The Soldier Who Killed a King A True Retelling of the Passion by David Kitz Book Review

A stunning story of Holy Week through the eyes of a Roman centurion

Watch the triumphal entry of the donkey-riding king through the eyes of Marcus Longinus, the centurion charged with keeping the streets from erupting into open rebellion.

Look behind the scenes at the political plotting of King Herod, known as the scheming Fox for his ruthless shrewdness.

Get a front-row seat to the confrontation between the Jewish high priest Caiaphas and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.

Understand as never before the horror of the decision to save a brutal terrorist in order to condemn the peaceful Jew to death.

If you've heard the story of Passion Week so often it's become stale, now is the time to rediscover the terrible events leading from Jesus’ humble ride into the city to his crucifixion. The Soldier Who Killed a King will stun you afresh with how completely Christ's resurrection changed history, one life at a time. 

My Thoughts:

I enjoy reading Biblical historical books. It’s hard to find good quality ones to read that don’t take the Biblical story way out of context. I expect some creative liberties to filling in the blanks and getting more depth into the plot and characters. I just don’t always agree when the context is there and that creative writing changes what we already know from God’s word. I’ll get back to this part in a bit.

David Kitz writes with passion and does a fantastic job with descriptions in the story. The characters are vivid and you almost feel like you are there watching the scenes take place in person. Great job with the characters I really like how he portrayed Marcus Longinus, the Roman Centurion. He did a good job with many of the characters. I did think some of the speech seemed out of place for that time period. 

The crucifixion was extremely vivid and I’m okay with that as for me it’s a reminder of the price that Jesus paid for our sins. Other readers may not be okay with the details as it goes into a lot of details. It brought tears to my eyes.

There are a few other parts that I didn’t expect. There aren’t any details about the inappropriate acts. You get the underlying meaning. I think the author handled these situations good. I also think the story would have been just as good without them.

Now back to the context and whether it took it out of the Biblical context. Yes, there are a few scenes that we know about from God’s word that he changed. Not a lot but, it was still done. I was a bit disappointed in that.

The author is an excellent writer. He drew me into the story and made it a page turner. I don’t usually rate books but, if I had to rate it I would give it a 4 out of a 5. If the context wasn’t changed I would have said a 5 without a second thought.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product from Kregel Publication in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this information accordance with the FTC Regulations.