ebooks Jesus in His Jewish Context by Emeritus Professor of Jewish Studies Geza Vermes in History

Review

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Understanding JesusBy Edwin H.This book is not for the faint of heart. It would be a difficult read for a seriously conservative or fundamentalist Christian. However; Vermes' admiration for Jesus and his fairness in his assessments come through very forcefully and very clearly. He calls for placing the New Testament...and other First Century Christian literature...within the whole complex of Jewish literature and evaluating it together. He seeks out the Aramaic and Hebrew elements of language that lie behind the New Testament Greek. He seeks to understand the impact of the Semitic elements on the Greek. For example he shows quite clearly that the element "Son of Man" does not refer to a celestian individual who operates behind the Christian scene or even to Jesus himself. He shows the history of the expression in other Jewish literature and; importantly; in the Dead Sea literature. In essence the phrase is a circumlocution pointing to the speaker himself...a substitute for the word "I".As one reads this book; one comes to see Jesus more clearly and to sense his humanity and his struggles. One sees his objections to certain Jewish elements and certainly to the domination of the Romans. Jesus becomes a struggling human who faces a cruel and untimely death at the hands of conspirators who kill him for their own reasons. What one wishes to do with the resurrection and with the divinity of Jesus is; certainly; up to the individual believer; but after reading this volume one comes away feeling much closer to the Man from Nazareth who had great aspirations for his fellow Jews. It helps one understand that Jesus was indeed a Jew struggling with First Century Jewish concerns.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. NOT HEARD IN THE PEWS Jesus was an apocalyptic Jewish ...By John ConfortiNOT HEARD IN THE PEWSJesus was an apocalyptic Jewish prophet preparing the lost sheep of Israel for God's imminent intervention in history. He would be utterly baffled by the dogma and ritual that now bears his name.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Early Christianity in a Jewish matrix.By G. AdamsVermes is one of the foremost experts on the Jewish world that produced Jesus. This book is a good summary of much of his research into the language and the customs of Judaism and early Christianity during the intertestamental period. Fully annotated for the scholar; it still allows an informative reading by the interested layperson.