Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration

Clearly written and engaging, this book helped me understand Jesus of Nazareth much better, way more than my catechesis or dozens of homilies. Pope Benedict XVI explores the identity and mission of Jesus Christ, arguing that Jesus brought God to humanity. The book examines key moments in Jesus' life, including his baptism, temptations, parables, and the Sermon on the Mount. Through meticulous scriptural analysis, Benedict XVI presents Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, revealing the face of God and offering humanity the path to fullness of life. The book highlights the transformative nature of Jesus' teachings, emphasizing the importance of faith, forgiveness, and a personal relationship with God. In Pope Benedict XVI's writings, his commitment to both faith and reason shines through, reflecting the Catholic Church's approach to theology and philosophy. While Benedict XVI clarifies that he is not speaking ex cathedra, his work exemplifies a rigorous intellectual approach to exploring scripture. He fearlessly engages with diverse interpretations and exegetical traditions, reasoning through complex theological questions and inviting readers to join him on a compelling intellectual journey. For instance, he analyzes the different interpretations of the Kingdom of God, considering perspectives ranging from individualistic moral interpretations to eschatological views. Benedict XVI doesn't shy away from engaging with contrasting scholarly views, as demonstrated in his analysis of the authorship and historical context of the Gospel of John. He also enters into dialogue with other religious thinkers, such as Rabbi Jacob Neusner, respectfully acknowledging their perspectives while highlighting key theological differences. By demonstrating this commitment to reasoned analysis alongside a deep faith, Benedict XVI’s work embodies the "marriage of Faith and Reason" at the heart of Catholic intellectual tradition. I found the book particularly helpful to better understand the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, because he explains really well the significance of the Baptism, of the Wedding at Cana, of what the Kingdom of God means and why the Transfiguration is such an important event in the life of Jesus. So if you ever wondered what to meditate about when reciting the Luminous Mysteries, this book is for you. I first read it and now I got it in audiobook so I can "review" it while out and about, and I always find new insights.

This fine work by Pope Benedict XVI, a.k.a. Joseph Ratzinger, is an instant classic. In this first of a two volume study, the Pope defends, in 370 pages, the position that the Jesus of Faith is the Historical Jesus. It is absolutely crucial to read the 14 page foreword, as Benedict lays out his approach to the subject. The problem as the Pope sees it, is "... the impression that we have that there is very little certain knowledge of Jesus and only at a later stage did faith in his divinity shape the image we have of him" (xii). While discussing his methodology Benedict says "The main implication of this for my portrayal of Jesus is that I trust the Gospels" (xxi). He then makes the point that "Unless there had been something extraordinary in what happened... there is no way to explain why he was crucified and why he made such an impact. As early as twenty or so years after Jesus' death, the great Christ-hymn of the Letter to the Philippians offers us a fully developed Christology stating that Jesus was equal to God, but emptied himself to become man, and humbled himself to die on the cross, and that to him now belongs the worship of all creation..." (xxii). The rhetorical question Benedict asks is, how could this understanding develop in only twenty years, if the Jesus of History was not the Jesus of Faith? "Jesus of Nazareth" Benedict says "is in no way an exercise of the magisterium, but is solely an expression of my personal search for the face of the Lord. Everyone is free then to contradict me" (xxiii). Following the foreword is an introduction, and then ten chapters, commencing with the Baptism of Jesus and going to the Transfiguration. It is not presented completely chronologically. For example chapter eight, at 69 pages the longest chapter by far, is titled "The Principal Images of John's Gospel." Benedict starts by discussing "The Johannine Question" - who was the author and how reliable is it historically? He then writes a section entitled "The Principal Johannine Images", going into the theology of the fourth Gospel. Throughout the chapters there are extended sections which seem to be almost homilies. If I were a priest or deacon I would dig deeply into Jesus of Nazareth as a homiletical source. The Pope makes use of many scholars, ancient and contemporary, Catholic and non-Catholic, as he builds his various analyses in the different chapters. For example, there is a wonderful dialogue in chapter four, The Sermon on the Mount, as Benedict compares the Catholic take on the Jesus of the Sermon, with Rabbi Jacob Neusner in his book published seven years ago "A Rabbi Talks with Jesus." It is captivating. Benedict is masterly at relating the various biblical scenes under discussion to the total context of the Bible and to how they would be viewed from the perspective of the Judaism of the time. The book is accessible to people with limited knowledge of scripture or theology. It is not a dense book - although certainly several sections require a close read - and the Pope shows quite a few flashes of humor. So highly recommended. I am sure this work will stir discussion and debate amongst people interested in Christianity, but who don't want a heavy dose of dogma or scholarly minutiae. As a work aiming for a popular audience, Jesus of Nazareth succeeds admirably. I am looking forward to the second volume.

Thoroughly readable, but also deep. Highly recommended reading for the time between Epiphany and the Easter Triduum (that begins with Holy Thursday). At times, it reads like a textbook (so have a dictionary nearby), but it's because he is doing a critical study of all the other studies about Christ - before he presents his personal understanding of his King. All throughout, though, there are so many awesome nuggets of new understanding about Jesus and Scripture. A few examples: - The mission of John the Baptist (and all Jewish prophets), not as mere magicians who predict the future. - Barabbas as "bar-abbas" - the false "son of the father" - Jesus as the new Jacob (who was ministered to by angels, rather than fighting them, as he climbed Jacob's ladder) ... all amazing insights in just the first two chapters! Then he gets into the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes: - the various (flawed) interpretations of "The Kingdom of God", culminating in the only remaining (and therefore, correct) one: Jesus *is* the Kingdom (i.e., "active lordship") of God - totally new understanding of "blessed are those who mourn..." Incredible! It is what they are mourning that matters. (This is the significance of the 8th Station of the Cross: Jesus speaks to the Weeping Women.) - discussion about the importance of the Sabbath as a renewal and reinforcement of the family (and, thereby, society) and Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath. This book ends with The Transfiguration, but foreshadows it about a third of the way through with the line: "...the dialogue between The Law and The Prophets..." This explains who Jesus is in figurative terms, but also foretells the literal discussion between Jesus, Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the Prophets). After establishing who Jesus is, Benedict then establishes who His Bride (the Church) is now, and has been through history. Some more examples: - We learn prayers (from Jesus, the Church, and the Saints) because we do not know how to pray - we are babbling like babies, but Mother Church teaches us how we are to pray. - Also, the Our Father, recited backwards, traces the journey of Jesus and the Israelites (from temptation, through the desert, relying on God for bread, to the coming of the Kingdom to Heaven and Our Father). He also gives a line-by-line breakdown of the Our Father that is very enlightening. He also presents some interesting theories about St. John the Evangelist. He pays particular attention to recent scholarship and theories about "the upper room" (of the Last Supper) - that it was possibly owned by John's father, Zebedee. (This explains: why it was already set-up for the Passover; why Jesus and the Apostles could simply walk in like they owned the place; why servants were already prepared to wait on them; and why John was resting his head on Jesus' chest during the meal.) You'll want to read this faster, but you also won't want to miss anything for having read too quickly.

This is the second book by Pope Benedict that I’ve read and, as I was reading it, and mentally comparing it to his book on the Doctors of the Church, it suddenly struck me that the difference between the two books is the difference between Benedict and his successor, Francis. Benedict is a master theologian and Francis is a pastor. His book on the Doctors was taken from homilies he’d given and came across as strong on history but weak on its attempts at inspiration. This book on Benedict’s views of Jesus as seen through the gospel is quite wonderful and masterful. It plays to his theological wheelhouse and Benedict hits a home run. This particular volume follows Jesus from his baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. It is filled with historical information, views from his wide reading, and his own theological insight. There is some wonderful stuff here. His recounting of the baptism as a mirror of the Passion and crucifixion is something that I’d never considered before. I was intrigued by his discussion of Jacob Neuser’s book A Rabbi Talks with Jesus as a counterpoint to his look at the Sermon on the Mount. So much so that I’m now about halfway through Neuser’s book as well. He delivers an excellent explication of the Lord’s Prayer. He looks closely at three of Jesus’ parables and, in particular, gives us insight into the second brother, the “son who remained at home”, in his discussion of the Prodigal Son, which I found very valuable. Not that I found everything Benedict explained convincing. I found his chapter on the Gospel of John, while excellent in describing its symbols and themes, a bit hard to trust when he tries to convince us of an earlier composition date and a lower Christology that seems apparent in the text. And yet, he is very convincing when he describes why he thinks that the gospel (and the letters of John) comes from a tradition that has links to an actual apostle. In fact, this is an excellent book. Though it shows Benedict’s intellectual bent, it remains readable to any reasonable educated Christian. Whatever one feels about Benedict as a pope, this book is an engaging account of his thinking about Christ. As such, it is a valuable resource for anyone on their own search for truth. I’m looking forward to reading the second volume.

Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) and I did not get off on the right foot. He was in my doghouse immediately with his "Rock music is so completely antithetical to the Christian concept of redemption and freedom, indeed its exact opposite. Hence music of this type must be excluded from the Church on principle." From there he started to work his way back a little with his iron-fisted unwillingness to pander to other religions and to the spiritually relativistic. I kind of liked the last pope (the friendly one), and I'm warming up to this pope (the mean one). JESUS OF NAZARETH is, in his own words, Benedict's "personal search for the face of the Lord." This is part one, and covers Jesus' life from his Baptism to the Transfiguration; part two will cover the infancy narratives and post-Transfiguration. Benedict wanted to get this out in case he died in the meantime, and says as much in his foreword. The book, seventy years in the making, is part commentary, part exegesis. While it is not ponderous or dry, it does assume a certain degree of scholarship and familiarity with the Gospels on the part of the reader. Something I particularly appreciate is how Benedict picks out certain nuances from different Evangelists, focusing on their unique themes. Benedict is, as one might expect, a fairly conservative theologian; there is not a whiff of liberal scholarship here. Nor is there more than token Catholic theology to which a Protestant such as I might take offense, and it does not detract at all. The book covers Jesus' baptism, the temptations of Jesus, the gospel of the Kingdom of God, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, the disciples, parables, the principal images of John's gospel, Peter's confession and the Transfiguration, and the identity of Jesus. In the chapter on the Sermon on the Mount, Benedict discusses the Beatitudes, the Torah of the Messiah ("You have heard that it was said...but I say to you..., the dispute concerning the Sabbath, the Fourth Commandment, and compromise and prophetic radicalism). Interesting insight here on Jesus as the new Moses. The Lord's Prayer he breaks down line by line. In his discussion of parables, he discusses their nature and purpose, and covers the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son (which he re-terms "The parable of the two brothers (the prodigal son and the son who remained at home) and the good father"), and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In his chapter on John, he focuses on the imagery of water, vine/wine, bread, and the shepherd. In his chapter on Jesus' identity, Benedict covers "Son of Man", "Son", and "I Am". I did not get far into this book before I started to get excited about it. There is interesting, insightful commentary on every page. It should go without saying, I suppose, since he's the pope, but the expertise here is refreshing, as are the solid hermeneutics and the utter lack of anything stupid. The reader gets the sense that this is personal for Benedict, not just for scholarship's sake, but because he is as deeply interested as we in what he finds. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

In a world where critical 'theologians', novelists and various sundry people come up with new ways to 'downgrade' Jesus into something else, the Pope in the foreword asks this question: Since the 1950's 'The gap between the 'historical Jesus' and the 'Christ of faith' grew wider and the two visibly fell apart. But what can faith in Jesus as the Christ possibly mean, in Jesus as the Son of the living God, if the man Jesus was so completely different from that the picture that the Evangelists painted of him and that the Church, on the evidence of the Gospels, takes as the basis of her preaching?' This book is really an answer to that question, a defense of the biblical view of Jesus. The answer is given in a somewhat scholarly manner. However since many of the attaks on Jesus come from scholars, there is no other way to go about it. That being said, this is not the kind of book, that someone who has no interest in some level of theology would find an easy read. Some patience is required. Again, if you are one of those types who by grace, has never been bothered by attacks of theological mavericks, you are blessed and may not need to read a book like this. However, some of us have never recieved that kind of grace, and every now and then need a book like this to help the intellectual side of our faith. If you are new to the Pope's books read the book 'God and the World' It is long, but is basically a set of interview questions that the Pope while still a Cardinal, answered in a very enagaging, simple language that is very easy to read. Some of the questions in that book are provoking like 'Was Jesus a Catholic?' 'Why should all of mankind be held responsible for original sin? Is God male or female? etc However Ratzinger answers them thoughtfully and with kindness and grace.

I read this book with great expectation and a little trepidation. It is a good book and a good translation. I wondered how much the translation reflects the understanding of the author. This book is not for recreational reading because it can be deeply theological in its way, althought many parts became recreational as I went along. I got a particular satisfaction from his teasing out how Bread and Wine have a particular relevance for human life and that the presence of God exists therein as it does in all other matter. It is wise to have a Bible handy although the notes and glossary are quite extensive. The author clearly has a really deep understanding of Jesus and I suspect he has the little flame that he wrote about elsewhere when he said (and I paraphrase from memory) 'when you come in contact with Jesus you will burn, not with a destructive burning but that contact can light a little flame in you'. He says the the historical Jesus is most important to us otherwise we are left with an insipid, vapid figure like an unreachable icon. The Jesus he depicts walks and talks and lives with us. His explanation of Christianity as not being a religion of the last days (Escatology) but a faith in the presence of Jesus (Yaweh) in our lives and how that faith brings salvation. He follows up this with the analysis of the Lord's Prayer.. 'Thy Kingdom come' really means that the kingdom or the presence of (God) Jesus should come to each one of us now in the present time. It is not a looking forward to a worldly kingdom that some people thought should be established on earth later. The section on the sermon on the mount is extensive and leaves one with food for thought and a new look at what Jesus was saying. His Biblical scholarship is outstanding and he is willing to look at the scriptures in the light of all the new thought that is available from recent scholarship. The scriptures should be taken as a whole and New Testament and Old merge into a great round plan and message for our salvation. He says we can experience this by reading and re-reading. He expands the Gospels and how they relate to each other and in what way the Gospel of John difers from the others. He even tackles the difficult topic of the authorship of John's Gospel. The last section on the Transfiguration is more dificult and I will have to read it again. He spends a lot of time proving the primacy of Peter and the establishment of the Church. As the Pope says that anyone is at liberty to disagree with him, so Im sure people may disagree with me and everyone id welcome to do just that.

JESUS OF NAZARETH is the first book written by Pope Benedict XVI since he assumed the title. It is not a historical or biographical work, but rather a theological reflection on who Jesus was and is: his teachings, ministry and essence as the Son of God, whose paschal sacrifice won for us our redemption. It is the first of several planned books and is both clearly and eloquently written. Beginning with an initial reflection on the Mystery of Jesus, Pope Benedict reflects upon different aspects of Jesus in each chapter: 1) The Baptism of Jesus 2) The Temptation of Jesus 3) The Gospel of the Kingdom of God 4) The Sermon on the Mount 5) The Lord's Prayer 6) The Disciples 7) The Message of the Parables 8) The Principal Images of John's Gospel 9) Two Milestones in Jesus' Way: Peter's Confession and the Transfiguration 10) Jesus Declares His Identity All of the reflections, which stand alone and can be read thematically or sequentially, are well done. The two chapters that I found to be exceptional were those on "The Disciples" and "The Message of the Parables." One caveat: While the book is beautifully written, it is best not to read it in short bits; rather one should devote time in a quiet space for proper reflection upon at least one chapter in its entirety. With respect to other reviews, it appears that there are those who are reviewing the "man" rather than the book itself. As head of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict is unwavering in his assertion that the Catholic Church represents the fullness of Christianity - this is clear from his other writings and proclamations. While that should be expected, it is also important to note that Benedict has been, and continues to be, an ardent advocate for religious freedom. These two concepts are not incompatible. Still others argue that he is not using the John Dominic Crossan model as shown in "The Historical Jesus . . ." (in itself a fine work). This is true! The books are written for entirely different purposes. JESUS OF NAZARETH is a fine resource for both study and reflective prayer. It is not the definitive work on Jesus: that description is reserved to the Sacred Scriptures. However, it is a marvelous brief study of the essence of Jesus.

This book should be required reading for any educated Christian, of whatever denomination. It is a kind of catechism for adults. Those for whom a childlike faith does not exclude an active intelligence will find vast nourishment here.

Excellent writing from a leading figure in the modern church.

I initially found the "forward & Introduction" hard going but it easier within the chapters. It is certainly enlightening me in various aspects of the culture and faith at the particular time of Christ coming and is helping me with my faith travel. Please note it is very readable and the writer does get his message through. The book and reviews do say it is one to re-read and this is what I am doing together with scripture. This is just one resource that can be used in this "Year of Faith" 2012/13 called for by the pope. A group of us Christians get together on a monthly basis for a meal and review this book on a chapter basis which we all find very rewarding. I shall be buying the 2nd book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: from the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection Pt. 2. God Bless.

This book is a master piece by a theologian par excellence. Pope Benedict (Joseph Ratzinger) uses a gentle pace. He prayerfully, and in deep contemplation leads his readers to an encounter with Jesus the Christ. This is a clarion call to embark on a journey in humility towards self realization; which ultimately leads to an ending in the revelation of God in Christ.