The Authentic Gospel of Jesus

by Géza Vermes

Book Overview

In The Authentic Gospel of Jesus, renowned biblical scholar Geza Vermes distils a lifetime's knowledge to examine every saying attributed to Jesus and return to the true teachings of the man behind... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014100360X
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 445 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.9" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Illuminating read and valuable reference work

Here Geza Vermes has collected, thematically classified and succinctly commented on every word attributed to Jesus in the Gospels of Luke, Mark & Matthew. To a lesser extent he refers to the Gospel of John and rarely also to the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. To understand the evidence within the historical framework and for purposes of comparison, he draws on the intertestamental records of Judaism: the Apocrypha, Pseudo-Epigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, the work of Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus plus the legal and interpretative rabbinic literature. The aim is to rediscover the core message preached and practiced by Jesus, whose statements are grouped into nine chapters by literary category: narratives & commands, controversy stories, words of wisdom, parables, scripture quotes, prayers, Son of Man sayings, Statements about the Kingdom of God, and Eschatological Rules of Behaviour. The commentary following these quotations endeavors to separate the different levels of superimposed meaning with the goal of establishing their primary settings and significance. In the final chapter Vermes attempts to formulate the principles that establish parameters for the authenticity of these words. He probes beneath the layers produced by evangelists, the early church and 2000 years of Christianity in order to discover the true meaning of the original teachings. The work culminates in the Epilogue in which the author attempts to outline the essence of the message and personality of the real Jesus based on the words judged most likely to be genuine. The section titled The Religion of Jesus reveals that there was nothing abstract, theoretical or speculative about it. Jesus tried to teach his listeners how to draw close to God through concrete action and behaviour. There are five major themes: the Kingdom of God, observation of Torah in the final age, eschatological piety, prayers, and view of God. Jesus saw God as a loving father who cares, comparing him to a good shepherd, a generous employer and all-knowing head of a family aware of all his creatures' needs. In essence, there is absolutely no harshness or severity in the God of Jesus Christ. In my opinion, based upon much reading and study of religion and spirituality, this portrayal corresponds most closely to that of Jewish mysticism and what is variously called New Thought, Divine Science or Mental Science. For proof, please compare The Hidden Power of the Bible by Ernest Holmes, The Sermon on the Mount by Emmet Fox and above all, Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning by Thomas Troward. Jesus considered anxiety, worry and fear of the future as denial of God according to Matt 6:25 - 34 & Luke 12:22 - 31, judged to be examples of his genuine teaching. The modern varieties of Christianity with their blend of philosophical speculation on a triune deity, logos mysticism, Pauline theology, sacramental symbolism, ecclesiastical discipline and widespread anti-Judaism appear remote, even alien, from thei

Excellent historical study of the New Testament Gospels

Vermes is known for his well-considered approach to the issue of the historical Jesus (the actual Jesus who lived and whose life and teachings form the background to the development of the mythological Jesus of the New Testament). Vermes does a close study of the New Testament texts against the background of the various forms of Judaism of Jesus's day providing insights into what can be considered historical, as well as to the meanings of what Jesus was about in terms of the outlooks and perceptions of the world and gods that were rife during that age. It is an excellent work for understanding Jesus and his activity and message. It ranks in detail along with the fine work of John Dominic Crossan, Robert Funk, the Jesus Seminar, and other contemporary Biblical Scholars concerned with letting the real Jesus of Nazareth step forth from the pages of the New Testament.

From Religious Truth to Historical Fact

Geza Vermes had done us an immense favor by way of five excellent volumes on Jesus. The Authentic Gospel of Jesus is his fifth and it is a treatment without peer. While E.P. Sanders and Bart Ehrman both offer excellent short introductory volumes, Vermes book is unsurpassed in its unique approach to the subject matter. Rather than writing a biography of his subject, he has taken all words and ideas attributed to him and examined them for authenticity in order to discover the personality, religion and outlook of the historical figure of Jesus. It is a perilous task he undertakes. Believers place primacy on faith, not on reasoned arguments and on religious truth rather than historical fact, and one does not have to search very far to find works by Vermes and others roundly condemned for challenging this faith merely by their questioning the inerrancy of the Gospels. Nevertheless, Geza Vermes has performed the task with brilliance. Contained within this book is every saying attributed to Jesus found in the Synoptic Gospels. He has divided them into categories by subject matter, for instance, prayers, parables and words of wisdom. He then subjects each saying to close scrutiny by placing it into the context of 1st century Jewish custom, law and thought as well as historical chronology. He also compares the forms found in Matthew, Mark and Luke and to the doctrines and beliefs of evolving Christianity, whether Jewish or the Gentile. Some people have criticized Vermes' use of the Talmud and other rabbinic literature in comparing Jesus' utterances to those of later rabbis, but as he has pointed out, this is a useful way to determine how closely Jesus' words fit into Jewish thought since this material preserves older teachings dating from the time of Jesus or even earlier. Nor is this material "medieval" as has sometimes been charged; it dates from 200-500 CE. Finally, if the writings of the Apostolic Fathers and other later Christian writers can be used to shed light on the early days of the Church (and they have been) why then should Jewish sources be ignored, particularly in light of the fact that Jesus was himself a Jew. In his lifetime, there was no Church, no doctrine, no dogma, no Christian theology, and indeed, no Christianity. As the Gospels date from a time when all these things had come into being, it is absolutely critical that they be subjected to the sort of scrutiny Vermes brings to bear. Obviously, this is not the book for someone who is married to the idea of Gospel inerrancy, but for everyone else, it is a must have.

Fascinating look at the words of Jesus

I recently purchased this book, and found it to be a very interesting read. Geza Vermes is both an erudite and compelling author, and I found his view of Jesus (both as a man and the founder of a world religion) enlightening and thought-provoking. I found it surprising that another reviewer found his work to contain a "hidden academic bias." A look at Mr. Vermes resume' (contained on the first page of the book) clearly shows that he was a professor of Jewish Studies in England for over 30 years, so there's really nothing hidden about it. And, it's his academic background which gives his conclusions such great authority. While some may disagree with those conclusions, Mr. Vermes clearly tells us which texts he used as his sources, and draws no conclusions which he cannot back up using those same texts. He leaves no doubt that his scholarship is solid. He places Jesus firmly in the context of his time, and shows where his message and the later work of his disciples diverged. Nevertheless, his respect for his subject is obvious -- the "Authentic Gospel" follows Mr. Vermes four previous books about Jesus, and his stated purpose here of separating the true words of Jesus from later false additions is an admirable one. As a reader, I didn't agree with all of his conclusions, but Mr. Vermes certainly did his best to raise levels of reasonable doubt, so to speak. Whether one agrees or disagrees with him, the book is enlightening, and will cause you to think more about Jesus, what his message truly is, and how later thinkers may have diluted or misineterpreted it. It's an enjoyable read, and I intend to purchase more of Mr. Vermes books in the future.

Extraordinary!

This is a wonderful book, all the individual sayings of Jesus in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) are studied one by one in the context of the Judaism of the time, and comparisons are made with the Qumran texts, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Old Testament. The figure of the historical Jesus that emerges is a very credible one: Jesus had an eschatological hope of an imminent coming of the Kingdom of God. After his death, the disciples' experience of his resurrection led to the awaiting of his second coming, the Parousia, with a Final Judgment. Vermes, writing from a Jewish perspective, sees Jesus as the greatest of all Jewish prophets.