Jesus

A Very Short Introduction

By: Richard Bauckham

Narrated by: Julian Elfer

Two billion people today identify as Christians, with the implication that Jesus is the focus of their relationship with God and their way of living in the world. Such followers of Jesus are now more numerous and make up a greater proportion of the world's population than ever before.

Richard Bauckham explores the historical figure of Jesus, evaluating the sources and concluding that they provide us with good historical evidence for his life and teaching. In order to place Jesus in his proper historical context, as a Jew from Galilee in the early first century of our era, Bauckham looks at Jewish religion and society in the land of Israel under Roman rule. He explores Jesus's symbolic practices as well as his teachings, looks at his public career and emphasizes how his actions, such as healing and his association with notorious sinners, were just as important as his words.

Bauckham shows that Jesus was devoted to the God of Israel, with a special focus on God's fatherly love and compassion, and like every Jewish teacher he expounded the Torah, but did so in his own distinctive way. With a discussion about the way Jesus understood himself and what finally led to his death as a criminal on a Roman cross, he concludes by considering the significance Jesus has come to have for Christian faith worldwide.

©2011 Richard Bauckham (P)2021 Tantor

Good summary of Jesus and his times

Brief introduction to the life and Times of Jesus as historical figure as presented by four bio essays in the Bible.

Jesus is glorified in this book!

This book systematically and thoughtfully explains how a believer in Jesus the Messiah of the Hebrew Bible can stand on the Gospels as a faithful and true witness to the life and death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. So well put together. This is a must read for any believer, no matter if they have know Jesus for a long time, or just met Him.

The best summary of the historical Jesus

Please listen to this if you want a better understanding of Jesus and his early followers. Worth the listen.

An ideal overview for college-educated readers

Bauckham’s overview is thorough, providing excellent high level information on Jesus as a historical figure and founder of the Christian faith. This short book fluidly blends accounts from the biographies of Jesus with helpful historical context. The language is unfortunately a bit professorial, and likely to be confusing to anyone with less than a college education. Bauckham is one of the world’s top biblical scholars.

Jesus is Lord

This short book condenses what the author presents in much more detail in his other works. This is a great introduction to the most essential man in history.

Probably the best summary of Jesus of Nazareth I have encountered.

This is an excellent summary of the Jesus of Nazareth that pulls from much scholarly research including work Mr Bauckham did in his book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses.

An excellent resource for either someone with limited knowledge of Jesus or a Christian who wants a more scholarly and historically grounded view of Jesus.

Strongly recommended.

Excellent

Great introduction to the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Great read for beginners. Buy it for all your family and friends.

basic information

It's just basic information. Good for those not too familiar with Jesus. Not very deep.