The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form

In his historical novel The Shadow of the Galilean, Gerd Theissen attempts to recreate in narrative form both the historical world of first century Judea as well as the modern quest for the historical Jesus. By taking the available primary sources which enlighten for us this period of history, Theissen aims to reproduce, through his fictional protagonist, Andreas, the atmosphere and milieu of a first century Jew and the influence of Jesus of Nazareth on the Judean region during this time.Theissen relies heavily on the New Testament (NT) synoptic gospels in his recreation, citing them and alluding to them in detail as he develops his story. He does in fact treat them historically (to a certain extent), employing their materials liberally to inform Andreas - and thus the reader - on the details of Jesus' teachings and doings. Theissen also demonstrates the occurrence of a very early oral tradition of Jesus' teaching and its dissemination throughout the Judean communities, as Andreas learns of Jesus' parables and philosophy through verbatim second-hand accounts from others he encounters. However, very little is taken from the fourth NT gospel (John). Since Theissen clearly demonstrates the historical relevancy of the NT materials for his recreation, the lack of inclusion of the Johannine account is no accident. Hence, he reveals his ahistorical interpretation of the fourth NT gospel; thus, according to Theissen, it can be ignored and is irrelevant in establishing a historical picture of Jesus the Galilean.The reader also notices that Theissen omits significant miraculous elements from this NT story of the historical Jesus. There is no mention of the geographic and cosmic events subsequent to the death of Jesus (earthquake: Mt 27.51, 54; and eclipse: Mt 27.45; Mk 15.33; Lk 23.44-5; respectively) or of the tearing of the Temple veil - all which are recorded in the synoptics. In a very interesting section of the narrative, Theissen also poses as revisionist regarding the miraculous in the ministry of Jesus. This is achieved in the interaction between Andreas and Chuza and Joanna. Albeit that he arrives at these latter characters from the synoptics themselves (cf Lk 8.3; 24.10), he uses them to explain away the miracles contained therein in a conversation that is anything but anachronistic. Most notably is the dialogue concerning exorcism, where Chuza demonstrates a very anti-supernaturalistic philosophy, which both Andreas and Joanna appear to agree with in their laughter to his comments on the ridiculousness of such an occurrence (117-8).In addition, Joanna provides herself as the explanation for the feeding of the 5,000, as she alludes to her concealed generous support of Jesus as the true cause for this erroneously viewed "miracle." In fact, she wholly reinterprets the term, demythologizing it along moralistic lines rather than along theological or supernatural lines (115). According to Theissen's Joanna, the real miracle is not the abundance of food - which has come from her generous giving - but the willing generosity of the people, although being poor, to share their bread with one another, just as Jesus was teaching them to do. The reader can only sense anachronism, and the conception of the supernatural (or lack thereof) depicted in the minds of these characters is more reminiscent to modernity's redefinitions (or dismissal) of the miraculous instead of the ancients' non-category of naturalism.Theissen thus tends to de-theologize Jesus and shifts his ministry and focus along socio-economic and political lines. Jesus is seen more as a savior from the cruel realities of life under Roman rule, rather than the "lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (Jn 1.29). No characters in the narrative appear to view this Jesus character as divine. Although there are whispers of his messiahship, the idea of a divine Jesus is non-existent from Theissen's account. Even Theissen's description of the early Christian community (168-71) is much more socio-economic than theological, and key elements seen in the Acts account (e.g. Jesus as Son of God, repentance and forgiveness from sin) are wholly absent in his depiction. Thus, the reader is left to conclude that Jesus neither made these claims nor did any interpret his actions along such a paradigm.Despite these flaws, the narrative does in fact do an excellent job depicting the atmosphere of uncertainty and expectation surrounding Jesus. Many of Theissen's characters surely have no idea how to approach or handle the mysterious man from Nazareth (Pilate being the most severe example) and many are apprehensive to his persona and what will result from his teachings. The reader found this to be one of the better (if not the best!) contributions of Theissen's work to an understanding of the historical Jesus. Truly Jesus was the "talk of the town" and more were attracted to him out of curiosity than commitment, and Theissen's reconstruction certain enables the reader to not only envision, but to place himself in just such a scenario.Nevertheless, Theissen appears to politicize Jesus rather than theologize him. The reader finds Theissen's reconstruction to be much more a work of anachronism than an accurate recreation of the gospel accounts. With his dismissal and redefinition of the miraculous and the heavy politicization of Jesus, Theissen does nothing more than show himself as the modern, critical scholar that he truly lives to be.

I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow of the Galilean. This book represented an engaging story that was able to provide a great deal of historical and cultural information without any of the dryness that plagues so many treatments of the historical Christ. One of my favorite features of the book was the author's ongoing dialogue with his imaginary friend and colleague "Dr. Kratzinger." While a fictional person, this feature provided an excellent way to stop and assess the information given in each chapter from a scholarly and critical perspective. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way this book emphasized the complex historical canvas that Jesus was thrust upon. Whenever I hear the stories of Jesus, I often find myself slipping into thinking that the Jesus movement was a relatively isolated incident. This book reminded me that Jesus' ministry occurred in a time of great political and religious unrest. I had never before thought about what effect Jesus' teachings might have on a populace who already had been exposed to other "messiahs," as well as a variety of uprisings and insurrections against Roman authority. Several things from the book especially jumped out at me. For instance, the idea that many of Jesus' teachings, such as leaving your family to follow him, would be considered repulsive to many. The fact that the character Andreas found many qualities about Jesus to be unattractive was very thought provoking. Another insight was that the Centurion whom Jesus declared had great faith may have been a homosexual, which would have disgusted many Jewish religious leaders. Andreas' classification of Jesus as a philosopher, poet, and prophet was also interesting, because it made me think about Jesus' character in a way that I had not done so before. I usually focus on the fact that Jesus was the son of God, and not any of his other roles that he played in his humanity. However, despite these good qualities, the book had a few shortcomings. The writing style was not very well done, and at times overly relied on exposition. The characters other than Andreas were ultimately forgettable, and at times it was hard to connect with even the main character. While this book was not intended to tell a strong plot-driven story, it would have been nice to have a more compelling narrative. There were also inconsistencies in the use of language. For instance, Pilate tells Andreas that he would examine his actions "under a microscope." This phrase hardly seems fitting. Another instance was when Andreas views the stories of healings and demon exorcisms by Jesus as "superstitious and primitive." The author is clearly projecting his modern scientific understanding of miracles into Andreas' character. These types of occurrences were common at the time of Christ, so it is doubtful that Andreas would have viewed these miracles as either primitive or superstitious. Overall, this was a great book to read. Despite the shortcomings I highlighted above, I learned a great deal from reading this book. I feel much more confident about my own understanding of the historical backdrop of Jesus, as well as a renewed sense of my ability to explain the person of Jesus to others. As a result of reading this book, I have a better appreciation for the humanity of Jesus, and a clearer sense that he was a man who lived, walked, and breathed in a world that was very real.

An interesting read in that it explores Palestine under Roman occupation at the time of Jesus from the viewpoint of someone who never met him but heard of him.

I read this book some years ago, lent it out and never got it back. I had to buy it again it was just so good!

fascinating book

Good book, terrible Kindle book. If you are going to charge $16 for a Kindle book make sure the footnotes are hyperlinked. In this book, the footnotes are especially important. Shame on the lazy publisher.

Unable to read the damn thing. It blocks, it blinks and I can't go further the second chapter. Unfortunate!