Rating: 
Summary: Deserves 5 stars
Review: I was shocked to see that this amazing book only has 3 out of 5 stars. I'm glad I bought this book before reading the reviews here. I read many of the reviews, and there seems to be 2 groups of people that are giving the low rating: those that want a pure scholarly work, and those that want a book that takes the bible very literally and without error. Bruce Chilton does a wonderful job in offer explanations on how the miracles of Jesus could have happened, and how the NT we have today may contain exact phrases used by Jesus. In addition, you'll come to better understand the Messiah, who was refered to by his followers as Rabbi Jesus.
Rating:
Summary: Bible-Thumpers: Beware!
Review: If you are a God-fearin', down-home, literalist, Christian, Bible reader, you will have a HUGE problem with this book. If, on the other hand, you've always been curious about what Yusel's life might actually have looked like; if you'd welcome an analysis of how Jesus' contemporaries might have realistically viewed him; and if you've never been quite certain about the actually chronology of Jesus' itinerant ministry, then definitely, absolutely buy this book. So, what's the book about? It is a linear telling of Jesus' life. It starts with his birth and goes to his death and presents what the author considers to be the real chronology of Jesus' life. This is such a welcome presentation. The gospels do not come close to satisfying the modern reader's need to know "what really happened". Each of the 4 canonical gospels was written as propaganda to address a certain audience and a particular situation. So, it is difficult to squeeze what the modern reader would consider objective truth out of them. And this book tries to correct that. The book also goes a long way to try to present the social context in which Jesus operated, especially his place in society. This description rests on some assumptions that may make literalist Chistians angry. The idea, for example, that in his own village Jesus was considered a bastard (a "mamzer": of doubtful parentage) will rankle more than a few. Also the notion (widespread among academics) that Jesus was a disciple of John the Baptist and not vice-versa, will not be easy for some to swallow. But above all, the implication, throughout this book, that Jesus did *not* really know what he was doing, will make many many religous people insanely angry. Professor Chilton is very explicit that Jesus was making it up as he went along, that he spent years "refining" his theology/message and that that message changed depending on what had just happened in his immediate socio/political context. On the other hand, if you were brought up inside the monolithic Church and reading the Gospels, did nothing for you but convince you that God must be a complete schizo, then this book will explain a lot. Not to say that it definitely presents the literal "Gospel" truth -- but it allows you to look at the life of Jesus in realistic terms. It allows the life of a 1st Century prophet to be placed firmly in the context of the Judea/Samaria/Galilee region of the first century.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy 'Jesus the Pharisee' instead
Review: If you are really interested in the "Jewish life & teachings that inspired christianity" then Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus by orthodox rabbi Harvey Falk. Or Jesus the Pharisee by Hyam Maccoby are much more enlightening and will make you feel like you have spent your money well. Unfortunately Chilton's is a book written by a man who though obviously well-read simply does not understand the paradigm where his interests lie. The book claims to take the long avoided stand on the synthesizing the research of the historical Jesus movement carried out so far. But the real reason such a stand has not been taken is because the most objective resultant synthesis would be too damaging to the church. The best chapters in the book are those concerning Caiaphas and Pilate giving very interesting details on the degree of Roman influence in Temple affairs. Solidly researched and perhaps very difficult for some people to consider. Unfortunately Chilton approaches Jesus as someone outside of the congregation of Israel based upon a misunderstanding. His study of the Talmud is to his credit, but he has appproached the Talmud looking for Jesus rather than approaching it for what it is and simply recieving what it offers. The end result is a mix-match of characters from the early 1sc century BC to the early 2nd century CE all rolled into yet another fictitious Jesus. His lack of knowledge of Halakha and ignorance over the struggle between the Hillel and Shammai schools prevent him from understanding key points of Jesus's teachings. Chilton's work comes off as an attempt to present a new-age Guru alternative to "Jesus the Pharisee" and ends up doing more to damage the character of Jesus than it does good. Sunday Christians and Anti-christians will love this book but it remains nothing more than wishful thinking. Objective analysis of history is pointing in a different albeit much more unpopular direction where Jesus comes off looking much more Jewish than anyone had ever peviously imagined. Not so funny really because afterall he was a Jew! If you are a friend of the Chiltons then buy a copy for bookshelf decoration. Don't think about buying it to re-sell unless your objective is to spread misinformation. Chilton's writing is clear and easy to understand. He has a good flow and very warm chatty style. I am sorry I could not enjoy his book because of the fundamental and numerous simple problems and his very gentile interpretation of a very Jewish man. At the end of the day I feel like I got to know Bruce more (and a very nice man he is too) by the end of the book than I did getting to know the historical Jesus.
Rating:
Summary: Buy 'Jesus the Pharisee' instead
Review: If you are really interested in the "Jewish life & teachings that inspired christianity" then Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus by orthodox rabbi Harvey Falk. Or Jesus the Pharisee by Hyam Maccoby are much more enlightening and will make you feel like you have spent your money well. Unfortunately Chilton's is a book written by a man who though obviously well-read simply does not understand the paradigm where his interests lie. The book claims to take the long avoided stand on the synthesizing the research of the historical Jesus movement carried out so far. But the real reason such a stand has not been taken is because the most objective resultant synthesis would be too damaging to the church. The best chapters in the book are those concerning Caiaphas and Pilate giving very interesting details on the degree of Roman influence in Temple affairs. Solidly researched and perhaps very difficult for some people to consider. Unfortunately Chilton approaches Jesus as someone outside of the congregation of Israel based upon a misunderstanding. His study of the Talmud is to his credit, but he has appproached the Talmud looking for Jesus rather than approaching it for what it is and simply recieving what it offers. The end result is a mix-match of characters from the early 1sc century BC to the early 2nd century CE all rolled into yet another fictitious Jesus. His lack of knowledge of Halakha and ignorance over the struggle between the Hillel and Shammai schools prevent him from understanding key points of Jesus's teachings. Chilton's work comes off as an attempt to present a new-age Guru alternative to "Jesus the Pharisee" and ends up doing more to damage the character of Jesus than it does good. Sunday Christians and Anti-christians will love this book but it remains nothing more than wishful thinking. Objective analysis of history is pointing in a different albeit much more unpopular direction where Jesus comes off looking much more Jewish than anyone had ever peviously imagined. Not so funny really because afterall he was a Jew! If you are a friend of the Chiltons then buy a copy for bookshelf decoration. Don't think about buying it to re-sell unless your objective is to spread misinformation. Chilton's writing is clear and easy to understand. He has a good flow and very warm chatty style. I am sorry I could not enjoy his book because of the fundamental and numerous simple problems and his very gentile interpretation of a very Jewish man. At the end of the day I feel like I got to know Bruce more (and a very nice man he is too) by the end of the book than I did getting to know the historical Jesus.
Rating: 
Summary: This should go in fiction section
Review: It would be helpful if the author based what he writes on some facts. For instance, he said that the years between Jesus's teenage to his mid twenties were spent with John the Baptist, yet he doesn't even attempt to show how he came up with this idea. He minimizes the reality of miracles and looks almost exclusively at the spiritual meaning. However, the gospels state that many were converted through his miracles. If one compares this with Vermes book, Borg's, Wright's, or (especially) Meier's books on the same subject, this book comes up short on credibility. Other authors at least give some arguement for their views.
Rating:
Summary: A Bad Novel But Even Worse Scholarship
Review: Let me save you some money. Bruce Chilton's whole premise is that Jesus was a mamzer (illegitimate child) according to very strict Jewish customs. Unfortuntely he is wrong. Here is what a Rabbi has to say: ""Children born out of wedlock are not mamzerim in Jewish law and bear no stigma." If you want the exact guidelines on being a mamzer go to www.jewfaq.org/marriage.htm#Forbidden It's a little maddening to read a book where the entire premise is based on an incorrect assumption but unfortunately it is not the only piece of shocking scholarship in this book. Chilton, incredibly and unexplicably, claims that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem of Nazareth and not Judea to avoid the stigma of having a mamzer. This despite the well established historical fact of the census of that time by Quirinius, the governor of Syria, and the need for Joseph and Mary to be in Bethlehem, the town of David, because Jesus belonged to the house of David. The errors in this book would exceed 1,000 words just to enumerate much less comment on. It is amazing to me that books like this get published. Even more amazing is the fact that the Pew Charitable Trust underwrote his scholarship. Maybe they'll give me some money!
Rating: 
Summary: A near-perfect biographical portrait of the historical Jesus
Review: RABBI JESUS is an "intimate biography" of the Jesus Christianity hardly knows: a Jewish holy man of the First Century, steeped in the religious traditions of Israel and preoccupied with his people's adherence to the commandments of Torah. As written by theologian and scholar Bruce Chilton, RABBI JESUS attempts to bridge the gap between the Christian teachings that followed Jesus's life and the reality that was the man himself. It's to Chilton's credit that he largely succeeds. Author Chilton rejects what he sees to be secular revision of the Jesus story by such groups as the Jesus Seminar, and instead tries to place the historical Jesus within the framework of the Gospel narratives found in the Christian Bible. RABBI JESUS is a strong work, but this conceit gives rise to some of the book's problems, Christian readers coming away from Chilton's Jesus biography will have a greater understanding the central figure of their holiest text, but are shortchanged when Chilton's scholastic rigor occasionally gives way to the believer in him. RABBI JESUS begins with Jesus's birth. Going back to the earliest texts in their original writings - Chilton is fluent in Aramaic, Greek, Coptic, Latin and several other ancient languages - readers are granted spectacular insight into the childhood and youth of the most famous martyr of all time. Chilton's Jesus is an outcast in his community thanks to his questionable parentage, the only one of five sons in the family of Joseph and Mary to view his religious birthright from the outside looking in. This unusual background lays the groundwork for Jesus's teachings, a body of thought that both embraces the core tenets of Judaism while expanding their meaning in order to broaden their inclusiveness. It's a fascinating portrait, extensively documented, that Chilton paints. Those used to the sanctified, sterilized Jesus of modern faith will be surprised to discover the genuine article. Jesus could be obstinate, shocking, and even earthy depending upon the situation. He was, in short, a real man with a real message to deliver in a real time and place. Chilton seeks not to invalidate the text of the Christian Bible, but to illuminate it with a level of scholarship rarely found in religious examinations of Jesus and his life. Unfortunately, Chilton's hesitance to discard those elements of the Christian Bible which are clearly outside the bounds of reality - walking on water, creating food out of thin air, healing the permanently disabled, exorcising demons, etc. - means that he must engage in some logical acrobatics in order to justify the text. The scholar exchanges places with the theologian, and Chilton displays an unusual credulity when accepting the more implausible feats attributed to Jesus. Chilton frequently leans on the crutch of "mass hysteria" or "religious fervor" to explain away miracles, since he doesn't seem to have the heart to acknowledge that they likely never happened at all. Thankfully these incidents are relatively few. For the bulk of RABBI JESUS, Chilton's analyses of the Christian Bible and the life of the historical Jesus are insightful, and at times even cutting. Jesus was not a perfect man by any means, and Chilton makes no excuses for Jesus's missteps along the way. Even stripped of his exclusive divinity, a construct of later Christian teaching, Jesus was a remarkable man with an important message for his fellow Jews. And, as Chilton says, we can all continue to learn from Jesus today.
Rating:
Summary: A near-perfect biographical portrait of the historical Jesus
Review: RABBI JESUS is an "intimate biography" of the Jesus Christianity hardly knows: a Jewish holy man of the First Century, steeped in the religious traditions of Israel and preoccupied with his people's adherence to the commandments of Torah. As written by theologian and scholar Bruce Chilton, RABBI JESUS attempts to bridge the gap between the Christian teachings that followed Jesus's life and the reality that was the man himself. It's to Chilton's credit that he largely succeeds. Author Chilton rejects what he sees to be secular revision of the Jesus story by such groups as the Jesus Seminar, and instead tries to place the historical Jesus within the framework of the Gospel narratives found in the Christian Bible. RABBI JESUS is a strong work, but this conceit gives rise to some of the book's problems, Christian readers coming away from Chilton's Jesus biography will have a greater understanding the central figure of their holiest text, but are shortchanged when Chilton's scholastic rigor occasionally gives way to the believer in him. RABBI JESUS begins with Jesus's birth. Going back to the earliest texts in their original writings - Chilton is fluent in Aramaic, Greek, Coptic, Latin and several other ancient languages - readers are granted spectacular insight into the childhood and youth of the most famous martyr of all time. Chilton's Jesus is an outcast in his community thanks to his questionable parentage, the only one of five sons in the family of Joseph and Mary to view his religious birthright from the outside looking in. This unusual background lays the groundwork for Jesus's teachings, a body of thought that both embraces the core tenets of Judaism while expanding their meaning in order to broaden their inclusiveness. It's a fascinating portrait, extensively documented, that Chilton paints. Those used to the sanctified, sterilized Jesus of modern faith will be surprised to discover the genuine article. Jesus could be obstinate, shocking, and even earthy depending upon the situation. He was, in short, a real man with a real message to deliver in a real time and place. Chilton seeks not to invalidate the text of the Christian Bible, but to illuminate it with a level of scholarship rarely found in religious examinations of Jesus and his life. Unfortunately, Chilton's hesitance to discard those elements of the Christian Bible which are clearly outside the bounds of reality - walking on water, creating food out of thin air, healing the permanently disabled, exorcising demons, etc. - means that he must engage in some logical acrobatics in order to justify the text. The scholar exchanges places with the theologian, and Chilton displays an unusual credulity when accepting the more implausible feats attributed to Jesus. Chilton frequently leans on the crutch of "mass hysteria" or "religious fervor" to explain away miracles, since he doesn't seem to have the heart to acknowledge that they likely never happened at all. Thankfully these incidents are relatively few. For the bulk of RABBI JESUS, Chilton's analyses of the Christian Bible and the life of the historical Jesus are insightful, and at times even cutting. Jesus was not a perfect man by any means, and Chilton makes no excuses for Jesus's missteps along the way. Even stripped of his exclusive divinity, a construct of later Christian teaching, Jesus was a remarkable man with an important message for his fellow Jews. And, as Chilton says, we can all continue to learn from Jesus today.
Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Close Encounter
Review: Rabbi Jesus, a narrative that author Bruce Chilton calls, "an intimate biography" is all that and more. It is a bold and illuminating work that takes the reader on an eye-opening and startling journey with Yeshua throughout his 30 some years. Other authors have attempted to do similar thing, but as an author and Messianic Jewish evangelist, I can tell you that Chilton engages his subject with a vibrancy and candor that is the equivalent of standing under a cold shower. His revelations are just that, and the thoughtful reader will be not be disappointed. In short, if you want to meet the real Messiah and experience the dynamics that drove this man, then Rabbi Jesus is must reading. Among the many books on Jesus, this is one that will raise eyebrows, quicken hearts and yes, make your skin tingle. Be there with Jesus in the first century. Get on board for the trip of a lifetime!
Rating:
Summary: No Pain No Gain
Review: Reading this book gives you the feeling you are actually meeting a real person, always unhappy and often unpleasant, but all the more real for that very reason. Many have described the words and actions of Jesus - the externals. None have described the inner workings of his mind, at least not the way Chilton has. Chilton gets inside his head and stays there throughout his life form start to finish. The anguish and the pain this child and later this lost teenager feels is palpable and unrelenting, only relieved by his death. As a result of his dubious parentage, Jesus was considered to be impure. He could not attend synagogue with his parents and siblings. He was the black sheep of the family, the perennial outsider, and everything he ever did or said in his life was influenced by that pain, was an attempt to heal that wound. Chilton speculates that as a result of this traumatic childhood experience Jesus suffered from, as I have long suspected, bi-polar personality disorder. Seeing Jesus through Chilton's eyes one is practically forced to that conclusion. How could it have been otherwise? Aren't all forms of mental illness the result of childhood trauma?
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