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    Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
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    Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
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    Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
    Audiobook8 hours

    Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

    Published by Penguin Random House Audio

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    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
    Good Housekeeping • Booklist • Publishers Weekly • Bookish

    From the internationally bestselling author of No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth.

    Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the "Kingdom of God." The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was captured, tortured, and executed as a state criminal.

    Within decades after his shameful death, his followers would call him God.

    Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history's most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor. Scores of Jewish prophets, preachers, and would-be messiahs wandered through the Holy Land, bearing messages from God. This was the age of zealotry—a fervent nationalism that made resistance to the Roman occupation a sacred duty incumbent on all Jews. And few figures better exemplified this principle than the charismatic Galilean who defied both the imperial authorities and their allies in the Jewish religious hierarchy.

    Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction; a man of peace who exhorted his followers to arm themselves with swords; an exorcist and faith healer who urged his disciples to keep his identity a secret; and ultimately the seditious "King of the Jews" whose promise of liberation from Rome went unfulfilled in his brief lifetime.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 16, 2013
    ISBN9780804148740
    Unavailable
    Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

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    Reviews for Zealot

    4/5

    716 ratings75 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Aslan's well-researched nonfiction work portrays the historical Jesus against the background of the Jewish zealot movements prevalent in Jerusalem and Galilee at the time. The book reads well since research notes are located at the book's end; therefore, does not slow the reading. The information presented does challenge some of the preconceptions that Christians have developed throughout the century; however, reading it was a worthwhile endeavor.
    • 5/5
      One more researcher who studies antique documents in their original languages.

      The book describes who was Jesus of Nazareth, what did he say, and what did he do. However, these descriptions are not those that most of the people would expect. The historical Jesus of Nazareth, who lived in Palestine in the 1st century, is very much different from the one depicted by christian mythology. The New Testament, despite of its flaws and contradictions, gives us a lot of information about Jesus of Nazareth. However, most of the people who consider themselves "christians", have never read the New Testament, and have no choice but to rely on the wide-spread mythology.
    • 3/5
      Very compelling, easy to listen to. But contains easily corrected academic flaws & assumptions. I hope in a few years he publishes an expanded edition in conversation with scholars of all the People of the Book.
    • 4/5
      A very compelling reselling history of Christianity. Well documented.
    • 5/5
      Well written, thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is so eye-opening and enlightening it is mind boggling. If you want to start learning about the life and history of Jesus Christ - this is a good book to start with.
    • 5/5
      This book is for the thinkers and questioners. If you have ever read or heard something from the bible and thought "But how would the culture and politics of the time influenced these stories and their meanings?" then this is the book for you.
    • 5/5
      Fascinating and compelling! Want to listen to it again to absorb it all.
    • 3/5
      Worthwhile for the context of Jesus among other radical teachers of the time, and for the refutation of other prominent 'historical Jesus' theories currently in vogue. Reccommended.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      The author details the historical life of Jesus and compares it to the biblical version. Very interesting study that should give the reader some new insights into our Christian beliefs.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Though not really contributing anything new to scholarship, Zealot nevertheless acts as an effective crash course in studies of the New Testament, a refresher for the initiated and a valuable challenge for those who are not.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Book that made the uproar, but nothing new. All this has been hashed over. But a easy intro to the politics and rebellions of century one.
      Also take a look at the book, The Roman Siege of Jerusalem, if you want to see more.
    • 5/5
      Riveting stuff. Reza knows how to write.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Reading some of the reviews I question reading/listening comprehension and detect more than a whiff of smugness. This was meant to be a setting of the life and times of Jesus within the culture and the time, and a basic outline to the path of the birth of Christianity. I found it just that, and fascinating. Perhaps these readers had much more forward thinking pastors and religious education than I had but there were things made pretty clear that I have often wondered about and a really solid base of the atmosphere and politics of the era. For me, it made Jesus and his followers much more understandable in the sense of "how" as well as "why". It only pointed up how remarkable it is that 2000 years later we are still in hot debate and deep belief. After all, there *were* a plethora of self proclaimed messiahs, but there was definitely *something* different about Jesus. Reza does not attempt to go into the mysteries (called mysteries for a reason) but set the scene and provide outside material support for how Jesus impacted a very complex and tinder box scene. Like so many others at the time and yet not like them at all. It's remarkable, readable, clear, and fascinating all at once. But you *do* have to pay attention. Luckily Reza knows how to keep a throughline of thesis and paint a detailed overview. Highly recommend.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Aslan tries to reconcile two irreconcilable elements in describing Jesus as a Zealot who was active in the 30’s of the first century CE. There were no Zealots in that period, they only emerged in the time of the war of the Jews against the Romans in the years 66-70 CE.Historically there are two possibilities for the combination ‘Jesus’ and ‘Zealot’:a)Jesus lived around 30 CE and was not a Zealotb)Jesus was a Zealot and lived in the time of the war, 40 years later than what the Gospels would have us believe.Aslan correctly mentions Jesus’ undisputedly zealot action in the Temple. In 68 CE the Zealots captured the Temple Mount during the civil war that raged in Jerusalem that year, and Jesus’ participation in that reduction is described in the story of the cleansing of the Temple. Although option b) might look implausible, chronologically it’s the correct one.Read 'A Chronological Revision of the Origins of Christianity' and everything will settle down.
    • 3/5
      Despite earnest pronouncements, there's nothing in this book about the resurrection which is surely the main course? This is more a book of history when I wanted HIStory: did something ontologically dramatic happen to Jesus? Why did his followers go to their deaths refusing to recant the resurrection?
    • 1/5
      Double talk, fictional dialogue (I assume because of lack of citations), totally twists the Bible upside down and backwards. Crap.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      A solid exploration of the historical Jesus (and, most especially, the historical context of Jesus' time). Some really interesting insights into the difference between Paul's and James' take on Jesus, as well as the issues to which the Gospel writers were responding.
    • 3/5
      I never would have picked up this book if it hadn't been for the Fox News controversy, and even after that I'm not exactly sure why I did.

      I found the history of the time and place to be more fascinating than the history of Jesus himself. The descriptions of the temple in Jerusalem and the relationship between the priestly order and the Roman empire were fascinating. I was fascinated by the Romanization of the early church and the power that Paul had in shaping the direction of the church. Some parts got quite boring, like the very long section on the phrases "son of man" and "son of god" and who said them and what they meant.
    • 4/5
      Everything I knew about Jesus, I learned in Sunday school. I'm not religious, but I was eager to learn more about Jesus the man and how he became Jesus the Christ.
      This is a compelling, fascinating book that explores Jesus the man in historical context. Reza Aslan paints an enlightening picture of religion and politics in Jesus's time, and he uses this to more fully develop the picture of Jesus from what historical evidence exists. He also discusses the various reasons and ways that the writers of the gospels developed the character and story of Jesus Christ.
      Going into it, I hadn't expected this book to be a quick read, but it sucked me in and didn't let go until the end.
      I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about Jesus of Nazareth and how he became the Jesus Christ we know today.
    • 4/5
      I see from many of the reviews that there are potentially some holes in Aslan's recreation of the life and times of Jesus. I assume the people writing them have some historical background from other works that causes them to take this view of his work. I have to say that I don't have that kind of background, and perhaps can be a bit more neutral than those who react perhaps due to their own beliefs about his life, or what they may have been taught in their religious upbringing. I found the narrative to paint a much richer picture for me of what life was like back then than I've understood before. Just understanding the extent of turmoil in the life of the Jews and the volatility of the Romans and their occupation helps me understand the social structure of the times. I enjoyed the book, and while I think I probably should read some other works on this topic, I feel better informed about the world when Jesus was alive. I recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      26. Zealot : The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Audio) by Reza Aslan, read by the author (2013, 8:08, ~230 pages in paperback, listened Apr 13-19)Aslan really really wants you to agree with him, but he has also put together an interesting, scholarly, early history of early Christianity. His main premise is that Jesus, the person, was a militant leader attempting to lead a militant insurrection against foreign/Roman control of Judea. If you like, his argument goes something like this: Palestine under Rome was a hot bed of rebellion, especially after the death of Herod, the most powerful Roman client king of Judea, in 4 bce. There were numerous recorded rebellious leaders and revolts in the era, including the more famous ones in 66 ce and 134 ce (The Bar Kochba Revolt), both of which concluded in the complete destruction of Jerusalem and most of Judea. The 66 ce revolt led to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and later to the siege of Masada. Roman response to the 134 ce revolt pretty much wiped out the Jewish presence in Judea until Herzl came along. Many of these rebellion leaders called themselves a Messiah, with the idea that what Judea needed to fend off Rome was not resources and strategy, but a great leader, a Messiah, and a lot of faith. In this context, Jesus, by announcing himself a Messiah, a Christ, could have meant nothing else then to proclaim himself the leader of a militant revolt to free Judea of Rome. Of course, it didn't work and then something much different become of his following. But the story we know of Jesus, the one Pontius Pilate had some sympathy for and wanted to kind of find a way to save, is one of historical reworking for the benefit of Christian followers at a later time.Don't take my word for it, read Aslan. It's actually a pretty flimsy argument, which is why Aslan spends so much time very insistently making his points, an real annoyance in audio (although he reads very well otherwise). But it's also an argument that is entirely consistent with the historical record. It explains why Isaiah, particularly the second Isaiah, was so popular in the era and so influential to Christian writings. The book of Isaiah has a lots of Messiah and Messiah-like prophecies and it's a book of hope. This aspect of hope will be incorporated into Christianity. It made this book a great paring with my reading of Isaiah.Aslan then moves into the post-Jesus history which is, quite frankly, absolutely fascinating. Although I think most of what he goes over here is well trod ground...but I'm not sure. I haven't read anything about it before. This version of history is worth knowing, even if it's wrong. But it takes some explaining: Aslan's idea is that the brother of Jesus became the leader this the Christ-movement after his death. This is James, of the Book of James, and his movement became very sizable, but remained Jewish. James kept links to the Jewish leadership, even if they hated each other, and he followed Jewish law. And Peter, who left Judea for Rome and helped spread Christianity amongst the Jewish population there, was essentially a follower of James. Separately, another Jew, Saul, used Jesus to come up with ideas that completely abandoned Jewish law. He re-named himself Paul. At odds with James and the Jerusalem Jewish Christians, he also went to Rome where he ended up at odds with Peter. However, Paul preached to non-Jews and made some converts. Both Peter and Paul would end up executed. Later, the 66 ce revolt took out the center of the James movement. Without Jerusalem Christians, Christianity had freedom to evolve, and the non-Jewish Pauline converts came to dominate the religions. Later, this Christianity wanted Roman acceptance. In the New Testament, over half the books are traditionally credited to Paul. James gets one book. Also, there was no room for an anti-Roman Judean freedom fighter. So Rome became nicer, Jews were given most of the blame for Jesus's execution, and Jesus become a savior for all mankind.
    • 2/5
      I enjoyed some of the historical aspect of this book; how the Temple worked, Roman occupation and governance, and the politics of the time. Unfortunately, the summation of Aslan's "historical Jesus" is that of an illiterate charismatic peasant who manipulates other illiterate fisherman and peasants into believing and following him as the Messiah and like so many others, fails and is crucified. If he had been just a man, which Aslan presents him as, then he would have one more failed messiah with ambitions for a secular reign. Fortunately, Jesus was also divine and as such knew from the beginning of his ministry, which began with his baptism by his cousin John the Baptist, where it would take him. Yes, he had harsh words for those the ran the Temple as they felt that they were serving themselves and not the people they should, but the only act of violence you see him commit is that of overturning the money changing tables. Aslan also argues that "virgin" isn't translated correctly that it should be "maiden". A maiden/virgin are considered to be the same in historical western society. It didn't take me too long to figure out where Aslan stood as far as Jesus was concerned and it was the subject of a lively book group discussion. He quotes Josephus a lot, but the one thing you must remember about Josephus was that he was working for the Romans as a historian
    • 4/5
      There isn't that much new information in this biography if you paid attention in church history and had a somewhat enlightened teacher. Aslan naturally could not uncover more information about the historical man than the few basic morsels already known. The value of the biography lies in showing the different transformations and re-interpretations of the healer/rebel from Nazareth to a Jewish messiah to the Greek Christ. Aslan firmly places Jesus among the many prophets and preachers agitating for purge of the temple and the Roman yoke that ended with defeat and destruction of the temple in the Jewish-Roman War of 66-73.Jesus was most likely not a pacifist but one among many of the Zealot movement whose USP was free healing services. The Romans crucified him as a Jewish rebel - aspects that became troublesome in marketing the new religion to gentiles in the Roman Empire. After Jesus' death (and potential resurrection), his followers were led by his brother James as a Jewish sect. Aslan presents Saul/Paul as the driving force of the second makeover of turning the Jewish messiah into the Christ, open to gentile believers and acceptable to Romans by creating and promoting his peaceful good citizen image.
    • 4/5
      A different view of the life and ministry of Jesus and the development of the Church after his death. Aslan makes some very good points. (I have always felt the way about Paul that he does.) What if the ministry of Jesus was meant for the Jews and not the Gentiles? What if he was a zealot -- in the old sense of the word? How did Jesus see himself?
    • 2/5
      Well, what a peculiar book. Certainly nothing new here. What amazes me is how he can in one paragraph say that you can't trust anything in a NT book, and in the next 'prove' his claims based on minor details of the same text. Come again?Like many before him, he has come up with a picture based mostly on what he wants to see. He won't be the last.
    • 4/5
      A fascinating outline of the life and times of the historical Jesus. Rest assured, you don't need to be a Christian or be religious (I am neither) to enjoy this. Also, you shouldn't expect any discussion of the tenets of Christian faith such as the Resurrection. Aslan shrugs his shoulders at these; either you believe them or you don't. They are nothing to do with history, and its the historical Jesus Aslan is seekingAnd to this end sets a scene of apocalyptic fervor in 1st Century Judea; there are many messiahs, there is dissatisfaction with a bloated Jewish priesthood, and uprisings against Rome, which are brutally crushed. Its a turbulent time; but one potential messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, created enough concern for his name to be recorded by Roman historians. The discussion of the "times" is illuminating - but sadly there are just very few sources to use when discussing Jesus' life. In the end, Aslan is forced to rely on the scriptures and although his textual analysis of these is fascinating, he does rather pick and choose the sources he is prepared to believe. If "Luke"'s description of the birth of Jesus is not to be taken literally (which seems self evident given that there is no record of the Roman's conducting any census etc), why then should his account of any other part of Jesus ministry be taken literally? . However Aslan makes a strong case for the following 1. That Jesus was executed for the crime of sedition 2. That the idea that the Romans, specifically Pilate, were reluctant to execute him but bowed to Jewish pressure is ludicrous given Pilate's reputation for blood thirsty cruelty is well established 3. That far from being the meek, other worldly pacifist, Jesus was agitating for revolutionary change on earth in his lifetime. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last was meant to be taken literally. 4. His main battle was with the bloated, out of touch priesthood controlling the temple - but in the end he wanted to evict the Romans too. 5. In short, Jesus was a zealot. A man so passionate in his fundamental religious beliefs that he was prepared to fight and die for them. There are 3 parts of the book I found particularly interesting; firstly Aslan's discussion of the meaning of the parable of the Good Samaritan. He argues that the point of the parable is not to praise the Samaritan; exactly the opposite. Samaritan's were held to be almost the lowest of the low in Judaism as they did not place the temple at the centre of their worship. Jesus' point here, Aslan contends, was not the good behaviour of the Samaritan but the bad behaviour of the priests who ignored the injured traveller . Look, Jesus, is saying, these priests are so bad that even a Samaritan, a Samaritan for goodness sake, behaves better than they do. Secondly the discussion of the "Render unto Caesar" teaching. This is better translated as "Give back to Caesar" Aslan says, and I am in no position to argue with him. But if that translation is better, then the meaning of the teaching does seem to be clear. Look, Jesus is saying, this coin has Caesar's face on it. Its his. He can have it back. This land is God's and he wants it backThirdly the split in early Christianity between the Jerusalem sect based around Jesus' brother James, and the Greek converts led by Saul / Paul. This deserves a book of its own; but essentially James and those who had known what Paul describes as "flesh and blood" Jesus see their faith as essentially a fundamentalist strand of Judaism. Paul takes Jesus and turns him into something else entirely , something acceptable to Greeks and ultimately RomansIts a very interesting book, but just to reemphasise it has very little to do with Christianity and the reader shouldn't expect that. Readers however may be struck by the similarity of the historical Jesus, as portrayed by Aslan, and the Jesus of the liberation theology movement of the 70s and the 80s. And they will see very little in the historical Jesus to support any love of free market economics, capitalism, or right wing reactionary politics generally. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last
    • 4/5
      Well written. A scholarly book written for anyone who is interested in religion and/or Jesus the man. I found it to be terribly interesting and written from a different perspective than any other I've read.
    • 5/5
      This book looks at Jesus from a historical perspective, not a biblical one. I liked this book and it might not be for everyone because it will challenge some beliefs. Mr Aslan has plenty of footnotes to backup his statements and the book is well sourced. One must remember that this is a history book, the bible is a book but not a history book. A history book has sources that can be and should be corroborated.
    • 4/5
      All through my religious studies in college and in my post-college years, I tried to understand the contradictions in the biblical writings about Jesus.

      How does one reconcile the political Jesus and the spiritual Jesus? The gentle Jesus and the fierce Jesus? How was Jesus really perceived both by his own community and by the Roman Empire? And how on Earth did Rome go from crucifying Jesus to making the faith of his followers the state religion?

      Aslan's book takes after these questions through a focus on discovering as best one can the historical Jesus, and then placing this man in the context of his time, place, and culture. After Jesus' execution, Aslan explores the teachings of Jesus' followers in much the same way, looking both at historical documents from the time and at the canonical writings about Jesus.

      Separating Jesus of Nazareth---the historical Jesus, about whom very little is known, from Jesus the Christ---the religious figure based primarily on texts written well after Jesus' life and around whom a worldwide religion sprang, Aslan provides the most thorough answers to these questions that I've encountered. He presents a picture of a man whose goal was to turn his own culture and religion on its head, eliminating the stark separation that existed between rich and poor. He stood up to power to try and help the poor, and this action alone---not the declaration that he was a divine being in human form---was enough to have him executed.

      Particularly interesting to me was the story of the schism that formed between Jesus' brother James along with the other people who knew Jesus during his lifetime and saw Christianity as a branch of Judaism rather than a religion in itself, and Paul and his followers, who never knew Jesus the man and showed essentially no interest in Jesus as a person. This alone explains a lot of the contradictions that exist about Jesus in the Bible.

      As a person raised in a nominally Christian but non-observant household who learned most of what I know about Christianity through scholarly study, I found Zealot engrossing and eye-opening. It presents a well-rounded portrait of the historical Jesus as a man worthy of admiration for his courage in standing up to the established order of both Jewish Temple culture and the rule of the Roman Empire. It's amazing to think that this one messiah and healer among many others who came before and after him, this one man executed for sedition among hundreds of others, was the inspiration for a religion that's continued for 2,000 years.
    • 4/5
      I was hoping for something scholarly and based more in fact. However, it is definitely interesting and food for thought. I enjoyed reading about the world that Jesus lived in.