The blood of innocents - John Bridges

Did the churches ever really understand Jesus?Or was he doing something very different?Set after a violent rebellion in Roman-occupied Judea, The Blood of Innocents explores the political conflicts behind thePassover that became the first Easter.A young man is captured by the Romans as they savagely put down a violent revolt. Along with thousands of other pilgrims, his family arrive in Jerusalem for Passover to find themselves enmeshed in the politics of rebellion. The Hebrews still yearn for the long-promised ‘anointed one’ to free them, yet crucified rebels still hang by the roadsides. Can Gad and Anna now save their own son from the cross?Meanwhile Jeshua ben Joseph, a rabbi loved by the poor and loathed by the powerful, also comes to Jerusalem for Passover. Will he, like the prophet of old, call down fire from heaven onto Roman heads? The High Priests fear he will just bring down more Roman violence onto Jewish heads. Isn’t it better that one man dies than the whole nation? Even an innocent man?