Zealot

Aslan, Reza. Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. New York: Random House. 2013. Print

First Sentences:

The war with Rome begins not with a clang of swords but with the lick of a dagger drawn from an assassin's cloak

Description:

Again, the first sentence hooked me. In these few words, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan, hints about a story of the Roman era and the assassin who caused its downfall. "The lick of a dagger" already reveals an interesting turn of words. And, of course, the title ensures the focus will be on Jesus, "the man who would so permanently alter the course of human history." Whether one is a religious person or not, a book that offers historical details about this person and his era, written in such stylistic prose, cannot be easily resisted, at least not by me.

Aslan presents a clear, painstakingly-researched look at what is factually known about the world of Jesus, Jerusalem, and Rome in the first century. Zealot brings to life the era prior to the birth of Jesus and up through several centuries after his death using documents written in that era.

Figures like Herod the Great, Quirinius (who called for the census depicted in the Bible), John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, Saul/Paul, the disciples, and many other powerful and as well as ordinary figures are given a thorough, historical analysis, along with logical reasoning by Aslan to explain real and possible motivations and actions, whether in agreement with Biblical accounts or not. 

For example, Aslan reasons that Jesus, as a "carpenter" living in a tiny village with no wooden structures, probably worked on construction projects in the capital city of Sepphoris. This was an environment where Jesus could see firsthand the differences between the rich and poor, the brutal rule of Rome, and possibly even have glimpsed Herod Antipas, the Roman ruler who lived there - and the man would one day would cut off the head of John the Baptist.

For some readers, the word "zealot" paired with "Jesus" may be off-putting. Aslan explains that the historic Zealots were scattered groups committed to freeing Israel from foreign rule and serving no foreign master except God. He notes:

To be zealous for the Lord was to walk in the blazing footsteps of the prophets and heroes of old, men and women who tolerated no partner to God, who would bow to no king save the King of the World, and who dealt ruthlessly with idolatry and with those who transgressed God's law. The very land of Israel was claimed through zeal, for it was the zealous warriors of God who cleansed it of all foreigners and idolaters, just as God demanded.

Zealots might resort to extreme acts of violence against Rome and even Jewish aristocracy and priests who collaborated with the Roman rulers in Jerusalem. Zealots were referred to as "bandits" (probable description for the two men who flanked Jesus on the cross), and lead by "messiahs" who promised freedom from Roman domination and establishment of God's rule on earth. While there is no evidence that Jesus resorted to acts of extreme violence, his teachings certainly fit the philosophy of zealots and messiahs. 

Of course, these revolutionaries were rightly viewed as serious threats to Roman rule and therefore heavily pursued and crucified, the punishment reserved for acts of sedition and treason. Pilate, the prefect of Jerusalem in 26 C.E., had complete disdain for the Jewish population. Contrary to Biblical depictions of Pilate as a man hesitant to put Jesus to death, Aslan's research showed: 

[Pilate] so eagerly, and without trial, sent thousands upon thousands of Jews to the cross that the people of Jerusalem felt obliged to lodge a formal complaint with the Roman emperor.

Also examined are the accounts of Jesus' healings and exorcisms. Aslan argues that while these stories cannot be verified, there are no historical writings to disprove them either. Simple refutation of these deeds would be an easy course of action his enemies could have taken to challenge Jesus' credibility. But Aslan's research showed that:

While debates raged within the early church over who Jesus was -- a rabbi? the messiah? God incarnate? -- there was never any debate, either among his followers or his detractors, about his role as an exorcist and miracle worker.

A long bibliography of sources is included. Of course, the Bible and the Gospels are heavily examined, although they were written long after the death of Jesus and therefore are not eyewitness accounts. 

Period works cited include those from the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. And Aslan examines other writings the offer descriptions of Jesus, such as the Gospels of Thomas, Philip, and Mary Magdalene, as well as other Gnostic writers discovered in Egypt in the 1940s. 

Aslan looks with a jaded eye at many accounts about Jesus, particularly those written years after Jesus' death. He is careful to differentiate between the documents of faith and the recorded facts found in historical documents of that time. Writers of this era, he explains, wanted to reveal "truths," not just state "facts," and thus the actual details of their histories are not important.  

[People of this era] did not make a sharp distinction between myth and reality; the two were intimately tied together in their spiritual experience....they were less interested in what actually happened than in what it meant.

Zealot is a riveting, extremely clearly-written and researched account of a fascinating world and the life of Jesus. It is a book for believers in Jesus as the Son of God, for Jews interested in the historical account of their people and their religion, and for anyone else fascinated by scholarly research of this era and people presented in a skillful, unbiased narrative. Highly recommended.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur  

Still the best novel on life, loss, revenge, and faith in Rome during the era of Jesus. 

Lagerkvst, Par. Barabbas  

I haven't read this in years, but the imaginative story of the life of Barabbas after he was the one chosen to be spared instead of Jesus has stayed with me. A short, but powerful book.