Jesus : An Historical and Theological Introduction (Understanding the Bible and Its World)

Jonathan Knight provides a useful overview and guide to the main issues in current research into the historical Jesus, making a major contribution to this topic of international debate. Whereas some scholars think that Jesus' journey to Jerusalem was a funeral march to victory, Knight argues that Jesus travelled there inspired by eschatological hope. On his arrival, Jesus performed symbolic acts such as the Triumphal Entry, the Cleansing of the Temple and the Last Supper as part of the eschatological process which he thought would herald the arrival of the Son of Man and thus yield dramatic change. While the mindset of Jesus remains obscure to us (not least because of the nature of the sources), this book represents a new and creative attempt to set Jesus in the context of apocalyptic Judaism and to restore eschatological hope to the centre of his message.