Beyond the Passion: Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus

Rating:
Summary: A Historical Viewpoint Regarding the Death of Jesus
Review: There has been a lot interest and focus on the last week of the life of Jesus lately due to the Mel Gibson movie, "The Passion" Even I had an article published in our local paper as I critiqued that movie. Dr. Patterson has written this book in response to some of the discussion concerning this movie and he is addressing the general Biblical ignorance that has prevailed and attempts to place the death of Jesus within the context of history.

He opens with a simple question, "Is Jesus Dead?" Ah, but not such a simple question after all and thus we have this book. Within the historical context, Patterson points out how the first Christians might have experienced the death of Jesus. Then he goes on to talk about the various ways that Jesus' death can be viewed.
1. Jesus as Victim
2. Jesus as Martyr
3. Jesus as Sacrifice
He concludes with why the resurrection proves nothing.

Patterson looks at things from a purely historical viewpoint and this viewpoint is very helpful when it comes to looking at the situation of Israel at the time of Jesus and just how these different systems worked. It is also helpful to use this information to see just how the various doctrines regarding Jesus might have been formed.

This book is very provocative in the sense that it shows just how the life of Jesus has been an agent for change within the believers. It shows how radical Jesus was and how that he was challenging every boundary and system that existed at that time. It shows how political Jesus was and how transforming that was for the early followers.

I had never thought about how odd this Christianity must of seemed to other religions of the time. All religions had blood sacrifices and Christianity talked of one and had a ritual yet did not partake of the sacrificial system. Christianity encouraged followers to consider where they fit in society and challenge that.

Patterson concludes that, no matter how the death of Jesus is viewed, the early followers of Jesus were really attempting to draw attention to the life of Jesus. "His death mattered to them because his life mattered to them."