A biography of the historical figure of Jesus. The book studies the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, distinguishing the certain from the improbable, and assessing the historical and religious context of Christ's time. The spread of Christianity is also discussed.

Paula Fredriksen draws on the narratives of all four evangelists as well as both John and the Synoptics, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish authorities of Jesus' time - Philo, Paul, and Josephus - who wrote in Greek, and early rabbinic writings. She shows us a historical Jesus living in the tumultuous world of late-Second Temple Judaism; an observant Jew of his time, a prophetic teacher who traveled through the villages of Galilee and frequently in and around Jerusalem.. 'At the center of her book she brings us to the questions raised by the least disputed fact about Jesus' life; his death.. 'Why was crucifixion chosen as the means of execution? If Jesus was executed as a political insurrectionist, why were none of his followers executed or even arrested?. 'The author's quest in search of the answers takes us through the religious world - Jewish and pagan - of Mediterranean antiquity, through the tangle of Judean and Galilean politics, and through the surprisingly intimate social interactions of Jewish and gentile communities in the ancient city. And it is through the Gospel of John - a text out of favor in most academic reconstructions - that she finds the answer to the interpretive dilemma posed by Jesus' execution and his disciples' survival.

"In this authoritative and thought-provoking work, Geza Vermes transforms our understanding of Jesus. Taking a fresh approach which gives an equal voice to both New Testament and non-biblical Jewish writings, he explores the differing portrayals of Jesus that have defined two millenia of Christian belief and speculation. Beginning with the most recent Gospel, the Gospel of John, Vermes takes us back in time to reveal the historical figure of Jesus hidden beneath the oldest Gospels, revealing how and why a charismatic Palestinian holy man was elevated into the divine figure of Christ"--Back cover

Presents historical evidence suggesting that Jesus was a mortal man, a young genius who believed himself to be the Messiah and deliberately and brilliantly planned his entire ministry according to the Old Testament prophecies--even to the extent of plotting his own arrest, crucifixion and resurrection.--From publisher description

Discusses the career and works of the 19th-century German Jewish reformer and scholar of religion. His treatment of the relationship between the Jesus of the New Testament and early Judaism challenged many antisemitic assumptions and conclusions of contemporary and subsequent Christian scholars, including liberal Protestant theologians. Geiger saw Jesus as a Pharisaic Jew, but this view totally destabilized Christian perspectives. Geiger was the first Jew to be thoroughly versed in Christian scholarship and to be armed with an array of rabbinic textual evidence unknown to his Christian counterparts. Yet as much as Geiger railed against Christian anti-Judaism, his own anti-Christian attitudes remined equally tenacious. Christian reactions to his writings frequently intensified the negative depiction of Judaism, particularly of the Pharisees, and insisted upon the opposition between Jesus and Judaism.