Jesus: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #275

by Richard Bauckham

Award-winning religious scholar Richard Bauckham here explores the historical figure of Jesus, evaluating the sources and showing that they provide us with good historical evidence for his life and teaching. 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' 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 writes 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. After a discussion about the way Jesus understood himself and what finally led to his death on a Roman cross, Bauckham concludes by considering the significance Jesus has come to have for Christian faith worldwide.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, History, Theology, Christianity, Christian, Biography

125 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2011

About the author

Richard Bauckham (PhD, University of Cambridge) is senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge University, in Cambridge, England, where he teaches for the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges. He is also a visiting professor at St. Mellitus College, London, and emeritus professor of New Testament at the University of St. Andrews. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the author of numerous books.

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the subdued and lucid tone the professor takes to his subject. We really don’t need to hear any more from the religious fundamentalists. Instead, here we have an author taking the original manuscripts seriously, not making any effort to deny their validity, and going on from there. I’m not a newbie to Christian thinking or theology yet I found the author’s overview enlightening and refreshing.

I would like to see the other introductions in the series that deal with, in particular, Islam ☪️ Buddhism ☸️ Judaism ✡️ and Hinduism 🕉️ as well as with the sacred writings of all those faiths such as the Koran or Quran, the Bhagavad Vita, the Torah, and the Zen 🧘 koans.

Well, and I’d like to explore Norse mythology too - we still have Thor’s Day, after all - and the indigenous spirituality of many of the tribes, beginning with the North American ones.

✝️This is an excellent, thoughtful, intelligent, and absolutely spiritual introduction to Jesus and the early years of what became the Christian faith ☦️

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Oxford Very Short Introduction series really hits it out of the park with Richard Bauckham's slim book on Jesus. Whatever your religious affiliation, an obscure carpenter from Nazareth has, against all the norms of history, gone on to become the most influential person to have ever lived. Richard Bauckham is probably the most important scholar working today on the historical life of Jesus (his Jesus and the Eyewitnesses was a truly paradigm shifting book on the whole quest for the historical Jesus) and in this short book Bauckham synthesises all that down to a hundred pages. If you're interested in the question of who Jesus was, did he really exist and did he do what people said he did, this is an excellent introduction: rigorous, scholarly and beautifully written. A book almost worthy of its subject.

[Adam Omelianchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took the advice of a seminary professor who said that many of the problems we have with Christianity can be solved by just getting to know the person of Christ better. Another recommended this book as a way to do just that. Richard Bauckham hits a home run in Oxford's fantastic little "very short introduction" series, as it provides a very clear, helpful, and brief introduction to the central figure of Christianity: Jesus Christ, savior and Lord. If you follow the advice I followed, your faith (if you have it) in Christ will be enriched.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the one I would give to a non-Christian who wanted to know about Jesus and had questions about the reliability of the gospels.

Richard Bauckham is a clear writer always worth reading.

[Matt Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bauckham was an excellent choice to write this volume. This book is written more from a historical Jesus perspective than a theological perspective but with Bauckham’s focus on eyewitnesses and Jesus’s inclusion in the divine identity.

[Joe Haack · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I want to know: Why on Earth did Oxford University Press select orthodox Jesus scholar Richard Bauckham to summarize the life of Jesus for their "Short Introduction" series, when there are a thousand more 'sensational' and unorthodox scholars out there? This is a testament to the importance of Christians pursuing their vocation with the highest levels of integrity and excellence: "Good work, well done" (Sayers). What a gift to the church! This is a gospel tract to intellectuals. And a helpful guide for anyone who reads the gospels.

[Joshua Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

With brevity, Bauckham summarizes Jesus brilliantly. I’m very glad he was selected to write this Very Short Introduction. A tour de force and a must read for anyone wondering ‘who exactly was Jesus?’

[Alma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olin ajatellut, että voisin ensin lukea itse raamatun ennen kuin tutustuisin kirkkohistoriaan, eksegetiikkaan yms. Raamatun ohutlehtinen paperi kuitenkin hämäsi minut arvioimaan väärin raamatun todellisen pituuden; englanninkielinen äänikirja on 72 tuntia pitkä! Pitää ottaa tämä erilliseksi projektiksi joskus hamassa tulevaisuudessa ja sittenkin kääntää järjestys päälaelle ja aloittaa kevyemmästä päästä... A very short introduction -sarja onkin usein juuri sopiva formaatti uteliaille, mutta aikapulan kanssa kamppaileville sieluille, jotka haluavat edes vähän laajentaa ymmärrystään.

Bauckhman lähtee lyhyessä johdannossaan siitä, että evankeliumit ovat luotettava lähde kuvaamaan Jeesuksen elämää. Rohkea väite, jos näin ateistina saa sanoa. Bauckham perustelee luotettavuuden sillä, että tunnemme uuden testamentin aikaista maailmaa muista historiallisista lähteistä, ja evankeliumit kuvaavat luotettavasti maailmaa, jossa ne on kirjoitettu. Sosiaaliset normit ja kuvaukset elämän menosta täsmäävät siihen, mitä historioitsijat ovat saaneet selville. Bauckhman jättää diplomaattisesti kommentoimatta sitä, kävelikö Jesus oikeasti vetten päällä tai muuttiko hän aidosti veden viiniksi. Sen sijaan hän asettaa Jeesuksen aikansa kontekstiin ja pyrkii kuvaamaan sitä, millainen Jeesuksen maailmankuva ja oma identiteetti oli ja kuinka se heijasteli ja toisaalta poikkesi aikansa normeista. Kiinnostavaa kamaa siis. Olisin itse toivonut hieman enemmän pohdintaa siitä, miten voimme päätellä Jeesuksen olleen historiallinen henkilö. Tiedän, että tätäkin on kyseenalaistettu ja olisi ollut kiinnostava kuulla myös skeptisemmät näkökulmat, joskin lyhyen johdatuksen puitteissa tämä oli oikein kelpo ja hyvin rajattu opus.

[Chad Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series of books is a great idea. Often many people who read the Bible find themselves longing for a little more backstory, especially when it comes to Jesus. This book helps people put Jesus within the context of his first century Jewish culture. It always does the reader of scripture good to realize that Jesus stepped into a specific time and place in history. Understanding that time and place will help them understand the scriptures in new ways! Also, the author does a great shop defending the validity of the four gospels in the Christian Bible in a concise way.

[Guan Jie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not easy to write a book, even one meant to be a "very short introduction" on Jesus. With an estimated 2.2 billion Christians worldwide, whose life values are shaped by Jesus, it goes without saying that some of those 2.2 billion won't agree with everything in this book. That being said, it's definitely a book worth writing, offering those from outside the faith a rundown on Jesus, his humanity and divinity.

I enjoyed the insertion of historical context into Jesus' birth and region, which is sometimes lacking in the Bible itself. What's interesting is that Jesus's crucifixion, although it wasn't committed by the Jews (which the Church has falsely accused them of doing, stoking the flames of antisemitism in the past, but has since apologized for), was supported by a group of Jews called the Pharisees who had their power contested by Jesus. So they brought the idea up to the Romans and convinced them to crucify Jesus. However, this should never be a justification for antisemitism, especially when the author, Bauckham, states how Jesus was destined to lower himself down to the darkest pits of mankind; to die a humiliating and torturous death on the cross, without God to absolve for the sins of the "many".

3/5 because I think a better book for beginners to learn more about Christianity would be the "Christianity - A Very Short Introduction" and I didn't think there was enough revelations offered to make this book a very worthy read.

[Ethan Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I have appreciated Richard Bauckham's scholarship for a while now and this little book is basically an accessible summary of much of his academic work. Bauckham argues that the four canonical gospels are the most reliable sources of the life and teaching of Jesus and are themselves eyewitness testimony. Bauckham places Jesus in the context of first century Roman Palestine and explores the history through this lens. There was hardly anything in this book I found problematic. There is obviously much more that could be said, but that clearly wasn't the purpose of this book. I greatly appreciated the section considering the distinctive style of Jesus' teaching. The only point that I would quibble with is Bauckham's position on how interpretive the Gospel of John is, yet this disagreement is likely one of degree and not principle. I would agree that John's Gospel is to some degree Jesus' teaching refracted through John, yet I am more inclined to say that John is closer to representing what Jesus actually said that it sounds like Bauckham is. I appreciated that he ended the book emphasizing continuity with the later Christian interpretation of who Jesus is. Bauckham writes of the Gospels, "The early Christians did not dissolve the past of Jesus into the present, but they remembered the earthly and crucified Jesus in order to know and to follow the living Christ." This book made me all the more excited to dive into some of Bauckham's other works.

[Mitchell Traver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both a very short and very impressive introduction. Bauckham relies on his extensive work done on the Gospels and their place as historically reliable sources pertaining to the person, Jesus of Nazareth. This quick work is a mixture of historical-critical engagement, Hebrew (OT) exegetical focus, with an eye for reading the Gospels (with their particularities - John, especially) as both *eyewitness accounts* and legitimate biographical history. Yes, quite a lot for such a little book! And yet I believe Bauckham makes his case quite well, providing for the reader a clear view of Jesus Christ as the Gospels present Him to us. Which, in my view, is the only picture that truly matters.

He is who He says He is. Come and see.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just great. Bauckham faithfully and intelligently presents the Jesus of the Gospels to an audience that doesn't share Christian assumptions. In a way, it was like seeing Jesus with new eyes, apart from the language I'm used to hearing and using. He makes a brief but scholarly and convincing case for the reliability of the Gospels. I appreciate that Bauckham did not shy away from the more confusing and/or bewildering things Jesus said and did, rather seeing them as integral to the picture the Gospels are painting.

[curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rare to find a treatment of Jesus in his first century context so simultaneously thorough and concise. Bauckham writes with lucid accessibility and crystal clarity. This is a solid resource for anyone, but especially those interested in beginning in-depth study of the Gospel narratives.

[Landon Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

True to its title, this is “a very short introduction” to the life, ministry, preaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Most of the content in this book will be obvious and elementary for many Christians. However, Bauckham’s clear, systematic writing does provide a helpful summary and introduction to the Jesus of the Bible.

[Casey Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shockingly great! I like Bauckham's work generally and expected something decent, but this was fantastic. It really helps to step back and see the forest over the trees and Bauckham does an amazing job. There were "AHA!" insights every chapter and I've been studying Jesus personally and professionally for decades. Accessible, clear, and compelling.

[Daniel Rudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and short but covers all the basics. Appreciated the way Bauckham showed that Jesus backed up His teaching with consistent action.

[Joshua Remington]

Very well-written book about who Jesus was, how we can learn about him, and how he influenced one community of disciples who went on to change the world.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A succinct and readable summary of the life of Jesus Christ written by leading New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham, author of the seminal Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. This book is a must for anyone seeking to understand the historical Jesus and his impact on the world. He makes the case that the first four books of the New Testament (aka the Gospels) are historical documents as reliable as eyewitness testimony can be, and much of what Jesus was about can be found there. Then he proceeds to give a synopsis of the life and work of Jesus as related by the Gospels, all with the appropriate historical context. Extremely readable and extremely engaging. Highly recommended.

[Ian Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to Bauckham’s work of the historical Jesus.

The gospels are based on eye witness testimony.

Jesus is the God of Israel incarnate from the very start of the Christian faith.

There is some very good evidence for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

[J]

Enjoyable. Perhaps a bit too credulous re: the Gospels, but there really is something miraculous about this provincial, Jewish carpenter becoming, somehow, the most influential human being in history. I don't know that this books explains that, but it does successfully dramatize the man.

[Damian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating essay on the identity of Jesus as expressed in the Gospels, somewhat marred by the fact that Bauckham seems to believe that Jesus did actually perform miracles.

[Ted Ryerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's more about what Jesus said than who he is.

[Dele Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather nice overview. One downside is the author isn't being clear when his approach is historical or theological.

Mixing both approach can make for a bit of a mis-informed read.

[Ludvik Byrkjeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up in a staunchly secular environment, in which I've been practically void of any particular religious influence from my closest folks, fellows and facilitators, I've through my adolescent years found myself becoming a sort of religious vagabond -- or, rather, a tramp, to be frank. Not in the sense that I've mindlessly drifted between and across different worldviews, but by the way of which I've found myself distancing myself from the established rather anti-Christian standards that dominate my immediate community. In my eyes, these, dare I say seemingly rather shallow modern interpretations of the seemingly “humanistic”, seem to be lacking solid grounds and expose themself quite far from waterproof once they are challenged. As far as I can make out, they seem to have originated from a stand of counter against the established Christianity about half a century ago, based on sceptic criticism, and not as an independent establishment — and hence they lack their own comprehensive alternative to the more ancient and religions worldviews, that are clearly more complete, having stood the test of time. (The hen and egg of this latter statement might be discussed another time).

Anyways, as a natural consequence of my skepticism towards my experience of “humanism” — which I by the way find an awful name for a worldview, just as any other establishment who patents words and symbols that are intuitively nothing but positively loaded — I’ve commenced on my own religious odyssey, hoping to encounter some Eurekas and catch a few glimpses of the untouchable divine. Though it should be noted that I’m both baptized and confirmed as a protestant Christian (however much of a Christian this actually makes you in the contemporary northern parts of Europe), I like to belive I’m respectably open-minded, even when exploring the street-burnin’ Jungleland of religions — which one perhaps might call the nucleus of modern conflict itself?
Still, this said, I’ve consciously chosen to set sail from the harbor of Christianity, as this is the religion I’m indisputably most familiar with, without ever really having read much of the Bible intently — and therefore I scrapped together a notebook and downloaded this wonderfully short audiobook as my father geared for the sixth and we burnt along the Autobahn.
Now, to come together for the actual review of Jesus: A Very Short Introduction after all this background — Bauckham does, as far as I’m eligible to comment, a tremendous job of concisely and thoroughly dissecting the mystical and mythical figure of Jesus Christ, and of credibly reassembling him into a more “touchable” and humane figure of history. Instead of simply choosing a biased standpoint of either a Christian or atheist nature, Bauckham takes — as every self-respecting historian does, I suppose — the more pragmatic route of simply placing the historical facts — as he sees them, of course — on the table and analyzes briefly but not hurriedly. Now, as I’m unfamiliar with Bauckham’s reputation among academics and scholars, I’m naturally ineligible to be properly critical against his analysis, and I’m sure there’s no shortage of other historians who likely offer different views, but for now Bauckham remains my fountainhead, and with this I remain satisfied for the time being.
Perhaps the most fascinating I’ve found from reading and gradually immersing myself into the lives of Jesus and the founding men and women of Christianity is how well-grounded it seems to be that they were in reality alive and living human beings. Though one might disagree with me on this, I find the sole existences of the carpenter Jesus and the fisherman Simon Peter to be quite a, of course, fundamental argument, but also an overwhelmingly interesting one, in the favor of the credibility of Christianity, given just how totally convinced these people seems to have been that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, Son of God. Naturally one might endlessly debate how much of the historical documents and the Bible have been edited over the years, and yes, I have read The Da Vinci Code and is somewhat familiar with several theories of how the entirety of Christianity is nothing but an economic scam for increasing the power and wealth of the Church (and that this obviously is nothing short of a phony illusion of an establishment), and I have no doubts that the Christian messages have been (tragically) misused and that countless sins have been committed in the name of Christianity and of Jesus Christ — but this is not the part that remains intriguing. The most interesting part of Christianity, is its origin, and how a simple man from Nazareth apparently managed to convince his followers that he was the human Son of God through both his actions and words, and even managed this to the degree that many of them willingly went through suffering and torture of incomprehensible dimensions until their deaths, only because they remained so utterly convinced that God had revealed himself in their presence.

Regardless of what one might think, reading the Bible and incorporating the relevant Christian principles into one’s life will anyways, I’m quite convinced, by all probability increase one’s positive influence on the world and, and this should be remembered and thoroughly reflected upon before dismissing it -- at least to the rather extreme degree I find many in my community doing.
In any case, this is the current state of my mind as I’m slowly but steadily setting sail from the inner harbor of Christianity and carefully glimpse towards the contour of the endless ocean of religion in my mighty misty horizon.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the life of Jesus, the historical context of that life, his approach to teaching, the nature of his identity, the story of his death, and concludes with the origins of Christianity. The book rests on a couple of controversial ideas, the most influential of which is that the four gospels of the New Testament are valid historical sources and that they’re more useful than competing sources (e.g. the Gnostic Gospels.) Rather than asking the reader to take this as a given, Bauckham does present his argument in the second chapter.

I found this book to be intriguing and worth reading – surprisingly, once I realized it was written by a theologian, and not a Religious Studies scholar or historian. (Theologians have skin in the game of religious teachings, whereas Religious Studies scholars and historians are expected to be more objective with regards to religious claims.) It’s telling that I didn’t realize Bauckham was a theologian right away; he does generally present the material with the dispassionate objectivity of a scholar. However, eventually, he slips into the proclivities of a theologian, such as the stance that in the absence of strong evidence either way one might as well accept the truth of religious teachings. Also, he give Jesus a free ride on shady behavior (as when Jesus compares a Gentile to a dog – which Bauckham calls “almost rudely negative” before rationalizing away said negativity.)

For me, the discussion of Jesus’s teaching style (Ch.5) was the book���s strongpoint. That chapter shows the reader how Jesus became such a big deal. Believer or not, one will come away impressed with Jesus as a teacher.

If one is looking for a book that considers the gamut of views about Jesus, this isn’t the book you’re looking for – e.g. Chapter 6 on Jesus’s identity doesn’t give time to the view that he was just a smooth-talking preacher whose followers likely absconded with his body – let alone that he was a fiction. That said, there is a great deal of interest in the book, and I found it well worth reading.

[Abdul Alhazred · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is theological apologia badly disguised as an historical overview. The author has real credentials in the subject, but as often happens with theologians, his interest isn't academic, it's faith based. From his book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony: "Testimony should be treated as reliable until proved otherwise.". This isn't a historical viewpoint (the gospels can't even be considered eyewitness testimony, and if they were it's notoriously unreliable), and if you challenged Bauckham to take the "eyewitness testimony" of Mohammed as preached by Islam seriously he'd immediately backpedal into criticism, because the excuse is just that paper thin.

I don't really have a problem with a theologically motivated defense of the accuracy of the Bible, I've read several, the problem here is the fig leaf of pretense that this isn't apologia, and is somehow "just a historical view". Call the book "Jesus according to the Bible" or otherwise flag the theologically motivated bent and it's a fine book for people who never read the Bible, and want an introduction to that.
If you wanted a historical look at the person Jesus, you got bamboozled. If you want a more skeptical historical view on Jesus read something like How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee. For a literary analysis view on Jesus that doesn't misrepresent itself, try: Jesus and the Gospels.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an engaging read from a very respected scholar. I read it for Bauckham's name, not for the content. He wrote Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, which challenged popular scholarship in the mid-2000s in regards to the authorship of the Bible. He's one of the biggest names amongst conservative apologists, though atheist apologists fail to mention him.

Anyways, this was a great introduction to the life and legacy of Jesus. It felt more scholarly and matter-of-fact, and I don't know if I'd even consider it a "Christian" book, though its conclusions are clearly in line with the Christian faith. It never felt reverent. Bauckham only spoke about what we know about Jesus from ancient writings and historical evidence.

It was the only audiobook under Bauckham's name, and only a 3-hr read. It was flawless as an introduction, but you'll definitely want to pick up something else to get a more in-depth understanding.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to the person of Jesus from a serious but sympathetic NT scholar. Some personal takeaways was that there is evidence that Jesus' profession was farming, Galilee wasn't that different that Jerusalem in terms of Jewish expression, the gospel of John, while more historical precise than the Synoptics, is also more interpretative, the widespread awareness and adherence to clean/unclean categories (i.e., not merely confined to, e.g., the Pharisee), strong evidence that Peter's voice lies behind Mark's account, and the eyewitness nature of the gospel writers and/or their sources, i.e., they participated in the event of Jesus's life, the adequacy of the four canonical gospels over against other claims to gospel literature (e.g., Gospel of Thomas). If there is only time for one guide on Jesus, this surely is one of the first to turn to.