The Galileans is a historical fiction of Jesus of Nazareth. Like the four canonical gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, this gospel has parts that are made up and parts that may have happened.
It is a work in progress.
The hope of writing this is to bring an increasingly secular world closer to the beautiful teachings of a poor peasant from a remote region of a large empire.
Today, the word “Christian” in some circles evokes thoughts of intolerant, judgemental, red state bigots who are out of touch with other people in the world. In a recent episode of the HBO series “Silicon Valley” a person was considered so outcast because he was a Christian that other people couldn’t work with.
This gospel tries to portray Jesus as some of us think he really was: A radical outcast who brought hope and peace to his fellow men while his nation was repressed. While many people recognize the suffering of Jesus crucifixion, this suffering may have paled in comparison to the life he endured: rejected by his family, condemned by his people, and abandoned by his closest friends.
As soon as Jesus died the meaning of his life was debated by his followers. The letters of Paul and other early disciples show a fierce battle of what his true message was. Many who wrote (like Paul) never even met Jesus while he was alive. As centuries went on the real Jesus of Nazareth has been lost to history as many ancient peasants crushed by oppressive empires were.
While we will never know the real story, perhaps a different perspective on his life may inspire others to follow Jesus once again. Though I fully admit the narrative is mostly my imagination I dare say I’m not the first gospel writer to take liberties with the truth. While I could never compare to the beautiful prose of Matthew Mark, Luke, and John I at least admit to the reader, unlike they do, that I am just writing fiction of the little I know of one of the most incredible men the world has ever known.