Dear Jesus: From A Pharisee

by Harrison Rucker

359 pages, Paperback

Published July 28, 2025

Reviews

[Patricia Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! It transported me thousands of years in the past, bringing us on Marcus' journey as he searches for the King of the Jews. We all can relate to Marcus and this is one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much! It is evident how the author clearly did his homework to bring the time period to life. The story will stay with me even after I turned the final page! Excellent read!

[Tori VanDerVoorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book painted a very well thought out description of what went through a Pharisees mind during Jesus' time on earth. It helped me to better understand their thoughts and background, giving me a different POV of Jesus through their lenses. It was a very easy story to follow, having read the gospels in the Bible, and kept me on the edge of my seat!!

[William]

The book is like a fish caught on a hook - it just keeps pulling you in. It sucked me in and I finished this in 3 days. The book was very well researched, extremely creative, captivating, and intriguing. The author shows his depth of understanding and research by making this set in biblical locations and by having Marcus connect many Old Testament prophecies to Jesus. The book takes you through various emotions and makes you keep reading to find out what happens next. When you read this, you will feel like you are living in the story.

Marcus is a Pharisee, who after having a traumatic event happen in his life went on a search to find the Messiah. Through grief, beatings, a cold-blooded father-in-law and other twists and turns, we journey with Marcus as he secretly tries to investigate a man named Jesus from Nazareth. The story is set as a conversation between a former Pharisee (Marcus) and a Pharisee named Joseph, who previously saved Marcus’s life. You get so consumed in the story and you want to know what Marcus current view of Jesus is but he waits to the end to reveal his thoughts on Jesus, which leaves you on the edge of your seat not wanting to put the book down until you know how he feels about Jesus. Marcus tries to find closure after feeling responsible for the death of his son, but finds he has no closure or peace until [spoiler] he encounters “the man on the middle cross.”

We are all like Marcus, we ought to leave everything behind in search of the messiah until we find him and cling to him. The author wants to put the fire that is inside of Marcus into us so that we may hunger for the Messiah. We will find that the truth sets us free when we take our leap of faith and believe in Jesus. The story offers the testimony of a man who searched for Jesus, and it calls for us to return to the Gospels and read them as we continue our search for Jesus. It leads the skeptic to inquire into the claims of Jesus with the same sense of urgency as Marcus.

Now, I’m just waiting on my copy of the book to be signed by the author.

[Josefina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Jesus: From a Pharisee is a powerful and heartfelt story that pulled me in right away. I loved how it brought the world of Jesus’s time to life and made Marcus’s journey feel so real. It’s well-written, thought-provoking, and left me reflecting long after I finished.

[Ryder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book is a slow burner, but the ending is worth the reading till the end. Brings you back to the time and seeing the connections with the gospels is really cool to see, well written.