WHAT IF JESUS WALKED AMONG US?

John Gray gives us the answers in his latest fiction novel, ‘The Carpenter’s Son’

John Gray's latest novel, "The Carpenter's Son," released this April, dives into the question of what Jesus might be like if he walked among us today.

Have you ever wondered what Jesus would do if he was placed in the modern world? What sort of questions would you ask if given the chance? How do you think he would answer? 

If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, there’s a book just for you. 

“The Carpenter’s Son,” the latest fiction novel by Emmy-winning writer and News 10 anchor John Gray, takes readers into the heart of what it might be like if Jesus walked among us and the hope that his wisdom could offer us all. 

“I’ve done a lot of reading and soul searching and watching of Christians who defend the faith and really studying what Jesus is saying,” Gray said in an interview with The Evangelist. “A lot of the answers are there, we just don’t see it.”

“The Carpenter’s Son” features Brooklyn Sterling, a no-nonsense journalist who has built her award-winning career on exposing fraud and corruption for The Boston Globe. When a story comes her way of a man performing miracles — curing the blind, bringing a child back to life — she sees her next big exposé, and is determined to uncover the truth.

Her search takes readers on a journey through a cast of characters — some of faith, others of doubt — all of whom have been through personal turmoil, tragedy and heartbreak. As Brooklyn’s investigation unfolds, so does a web of connections intertwined by one mysterious stranger who always seems to be in the right place at the right time, and ends with an eye-opening and heart-changing experience: a day with Jesus Christ himself. 

“If you read anything I’ve written, faith is in there, but it’s peaking around the corner; it’s in the room, but it’s not front and center,” Gray said of his works, like the “Manchester Christmas” series, or the children’s storybook, “God Needed a Puppy.” “This was a book where I had to decide I’m not going to go halfway here.”

Putting Jesus Christ at the center of the book, Gray offers answers and insight to Catholics, Christians and even non-believers about what Jesus Christ might say, do and feel in today’s world, which, in turn, fills one’s arsenal with details of the Christian faith. 

“I wanted this book to be, if you are a Christian, this sort of arms me a little bit in a good way,” he said. “It reaffirms my faith but it also gives me some good information. When someone says there’s no such thing as a miracle, and you say well, what about this?

“And if you don’t believe or you’re not sure, you might go, ‘He might be making some points here, I never thought of it that way,’ and maybe it’s the on-ramp to becoming a person of faith.”

Of all his books, “The Carpenter’s Son” was one of the hardest to write. Gray started writing in the fall of 2023, inspired to publish something that could give hope to readers during hard times and help them know God is there through it all, even when they don’t feel it.

“There is hope, God is with you, and it’s OK if you don’t understand,” he said. “It’s hard to rationalize why there is childhood cancer and a God who loves us, but there is a reason for all this and there is a broader plan. If you can trust in God, he’s going to take care of you.”

Gray, along with his editors, wanted to make sure that the voice and character of Jesus was accurate but still human and approachable. It was one of the reasons the book was hard to write: “They wouldn’t have published it if I had Jesus doing anything that Jesus would not say, or Jesus would not do, so they helped me stay true to who he was,” Gray said. 

All the hard work paid off in the end: the storyline pulls readers in immediately and takes them on a fun but intriguing quest for the truth. There’s an element of mystery that keeps you guessing, wondering when the next clue might pop up; what the next character might reveal. While along the way, unveiling tender moments of human connection and kindness, even in the hardest of times.

“I could care less about making money on it, but I would love to see it get out there and really grow,” Gray said. “I feel like if enough people read this and share it with others, it’ll get beyond what the other books have done, just going beyond Albany and really reach people. I love getting notes from people who said (my book) gave them a little bit of hope they didn’t have before.”

“The Carpenter’s Son” is available now at https://www.amazon.com or through Paraclete Press at https://paracletepress.com.