – our own lives – and to allow Jesus to meet with us. As we encounter Jesus, how are we changed? What is our response to Jesus Christ coming to us? Each one of us is different. Will we join him on our own unique adventure of trusting him?