The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasa

A wonderful combination of research and faith. Crossan does not try to invent a life of Jesus. Instead he discusses the culture and the politics of the world that surrounded Jesus. By doing this, Crossan attempts to explain the actual meaning of Christ's message. Crossan argues that the "Kingdom of God" should be in the present, rather than in an eschatological future. In all fairness, however, the book is in serious need of a subject index. The sheer size of the book may be a little overwhelming for the average reader, but worth the read. I recommend beginning with Crossan's "Who killed Jesus" or "The Cross That Spoke" unless the reader is fully prepared for serious, albeit worthwhile, work.

This book is possibly the greatest and most profound book concerning the historical figure of Jesus written since Schweitzer's historical Jesus. Crossan sloshes through some very complex ideas and is not exactly an "easy read" but he is well worth while. Crossan both shirks the the extreme inclusivism of the more theological Christian interpreters who wish to veiw everything in the New Testament as absolute history, and he disregards the hyper-critical scholars who wish to relegate the story of Jesus to the status of a fable. He honestly and carefully determines exactly what he concludes Jesus was like based solely upon what he can reliably prove is historical. His lines and rules are clear and very rational. He presses his own views based only on extensive and careful study. His book is masterful and should be an essential reading for any Christian or anyone who simply wants to understand the historical figure of Jesus better.