Jesus the Jew [Paperback]

Geza Vermes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1981

This now classic book is a significant corrective to several recent developments in the study of the historical Jesus. In contrast to depictions of Jesus as a wandering Cynic teacher, Geza Vermes offers a portrait based on evidence of charismatic activity in first-century Galilee. Vermes shows how the major New Testament titles of Jesus-prophet, Lord, Messiah, son of man, Son of God-can be understood in this historical context. The result is a description of Jesus that retains its power and its credibility.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fortress Press; 1st Fortress Press ed edition (April 1, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800614437
• ISBN-13: 978-0800614430
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #615,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Know Torah, know Jesus; no Torah, no Jesus, March 28, 2001

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesus the Jew (Paperback)

Elisabeth Schussler-Fiorenza somewhere tells a cute story about a class she once taught, in which she had the doggonedest time persuading a fine old Catholic gentleman that Jesus was actually Jewish. Finally he admitted that she had convinced him. "But," he added at once, "the Blessed Mother for sure was not!"

Well, yes, she was, and so -- of course -- was Jesus himself. This volume, by Jewish scholar Geza Vermes, is probably the single work that did the most to drive this point home to the modern world.

There are naturally some difficulties with Vermes's work. One of these is that he relies on Talmudic writings that date, in their written form, from about 500 years later than Jesus; this objection he has dealt with in _Jesus and the World of Judaism_. Another is that he has provided no real reason why his charismatic Galilean hasid should ever have gotten himself crucified; this objection he tries to meet in _The Religion of Jesus the Jew_ (rather lamely and unconvincingly, to my mind; he suggests, at bottom, that Jesus just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time).

Then, too, some of his parallels (the main ones being Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the Circle-Drawer) have been questioned for various reasons. Some of these reasons seem cogent to me as well, and I do not think Vermes has provided a _complete_ picture of the historical Jesus.

Nevertheless this groundbreaking work is the one that (re)started the conversation in the first place. If Jesus is now recognized by many Jews and Christians alike as having been, as a matter of history, a faithful Jew who in all likelihood did not intend to found a new religion separate from Judaism, this work played a crucial role in bringing that common recognition about.

Nor is everything herein merely out of date. Vermes's discussions of -- for example -- the "Son of Man" sayings and the nature of Galilean piety are still cited in the literature, and not always for the purpose of refuting them. Whether complete or not, Vermes's account contains a great deal of truth.

At some point anyone trying to cope with the vast array of "Jesus scholarship" of the last three or four decades should get around to reading this absolutely seminal work. _Jesus and the World of Judaism_ is unfortunately out of print as of this writing, but _The Religion of Jesus the Jew_ is also recommended.

60 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars UNDERSTANDING JESUS IN TERMS OF HIS RACIAL HERITAGE, January 13, 2000

By 

Terry B. Cullom (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesus the Jew (Paperback)

Modern Christological study and the quest for the historical Jesus owe a debt of gratitude to both Albert Schweitzer and Geza Vermes. Schweitzer showed us that Jesus' thinking was characterized by apocalyptic (eschatology), and Vermes taught us that if we would know Jesus we must understand him within his historical Jewish culture. It is to Vermes' credit, and an indication of the impact of his book, that in current Third Quest Jesus study we take his Jewishness and his Jewish background as basic to any legitimate interpretation of his nature, teaching, or mission.

Vermes sets Jesus within a context of the Judaism we know from early rabbinics, and examines various titles and practices ascribed to Jesus against this background. The result is a picture of Jesus as a Hasidic charismatic teacher/healer, in line with the phenomena and other personalities popular in his own day.

Vermes approaches many of the vexing issues by viewing them in this context. For example, he argues that the phrase "son of man" is a typical Jewish circumlocution (self-reference) meaning "I" or "man." He also points out that other Jewish Hasidic charismatics performed miracles.

As valuable and influential as his book has been, there are some fundamental problems with his work: 1) Vermes tends to rely too much on a historical reconstruction of Jesus based on later Jewish sources. 2) He tends to reduce the portrait of Jesus to what is common to Judaism, discounting the atypical or unique aspects of Jesus. For example, the Danielic use and influence of the "son of man" phrase in 2nd-Temple Judiasm or early Christianity is not given the weight it deserves. 3) Vermes, as the history of religions school before him, tends to credit so-called "higher" Christological forulations to a later Hellenist stage, not properly considering Jesus' own claims, stories, beliefs, and praxis that contribute to them, nor giving due weight to the fact that Paul, the first Christians, and most Christian groups were composed of Jews.

I well remember when I first read this book a few years ago. For the first time I saw Jesus come alive--a real historical person who fully shared in his racial heritage. I also remember how it was precisely because he thus became real that God became real to me as well. I think the major fault of Vermes is that he does not see that, for Jesus, YHWH is judging the nations, returning to Israel, and becoming King, in and through his own work. Rather, for Vermes, Jesus is made to fit the, howbeit peculiar, mold of the Jewish Hasidic charismatic. In spite of what I consider to be his weaknesses, I shall remain endebted to Vermes for making Jesus real to me, and setting the course of current Jesus study.

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus brought to life in the context of his true origins, July 3, 2001

By 

"myerb" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus the Jew (Paperback)

Jesus the Jew is the first book in a trilogy written by Geza Vermes, Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies at Oxford. The other 2 books in the trilogy are: "Jesus and the World of Judaism" and "The Religion of Jesus the Jew". No doubt the titles of these books will be a bit off-putting to some readers, however I believe that Vermes has done an excellent job in presenting an objective account of the historical Jesus that should be read by all interested Jews and Christians alike.

Vermes takes the position that Jesus the historical figure may be best understood in terms of his Judaic origins. Vermes portrays him as a charismatic, Chassid, similar to a number of others that existed in Jesus' time. He argues that many of the titles given to Jesus or titles that Jesus ascribed to himself such as "Lord", "Son of Man" and "Son of God" may be best understood in terms of Jewish culture and Jewish writings of the time. In fact a great deal of the book is devoted to explaining these and other titles. An example is given where the title "my Son" (son of God) was at one point bestowed upon a Jewish charismatic named Hanina Ben Dosa who, like Jesus, also broke Pharisaic etiquette at times but nonetheless was a respected teacher and miracle worker. Upon this point, Vermes concludes that the notion of "Son of God" in the Gospels is not an original form of terminology but was already well founded in Palestinian Jewish Belief to denote teachers that were highly respected by their peers.

Many more examples such as the one mentioned above are given with regards to all titles bestowed upon Jesus in the Gospels. It is easy to see how such titles may have been adopted, misunderstood and finally corrupted by the gentile church to serve its own end. Many Christian readers may be shocked by the implications of Vermes' investigation, however it is important to remember after all that Jesus was Jewish and therefore certain elements of the Gospels would no doubt adopt some Jewish precepts.

All in all, Vermes has shown himself to be a Scholar of impeccable caliber and should be more widely read in Judeo-Christian circles. His book is at times a little dry and hard to read, but it is worth it for the wealth of information that it contains on the subject of Jesus the Jew.