![]() ![]() ![]() “ hat is significant about this episode-what is impossible to ignore-is how blatant and inescapably zealous Jesus’s actions at the Temple appear” (p. He argues that Jesus understood himself to be Israel’s messiah, the earthly king of God’s in-breaking Kingdom.Ĭonsider Aslan’s handling of the “cleansing” of the Temple. Aslan draws a straight line between such move- ments and Jesus. Some of these groups were led by messianic claimants. ![]() Inspired by zeal for God, Jewish groups resisted Roman imperialism and the corruption of the priestly elites who collaborated with Rome. Aslan’s description of the times of Jesus is worth the book’s price.Īslan finds the link between the times and life of Jesus in Israel’s legacy of opposition to foreign oppressors. One can almost smell the flesh of the sacrificial animal as it roasts on the altar. For example, Aslan recounts the assassination of the Jewish high priest Jonathan in 56 CE in a way that explains Israel’s sacrificial system. In Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, Aslan argues his theses clearly and vigorously. Reza Aslan, associate professor of creative writing at the University of California at Riverside, has written a bestseller that is a pleasure to read. From The Fourth R Volume 26, Issue 6 November/December 2013 ![]()
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