The Ghost in the Gospels: The True Story of How Jesus Died and How We All Missed It for 2,000 Years (Paperback)

~ Leon Zitzer (Author)
Key Phrases: maximal reconstruction, minimal reconstruction, retired high priest, The Ghost, Fresh Look, Jesus of Nazareth (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Judas and Jewish leaders. Continually tried and condemned for Jesus’ death. This book exonerates them and ends the longest running witch trial in history. The search for the true circumstances of Jesus’ death is an intellectual detective story. The clues are all in words in the texts of the well-known Gospels and they’re in the prejudices that blinded us to the obvious answer. This is not a tale about intrigue in the antiquities market. Nor is it about looking for secret documents buried in a cave. This is rather a tale about scholarly self-deception in reading the Gospels, Jewish history, and themselves. If the historical, Jewish Jesus has been buried at all, it is beneath our prejudices and fears. Uncover these and he stands before you, hidden in plain sight. That may not be the usual sort of detective story but it is as genuine a mystery as ever there was. It’s worth solving.

If you’re dying to know the complete solution, it’s all there in a nutshell in Chapter 5. If you feel a need to wade into this more slowly, start with Chapter 1. I’ll meet up with you again at the end of the book.

About the Author

The author has a BA in math, an MA in philosophy, and worked 7 years as a paralegal in the NYS Attorney General’s office. Being an outsider to Gospel studies is a plus. And writing screenplays supplied the confidence to tell a story that has never been told before.

Product Details

• Paperback: 482 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (September 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595408516
• ISBN-13: 978-0595408511
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,565,310 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple but fascinating theory , October 5, 2007

By	Rhonda (ME, USA) - See all my reviews

Sometimes people just have one of those Eureka! moments, and Leon Zitzer seems to have had one with his vision of what happened the last day or so of Jesus' life. It is against the rules of reviewing here to give away the central thesis or denouement so I won't do that; but I will tell you that it is one of those ideas that makes all the disparate facts come together into a simple solution that will surprise you, because it is suggested nowhere else.

Furthermore, Zitzer reviews the research relating to this subject; which is great for those of us who may want to know something about the general thinking on this without reading every book written on this subject. He provides a bibliography for further reading, if we wish.

I am intrigued with his thesis and would be interested to see how others might attempt to dispute it. I particularly liked Zitzer's way of putting Jesus clearly in his historical and religious context. To me, a "Jewish" Jesus makes infinite sense, and to appreciate that is to really understand, deep down, the meaning of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

It is also important, in this day and age of Jihad and Crusade, to be able to see Jesus in fresh ways that make his message relevant today. This book helps to lift the veil of confusion off the final days and explain why Jesus turned himself into the Roman authorities and allowed himself to be crucified.

Someone in a recent comment mentioned that the thesis of "Ghost" is ripe for a movie, and I agree. This would be quite a different story than Mel Gibson's, though. If you are looking for lots of gore you will not find it here.

An interesting, highly original, and well researched piece of work!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Joy to Read, A Supremely Important Book, April 11, 2007

By	Rolf Gompertz "Author, 'Sparks of Spirit: How... (North Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

By Rolf Gompertz
Author of "A Jewish Novel About Jesus"



First, I am greatly impressed by the breadth and depth of author Leon Zitzer's scholarship, as reflected also in the 14-page bibliography at the end

I find his methodology superb, documenting or proving whatever claim he makes made by quoting from or making references to historical sources.

Zitzer's writing style is noteworthy. It has a wonderful clarity and lightness about it. The words and sentences are short and powerful. The language is precise and economical. The ideas and information are always easy to grasp. Zitzer's writing is outstanding and a true pleasure to read. The book is full of memorable, quotable gems. The insights are brilliant, the book is profound and supremely important, yet it is never hard to read or understand. We have here a rare, felicitous meeting between fine scholarship and fine writing.

I was really anxious to get to the heart of the book and see the overall picture. When I looked at the back cover I saw the author's advice to the reader: "If you're dying to know the complete solution, it's all there in a nutshell in Chapter 5. If you feel a need to wade into this more slowly, start with Chapter 1. I'll meet up with you again at the end of the book."

What a delightful, reader-friendly note. That's what I did.

Awed and filled with wonder and gratitude, I then turned to Chapter 1 and I read through to Chapter 10 and the four appendixes. These chapters explore in great, wonderful detail all that Zitzer outlined in Chapter V, in language that is always eloquent and clear.

I read the book slowly, because I wanted to enjoy every moment of this wonderful journey of discovery. As I came to the last few pages of the book, I slowed down because I did not want the journey to end.

Though end it did, the glow remains, and the knowledge that I have read
something of global and cosmic importance by an author who kept the faith against all odds - and who has prevailed.

Thank you, Leon Zitzer, for this extraordinary gift of your heart, mind and soul.


Rolf Gompertz
Author of A Jewish Novel About Jesus