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The Historical Figure of Jesus

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The Jesus Seminar (Crossan, Borg, etc...) has attracted a lot of press coverage and given historical research a bad name. Their scholarship is poor, their motivations clearly political and their conclusions as biased and unfounded as any faith-perspective has been.

But quality reserach has been done in the search for the historical Jesus, and E. P. Sanders is in the front of the march. Sanders is most famous for his "Paul and Palestinian Judaism" which is the most significant study of Paul in the last fifty years. He is a scholar of the highest caliber, even if his publicity is not as great as the JS. Certainly, no one is more qualified to write on this topic.

"The Historical Figure of Jesus" is a lay-level introduction to the topic. Sanders does not cover all the issues in the greatest detail, but he economically makes his case in 281 pages. He does neglect some evidence in order to keep it brief. But he does not neglect evidence that would seem challenging to his view, only that which would make his points stronger. In other words, he is a confident scholar, not overly concerned to press an agenda.

Sanders' view is that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, originally a follower of John the Baptist, who was executed because of Caiaphas' fear that he could cause an uprising. This (and the preceeding discussion) may be his only (relatively) direct reference to the Jesus Seminar: "Jesus the thoughtful social and economic planner, who has again become popular, simply cannot be found in the gospels."

Sanders spends several chapters introducing the setting of Jesus' life, and several introducing the sources. About half the book is directly concerned with Jesus' life and teaching. He has an excellent epilogue about the resurrection, and helpful appendices about the chronology of Jesus' life and about his disciples.

Sanders knows far more about this topic than he presents here. If you want more depth, consider his "Jesus and Judaism" or "Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE - 66 CE." Of course, I recommend his work on Paul even more highly. For evangelical Christians struggling to reconcile their faith with historical scholarship, I recommend the work of N. T. Wright. For Catholics with that problem, Luke Timothy Johnson. Another enlightening book somewhat related to these issues is Jaroslav Pelikan's "Jesus Through the Centuries."

THE AUTHOR

E.P. Sanders is a biblical scholar of the highest order. After receiving two baccalaureate degrees from his home state, Texas, he pursued graduate studies in Gottingen, Jerusalem, Oxford and New York, and earned a Th.D. from Union Theological Seminary. He has recently obtained two other doctoral degrees, Doctor of Letters from the University of Oxford and Doctor of Theology (honoris causa) from the University of Helsinki. In 1966, he began teaching at McMaster University in Ontario, and in 1984 he was elected Dean Ireland's Professor of Exegesis at the University of Oxford as well as Fellow of Queen's College. In 1990, Sanders joined the Faculty at Duke University where he currently serves as Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion. He has also held visiting professorships and lectureships at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and Cambridge University.

Sanders' primary area of research involves interpreting the relationship between first-century Judaism and Christianity, and his works have been translated into nine different languages. Some of these works include: Paul and Palestinian Judaism (received several national awards), Jesus and Judaism (won the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, denoting the best book on religion), The Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (co-authored with Margaret Davies), Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah, Paul: Past Master, and Judaism: Practice and Belief 63 BCE-66 CE. Touting this impressive résumé, Sanders presents The Historical Figure of Jesus.

THE SUMMARY

In his introduction, Sanders lays out exactly what the focus of this book will be: "The aim of this book is to lay out, as clearly as possible, what we can know [about Jesus], using the standard methods of historical research, and to distinguish from inferences, labeling them clearly as such" (p. 5). He prefaces the work by warning that historians' knowledge of Jesus is limited, and little can be asserted with absolute certainty. He suggests, however, that far more is known about Jesus than other historical figures of roughly the same time period. Sanders' focus is not on explaining theology, and he does not seek to account for what God did through Christ. Of course, he must deal with theology: it played a major role in Jesus' life as well as that of the evangelists', but the book is fundamentally historical. Sanders outlines what historians can know about Jesus of Nazareth-a first-century Palestinian Jew who lived in a remote part of the Roman Empire (p. xiii).

Feeling the need to thoroughly introduce context to the study of Jesus, Sanders devotes the first five chapters to introductory material. The second chapter provides a bird's-eye view of Jesus' life and the aftermath of his life. Next, Sanders deals with the political climate of Palestine before and during Jesus' life which he describes as being distinctly Jewish, yet puppets at the mercy of Roman authority. Sanders recognizes the importance of understanding first-century Jewish belief and practice for reconstructing an accurate Jesus, and he details these things in the fourth chapter. Also, Sanders explains the problems (and assurances) associated with external and primary sources, and he deals with the task of correlating context with content (p. 76). Finally, Sanders explores the more elusive ideological context in which Jesus lived-that is what people thought of him. The two contexts he describes are (1) Jewish salvation history and (2) the shared view of those before and after Jesus' ministry that the climax of history was imminent.

After arranging a brief sketch of Jesus' historical context, Sanders moves toward the "substance of the book" (p. 9) that allows for the historical reconstruction of Jesus himself. First, he relates the specific setting and method of Jesus' ministry with special attention given to the Galilean environment. Next, he analyzes the beginning of Jesus' ministry-the temptation, the call of disciples, and Mark's account of Jesus' early ministry. He then turns to that which constitutes the bulk of Jesus' ministry: miracles and Jesus' proclamations concerning the kingdom of God. Sanders probes Jesus' claims concerning God's future kingdom (eschatology) and attempts to find the relationship these claims share with Jews and Gentiles. Sanders also relates Jesus' kingdom message with his ethical teaching that announced a reversal of social order. Having said little of the polemical nature of Jesus' ministry, Sanders addresses the issue: what led to Jesus' opposition? Sanders attributes the public hostility Jesus received to Jesus' opinion about his role in God's plan. Jesus, Sanders argues, saw himself as God's agent with absolute authority to speak and act on behalf of God-a view that offended many pious Jews. Finally, Sanders deals with the events that led up to Jesus' execution: the Triumphal Entry, the cleansing of the Temple, the Last Supper, Jesus' arrest and trials, Pilate's interrogation, and finally his death. In the epilogue, Sanders addresses the resurrection event, but attests that its study does not belong in an account of the historical Jesus, but is better analyzed within the context of the movement which ensued after his death-a movement, as Sanders notes, that changed history.

THE CRITIQUE

Convincingly written and altogether captivating, The Historical Figure of Jesus is an excellent book and a marvelously easy read. The truest test of a work, though, rests not in the writing skill of the author, but in whether or not it measures up to its goal(s). The aim of this work (as stated above) is to use standard historical methods of research in order to present what can be known about Jesus and distinguish that from what can be inferred about him. Undoubtedly, Sanders has met and exceeded these expectations, producing one of the best books on the historical Jesus to date. Engagingly written and historically sound, The Historical Figure of Jesus is an excellent contribution to the Third Quest.

Dealing first with Sanders' presentation, one of the most appreciated elements of the book is Sanders' uncomplicated writing style. Thankfully, there is a book on the historical Jesus that is readable! His sentence structure is not wordy and cumbersome, but rather understandable and even enjoyable. With user-friendly headings, charts, and a map, Sanders' exhibition of dull, cerebral information makes history come to life for everyone.

By avoiding technicalities that laity would not appreciate, nor commoners enjoy, Sanders creates an inviting environment for the average reader to learn about the historical Jesus. He limits his discussion of Greek, Aramaic, and Latin and also, as an economy, refrains from engaging in mainstream scholarly debates. That is not to say, though, that Sanders skirted scholarly issues. Far from it! True historical work demands technicality and detail, and Sanders managed to address the appropriate issues without boring his reader-a noteworthy task.
Another element of Sanders' style that did not escape attention is his unique ability to follow an outline. For this scientifically conditioned mind, an agenda that is adhered to is a valuable crutch that prevents unnecessary confusion. Sanders does well to provide a thorough preface, introduction, and outline of Jesus' ministry and stick to his schedule. (Note, though, that this rigid outline is combined with a relaxed writing style that proves to be a dynamic combination.) Also, the reviews at the end of each chapter offer a welcomed summation of the material presented. Overall, the method of Sanders' teaching is impeccable. By remaining intimately accessible, yet distinctly academic, Sanders' work emerges as a masterpiece for the masses.

Like his method, Sanders' message is well taken and easy to understand. With all the poppycock surrounding the Third Quest, E.P. Sanders provides a delightfully fresh insight into the excursion of the historical Jesus. Throughout this book, Sanders maintains a very conservative, streamlined position in his treatment of history, and his modesty is appreciated. By using sound, reliable tactics in his research, Sanders constructs a Jesus who is very believable and free from the ridiculous caricatures that have often defined the pilgrims of the Third Quest. In his evenhanded style, Sanders deals with facts, and where evidence is sketchy, he informs the reader. Remember, that is the goal of his book!

Much can be said about the multitude of weighty issues Sanders brings up in this work. For the sake of economy therefore, this reviewer will limit praise to one area specifically. The strongest (albeit most controversial) segment of this book is the chapter devoted to Jesus' miracles. Tackling the issue of supernatural events from a historical perspective can be quite interesting, and Sanders does not disappoint. Following one line of cogent thought with another, Sanders churns through the available historical material and leaves a trail of long-admired tradition shattered in its wake. For example, he evaluates the modern perspective of Jesus' miracles as having little in common with the ancient position. Many modern Christians look to Jesus' miracles as proof that he was, in fact, the Son of God, but Sanders suggests that espousing such an opinion is in conflict with first-century Jews who would have seen the miracles as "striking and significant" (p. 132) but lacking a superhuman element. By describing Jesus' miracles as historical events that were clearly human, Sanders debunks Christians' view that Jesus' miracles were only possible because he was, somehow, more than human.

However adroitly written, though, this work is not without its flaws. Although its mistakes are few, they must be acknowledged. Admittedly, Sanders is generally very good about pointing out where fact and skepticism diverge-on the whole, he does an admirable job. He did overlook one section, though, and it should be rethought. When describing Jesus as "certainly...thinking in symbolic terms" (p. 107), Sanders does not provide the reader with the usual quantifier that such a claim is unproven. Certainly, though, should not a statement about Jesus' psychology be treated with more care than that? Another section deserving more attention can be found in the chapter, "Miracles". By attributing healings of the ancient world to "power of belief, or of mind over body" (p. 138), Sanders is plodding in unfamiliar territory. A section on how healings occur would be best left to a physician, not a first-century historian. Overall, of course, these mistakes pale in comparison to the greatness of the overall work and should not be dwelt upon.

The Historical Figure of Jesus should be on the shelves of every serious student of New Testament studies. It provides a remarkably unbiased exposition on the facts surrounding Jesus and his ministry, while making clear distinction between those which are sound and others which should be re-considered. In a period of biblical studies that, at times, draws rash conclusions based on unfounded evidence, Sanders' firmly established scholarship is respected and applauded.

E.P. Sanders is without doubt one of the most pre-eminent scholars of the New Testament and of historical, that is, Second Temple, Judaism alive today. His expertise and breadth of knowledge are acclaimed by all quarters of biblical scholarship as often as his work is seen in print, which is it to say that this is often. Particularly he has made key entries into the current round of the academic Quest of the historical Jesus. The first was with his 1985 book "Jesus and Judaism", a technical and academic study in which Sanders outlined his position vis-a-vis Jesus as an historical personage about whom we could know a number of things with a substantial degree of certainty. Amongst these were that Jesus was a Galilean who preached and healed, that he confined his activity to Israel and that he was baptised by John the Baptist. All in all he stated 8 "almost indisputable facts" in that book which any reasoned and reasonable account of the historical Jesus should be able to account for.

With "The Historical Figure of Jesus" Sanders presents a much more reader-friendly (and appreciably less technical though still academically formulated) account of Jesus of Nazareth in which he ups the statements he now considers as "almost beyond dispute" to 15 and attempts to draw his picture of Jesus around these chosen static points. Clearly, then, the things Sanders considers as fixed are crucial here. These demonstrate some modification of Sanders' position from his earlier book and the addition of some "equally secure facts" about "the aftermath of Jesus' life". They are not things which scholars or general readers would find particularly controversial. But then the devil is always in the detail.

Sanders' construction of the historical Jesus as displayed in "Jesus and Judaism" is well known for being based around the incident in the Temple where Jesus turns over tables and drives out animals and/or people. This is seen as the proximate cause of Jesus' crucifixion and the event which gives us insight into his orientation as one interested in "restoration eschatology". But with "The Historical Figure of Jesus" Sanders takes a different tack, assuming much less background knowledge on the readers' part and so, consequently, providing the assumed reader with chapters of background on the political and religious settings of Jesus and on the nature of the documentary sources for his life. These chapters are as erudite as they are compact and would provide even the most novice-like reader of historical Jesus literature with a key to begin opening a number of the locks Sanders later presents. Having given background, Sanders proceeds to give chapters (some of which are so good they should be regarded as set texts on the subjects they address) which orientate themselves around Jesus' assumed interest in the Kingdom of God, his performance of miracles, the meaning of his teaching in Jewish context, Jesus' own view of himself and a programmatic chapter on Jesus' last week (an exercise in lucid brilliance). The Jesus revealed is set within a Jewish eschatological framework (discussion about the end of the current order of things) in which he is depicted very much as traditionally, even typically, Jewish. He speaks, for example, about "the reversal of values and ethical perfectionism" in the coming new age - the Kingdom of God. So what appears is a typically Jewish individual who harbours a view of his own authority to speak as, Sanders suggests, God's viceroy, and with an agenda which looks and works for the establishment of God's eschatological kingdom. All this is usefully garnished with astute discussion of the sayings of Jesus in the context of a Jewish religious situation. Two useful appendices and the addition of thorough indexes supplement the book usefully so that it is a practically orientated product for those who wish to validate or further their reading.

So this is a book which I find exceedingly lucid and wise on the subject of the historical Jesus. Of course, readerly conclusions will always be different and I would not wish to give the impression that I agree with everything Sanders proposes or to suggest that he should be regarded as a fount of infallible knowledge. I would, however, suggest that this book is the perfect one for the general and non-technical reader interested in the historical figure of Jesus. It orientates the reader to the subject at hand, provides useful and relevant background in a way that is very clear and is sure-footed as to the conclusions it reaches and the evidence upon which it is based. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

I have purchased about 20 books on historical Jesus. This is my favorite because it's not too long, and because it balances the historical context with the evidence from the gospels. Sanders is an excellent scholar, and a great writer. He does not provide unfounded claims about Jesus but basis his conclusions on evidence. When the evidence is slim, which is most of the time, he admits it..

Tired of books on the "historical" Jesus that reconstruct him as a "peasant Jewish cynic" or a first-century proto-Marxist? How about the ones that tell us the New Testament canon is historically useless, but the gospel of Thomas provides reliable insights into the esoteric Buddhist teachings Jesus learned during his lost years in India or Tibet? Or how about the ones that tell us Jesus never existed in the first place, or the ones entitled "Jesus the ________" (fill in the blank with your favorite) that tell us the key to understanding him is to interpret/reduce all his words and deeds according to the item we filled in the blank with?

Really? Me too.

You'll get none of that from E.P. Sanders. This book is, for my money, _the_ best single volume currently available on the historical Jesus. (It may be the most readable, too. I taught a short course out of it five or six years ago and we all had an easy time with Sanders's clear, crisp expository prose.)

Sanders's view is that we actually have quite a bit of information on Jesus -- not, perhaps, as much as we might like and not in as much detail as we would probably prefer, but quite a bit all the same. And in this book, he sorts through it carefully and summarizes what he thinks we can know on the subject.

He is careful with his evidence and doesn't put too much weight on any single item. For example, he is doubtful that we can learn much from the "titles" Jesus supposedly applied to himself, partly because it's awfully hard to tell whether he _did_ apply them, and partly because even if he did so, we'd still have to determine exactly what _he_ meant by them. Either way, we have to look at the broad outlines of Jesus's life and career, so that's just what Sanders does.

And he is eminently well qualified to do it. Sanders is of course the author of _Jesus and Judaism_, a delightful work that utterly demolishes popular and scholarly misconceptions about Jesus's relationship to Judaism; his work on the Judaism of the Second Temple period is well known and well regarded. In this volume he puts all of that work to good use and carefully locates Jesus within the Judaism of his time.

His conclusion is that Jesus understood himself to be acting in some manner in God's stead -- as God's "viceroy," Sanders puts it using his own preferred term, since Jesus regarded God Himself as "King." For Sanders's Jesus, the "kingdom" was partly a present and partly a future affair; Jesus expected God to do something novel in the relatively near future, and he thought he himself was in some manner its harbinger, even to the point of being able to offer a place in the "kingdom" to sinners who had repented but not fully returned to the observance of Mosaic law. His actions in the Temple were a prophetic demonstration of the coming kingdom, and it was this action that led to his execution by crucifixion.

All in all, a refreshingly sane historical account (although I personally think it de-emphasizes the "political" character of Jesus's words and deeds just a wee bit _too_ much). And it concludes with an appendix in which Sanders looks over the accounts of the "resurrection appearances," recognizes that they can't be harmonized, concludes that these appearances were in some way historical, and admits candidly that he doesn't know exactly what happened though he's convinced that something did.

The entire volume, then, is a solid piece of historical inquiry -- neither making too much stew from one oyster in the manner of those who seize on a single word or phrase and make it the key to everything else, nor erring on the side of skepticism in the manner of those who forget that in some respects we have much better historical sources for Jesus than we have for, say Julius Caesar. Highly recommended both in its own right and as an antidote to quite a bit of Third-Quest lunacy.

I grew up going to a Christian church every week but I haven't went to church regularly in over 10 years. So I find myself doubting my religion. I choose this book because I wanted to know if Jesus really existed. What I really liked about this book is the author makes his sources clear, which are most often the bible itself (and he always gives the verses and often quotes it). When he states the opinion of other bible scholars, or gives his own opinion, he clearly states that. He doesn't try to mix his opinions in with the facts. That gives him much more credibility.

The book describes the life of Jesus and tells what we know about him, and just as often what we don't know about him. It points out many of the inaccuracies and inconsistencies of the gospels in the new testament. I learned a lot about the bible from reading this book, and I was already pretty familiar with it from my childhood Sunday school sessions. The author separates Jesus into two issues: The physical man named Jesus, and the question of was he the Son of God. The evidence for the existence of the physical Jesus is overwhelming. And the evidence for whether or not he was the Son of God is for you to decide.

Overall let me say that this book is not pro, nor anti-Christianity. It seemed to be very unbiased. That's probably what I liked the most. If you are a Christian, you will be suprised to learn a lot of things that you didn't know about Jesus. And if you're not a Christian, you will be suprised to learn that Jesus (the man) really did exist.

There are many books available on the bible and questioning Christianity, and many have lots of negative reviews. I highly recommend this one as a great place to start.

In the book, "The historical figure of Jesus", E.P. Sanders sets out to understand who Jesus was and what he did by examining his life from a historical perspective. Sanders accomplishes this in a methodical way by outlining his study with as to eliminate as much of bias as possible that would contribute to our distorting the view of the historical Jesus. These factors of bias that Sanders points out are significant to consider when developing the history surrounding Jesus as a historical figure. 1. Introduction of the Common Era In Sanders' introduction he explains the complexities involved in writing about Jesus as a historical figure as compared to writing about other historical figures. He points out that there is a lack of sources that are available to us that would have enabled us to explore some of the more personal aspects of Jesus life. For instance, the fact that Jesus had never written anything down or that those who did write about Jesus had had virtually no contact with Jesus himself. This explains why Sanders and many others have chosen to study Jesus as a human being in the historical perspective. As a man that lived in a particular place and time, rather than discussing him as a theological figure of the First Century. In this way, Sanders and other scholars' hope that information on Jesus' life from a historical perspective will give us more insight into his thoughts as a man and allow us to consider it in a proper context. By examining the responses of Jesus' followers and outsiders who had heard about him some scholars think that you can, by a process of analysis and text comparisons, figure out what Jesus said. Throughout his book, Sanders uses standard methods of historical research in laying out what is known about Jesus' life.

2. An outline of Jesus' life Beginning in chapter two, "An outline of Jesus' life", Sanders uses a preliminary sketch of events to describe the general course of Jesus' life, such as: when and where he lived, approximat! ely when he was born and things that he did during his public life. In this outline of Jesus' life Sanders uses facts about Jesus that are undisputed amongst believers and non-believers alike. In order to give us a basic framework of what is accepted about the basic history behind what Jesus was known to have done during his lifetime. 3. Political setting To give us a broader perspective of the Jesus' life Sanders chooses next to look at the political setting of first-century Palestine. This would be around the twenties and the thirties of the Common Era, when Jesus would have been conducting his ministry in the areas of Palestine known as Galilee and Judaea. There were at this time, different political and judicial arrangements in Galilee and Judaea that would have influenced the way that Jesus lived and conducted his ministry. At this time, Rome governed over Palestine through a resident governor, who in turn utilized a high priest to govern over the Jewish people. This means that Rome for the most part did not actually govern over these city-states of Palestine. On a day to day basis, Jews were free to practice there own religion and go about there lives. Sanders points out that, "In general, there had not been any substantial revolts during Jesus' lifetime." Josephus, a Jewish scribe, who was employed by the Roman governor Antipas, had recorded no instance in which the governor had to resort to force in order to suppress an uprising. This is important because many of the scholars of the New Testament seem to imagine Jesus living in a context where the population was daily oppressed by Roman soldiers and officials. This was not at all the case in much of the areas in which Jesus conducted his ministry. 4. Judaism as a religion In discussing Judaism as a religion Sanders points out the basic beliefs and practices which were common in Jewish Palestine during the first century. Much of what was believed by other religions was also believed by the Jewish religion.

The Historical Figure of Jesus is an excellent but conservative depiction of Jesus' ministry within his historical setting. Sanders' construction of first century Judea is both believable and well researched; it breathes a historical reality into the synoptic gospels that would benefit anyone studying the New Testament. Sanders strikes a masterful balance by seeking historical truth without unduly attacking the theological "truth" in which the authors of the gospels were more interested.

On the other hand, Sanders' textual methods seem inadequate to me. He dismisses all of the non-canonical gospels and most of John, choosing only the synoptics as sufficiently reliable sources. Throwing out non-cannonical gospels is problematic because many of them, especially Thomas, have many old and authentic Jesus sayings still crystallized inside of later embellishments. All gospel materials are like this, and even the canonical synoptic gospels include late-dated layers of editing, many of which are almost certainly not authentic Jesus sayings. Sanders makes no effort to discern what might be authentic or inauthentic in the synoptics, but chooses to take the whole as equally valid. In particular, he never mentions Q (a very early sayings source that both Matthew and Luke incorporated into their gospels), and takes Q material from Matthew and Luke on equal ground with p-Matthew and p-Luke material.

Sanders says: "It is my own view that we cannot recover Jesus' view merely by picking and choosing among the sayings... I do not think that a historical reconstruction should depend on the notion that we can definitely establish what Jesus did not say" (176). This view seems sensible at first, but in preserving all the material of the synoptics and throwing out all other gospels, he is already picking and choosing among sayings; he is just doing it in a deeply arbitrary fashion. I would hypothesize that Sanders had a religious motive for preserving the canonical texts so thoroughly.

Despite Sanders' odd textual methods, I still liked his book a lot. I would recommend his book strongly for giving a rational and historical context to Bible study, but perhaps not for an academic setting.

Sanders' book is a worthwhile read. Sanders states his presuppositions up-front and attempts as much as possible to stick with the historical evidence, though he is occasionally speculative at times. Nevertheless, this is a refreshing change from the highly speculative work of the "Jesus Seminar."

Like other "historical Jesus" works, this one must be read critically and not all of Sander's arguments are convincing. But, on the whole, this is a thoughtful, scholarly look at what we can say about Jesus of Nazareth from a historian's point of view.

As a non-specialist who has read about a dozen books in this genre, I would like to give a hearty recommendation to this book as the ideal introduction to historical scholarship on Jesus. It is a model of methodological care and precision. At 281 pages of text, the book can be read without a vast time investment. What I like best about it is that, unlike so many books in this field, it contains relatively little idle speculation. There are a few exceptions to this, but generally Sanders sticks to the hard evidence.

Sanders is the un-Crossan (as in John Dominic Crossan). Where the evidence is too thin to come to a reliable conclusion, he doesn't weave some conjectural web or try to build some magnificent hypothesis out of anthropological studies of ancient Palestine. Instead, he simply says, "I don't know." Whenever he directly faces down the authenticity of a story about Jesus or a saying attributed to him, I would say that about 40-50% of the time Sanders concludes that it is historical, about 20% of the time probably not historical, and of the remainder of the time he remains neutral.

Compared to N.T. Wright, Sanders is the Canon of Concision. If you want voluminous detail, read Wright - or maybe read Sanders first and then read Wright. Sanders covers in one page what Wright would ground over in ten.

If you are looking for a good introduction to historical Jesus research, read this book.