The Day I met Jesus’ consists of the fictional ‘diaries’ of five women in the Gospels, including their background, when they first met Jesus and the amazing influence He had on their lives. Even though these ‘diaries’ are fiction, they are based on actual events in the Bible and help open the eyes of the reader to details of life over 2000 years ago.

 

     Here are some  fascinating quotes from pages 170 and 171 of this book, that give the likely background to Mary’s actions in the story of  Luke 10: 38—42,  about Mary and her sister Martha and Jesus’ visit to their home:

• “In the first century, they divided houses into the male space and the female space. The kitchen (the courtyard) became the sphere of the women. The public room (the living area) constituted the sphere of the men. And neither sex was supposed to cross over either barrier.”

• “So Mary’s act of moving into the public room with the men was not merely socially awkward – it bordered on high offence.”

• “But Mary did something else scandalous. She sat at Jesus’ feet. Sitting at someone’s feet was the posture of a disciple. And in the first century, teachers like Jesus only had male disciples.”

• “So Mary’s act of sitting in the men’s area (the public room) and sitting in the posture of a disciple, should curry our admiration.”

 

     Mary seemed to instinctively know that Jesus would praise both of these acts, even though they represented cultural taboos . . . He elevated both.’

 

     These are inspiring & encouraging stories. At the conclusion of the book are study questions that could be used in a group discussion. I highly recommend this engaging book, and hope you enjoy it too.

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Paperback. $21.99

Available from Koorong.

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