Click Here To Purchase Women of the Passion

Author: Joan D. Lynch

ISBN: 978-0-9829640-0-2

Publisher: MSJ Press

A student of the Bible will find all the essential facts about the crucifixion of Christ but may wonder about the details of that time and the days following the event. What did His disciples and others close to him feel? How did His mother react? How did she cope with this traumatic situation? And how did Christ’s followers find the courage to continue His work after He left them? Author Joan D. Lynch explores all these questions and more in her book Women of the Passion.

The book opens at the foot of the cross in Christ’s final moments of life. Some of His followers have gathered to witness the horror of the event. After following Him for three years, they try to grasp the reality of the death of their Messiah. How can He consent to such a grisly end when He has saved so many and performed so many miracles?

Mary Magdalene, a follower whom Jesus had cured of the possession of demons, stands by Jesus’ mother and offers her moral support as she herself tries to stand strong. The book then follows Mary Magdalene and other key women in the days after the crucifixion as they strive to figure out what their role is now. For three years Christ led them from one amazing event to another. Now that He no longer lives among them, what purpose do their lives have?

As Mary Magdalene and other key women in the post-crucifixion movement gather and organize, they show their strength and stand firm when some of Jesus’ male disciples question the presence and leadership of the women. And the role of the women stands at the heart of author Lynch’s novel. Most obvious is Lynch’s meticulous research and study of the Bible as well as historical texts. She has kept within the confines of Biblical texts and accepted accounts of the days following the crucifixion while also exercising enough literary license to provide readers with a plausible “maybe” of that time period.

At times Lynch’s narrative becomes slightly didactic and loses the rhythm of fiction. Characters seem to be reciting lines instead of just expressing their thoughts. But Lynch keeps the didacticism to a minimum, and readers are left with a novel that may challenge their preconceived notions about Biblical times. An enjoyable tale, readers familiar with the Bible story will feel like many of the blanks left by original source materials have been filled in.

This reviewer recommends Women of the Passion especially for those who appreciate Christian fiction and enjoy musing about the days just before and after Christ’s death.