The Novel

When God was a Boy

Endorsements

“C.T. Giles is a gifted story-teller and wordsmith.”

In this engaging midrashic narrative of the young Yeshua’s relationship to Joseph and Miriam, Giles remains faithful to the biblical text while spinning a tale set in its intriguing gaps. Giles portrays a youthful Messiah whose Jewishness, displayed in the rich concrete details of his daily life, is not an incidental accident of birth but an essential feature of his identity and vocation. This Yeshua is believably human and believably divine. But the real hero of the story is Joseph, who must contend with a parental task greater than any father had ever faced before. Read, learn, be inspired, enjoy.

— Mark S. Kinzer

Author of Jerusalem Crucified, Jerusalem Risen: The Resurrected Messiah, the Jewish People, and the Land of Promise (2018)

“The read was a riveting story and joyful adventure.”

How does one attempt to write a fictional account of the shrouded, early life of Jesus? In accepting an incredibly daunting challenge, Giles has brought to life my imagination. The read was a riveting story and joyful adventure. But this exercise in imagination was not simply entertainment, it was also instructive and provoked reflection in me that helped me to grow in my relationship with the non-fictional Jesus.

— Marty Solomon

Creator and Executive Producer of the BEMA Podcast

“The church, the synagogue, and the world need a Jewish Jesus, and C.T. Giles has given us a picture of this Jesus as a boy of thirteen.”

Laying tefillin, reciting berachot, and discoursing with the rabbis on matters of Torah, Yeshua of Nazareth is portrayed here as he truly lived: as a devout first-century Jew who never abandoned his zeal for the Torah. Through the eyes of his father Yosef, we sense the young Messiah’s wisdom and alacrity along with the inner turmoil that came from being born under the heavy burden of prophecy. Giles’s flowing prose inspires us to imagine how Yeshua’s family would have navigated their kingly ancestry, their hope of national restoration, and their subjection to the Romans, all critical contexts for understanding the teachings of Yeshua in the Gospels. The deceptively simple narrative cloaks a deep exploration into the trials of the Jewish people in first-century rural Galilee and suggests how these trials might have shaped the worldview of our Messiah. Inspiring and evocative, “When God Was A Boy” is a must-read for anyone who wants to see their vision of the Jewish Jesus sharpened and clarified.

— Boaz Michael

President and Founder at First Fruits of Zion

“Excited for this book to make its way into people’s hands and hearts!”

This fresh telling of the life and story of Joseph is a wonderful gift from C.T. Giles. This book literally makes the reader feel as if they are right there with Jesus and his father Joseph. It humanizes the father/son relationship in such a beautiful way. Excited for this book to make its way into people’s hands and hearts!

— Mark Harris

Executive Pastor of Worship at Gateway Church, founding member of 4Him

“Every chapter bore a gift, drawing me deeper into the heart of Yeshua and fanning the flames of my love for Him.”

C.T. Giles brilliantly sets each scene to represent life in first century Nazareth, a community of Jews living under Roman occupation. Center stage, he captures the shrewd brilliance of Yeshua and His unceasing compassion, the loving intent of Father God behind the Law, and the necessity of properly translating Scripture against the metanarrative of the Sacred Text. Pictures of raw humanity encircle the central drama, bringing to life real people in a real place at a real time in history with real relationships — husbands and wives, parents and children, neighbors and friends, even dangerous enemies. While “When God Was a Boy” is an imaginative work of fiction, it authentically captures “how it might have unfolded,” tracing Gospel-documented events backwards… like threads looking for their knotted anchor. The author's literary offering also challenges readers who follow Yeshua (if they will allow it) to explore what it might look like to faithfully walk out Yeshua’s radical call to live as He lived, to do as He does. If Giles decides to write a sequel, rest assured, it will be on my “must read next!” list.

— Monica Napoli Warren

Hijacked Jesus; author, blogger, IronMan triathlete

“This book is an absolute must read...
When God Was a Boy is a masterpiece.”

I realized how brave and honorable my step-father was the day I got married. The realization came when I empathized that the day he said "I do" all those years ago, he not only became a husband for the first time, but he immediately became a father as well. I had a similar experience with Yosef in this story. For the first time, I sat in the space of empathy of what it must have been like to be the adoptive father of the Messiah. This book is an absolute must read. C.T. Giles is a radically gifted storyteller. His work brought me into a deeper appreciation of YHWH and His ordination within Yeshua's family. When God Was A Boy is a masterpiece that will lead you to deeper worship of the Father.

— Marshall Shank

Director of Outreach at Proven Men Ministries

“Even though ‘When God Was a Boy’ is historical fiction, I couldn't help but walk with a sense of hope that perhaps it's more historical than fiction.”

I have so often wondered what the life of Jesus was like when He was a boy. Scripture jumps from his boyhood teaching in the Temple to his adult Baptism by his cousin and has left me oftentimes wondering about the answer to that question: What happened in all of those in-between years? Those in-between years that we all know are critical to the development of our character and understanding of this word. I don't think those years were any exception to Jesus and I take great comfort in that. In "When God Was a Boy", author C.T. Giles paints us a suggested picture of those years that are incredibly real, raw, harrowing, and also incredibly beautiful. This is not just a make-believe story about what Jesus may have been like as a young man, but it is a well-researched historical fiction account that gave me a new-found connection to Jesus.

Bravo to Giles who gives the reader a front row seat witnessing the life of young Jesus from the perspective of Joseph, someone we don't hear too much from in Scripture. For example, watching Jesus love his parents well, while also struggling with the complexities of those relationships gave me a much-needed appreciation for his humanity and our similarities when it comes to relationships with loved ones. Also, to read about Jesus being targeted by those in power who wanted to hurt him inspired me to continue spending my life advocating for vulnerable people who are exploited by the powerful. The examples could go on and on... and that is why "When God Was a Boy" is such an important read for those who find themselves struggling or just curious to understand and reconcile Jesus as young man and Jesus as God.

— Boz Tchividjian

Boz is an attorney who advocates for sexual abuse victims
and is the founder of GRACE
(Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment)