OUT OF NAZARETH br>This sequel to Like As We Are portrays Jesus’s life on earth from ages twenty to thirty-one. It is based on Scripture and history, supplemented by incidents the author envisions as “how it might have been.” Out of Nazareth continues to intertwine his life with those of Judas Iscariot and the fictional character Samson, Jesus’s antagonist since early childhood. As the Son of Man, Jesus faces the same problems and responsibilities we do today. The family bread-winner, he must pay bills and debts as he spends his days eking out a living in the labor-intensive job of a village carpenter to support his widowed mother and six siblings. He also has to pay taxes, tithe, and save money for his brothers’ dowries and wedding feasts. He teaches his youngest brothers the carpenter trade. He grows disillusioned with the existing Jewish religious system and seeks to know God’s will as the future Messiah. When he hears God’s call, he faces opposition from family and acquaintances. Following Jesus’s baptism and temptations in the Wilderness, divine power and authority are restored to him as the Son of God. He assembles a group of disciples and begins his ministry. His miracles are readily received by the crowds, even though they did not fully understand his teachings. His spiritual friend and forerunner, his cousin John the Baptist, is imprisoned by Herod Antipas. Since meeting Judas Iscariot when he was twelve, Jesus has kept in contact periodically. Judas begins following John the Baptist, and Jesus invites Judas to become his disciple. Samson, Pharisee, returns to Nazareth as a school teacher and continues to oppose Jesus. Jesus’s brother James becomes a Pharisee and is easily swayed by Samson. James finally moves to Capernaum. While Jesus is preaching one Sabbath morning in Nazareth, Samson leads a group who drive Jesus out of the synagogue and try to throw him off the brow of the hill. The final years of Jesus’s ministry unfold in the coming sequel, The Iniquity of Us All.