The Life of Christ
The Spear
A fast-paced fictionalized account of the centurion who thrust the spear into the side of Christ. The book was clearly written for adults, but might be suitable for older teens. There is a great deal of violence (as might be expected), an attempted suicide, and other content appropriate for those with some degree of maturity. The story is very Catholic and the author weaves many Catholic ideas and thought into the conversations of the characters as well as showing how much people of that time (particularly the Romans) were in need of the message of Christ. The centurion in particular (Cassius Longinus) has lost all faith in fellow man and life in this world until he begins hearing about the Rabbi Yeshua and his followers. The immense quantity of well-researched historical details add a lot to the story as well.
There is a scene in which a woman commits adultery (the same woman who Jesus saves from stoning). While the issue is important and is handled well, their attraction for each other might be described in a too-sensual way for some teens.
The Story of the Other Wise Man
This is the intriguing and classic story of Artaban, the "other" wise man who searches for Jesus his whole life while "foolishly" spending his treasures - which had been intended as a gift for the newborn king - on the poor and needy. A beautiful and touching story, it is quite short, but the vocabulary is challenging enough to be appropriate for upper grade school or high school.
The 1895 illustrated edition is available for free download from Project Gutenberg.

