Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching

A new 'life' of Jesus written by one of the outstanding scholars of his generation, it offers a complete resource on the 'Historical Jesus' debate. With an overview of the various positions taken on who the historical Jesus was, Casey provides a helpful and accessible tool for understanding how the historical Jesus has been received and understood, with attention paid to the contortions in evidence in the last century to prove that Jesus was not Jewish.

Table of Contents:
Preface Abbreviations Chapter 1. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. 1. Introduction. 2. The Nazi Period. 3. Radical Form Criticism. 4. Not the Second and Third Quests. 5. Vermes and Sanders. 6. Crossan and the American Jesus Seminar. 7. From Bad to Worse. 8. Recent Lives of Jesus. 9. Conclusions. Chapter 2. Historically Reliable Sources. 1. Introduction. 2. The Gospel According to Marcus. 3. The So-Called 'Q' Material. 4. The Gospel According to Matthew. 5. The Gospel According to Luke. 6. Conclusions. Chapter 3. Historical Method. 1. Introduction. 2. Multiple Attestation. 3. Dissimilarity, Coherence, and Embarrassment. 4. Historical Plausibility. 5. Aramaic. 6. Jewish Source Material. 7. Rewriting History, Telling Stories and Social Memory. 8. Conclusions. Chapter 4. Family, Birth, Upbringing and Cultural Background. 1. Family. 2. Birth. 3. Upbringing. 4. Galilee and the Surrounding Areas. 5. Conclusions. Chapter 5. John the Baptist, Call and Ministry. 1. Introduction. 2. The Prophetic Tradition. 3. John the Baptist. 4. Jesus' Baptism and Call. 5. Jesus, John and the Length of the Historic Ministry. 6. The Call of the Twelve. 7. Women in the Historic Ministry. 8. Conclusions. Chapter 6. God. 1. Introduction. 2. Jesus' Spiritual Life. 3. The Fatherhood of God. 4. The Kingdom of God. 5. Teaching Others to Pray. 6. Conclusions. Chapter 7. Exorcism and Healing. 1. Introduction. 2. Secondary Development. 3. Healing. 4. Exorcism in the Ministry of Jesus. 5. Healing Other Illnesses. 6. The Mighty Works of a Prophet. 7. Jesus was not a Magician. 8. Conclusions. Chapter 8. Jesus' Ethical Teaching. 1. Introduction. 2. Repentance. 3. The Torah. 4. Particular Ethical Instructions. 5. Divorce and the Family. 6. The Good Samaritan. 7. Poverty and Riches. 8. Two Problems. 9. Observing Jesus' Ethical Teaching. 10. Conclusions. Chapter 9. Jesus' Conflicts with his Opponents. 1. Introduction. 2. Scribes. 3. Pharisees. 4. Orthodoxy in Second Temple Judaism. 5. Jesus' Conflicts with Scribes and Pharisees. 6. Herod Antipas. 7. Chief Priests, Elders and Scribes. 8. Division. 9. Conclusions. Chapter 10. Christological Terms. 1. Introduction. 2. Prophet. 3. Teacher. 4a. Son of Man: Introduction. 4b. Son of Man: Genuine Sayings of Jesus. 4c. Son of Man: The Translation Process. 4d. Son of Man: Daniel 7.13. 4e. Son of Man: Jesus Predicts his Death and Resurrection. 4f. Son of Man: The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke. 5. Son of God. 6. Messiah, or Christ. 7. Conclusions. Chapter 11. Death in Jerusalem. 1. Introduction. 2. Preparing the Way. 3. Entry into Jerusalem, and the Cleansing of the Temple. 4. The Next Few Days. 5. Betrayal. 6. Jesus' Final Passover. 7. Arrest. 8. Trial and Conviction. 9. Crucifixion: A Bandit's Shameful Death. 10. A Bandit's Shameful Burial. 11. Conclusions. Chapter 12. Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? 1. Introduction. 2. Early Belief. 3. Gospel Appearances. 4. Jewish Beliefs in Resurrection. 5. The Gospel Narratives Again. 6. Visions, Appearances and Hallucinations. 7. Conclusions. Chapter 13. Conclusions. Appendix. Other Gospels. 1. Introduction. 2. The Gospel of John. 3. The Gospel of Thomas. 4. The Gospel of Judas. 5. The Gospel of Mary. 6. The Gospel of Philip. 7. The Secret Gospel of Mark. 8. Conclusions. Further Reading. Indexes.

About the Author :
Maurice Casey is Professor of New Testament Languages and Literature at the University of Nottingham, UK. He has published extensively on the Son of Man problem, and more generally on reconstructing Aramaic traditions about Jesus from the Greek Gospels.

Review :
Reviewed in Contemporary Review ... offers the safest route toward a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of Jesus. The subtitle of this massive and powerful study of the historical Jesus describes its fundamental approach... [Casey] begins with an extensive survey of modern literature on this subject- an incisive analysis worth the price of admission that, with wit, sarcasm, and breathtaking erudition, leaves no scholar unscathed... The end result of this meticulous study is remarkably 'conservative' that is, in Casey's view the overall portrayal of Jesus' mission, life, and teaching found in the gospels has strong historical verisimilitude. Reviewed in Znak Magazine. Casey is always interesting... [and] indeed fascinatingly independent, in his methods and his results. There are many valuable insights and additions to our knowledge about Jesus, His times and His teachings which are now made clearer by the scholarship evident in this book. 'In several important respects this lively book goes against the grain of recent scholarship, both conservative and radical. But it is a needed and challenging reminder of the fragility of much that passes as the 'assured results' of scholarship. The detailed attention to the relevance of the Aramaic language for constructing Jesus is particularly noteworthy and consistently provocative.' - Dale C. Allison, Jr., Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, PA, USA. 'Only a handful of New Testament scholars can deal with Hebrew and above all Aramaic sources as well as Maurice Casey. After an extensive career concentrating on the life and teaching of Jesus, and at the pinnacle of his intellectual prowess after writing a number of specialized studies, he now generously shares his deep and manifold insights with a larger audience. With neither ecclesiastical nor atheistic baggage to weigh him down, Casey caustically comments first on those who do not take Jesus' Jewishness seriously, especially his native tongue Aramaic. This criticism of older and the most recent secondary literature is - unfortunately - well-deserved. Yet the following chapters with positive analyses by far prevail, making this volume a must read for all those seeking a balanced, yet deeply scholarly view of the life of Jesus by an independent historian. Casey candidly points out what we can reasonably know about Jesus, but just as importantly, what we cannot know. This fascinating volume deserves close reading and a very wide audience.'  - The Rev. Dr. Roger David Aus, Berlin, Germany 'This learned and comprehensive book should prove to be the major historical Jesus publication of the decade. While we all know that much has been written on the historical Jesus, Casey still manages to provide a distinctive slant, most notably with his reader-friendly use of Aramaic reconstructions of Jesus' words and actions. The review of scholarship, which combines savage humour with scholarly insights, hits hard at numerous approaches to the quest for the historical Jesus, from famous historical Jesus scholars to 'mythicist' and conspiratorial theories in popular culture. This book should reinvigorate a tired scholarly quest and raise the bar in the learning required to do serious historical Jesus work.' - James G. Crossley, University of Sheffield, UK. Maurice Casey has devoted himself to the study of Aramaic... and now puts this knowledge to use in his heavy tome on the Historical Jesus. 'The book is an admirable, fascinating, and stimulating study of Jesus against the background of a Judaism shaped by Aramaic speakers, and, as such, it is well worth reading.' this book is in many respects an impressive achievement. This book ably demonstrates the variety and quantity of work being done all at once on the question of the historical Jesus. Casey's proposals regarding Jesus and the Gospels are bold and boldly stated and will need to be addressed in future histories of Jesus...Casey provides clear and careful discussions in every chapter. His conclusions, moreover, are neither naïvely credulous nor cynically skeptical...Casey has produced a highly original, provocative, and innovative volume...May more volumes find their way to market that raise as many interesting questions as lucidly and forcefully as does this book.