Viola - The day I met Jesus : the revealing diaries of five women from the gospels

2015 by Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4412-2239-8

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007

Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Published in association with the literary agency of The Fedd Agency, Inc., Austin, TX.

Jesus, from the very beginning, has been good news for women. Perhaps that news has rarely been needed more clearly than in our day. One reads of His encounters with the women described in this book with a sense of wonder that these interactions took place two thousand years ago. He is good news for women still.

John Ortberg , pastor; author of Who Is This Man?

What a treasure this diary-style book is! This impactful message focuses on five broken women in the Bible and their life-changing encounters with Jesus. The way Mary and Frank portray their stories will help any woman who has experienced heartbreak, loneliness, and rejection step right into the extravagant grace and love of Jesus.

Lysa TerKeurst , New York Times bestselling author of The Best Yes ; president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

Mary and Frank provide a fresh look at biblical women that breathes life, color, and hue into these familiar stories. If you want to better understand the richness of biblical accounts in the context of first-century history, this is a book you wont want to miss.

Margaret Feinberg , author of Fight Back with Joy and Wonderstruck

The Day I Met Jesus is a refreshing look at five women in the Gospels, telling their stories in a way that brings them to life but at the same time based on careful research into the real world in which they lived. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down. Through the eyes of women whose lives Jesus touched, this book invites us to see Jesus more deeply. It ministered to broken places in my own heart.

Craig Keener , professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary

Step into the first century, as your senses and imagination are engaged in Mary DeMuths masterful biblical narrative, deftly exploring the hearts and minds of five women who met the Savior. Then Frank Viola brings his own gifts to the page, opening the Scriptures to help us understand each account more fully. Together, their voices sing of the beauty of Christ and the redemption He offers. The Day I Met Jesus is truly a wonderful book.

Liz Curtis Higgs , bestselling author of Bad Girls of the Bible

We all long to lift the veil of history and catch a glimpse of the real storythe one that makes our hearts pound, our faith grow, and our lives change. Thats exactly what Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth offer in this compelling book. You will never look at Scripture or Gods work in your own heart the same way again after you close the final page.

Holley Gerth , author of Youre Already Amazing and Youre Made for a God-Sized Dream

Elegant, stimulating, rewarding, this probe into Jesus relationship with women packages the best of biblical scholarship and theology in the spellbinding wraps of storytelling.

Leonard Sweet , bestselling author; professor (Drew University, George Fox University); chief contributor to Sermons.com

Story. History. His-Story. This book has all of these and immediately gripped my heart. I held my breath as I read about women who encountered Jesus in their day. I absolutely love books that compel me to love Jesus more. Together, Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth created a masterful biblical narrative that reminds us once again how Jesus feels about the sinner who desperately needs saving. He loves us. He came to save us. Enjoy every page of this book. Youll be glad you did.

Susie Larson , radio host; national speaker; author of Your Beautiful Purpose

Many Christians fail to experience the full power of the Bibles stories because they never learned how to imaginatively get inside the lives of biblical characters to make them come alive. I dont know of any book that better helps readers do this than The Day I Met Jesus . Combining imaginative creativity, historical scholarship, and great storytelling, Viola and DeMuth help readers enter into the lives of five women in the Gospels to experience Jesus from their perspective. And by this means, they help readers deepen their own understanding of, and love for, Jesus. After reading this poignant and gripping book, you wont view these five women, Jesus, or yourself the same way!

Greg Boyd , pastor; author of Benefit of the Doubt , Present Perfect , and The Myth of a Christian Nation

The Day I Met Jesus by Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth is destined to be a classic. Five exquisitely imaginative stories of women from the Gospels describe lives turned upside down by their encounters with Jesus. The book reveals the beauty of our SaviorHis character, His compassion, His humility, His humanity, and His divinity. This gem of a book will move you, inspire you, and very likely, set you free.

Felicity Dale , blogger; author of The Black Swan Effect: A Response to Gender Hierarchy in the Church

In The Day I Met Jesus , Frank and Mary demonstrate lucid insight into the balanced, candid, focused, tender, and penetrating manner of our MasterJesus the Christ. See again the Savior who was God and Man embodied to show and transform us by His unpretentious holiness, empowering authenticitywithout scorn or condemnation, transmitting loves purity, lifes vitality, and hopes eternity. I commend the authors and this book to you: both will enrich and enlarge your thoughts and your life.

Pastor Jack W. Hayford , founder of The Kings University

The women youve always read about. Now, in real life. This fresh new take on timeless stories of the Bibles fiercest heroines will leave you inspired, empowered, and thrilled for more. Thank you, DeMuth and Viola, for this gift to women everywhere.

Claire D az-Ortiz , Silicon Valley innovator; author; blogger at ClaireDiazOrtiz.com

The Day I Met Jesus bears the souls of five familiar women from Scripture and the deep significance of their personal encounters with Jesus. Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth have crafted a beautiful account of these womens stories with a rawness that punctuates the significance of our Saviors grace. May we be so moved to experience the love, joy, hope, and grace of the Jesus portrayed in these pages.