Post type: Book review, Date: 21-June-2024, Language: English

Author: Reza Aslan

This book will be special to me. It has been on my reading list for a couple of years now. I had the perfect start to reading it, during a short visit to Israel. I was very fortunate to be able to travel through all the important places mentioned in the book while reading. I still vividly remember the day in Nazareth, at the Church of Annunciation, when I read about how Nazareth was a small hamlet of a few hundred families of Jewish peasantry. We also visited the church which now sits atop the grotto-like house supposedly inhabited by Jesus’ family, adjacent to the Church of Annunciation. We also got to spend time in Jerusalem and Bethlehem as well, while getting acquainted with the key events of the man’s life. This was an inexplicable experience, a sojourn in the past.

As a complete beginner to Biblical history, it was a slow-paced read and I had a tough time placing all the characters. And, as I travelled back home, I further lost touch and hence, interest in the book. Although the experience of reading while travelling through Israel was fresh and inviting, I could never get back to picking up the book again. Then, the deep eyes on the cover caught my attention most unexpectedly again last week while rummaging through the old files on my ebook reader. I started reading the book again, this time with a will to complete it.

The book is an attempt to interpret Jesus the man, as a product of the social, economic and political landscape of first century Palestine. It makes uses of most available sources, Biblical and otherwise, to portray the transition of Jesus from being a poor, (probably) illiterate jewish peasant from a hitherto unknown hamlet on the fringes of Jerusalem to the wandering saint, healing and preaching to the poor and disenfranchised, and giving them hopes for the Kingdom of God. It has to be acknowledged that significant research (of almost a decade) has gone into writing the book. However, a couple of detailed reviews of the book (published in Goodreads itself) by serious readers have made me realise that some of the interpretations (especially the sword reference from Luke 22:36 as a call to violence) were a bit far-fetched.

The book does not stop at the ministry and crucifixion of Jesus, but also goes on to explore the political turmoil, the mass upheaval of zealots and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans close to 70 CE. The nascence and evolution of the Jewish cult into a full-fledged religion was very well presented. Although it might take me several books on the topic to be able to say something about the accuracy and historicity of the arguments presented in the book, it was a very good starting point me to put things into context. Looking forward to reading more on this topic!