Killing Jesus: A History

illustrations depicting everything from the robes worn by the Temple priests to the hairstyles and weapons of Herod’s soldiers. Anthony Saldarini’s Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Palestinian Society provides a detailed academic take on not just these complex individuals but also life in Judea and Galilee.
    Historical Jesus : An entire field of study has been devoted to this viewpoint of the Nazarene, adding context to the Gospels in order to better understand Jesus’s life. This focus has allowed a great number of modern advancements into the historicity of Jesus and a more complete understanding of the Gospels and their narrative structure. Recommended reading includes Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus , edited by Michael J. Wilkins and J. P. Moreland; Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods , by Darrell L. Bock; Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? A Debate between William Lane Craig and John Dominic Crossan , edited by Paul Copan; and The Historical Jesus of the Gospels , by Craig S. Keener, who is also author of the two-volume Miracles . Another two-volume treatise worth a read is Raymond E. Brown’s The Death of the Messiah . Also worth reading are Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews , by Paula Fredriksen, and The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach , by Michael R. Licona. The Sage of Galilee , by David Flusser and R. Steven Notley, is highly recommended. A more theological take on Jesus can be found in C. S. Lewis’s insightful and dense Mere Christianity .
    The Crucifixion and Jesus’s Last Days : In addition to the detailed and chilling version of events recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, other recommended reading includes The Trial of Jesus , edited by Ernst Bammel; Jesus, The Final Days , by Craig Evans and N. T. Wright; and The Final Days of Jesus , by Shimon Gibson. All are filled with nuance, detail, and unique points of view. And for a most graphic depiction of death on the cross, the reader is advised to wade into The Crucifixion of Jesus: A Forensic Inquiry . Among other clinical details, the text includes photographs of a crucifixion reenactment. Obviously, not for the faint of heart.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    Vast help is always needed in writing a complicated book. This time Makeda Wubneh, Eric Simonoff, Stephen Rubin, and Gillian Blake provided tremendous assistance, for which I am extremely grateful.
    — B ILL O ’ R EILLY
    A great thanks to Eric Simonoff for his quiet counsel and literary genius. To Stephen Rubin and Gillian Blake at Holt. To Denny Bellessi for the encouragement. To Bill O’Reilly, the world’s best writing partner. And, as always, to Callie.
    — M ARTIN D UGARD

INDEX
    The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
    Abraham
    Actium, Battle of
    Acts
    Adam
    Africa
    Agrippa
    Agrippa, Marcus Vipsanius
    Al-Aqsa Mosque
    Alesia
    Alexander the Great
    Alexandria
    Ananus
    Andrew
    animal sacrifices
    Anna
    Annas
    Antipas
murder of John the Baptist
    Antonia Fortress
    Antony, Marc
    apostles
    Aramaic
    Archelaus
    Aretas IV, King
    Assyrians
    astrology
    astronomy
    Augustus, Caesar
civil war and
    Babylon and Babylonians
    baptism
    Barabbas
    Bar Kochba
    Bartholomew
    Bethany
    Bethlehem
slaughter of the babies
    Bethsaida
    Bible. See also specific books
    Bithynia
    blasphemy
    bread
leavened
    Britain
    Brutus, Decimus
    Brutus, Marcus Junius
    Byzantium
    Caesar, Julius
civil war and
Cleopatra and
conspiracy plot and murder of
Gallic wars
    Caesarea
    Caesarea Philippi
    Caesarion
    Caiaphas
death of
Judas and
    calendars
    Caligula
    Calpurnia
    Calvaria. See also Golgotha
    Cana, wedding in
    Canonical Gospels
    Capernaum
    Capri
    Carrhae, Battle of
    Casca
    Cassius
    Catholic Church
    Cato
    Christianity, early history of
    Christmas
    Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
    Cicero
    Cimber, Lucius Tillius
    circumcision
    Claudius
    Cleopatra
    coins
money changing
thirty silver coins paid to Judas
    Corinthians
    Court of the Gentiles
    Crassus, Marcus Licinius
    cross, as a symbol
    crown of thorns
    crucifixion
death squads
of disciples
historical views of
of Jesus
    Daniel
    David, King
    days of the week
    Dead Sea Scrolls
    death squads
    denarius
    Deuteronomy, book of
    disciples
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