Two from Galilee
by Marjorie Holmes
In Two from Galilee, we are presented a picture of two real people called by God for a mission so grand that it almost seems unreal. The couple, young and overwhelmed, are asked to provide a home and parenting for God as he takes on human flesh. Just a teenage girl and a young carpenter, and a very big task.
In Holmes's novel, Mary and Joseph are shown as a pair of searchers and strugglers. They have plenty of ups and downs, and endure a whole lot of confusion as they are presented with this difficult, almost inconceivable, mission. They face hostility once they decide to take up the mantle given them, and have to figure out a way to deal with that. And they do, though it is not always presented as an easy path.
In the sequel to the novel, Three from Galilee, we get a picture of the "lost years" of Jesus, where he grew up in Nazareth. This presentation of the early years of the Messiah, in the two volumes, is engaging and entertaining, and also thought-provoking. It is a series that I never hesitate to recommend to other readers of Christian fiction.
Reviewed by Shelly Bryant © 2010