John – Son of Thunder is a historical fiction written in 1979 by author Ellen Gunderson Traylor. It is the second in her long series of novels of biblical characters. I only recently discovered this story in my parent’s collection, weeks before I got married and moved out. I’ve always liked the genre, as I enjoy reading about followers of Jesus and the details of their lives. I also enjoy the adventure and emotion of a re-imagination of their lives. Compared with a biography, this method might not be as accurate, but Traylor still seeks to tell a faithful and filled-out account of the apostle John.
John – SOT has been written to excite the spirits of Christ followers to better know Him more. Traylor says, “If [the novel] blesses even one reader, if it serves to draw him closer to Christ, I shall ever be grateful.” From my perspective, this is surely one of the worthiest causes for writing a historical fiction.
The life of young and fiery tempered John Bar-Zebedee (son of -) has been one of conflict with his traditional and highly-regarded father. His readings of Greek philosophers and interest in the message of a desert preacher called “The Baptist”, put him at odds with what is considered lawful under Pharisaical understanding. Yet John is drawn evermore to the idea of a God who gives grace and is not tied down to men’s laws and tradition. The Baptist calls all to repentance and speaks of One who will come after him, who will bring a baptism of Yahweh’s Spirit. After being discipled by the preacher, John is ready to start his faith journey with Jesus of Nazareth, of whom the Baptist says, “Behold the Lamb of God.” John finds himself learning from, being totally confused by, and ultimately submitting his life to the promised and Anointed One of old, the Messiah, who will change the course of history. The stage is set for a battle for the hearts of men that results in the death of self, grace found at the cross of Christ, and the message of reconciliation with the Almighty God. John will learn how his search and nature can be used by the One who loved him most, to make His Kingdom come.
After having started to read another historical fiction, Sarah (Canaan, #1), by Marek Halter – and deciding to throw it away for the trash it was, I was more wary of John – SOT. Sarah is not faithful to the story from the Bible, and has some very unsavoury pagan practices and sexual references. The intro and first chapter of John – SOT, though, set my heart at ease, as this unashamedly faithful retelling was the fit for me.
With the exception of a few of the disciples, we don’t know much about Jesus’ initial followers. The disciples are no doubt significant in the spread of the Gospel, but the the writers of the four gospels chose to give little flavour or detail to their lives. John acknowledges that there was a lot more that could be written about Jesus, but said that “[these signs] are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – John 20:31 (ESV) The gospels focus on Jesus for good reason, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to know more, or at least to understand how it felt to walk with Jesus back then.
John – SOT does a good job at bringing out what we do know of the disciple, suggests how John’s faith in and love of Jesus might have progressed, and entertains us along the way. Good expository teaching and preaching brings out context and cultural norms from a passage, but so does reading a good book on first-century times. And if you find a fiction much easier to read, may I suggest a book like John – Son of Thunder as one to consider, to get an idea of the way Jesus was perceived by His disciples, and to feel the pieces fall into place from all the Bible stories you have read or grown up with.
Headless dragons 