Books affect me and leave their mark, but it’s not often a book makes me feel like I’m sitting at the unsandaled feet of Jesus.

When I read The Day I Met Jesus, I felt like I had been transported back to the first century. As I read the inner thoughts of these women, I found soul sisters, kindred spirits and desperate women in need of grace.

I found myself on the pages of this Biblical narrative.

I bookmarked every other page to use as pull quotes in this review. I was tempted to save the last few pages for later, to savor it and to keep the book from coming to an end.

Frank Viola and Mary DeMuth have written a stunning book unlike any book I’ve ever read. Half of each chapter reads like a diary entry. The other half explains the Biblical text, providing historical context.

The Day I Met Jesus chronicles the day Jesus changed the story of these five women.

• The prostitute who loved much.
• The Samaritan at the well.
• Mary of Bethany.
• The woman with the “issue of blood.”
• The woman caught in adultery.

I didn’t expect this book to impact me the way it did. I didn’t expect the five fictionalized characters from the Bible to embed themselves in my heart.

I was a little nervous reading the fictional backstories of these women. But what Frank and Mary have done in this book breathes life into the Scriptural account.

No longer am I rereading the same stories I’ve read countless times. On the pages of this book, I feel like I’m meeting a real person. I’ve rediscovered the power of their faith and the radical Christ I fell in love with years ago.

I met Mary of Bethany afresh and watched her wrestle with the need to be an ideal woman—a battle I fight daily. I watched her throw away the need to please and enter a man’s world to sit at the feet of Jesus as his disciple.

She loved Jesus more than she cared about what others thought of her.

I wept for the woman with the “issue of blood.” I felt her ache and rejection. When she met Jesus, I rejoiced with her and saw Jesus anew through her eyes.

I don’t have the space here to tell you how the women caught in adultery challenged the way I thought about my love for Jesus. I wish I could tell you how the woman at the well’s radical exuberance for the Savior challenged the way I approach sharing my faith.

I won’t soon forget this book, and you won’t either.

I’ve been a student of the Bible, formally and informally, for years, and I learned more about first-century customs from this one book than a pile of my theology books. The authors do a great job of explaining details that we as modern readers fail to see.

This book needs to line the bookshelf of every home and church library.

You can read the first chapter here, and buy it at 50% off here. Stay tuned for an interview with the authors this week!