One man wrote, "I could scarcely work, eat or sleep." Under deep conviction, he united with a church. Many said they became Christians through it. Overawed by the events of the crucifixion, Ben-Hur declares ".Truly as God lives, he who hangs yonder is the Son of God."Ĭountless people wrote Lew, thanking him for his book. He summons his Galileans only to find that they have melted away, siding with the Jewish leaders who want Christ put to death. The guards grab at Ben-Hur, who flees naked. When Jesus heals Ben-Hur's mother and sister, the three are reunited.Īs Jesus is led to crucifixion, the grateful Ben-Hur offers to free him with his trained Galileans. He follows Jesus with interest, but without understanding.
He believes God has given him his wealth to help establish the Messiah on his throne. Vowing revenge, Ben-Hur trains Galilean rebels to fight against Rome. A Jewish agent had taunted Messala into staking his entire fortune on the race. At the same time, Ben-Hur regains his family's wealth, which Messala had stolen.
The middle of the novel details Ben-Hur's release from the galleys, his rise in the world and his revenge on Messala, which is complete when he beats him in a chariot race that leaves Messala crippled. Without saying a word, the boy Jesus gives Ben-Hur a life-saving drink. His mother and sister are dragged off and he knows not where.Īs Ben-Hur is marched toward his new existence as a slave behind an oar, the Romans pass through Nazareth, where he encounters Christ. Messala fingers Ben-Hur as the culprit, and he is torn from his family and sent to the galleys as a slave. Leaning over the roof to observe, Ben-Hur dislodges a tile, which strikes Gratus. The next day, Gratus, a new Roman governor, rides into Jerusalem. He determines to learn war from the Romans. Her account of Jewish roots reaffirms him. The two quarrel and part.ĭepressed, Ben-Hur returns home and asks his mother if a Jew is not as good as a Roman. Messala has become superior and insolent. It was also a gripping (though far-fetched) tale.Ī Jewish youth, Ben-Hur finds his childhood friend, the Roman Messala, greatly changed after years in Rome. Many Christians rejected all fiction on moral grounds, but exempted Ben-Hur because of the place Christ had in it and the light it shed on His day. Something similar happened 120 years ago through the novel Ben-Hur.
The year 2004 witnessed the incredible phenomenon of the film The Passion of the Christ thrusting the story of Jesus into the mainstream culture by means of an entertainment vehicle.
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