Servant Siblings

The whole city gained a Messiah. He lost a brother. James ben Joseph never believed Jesus was a rebel. Reckless with His words, perhaps, and impossible to reason with, but never a man deserving of a cross. He traveled to Jerusalem for Passover hoping to persuade his older brother to abandon His dangerous teaching and come home to Nazareth. Instead he watched betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion unfold, and when the moment came to stand beside his own blood, James turned away to protect his family.

His family is fracturing, and no one is listening to him. Joseph ben Joseph wants one thing after the crucifixion. He wants his family home in Nazareth, far from the men who killed his brother. His mother refuses to leave. She has cast her lot with Jesus' followers and will not be moved, even with death hanging over the city. James, who once wanted the very thing Joseph wants, now insists he has seen Jesus alive. And Joseph, who is not the patriarch, has no authority to lead anyone anywhere. Then one of his siblings goes missing.

Her Messiah told her to wait. Her betrothed is still waiting for her. Assia bat Joseph's hope was restored the day her brother walked out of the tomb. Jesus is the Messiah, and He has promised to return and establish His kingdom. She waits with her whole heart. But the days stretch into weeks, and waiting grows harder. Impatience spreads among the believers and within her own family. Talk of returning home to Nazareth stirs something in Assia she cannot quiet, because a betrothed husband waits for her there, and the wedding she has dreamed of has already been delayed too long.