Skip to main content

The One O'Clock Miracle: A True Story About Trusting the Words of Jesus






The One O’Clock Miracle by Alison Mitchell and Illustrated by Catalina Echeverri

This wonderfully written and illustrated children’s book entitled The One O’Clock Miracle by Alison Mitchell and Catalina Echeverri is a real treat for those interested in a retelling of John 4 and the Royal Official’s son and his healing.  With illustrations reminiscent of the pictures in The Jesus Storybook Bible, illustrator Catalina Echeverri, the story of the Royal’s son comes to life. 

The writing and illustrations in The One O’Clock miracle all hinge upon Jesus, not only that he healed the Royal’s son but that he was God’s rescue King, the Son of God.  How do the author and illustrator point to Jesus in the story?  For one, at many points in the story the royal official was out of breath, but he kept continuing on his path because he NEEDED to see Jesus and he MUST see Jesus.  The highlighted words bring out the necessity of the Royal official’s plight to see Jesus.  Even more, the response of the Royal official to Jesus when he said, “Go,” helps us see that the man thought without Jesus’ actual presence with his son, his son would not be healed.  Yet, the official hung onto the words of Jesus that his son would live, for he believed Jesus.

The way in which the story ends with the royal official rejoicing to hear of his son being healed at the same hour that he saw Jesus, when Jesus said his son would live is truly an amazing end to the retelling of John 4.  The men of the community come to meet the royal official and they are exclaiming that the son is alive and well again, sending the father into a tizzy as he leaps off his feet.  Alison at the end of the book highlights the fact that Jesus spoke and the son was healed and this because Jesus was God’s Son.  She highlights the continuity that God speaks, as in Genesis 1 and the world never the same after this event.  The story ends with the royal official telling his family what Jesus had done for him and them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and so did my kindergarten daughter.  She loved the expressions on the boy’s face at the end of the story as well.


Thanks to Cross Focused Reviews and the good book company for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rise of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Navigating the culture that we take up residence in, with its laser focus on sexual identity, tolerance, and an individualism that raises its head at every corner, Christians need a robust account of how we got to this point in our Western culture without retreating to our churches nor morphing with the latest trends.   Carl Trueman, professor of religion and theology at Grove City College, brings his keen historical research to bear on this issue in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.   Part historical survey and philosophical analysis, Dr. Trueman traces the trajectories of key thinkers such as Rousseau, Freud, and Marx, while also incorporating the insights of Charles Taylor and Phillip Rieff to form a cogent argument as to how we got to this point in our history, both in our expressive individualism and sexual freedom outlooks.   The book is surprisingly insightful and yet demands from the reader the pa
Post a Comment
Read more

The Conditioned Mind

The Conditioned Mind: Overcoming the Crippling Effects of Sin and Guilt by Michael J. Mannia Counselor and author Michael J. Mannia knows firsthand how the spiraling of sin and guilt can eat away at life.  His new book, The Conditioned Mind, is a look into how believers can overcome the effects of sin and guilt and live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  Through a careful look into the patterns that we develop and the mindsets that we get ingrained in, Michael is able to offer ways through guilt that bring freedom and healing.  I think this is not only a timely but a book that aims toward bringing real healing to its readers. In the first chapter Michael looks at two needs that we have: our need for love and our need for security.  Love isn’t something optional for the human race, but something it needs at its core.  “Additionally, we need to reciprocate love.  We need to feel loved as much as we need to love others (8).”  Love is a two-way street that inv
Post a Comment
Read more

Passover and Jesus

The Messiah in the Passover , Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser Why should Christians celebrate and remember the Passover?   This is a striking question that needs to be understood as well as the historical and theological context of the Passover.   However obscure we sometimes view the Old Testament, there is some significant reasons why we should reach back and study the Passover.   Mitch Glaser in the Introduction states, “When Christians celebrate the Passover, they grow in their understanding of the Old Testament, affirm the Jewishness of the Gospel, deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and build community with fellow Christians…” (20).   This book is answer to why celebrate the Passover but even more importantly an answer to what the Passover is and what it signifies to us today.   The various contributors of this book, Messiah in the Passover, bring a wealth of ministry experience in relating the Jewishness of both Jesus and the Old Testament to
Post a Comment
Read more