What are They Saying about the Historical Jesus?

David B. Gowler's book introduces, as succinctly as possible, the current scholarly thinking about Jesus of Nazareth. This book summarizes, analyzes, and critiques current influential portraits of Jesus. It answers questions such as: What type of Jew was Jesus? How much of a role, if any, did apocalyptic/eschatological elements play in the teaching of Jesus? How can we best integrate Jesus’ words and deeds to reconstruct a more complete portrait? It concludes that any portrait of the historical Jesus must come to terms with Jesus as both an apocalyptic prophet and a prophet of social and economic justice for an oppressed people. It seeks to go beyond today’s “domesticated Jesus” and to rediscover the Jesus of Nazareth who was a prophet of an oppressed people, who lived his life as a poor peasant artisan suffering under Roman and Herodian oppression in first-century Galilee, and who proclaimed and inaugurated the kingdom of God. Recommended for: • students of the Bible • college classes • private enrichment