Title: Jesus and the Judaism of his time /
Authors: Zeitlin, Irving M.
Publisher: Polity Press ; B. Blackwell,
Year: 1988
Subjects: Jesus Christ Jewish interpretations.; Jesus Christ Biography.; Christian biography Palestine
Abstract: 'The main aim of this work is to understand Jesus as he saw himself, and to compare that self-understanding with the ways in which others have grasped the nature of his mission. To achieve this aim, the key problems, questions and issues in dispute among scholars are reexamined, and resolved by means of a sociological method -- that is, carefully situating Jesus' biography in its social and historical context. The book includes a full analysis of the social structure of Palestine under Roman occupation, discussing the variety of sects and movements prevalent at the time, and the relation between the ruling Jewish circles and the Roman authorities. Materials relevant to our understanding of Jesus' life are analyzed, portraying his development from youth to his conflict with the Roman authorities.
Contents: Judaism in the time of Jesus. The unifying principles -- Varieties of Jewish religious experience ; The Pharisees ; The Sadduces ; The Essenes ; The Essenes and the Qumran community ; Zealots and Sicarii -- The messianic idea in Israel -- Messianism and fale prophets -- Jesus of Nazareth : charismatic religious virtuoso -- Jesus the Pious Palestinian Jew ; Is Matthew untrustworthy where the law is concerned? ; James the brother of Jesus -- Jesus' distinctive religious virtuosity ; Jesus in the synagogues ; Jesus in the Gospel according to John -- Jesus and the Torah (the law) ; The Sabbath ; Dietary laws (kashrut) and hygiene ; The issue of divorce -- Who was the first evangelist? ; Additional questions about teh Marcan priority thesis -- Jesus' originality and creative genius ; The Am Ha-aretz ; The beatitudes ; The Lord's prayer ; Jesus' parables -- The kingdom of heaven and the role of the Messiah ; Jesus and the 'son of man' ; The question of Bethelehem -- The road to Golgotha. Jesus the revolutionary? -- Jesus and the zealots ; The 'cleansing of the temple -- The arrest, trial and execution -- More on the Reimarus-Eisler_Brandon thesis ; 'Not this man, but Barabbas' -- The resurrection appearance -- The first christians -- Enter Saul (Paul) of Tarsus ; The apostolic council -- Paul's reinterpretation of Jesus' teaching -- A fence around the law.