Book Reviewed: Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels by Geza Vermes

Historical Jesus Jesus the Jew is a highly readable portrait of Jesus Christ who led the life of a Jewish man (Hasid) rather than as a figure detached from Judaism. He was a healer, exorcist, and teacher whose authority comes from personal charisma rather than from an institutional power. Terms like prophet, Messiah, Son of Man, and Son of God are explained in their Jewish historical meanings and not as emerging Christian ideas. This book is not inspired by traditional Jewish attitudes towards 'the founder of Christianity', and it does not depict him as a 'Jewish' Jesus either. The author examines the gospels which in essence are a biography of Jesus: his sayings (parables), his miracles, the resurrection narrative, and the virgin birth. This offers a strong foundation for the Pauline Epistles and other later New Testament books. The author observes that the work of Jesus was distorted by both Christian and Jewish myth alike; according to him, Jesus was neither the Christ of the Church nor the apostate of Jewish faith. There is a significant discussion in this book about the death and resurrection stories of the gospel of Mark, the earliest gospel, and the latter two, Mathew and Luke add more to the resurrection story which become the pillars of Christian theology. The author observes that Jesus’ mission was healing the sick: the physically, mentally, and spiritually diseased, He was not only a healer of his time, but also a dispenser of forgiveness to sinners which comes from charismatic Judaism. The primitive Christianity turned from this alternative of faith in divine mediation to the novel belief in an act of divine impregnation, with as its consequence, the birth of a Son of God is more related to the psychology of a religion that would later become the dominant faith system of human beings. This is an enjoyable book to read; it is a compelling, clearly explained work that is founded on textual and historical evidence. Strongly recommended.