There was a lot of good information, but for what ever reason Brad defends the Pharasee's beyond scriptural reasoning. We know not all Pharasee's were that bad. But since all of Mathew 23 is about Yeshua referring to Hypocrites and "Blind guides", either the Bible was written incorrectly, or Brad Young is a little biased. Of coarse he really criticised Saducee's (and maybe for good reason) though they were not specified as to who Jesus (Yeshua) criticised. But over all, very good book.

There was a lot of good information, but for what ever reason Brad defends the Pharasee's beyond scriptural reasoning. We know not all Pharasee's were that bad. But since all of Mathew 23 is about Yeshua referring to Hypocrites and "Blind guides", either the Bible was written incorrectly, or Brad Young is a little biased. Of coarse he really criticised Saducee's (and maybe for good reason) though they were not specified as to who Jesus (Yeshua) criticised. But over all, very good book.

I'm reluctant to give this 3 stars and not 4, just because the content is so good. However, the style and fluidity of the writing is rather poor. It's like the publisher slapped together a bunch of Dr. Young's articles, did minimal editing, and put a title on the work. Nevertheless, the content of the book is well-researched and remarkable. I'm impressed with the level of insight that Dr. Young has on the Jewishness of Jesus and His teachings. I would recommend that you purchase this book, and battle your way through the chapters, just to gain a better understanding of who Jesus is and how He operated in the first century context of Roman-ruled Israel. 3 stars, but wish I could add a fourth.

This is a well written and easily readable book by a scholar and is very usefull for Bible Study and getting a new look at the life, times and teaching of Jesus from a Jewish perspective. After all, Jesus was a Jew.

I have been fascinated by the topic of Jesus as a Jew, and the influence that it has on his teachings and saying. I feel that it is essential to mondern Chrisitanity to understand what we are reading when we attempt to translate scripture and give it hermenutical value. It can not me something to us that it did not to mean to the original writer/reader.

This book did not really break any new ground for me. I did however give new examples from Jewish traditions such as from Midrash, Talmud, and other stories. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Ray Vander Laan or Rob Bell's sermon "Covered in the Dust of the Rabbi" (you can find it on Willow Creek's resource page).

With a little editing to remove needless repetition of ideas and restating of thesis statments the book would probably be about half as long.

If you are completely clueless to any Jewish traditions or think that Jesus was a Christian please read this book. Otherwise there might be a better buy out there.

Let me preface this with the statement that I'm only 1/3 a way through. I find the topic fascinating and was anticipating learning a greater appreciation of Jesus' teaching based on the audience he spoke to. So far, though, the book hasn't been too enlightening. I have to add that the writing style is poor and highly repetitive. Furthermore, the fact that the two editors are also the one's quoted on the back cover should have been a red flag. Oh well, I'll keep plowing along and amend this

review in case the author does a better job.