The Changing Faces of Jesus

by Vermes, Geza

• ISBN13: 9780142196021
• ISBN10: 0142196029
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-26
• Publisher: Penguin Books

Summary

Who was the real Jesus? How was this Palestinian charismatic transformed by later generations into the heavenly savior who is the focus of the Christian Church? Did Jesus's own teachings lead to his divine characterization? Or did the church-centered needs of gentile Christianity hide his true face, obscuring the religion he preached and practiced? With unique authority, sensitivity, and insight, renowned scholar Geza Vermes explores these difficult questions by examining the New Testament writings, placing them in the context of the Jewish civilization of the first century. Starting with the elevated, divine figure of Christ presented in the most recent Gospel, the Gospel of John, Vermes travels back through earlier accounts of Jesus's life to reveal the true historical figure. "A bold effort to sift out the 'real' Jesus from the theological embellishment in the New Testament that (according to Vermes) turned him into a divine persona." (The Washington Post)

Author Biography

Geza Vermes is emeritus professor of Jewish studies at Oxford. Since 1991 he has been director of the Forum for Qumran Research at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

Table of Contents

Prologue: From Christ to Jesus	p. 1
John: The Odd Man Out Among the Evangelists	p. 7
The Jesus of John: Messiah Figure or Stranger from Heaven	p. 25
Paul: The Odd Man Out Among the Apostles	p. 63
The Christ of Paul: Son of God and Universal Redeemer of Mankind	p. 83
The Jesus of the Acts of the Apostles: Prophet, Lord, and Christ	p. 125
The Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels: Charismatic Healer and Teacher and Eschatological Enthusiast	p. 157
Beneath the Gospels: The Real Jesus	p. 237
The Real Jesus at the Dawn of the Third Millennium	p. 281
Epilogue: A Dream	p. 287
Chronological Table	p. 289
Notes	p. 291
Select Bibliography	p. 301
Index	p. 303
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