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

A Review of “The Shadow of the Galilean”

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Careful documentation in the footnotes shows how much of the narrative is based on ancient sources. The author supplements his fictional creations with letters to a professorial colleague, Dr. The book should be a boon to preachers on the Gospels. Skip to main content. The Shadow of the Galilean: Request a Review , Exam , or Desk copy. Request a Review copy Please select a version: Digital Digital copies are fulfulled via Edelweiss, an external trusted partner.

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

Request an Exam copy Please select a version: Physical Digital Digital copies are fulfulled via Edelweiss, an external trusted partner. This could be why Theissen chose to use narrative form to construct this story and imagined up Andreas, a non-Christ follower, to communicate his wants and desires for the reader. However, to keep the reader up to speed Theissen does include extensive footnotes for each chapter. Showing how his messages and transcended political and religious boundaries because Christ, and the promises of his father were unending.

Throughout his journey, Andreas seeks to find and investigate a man named Jesus of Nazareth, whom many talk about, but Andreas does not know. Theissen addresses various distinctions in social class hierarchy by speaking to the core values and lifestyles of different Jewish groups. The Essenes, a community that goes against the usual lifestyle, rejects slavery because it is an offense against human equality and the law of nature They interpret marriage laws strictly and reject all polygamy because God has made humanity as man and woman, and not as man and two women In Rome, a wife can get a divorce, but among her people, only the husband can Lastly, while on his journey, Andreas comes in contact with an impoverished couple in Nazareth, named Susanna and Tholomaeus.

Most of their sons disappeared into the hills and became Zealots out of desperation and not knowing another way out However, Jesus offers those Zealots who are willing to give up their way of life a new lifestyle Although Andreas never sees Jesus in person, he is able to see shadows of Jesus and piece together characteristics of Jesus from anecdotes, stories, traditions and rumors throughout his journey. However, wherever Andreas went there were always contradictions in the stories he heard about Jesus.

Therefore, Andreas was attracted to and repelled from certain things regarding Jesus. Andreas was afraid of the disturbances Jesus made, but also attracted to him because he believed that they contained hope and promised change for the better. Andreas was less believing of the miracle stories, such as the loaves that fed many people, because they do not all line up.

Many people in the 21st century find themselves in a similar place as Andreas. Due to the media, bad personal interactions and personal motives, people today can be left feeling uneasy about what it really means to be part of the Christian community. For Andreas, his life was forever accompanied by the voice of Jesus. When looking at the novel at a literary level, Theissen did a great job utilizing vivid imagery and literary devices, such as similes and metaphors.

Additionally, Theissen included a letter between himself and Dr. Kratzinger, a colleague, at the end of each chapter. Though this was creative and unique, in some cases it distracted from the narrative and hindered its flow. For the reader who loves to immerse themselves in a culture to better understand it, this historical-fiction narrative is thought-provoking with moments of inspiration. Through intimidation Andreas becomes a spy for the Romans and sets out on a quest to learn about the Essenes and Jesus the Galilean.

Throughout the book Andreas slowly learns of the impact J For the reader who loves to immerse themselves in a culture to better understand it, this historical-fiction narrative is thought-provoking with moments of inspiration. Throughout the book Andreas slowly learns of the impact Jesus of Nazareth is having on many of the Jews in Judea. He sees the hope in their eyes as they recite stories of Jesus, a hope that he does not yet understand.

Later, Andreas realizes that Jesus has become an important figure in his own life, and he cannot tolerate the idea that his investigation could lead to Jesus being imprisoned by the Romans. In each of these scenes Andreas slowly desires to know and understand Jesus and his teachings. However, with each experience he is held back by his strict Jewish traditions and social standing. Much of what Jesus taught encouraged the poor, while condemning the rich. It is interesting because social and cultural influences were primary components of conversion in the first century, and they still are today.

This narrative provides a greater understanding of the difference between the powerful and their subjects. This man goes about healing the sick, the blind, the possessed… he tells people to become like little children. He argues over Sabbath observances and tells the Jews that the Law is no more. He comes and tells them to turn the other cheek, to love one another, and in response they crucify him. Although this book is both thought-provoking and informative, I would suggest that the chronology of the story should be more carefully presented.

The flow of the text and the storyline is rather uneven, however it is successful in portraying the cultural context in which the New Testament is based. I would recommend it for those taking a Religion class because it aids in understanding how Christianity came about, but would not recommend it as a pastime activity.

Jan 23, Anika Wilson rated it really liked it.

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The Shadow of the Galilean, by Gerd Theissen, is a historical fiction book that takes place during the time of Jesus. His teachings apply to all humanity and reduced the separation between Jews, Gentiles, Greeks, and Romans. Originally, he dislikes Pilate, and supports the side of the Zealots and other religious groups. During his conversion process, Andreas is somewhat held back from fully following Christ at first. This was partially because, Jesus was very controversial and caused disturbances.

The ideas he presented were very different and radical. The fact that Jesus offers a place and a purpose for all people will always attract people to Christianity. In addition, reading this book has changed the way I understand Jesus and Romans in the New Testament. However, my view has changed. To my surprise, I discovered that Jesus was one of many prophets during this time of Roman rule. In addition, I realized that Romans were concerned with stopping Jesus because they were afraid of the disturbances he caused, not because they believed he was the Son of God.

Instead, it was maintaining their control, power, and order in the region. I would recommend this story to anyone who wants to gain a greater understanding into the time period in which Jesus lived. Because this story is written in first person it makes the reader feel like they are a part of the action. My only idea for improvement would be to shorten some of the lengthy conversations between characters.

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Jan 24, Marisol Gutierrez rated it it was amazing. The reader is encouraged to step into what life would have been like when Jesus was walking the earth preaching his messages in first century Palestine. Andreas is given the task of investigating Jesus and reporting his findings to the Romans. Andreas never actually meets Jesus directly, but gets a grasp of who he is through the people Jesus meets, influences, and affects.

From this viewpoint, the reader is able to piece together their own opinion of Jesus at this time and what different sects thought of him. The beginning of the novel shows how Andreas left out information purposely in order to protect him from the Romans.

I was able to empathize and see how the opposing sides of Jesus came to their conclusions. It allowed me a way to interact with history from a character point of view instead of an objective history book point of view. I felt like I was going through the journey with Andreas and forming my own opinions along the way of whom this Jesus character was. Or would I have been part of another religious sect, such as the Essenes or Sadducees? My favorite part would be how Theissen used a variety of different viewpoints and characters to tell the story of how Jesus appeared to different classes and sects of people.

Theissen artfully alludes to historical facts along the way and combines them beautifully into his narrative to make a very entertaining book. I would give The Shadow of the Galilean 5 stars because it gave me the opportunity to picture the Gospel narrative through a very likable and relatable character. Aside from the novel giving insight into the Essenes and Sadducees and how they may have viewed Jesus, it most importantly gave me a more intimate view of Judaism and how appreciative I should be towards that religion.

I am thankful that I learned so much about Jewish culture and traditions. The correspondence with Dr. Kratzinger was also very helpful for me. I appreciated how Theissen allows a space to explain his intentions straightforwardly and gives valid reasons for why he chose to represent Judaism and Jesus in his perspective. This increases the legitimacy of the book for me. Overall, the book was very entertaining and enjoyable to read. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Jesus from a distinctive, thrilling perspective.

The book aims to showcase the story of Jesus in a fresh perspective while also putting the story in context by showing the political, economic, and religious turmoil during that time period. One of the subjects that was highlighted in this book was the distinction between the social classes and the problems it caused. As a result, many of the people who could not pay were faced with being enslaved or fleeing into the wilderness. Many of those that ran away would go to the Zealots for protection and to fight against the Roman Empire.

Christianity changed the mindset of the poor by telling the people that you should not want for many possessions and encouraging others to not be violent. In addition, Jesus spoke about how everyone is to be a son of God and is equal in the sight of God. This is significant in that the poor viewed christianity as a hope for a better future away from the pains of the life they lived.

The rich however, were upset with the teachings of Jesus as it gave the poor the privilege to live without care like the upper class The Shadow of the Galilean has drastically changed my view on many of the events that occurred during the time of Jesus and how they fit in the bigger picture historically. I was specifically intrigued by the political struggles between Pontius Pilate, Herod Antipas, and the Jewish authorities. While Pilate and Antipas fought for control over each other and their own states, the Jewish community was struggling to protect their laws and customs as subjects in the Roman empire.

Also, looking deeper at the lives of people such as Antipas helped me understand their decisions and choices. His dislike for Pilate for example is partly because Antipas had hoped to inherit the lands of Judea and Samaria instead of the Roman Prefects that took control. In addition to the political landscape, looking at the common people painted a better picture of the lives ordinary people lived. This can be seen as Andreas is passing the toll booth on his way to Bethsaida and many of the poor and lame talk about how Jesus told parables about great feasts to come and how the poor and weak should be treated.

Overall, I give this book 4 stars. Although the historical background and analysis of the time period was very well done, the dialogue lacked creativity and the overall plot was only decent. I would certainly recommend this book to any and all who would want a different perspective on the historical background of Jesus. Andreas is sent on a mission, through blackmail, to find more information about the other religions and to find the truth about Jesus. In the book, Theissen points out how the differences between religions and distinctions in social class within the religions ultimately seem to create conflict.

The story begins with Andreas being arrested for being at the place where a political demonstration was taking place. He is then thrown into jail and blackmailed by Pontius Pilate, who is a prefect. With power and high authority, Pilate threatens to keep Andreas imprisoned unless he reports to the Romans information about different religions Then Theissen brings the Essenes to focus and this group of Jews refuses to live a mundane life like everyone else and they choose to live with harsh laws within their tight-knit community.

This all seems to change when the ways of Jesus are introduced. With Jesus, everyone is accepted.

There are no differences in social class or anything that particularly sets one person apart from the other in the eyes of Jesus. Reading this book has definitely changed the way that I viewed the bible or the New Testament. This book is filled with factual information despite it being a fictional narrative and it has helped me realize that there is much more to the days of Jesus than simply what is stated in the bible. The in-depth information about the purposes and lifestyles of different Jewish groups and the true intent of the Romans that was brought up in the book was truly eye-opening when read.

The book was definitely not a difficult read and was very enjoyable. The letters between the author and a friend, Dr. Kratzinger, slightly interrupted my reading of the novel; however, at the same time, they were very informational and helped me to better understand the historical background of the chapter. It was very much surprising to see how the novel used very casual and more modern-like language when it is said to be set at the time of Jesus.

As a fictional book, I would have expected a bit more of fictional side to the story, but there were a lot of facts from sources being used to make this fiction more real. Jan 24, Hannah Miller rated it really liked it. Often when we read the bible we think that Jesus and his followers were isolated. We forget that the world was still turning and that the Romans thought of any person with new ideas as a security risk.

In the book, we follow a merchant named Andreas who is what can only be described as a liberal Jew, and he just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Romans were becoming more and more concerned at the prospect of a Jewish revolt, so Pilate blackmails Andreas into spying for him.

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The reader gets to meet characters from different walks of life and gains a new insight into everyday life of first century Palestine. The reader gets to see how heavy the weight of family honor truly was in first century Palestine. We also get to see many different communities. Personally, I had never learned about The Essenes. The group formed because one by one they pretty much decided that life on Earth was just so devastatingly tained that there was no other way to live than to hide in the wilderness. Nor did I realize that people would try to justify the miracles that Jesus performed with logic.

Particularly, in chapter 13, Joanna explains why the poor think the feeding of the 4, and 5, were miracles but in reality, they might not have been miracles. Altogether this was a wonderful story. It was written in a way that anybody could read it and understand, not just biblical scholars. Personally, I think the writing style left something to be desired.

It was a well-told story, and anyone could understand it, but there were just certain stylistic choices that I did not understand. I would recommend this to others if they were looking for more insight into the time of Jesus. Since reading only the bible can make the events seem isolated, this book shows that the events reverberated through all of Palestine. Da ich nur eineinhalb Kapitel geschafft habe, kann ich eigentlich kein Review schreiben, aber ich habe bei Amazon ein Review gefunden, das das was ich beim Lesen empfunden habe, ganz gut wiedergibt: Beschreibungen von Land, Leuten, Landschaft und Lebensalltag fehlen fast ganz, ebenso innere Reflektionen, die mal nichts mit Religion zu tun haben, weshalb mir auch keiner der Protagonisten nahe geht, weder im Positiven z.

Andreas noch im Negativen etwa Pilatus. Nov 03, Spencer rated it really liked it Shelves: Shadow of the Galilean follows the journey of a certain Andreas on his clandestine, yet reluctant quest to undercover intelligence about Jewish religious movements on behalf of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. The story leads readers from Jerusalem to Qumran then to Galilee and back to Judaea as Andreas tracks some of the more prominent Jewish sects and uncovers information about them.

His goal, ironically, is to protect them from the harsh Roman rule and paint his fellow countrymen in a positi Shadow of the Galilean follows the journey of a certain Andreas on his clandestine, yet reluctant quest to undercover intelligence about Jewish religious movements on behalf of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate.

His goal, ironically, is to protect them from the harsh Roman rule and paint his fellow countrymen in a positive light. Along the way, Andreas increasingly finds himself hearing about this Jesus of Nazareth whom is roaming the countryside and amassing followers.

Everywhere he goes our protagonist is confronted with Jesus sayings and stories of experiences with Him. Eventually Andreas finds himself drawn to the enigmatic leader and consequently the Romans do as well. The young merchant is presented with the task to report on Jesus's threat to Rome and try as he may, it is difficult to paint the alleged Messiah in a favorable manner. Jesus is an implicit threat to the establishment in a way that goes against any political maneuvering or violent uprising. He is the leader of the common people.

The Shadow of the Galilean

Andreas's story climaxes with a faith crisis in which he must decide "who is Jesus" before those who have the power to kill him. Theissen's work is primarily written to those familiar with historical backgrounds of the Gospels, historical Jesus, and first-century Judaism although I feel that others can benefit from it given the persistence and willingness to learn.

While the narrative is decidedly scholastic and the characters flat, there is merit for those who persist: Theissen's work is to be commended even if short of a literary masterpiece. Andreas selbst begegnet Jesus nie, reist aber seinen Spuren hinterher wie ein Historiker, ein Forscher, und versucht so ein Bild von Jesus zu bekommen. Dies zeigt die intensive und bewusste Auseindersetzung mit dem Thema "Jesus", ebenso die unterschiedlichen Auffassungen, die es zu diesem Thema gibt.

Ich finde es einen interessanten und gelungenen Zugang zum Thema "Jesus", daher 5 Sterne. Sep 19, Shelby Moser rated it really liked it Shelves: The book is about a man who is framed by Pilate in order to gain intelligence on religious, Jewish groups. As the man makes relationships and travels from city to city he runs into trouble with the Zealots. Through his journey he seems to be gaining information about Jesus and he has to balance the information he returns to the Romans. Will he give too much information along his way? This book is a historical fiction.

Based off of real lif The book is about a man who is framed by Pilate in order to gain intelligence on religious, Jewish groups. Based off of real life events, but from a view that we can better understand. This book was a required book in my New Testament class. I initially started the book because it was required, but I enjoyed the book a great deal. It helped me to understand the New Testament world in a way that I would not have been able to by reading a text book, or even the Bible.

I appreciated how easy of a read it was in order to understand a time different from our own. This book can range of young adult to adult, with true accounts about the New Testament era. However, it maintains to be an easy read that I very insightful. The theme of this book is integrity and friendship. There are no discussion topics on this book yet.

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