Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography by Bruce Chilton: Book Review

Rabbi Jesus by author Bruce Chilton is a well-researched book narrating the real influences and events that made up the personage we today call Lord Jesus Christ. It is a book that has been researched meticulously but is narrated in a biographical form for the reader’s convenience. The book is intriguing, shocking, and thought-provoking. I especially found the historical sources used to narrate the life of Lord Jesus Christ very interesting and revealing. To a staunch believer in the Christian faith, this is not the book you should want to read. However, to those of us who are broad-minded and want to see what the literary contemporaries of Lord Jesus had to say about him, this is a book that is needed to be read and digested. Rabbi Jesus is a book replete with interesting notes, references, and guidelines on how to interpret the historical Lord Jesus more accurately. It is a book like no other, one of the few penned in this simple manner.

There is nothing theosophical, mystical, or any type of spiritual jargon and truths mentioned here in this book. It is a historical work based on literary sources present at that time; period. These historical texts include the ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’ and other texts which are considered to be Gnostic but have not been focused upon. After all, most of the Gnostic literature is written in hidden symbols and mystical imagery which is not what this book is all about. Bruce Chilton has gone out of his way to bring the real Lord Jesus in the spotlight. There are moments when the Lord Jesus seems to be an enlightened master and others where he just seems like a bipolar patient – these are not my words but Bruce Chilton’s.

I’ve read a lot of books dealing with the historical Lord Jesus, but they were mostly from the Catholic viewpoint. It was very exciting to read another viewpoint on the history, culture, political scenario, and social life that made the Lord Jesus into the person he became. This is a much-needed book for the library of a historian dealing with the Lord Jesus Christ from a non-spiritual perspective. If you are one of those people who want to delve into this side of the Lord Jesus then buy your copy of Rabbi Jesus by Bruce Chilton today.

I got my copy as a Christmas gift from Santa Claus in 2019. I was waiting to read this book especially when I finished reading the Holy Bible in May 2020. I want to point out to you here that it will be very difficult for you to read and understand this book if you have not already read the Holy Bible. You have to be very well versed in your knowledge of the Bible to read this amazing book. So, my advice to you is before you start, just read the Gospels and do a bit of a read up on the Jewish as well as Christian salvation history. Take my advice and you won’t regret it. If you have the time and leisure, then read the Holy Bible then come and read Rabbi Jesus. If you are not so sure about your biblical facts then it will be difficult to understand the excellent content in the book titled Rabbi Jesus.

To those still wondering what I meant when I said that I got the book as a gift from ‘Santa Claus’, well, you do know that I am the ‘Insane Owl’ right?

The book is well-edited, well-presented, and well-researched. This book tries to bring into focus the many misconceptions we have about our faith. Here are some of the points that made this book worthwhile for me:

• Lord Jesus was a mamzer throughout his life which always made him feel apart from society and a person without an authentic father head.
• That there was a huge age gap between Saint John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus according to historical documents.
• When the Lord Jesus started his ministry, he started it with the intention that everyone should be able to channelize the power of the true God Father head as well as the Holy Spirit, to do good in this world.
• He didn’t exactly speak of himself as the only ‘son of God’ but as ‘one of the sons of God’.
• His spiritual exercises involved something similar to the spiritual exercises of the Prophet Ezekiel meditating on the ‘Chariot of God’ or the ‘Chariot Throne of God’.
• Lord Jesus’ fixation with having large meals with those he wanted to preach his message to.
• The meals shared by Lord Jesus with his apostles and disciples taking on a bizarre shape as the time of his death was approaching.
• The importance of Herod Antipas in the whole story of the Lord Jesus who every time had to move from place to place to get away from the snares of this creepy king.
• The chaos at the Temple at Jerusalem during the Passover festival and the truth concerning the story of the overturning of the moneylender’s coins.
• How for the Lord Jesus, the spoken word became more important in his ministry than the written word.

If you are intrigued by any of these points then there is more material just a click away. Log in to your Amazon account and grab your copy of Rabbi Jesus by Bruce Chilton today. For those of us who know the biblical drill, the book will be a piece of cake. I took a mighty long time to read it because I was reading four other books at the same time (I did say I was the ‘Insane Owl.’). Otherwise, I guess I would have taken just three or four days to read this book; I am a slow reader. It’s not a big book; it’s just 300 pages and is written in a simple biographical manner which will appeal to everyone.

I hope to read more of Bruce Chilton’s books soon. I already have his Mary Magdalene and Rabbi Paul in my home library.  I’ll read up the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles again before I dip into these two books. And once I’m done, I’ll review or analyze them here on my blog.

If you are interested in book reviews, book analysis, short story analysis, poems, essays, essay analysis, and other bookish content, then you can check out my blog insaneowl.com. If you want to buy my books then you can visit my website fizapathanpublishing.us or fizapathan.com. Happy reading to you always!

Copyright © 2020 Fiza Pathan