Three Years With Jesus ~ a story based on all 4 gospels

By Tom Mach

This is a nonfiction novel about the life of Jesus from His baptism to His ascension.What makes this book different is that it not only cover all four gospels it includes fictional scenes and scenes from a Christian mystic who claims she had been visited by Jesus. Three Years With Jesus reads like a novel with description which make the life of Jesus Christ come alive. For example, here is the scene of Christ's crucifixion:

The two criminals swore with oaths against God, the Law, and Romans as they were tied to their crosses. But Jesus lay His body on the cross meekly. Having stretched out His painful arms and legs, He groaned in agony as two executioners sat on His chest to hold Him. A third man grabbed His right arm and pressed the back of His hand against the cross. A fourth man, holding a long nail looked to see if the hole already made in the wood matched the radius-ulnar joint of the wrist. He raised his hammer and made the first stroke.

Jesus uttered a sharp cry as the nail tore through the muscles, nerves, and veins. His eyes were flooded with tears. But then He heard a shriek from His mother, bending as if she were crushed, then dropping her head in her hands. Jesus, observing her deep sorrow, recalled what Simeon said to her on the day He was consecrated to the Lord, “A sword shall pierce through Your own soul; that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.”

With His right hand now nailed, the executioners found that the pre-drilled hole in the cross did not mesh with the corpus of His left hand. So, they pulled the arm, dislocating the joint so they could nail that hand to the cross. As they nailed His left hand, He tried not to wail in pain with each bone-crushing and sinew-tearing stroke of the hammer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom Mach
• Release date: May 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005613112

Tom Mach

Tom Mach wrote three successful historical novels, Sissy!, All Parts Together, and Angels at Sunset. The first two were listed among the 150 best Kansas books in 2011. Sissy! won the J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award while All Parts Together was a viable entrant for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Award. Angels at Sunset was a Finalist for the International Book Award. Tom's latest collection of poetry is The Museum Muse and his previous poetry collection won the 2008 Nelson Poetry Book Award. He also wrote a collection of short stories entitled Stories To Enjoy which received positive reviews. In addition to winning poetry awards from Kansas Authors Club, Tom was a finalist in a nationwide Writer’s Digest Awards competition He coaches writing for 4th and 5th graders in his spare time.

Book preview

Three Years with Jesus

~ a story based on all 4 gospels ~

A nonfiction novel

by Tom Mach

~ a second revision ~

Three Years with Jesus

Copyright © 2021 by Tom Mach

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Apart from historical figures, and direct quotes from the Bible, all characters in this novel are fictitious, and any resemblance to living persons, present or past, is coincidental.

All scriptural references are from The New American Bible

An additional resource is The Poem of the Man-God by Maria Valtorta

(Centro Editoriale Valtoritano, srl) ©1999

Front cover image from painting by 16th century artist Raphael

Back cover image from freeimages.com

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

~ Matthew 5: 11-12

Introduction

This book is not meant to be another Bible. It is a work of fiction, although most of the events and quotations in this book are taken from the Bible. Hence, I called this a nonfiction novel. I tried to imagine what it would be like if I took all four gospels and somehow made those into one gospel. But I found that to be impossible since each of the four evangelists often had a different take on the same event. Also, to make this an entertaining story, I added some fictitious events that held the gospel accounts together. There are places in this book where I added my own imagination, inserted my interpretation of an obscure passage from the Bible, or relied on events that Maria Valtorta, a Catholic mystic, claimed Jesus told her about His life. (Her supposed revelations took up five volumes of a book titled: The Poem of the Man-God.)

For example, Valtorta described in detail the physical surroundings concerning the house where the Cana wedding celebration was held. In another part of my novel, where Simon Peter denies Christ, I have Judas Iscariot, almost colliding with Peter as both rush in opposite directions, Peter from the Temple courtyard after denying Jesus, and Judas to the Temple courtyard, intent on returning the thirty pieces of silver he had received for betraying Jesus.

I wrote this book because it forced me to learn more about Jesus. In my opinion, the scariest lines in the Bible come from Matthew 7:22-23: Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in Thy name, and cast out devils in Thy name, and done many miracles in Thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

After I die, I would love to hear Christ tell me He knows me. So, I felt the best way to ensure that He does know me is to first try to know Him. I tried to imagine His thoughts, realizing full well that no one on earth could know what His thoughts were. But what harm would it do to imagine what they might have been? Just going through the process of imagining His thoughts would bring me closer to Him. That was my main objective in writing Three Years With Jesus.

As I mentioned earlier, I discovered missing gaps in the gospels, and I had to fictionalize some areas to make the story cohesive—such as when Jesus cured Mary of Magdala of demon possession. Thus, while I tried to stick with the actual words from Scripture, I had to elaborate some areas to make the story interconnected. My research had to include all four gospels, if possible, but I had them woven together so they fit. I ended up with a reasonable account of Jesus’ life from His baptism to His ascension—but with fictional elements thrown in, sort of like mortar to hold all the sacred bricks together.

And so, here is His story as I saw it, but feel free to disagree with me. I had no intention of changing the gospels. I just wanted to make the gospels read like one continuous story, knowing that I would have had to fictionalize here and there. Maybe by reading this book, you will feel encouraged to go back to your Bible and reread it to get the actual word of God as written by the evangelists.

God bless you!

CHAPTER 1

Jesus kissed His mother on the cheek, and although Mary said nothing, He knew His leaving her for His mission to preach the good news of the gospel would end up being her fourth sorrow. Her first sorrow was the presentation in the Temple, her second was her flight to Egypt because of King Herod, and the death of Joseph was her third sorrow.

I have put some food in Your haversack, Jesus, she said, slowly placing a white mantle on His shoulders and pulling the hood over His head.

Jesus thanked her for everything. Are you still thinking of moving to Jerusalem and living with Aunt Salome?

I am but I have many memories here, she answered, straightening out His tunic and arranging his mantle and hood.

Mary followed Him to the entryway, and He kissed her cheek one last time. Then, with only a haversack on His back, He journeyed off into the moonlit valley. He turned back to see His mother leaning against the doorpost. Thank You, Father, He prayed, for giving Me such a loving and humble woman for My mother.

After sleeping in a field, He traveled at sunrise to a bare and flat country with no villages but with some plants and short grasses. The Jordan River with its low banks, flowed slowly southward. The water was bluish-green and so shallow one can easily see the bottom.

Jesus walked along a grassy shady path that followed the Jordan. Suddenly, He heard a sound like the roar of a lion. But it wasn’t a lion; it was a scream from a tall man with fierce dark eyes, a man with a beard so long it ran down to his waist. He had straight black hair and his face was tanned by the sun. He wore a camel-hair garment tied to his waist by a leather belt. Waving a long stick with authority, he shouted, I am baptizing you with water, but there is One who is coming whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire!

When some Pharisees and Sadducees approached, John the Baptist scolded them. You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with your repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these very stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

John pointed to a row of sycamores. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

He then turned his attention to the rest of the crowd. I can baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. With His winnowing fork in His hand, He will clear Hhis threshing floor, gather His wheat into the barn and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Some in the crowd apparently had already been baptized. Their garments were soaked. Others sat on the ground, whispering.

As Jesus drew closer, he heard John yell: He is coming soon. I am just a voice crying out in the desert. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight His paths.

He stopped ranting at the crowd when he saw Jesus smiling back at him. He walked toward Jesus, stopped, and bowed down before Him.

John then stretched out his arms as he faced the crowd. Behold the Lamb of God, he shouted. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.iH

The people murmured amongst themselves. Who is this Man? What is John saying? What does he mean by ‘the Lamb of God’?

Jesus ignored the questioning stares of the people and asked John to baptize Him.

John was bewildered.

"I don’t understand. I need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?"

Allow it, John, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

I will allow it. He sighed deeply, said a silent prayer, then led Jesus to the waters of the Jordan. After He was waist deep in the river, Jesus raised His eyes toward heaven. Father, it is by My example that I can show others the need to be obedient to You. My entire life should be an example to others.

John gently pushed Him down into the Jordan. But as Jesus rose from the water, there came a sound, a sound like a boom of thunder, a sound that said, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.

The crowd thought they heard a rumbling in the sky and believed it was about to rain.

Jesus gave John a long parting hug and headed toward the Judean Hills, making His way toward the desert. The land was crisscrossed by valleys and had deep ravines that cut through the rock. In this region there was virtually no vegetation, nothing here but solitude, with stones and rocks dotting the baren landscape.

He leaned against a curved, overhanging rock which seemed to form a grotto. Underneath this rock, He found protection from the scorching sun. He sat on a stone to rest for a few minutes before He prayed:

Yes, Father, I am determined to do Your Will and remain here in prayer for forty days. It will help me remember the forty years it took the Hebrews to reach the land flowing with milk and honey. The temptation for them to forget You was enormous, but I will pray against the malice and snares of the Evil One.

He stared at the haversack in which Mary had put in some food. He had eaten most of it before coming here. But He wouldn’t dwell on the lack of food. He wanted spiritual food so He could better prepare Himself for whatever trials He must endure.

The devil visited Him in different forms, one looked like his deceased stepfather Joseph, another which resembled a beautiful young woman. Jesus resisted all these temptations but by the fortieth day He felt His resistance weakening. The devil appeared as a baker holding a large stone in each hand. Command that these stones become fresh loaves of bread, the baker said.

Jesus thought about it. I had not eaten bread since I came to this forsaken place. It would be so easy for Me to do this. My body aches for real food. It is written, Jesus said, one does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

The baker disappeared and in his place was a dark angel that flew above Jesus. Come, this angel said, and took Him to the parapet of the Temple. Aren’t You the Son of God?

Yes.

Then You must convince me of that. Throw Yourself down from here. For it is written He will command His angels concerning You and with their hands they will support You, lest You dash Your foot against a stone."

I could do this, Jesus thought. This is surely something I can do. He is right. God would indeed support Me with His angels. But He erased the thought from His mind. Again, it is written ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.

The devil, now disguised as King Solomon arrayed in all his glory, led Jesus to a high mountain. The devil then raised his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth were there for Him to see at once. All these I will give to You if You will prostrate Yourself and worship me.

Jesus pushed him off the mountain cliff. Get away, Satan, for it is written ‘The Lord, your God, shall You worship and only Him shall you serve.

After the devil flew away, Jesus knelt before a large boulder. These temptations made Me quite weak, dear Father. I don’t know if I can take much more. Just then, the Father sent His angels to minister to Him with food and drink. Father, the Evil One has been permitted to tempt the world to sin. As a result, sin abounds everywhere. But I thank You for the love which You will be showing the world through Me, O mighty and everlasting Father. As the prophet Isaiah had written: I will make You a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Jesus traveled to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Then He carefully rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him. With outstretched arms He said to them, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

All spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips. Isn’t this Joseph’s son? they asked.

Truly I tell you, Jesus said, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove Him out of the town, and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, so they could throw Him off the cliff. But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.

Jesus decided to head east toward the Sea of Galilee. He knew His Father wanted Him there for some purpose. I trust in You, Heavenly Father, and I am here to do Your will, whatever it is, because You and I are One.

Once Jesus made it to the western shore of the