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Know the Real Jesus: A Portrait of the Historical Jesus
Know the Real Jesus is a portrait of the historical Jesus drawn from credible historical research and biblical scholarship. It is written in an easy style, accessible to all who seek to rediscover the real Jesus. When technical words are first used they are explained simply, giving good sense to the developing story of Jesus.
Alexander Venter asks and answers two basic Who was Jesus, really? And who is the Jesus we preach, i.e., what, essentially, is 'the gospel' (the good news of Jesus)?
The book applies the best findings of Jesus Research to a paint a fresh picture of Jesus in his historical context, so that the reader can see him for who he was (and is - he's alive). Any meaningful rediscover of Jesus leads to a review of what we believe, how we theologise, how we do church and leadership, and indeed, how we live life. In order to know the real Jesus.
Venter first gives a comprehensive introduction to the quest for the historical Jesus, to historical study and method, and the period and literature of Second Temple Judaism of Jesus' time. The main body of the book gives an overview of the person, birth and life, mission and worldview, ministry and miracles, suffering and death, and resurrection and ascension of Jesus - all within his socio-political-religious context. It consistently reveals how radical, and even revolutionary, Jesus of Nazareth was within the crisis of Second Temple Judaism. We see what Jesus' mission, message and ministry of the Kingdom of God meant for the Jews in that time... and for all of us in our day.
The focus is on seeing Jesus in his humanity, as a young Jewish rabbi, who was an end-time prophet of Isreal, announcing and demonstrating God's Kingdom. For centuries our view of Jesus has been dominated by the Divine Saviour, the white western Jesus. But that has changed. One cannot see the real Jesus without being captivated by him. Indeed, Venter's goal in writing this book is that, by seeing Jesus more clearly than ever before, we fall in love with him and follow him more passionately in his life and mission of God’s Kingdom. Therefore, Know the Real Jesus is essentially a discipleship manual, a framework of apprenticeship to follow him and become more like him.
Craig S. Keener (F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary), says,
"Books that combine knowledge of scholarly historical Jesus research with personal devotion to that Jesus are both rare and precious. Alexander Venter is well-positioned to offer such a combination, both from his years of research on the subject and his work in the Kingdom love and justice that Jesus preached, and his experience with the kinds of Kingdom miracles that Jesus demonstrated."
John Wright (National Director, Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland) says, Alexander has taken his extensive reading and condensed it brilliantly, leading the reader to a deeper understanding of Jesus in an unusually engaging way. Rich in content, it is at the same time dense with biblical references and scholarly insights while being a very accessible read throughout. Explanations of technical terms are given such that both the theologically educated and those for whom this is the first Christian book they have read, can follow with ease. There were moments as I read where I related to Wesley’s experience of my heart being strangely warmed, and to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who talked about their hearts burning as the scriptures were opened up to them. I highly commend this book to you."
Alexander Venter asks and answers two basic Who was Jesus, really? And who is the Jesus we preach, i.e., what, essentially, is 'the gospel' (the good news of Jesus)?
The book applies the best findings of Jesus Research to a paint a fresh picture of Jesus in his historical context, so that the reader can see him for who he was (and is - he's alive). Any meaningful rediscover of Jesus leads to a review of what we believe, how we theologise, how we do church and leadership, and indeed, how we live life. In order to know the real Jesus.
Venter first gives a comprehensive introduction to the quest for the historical Jesus, to historical study and method, and the period and literature of Second Temple Judaism of Jesus' time. The main body of the book gives an overview of the person, birth and life, mission and worldview, ministry and miracles, suffering and death, and resurrection and ascension of Jesus - all within his socio-political-religious context. It consistently reveals how radical, and even revolutionary, Jesus of Nazareth was within the crisis of Second Temple Judaism. We see what Jesus' mission, message and ministry of the Kingdom of God meant for the Jews in that time... and for all of us in our day.
The focus is on seeing Jesus in his humanity, as a young Jewish rabbi, who was an end-time prophet of Isreal, announcing and demonstrating God's Kingdom. For centuries our view of Jesus has been dominated by the Divine Saviour, the white western Jesus. But that has changed. One cannot see the real Jesus without being captivated by him. Indeed, Venter's goal in writing this book is that, by seeing Jesus more clearly than ever before, we fall in love with him and follow him more passionately in his life and mission of God’s Kingdom. Therefore, Know the Real Jesus is essentially a discipleship manual, a framework of apprenticeship to follow him and become more like him.
Craig S. Keener (F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary), says,
"Books that combine knowledge of scholarly historical Jesus research with personal devotion to that Jesus are both rare and precious. Alexander Venter is well-positioned to offer such a combination, both from his years of research on the subject and his work in the Kingdom love and justice that Jesus preached, and his experience with the kinds of Kingdom miracles that Jesus demonstrated."
John Wright (National Director, Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland) says, Alexander has taken his extensive reading and condensed it brilliantly, leading the reader to a deeper understanding of Jesus in an unusually engaging way. Rich in content, it is at the same time dense with biblical references and scholarly insights while being a very accessible read throughout. Explanations of technical terms are given such that both the theologically educated and those for whom this is the first Christian book they have read, can follow with ease. There were moments as I read where I related to Wesley’s experience of my heart being strangely warmed, and to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who talked about their hearts burning as the scriptures were opened up to them. I highly commend this book to you."
339 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 13, 2023
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February 16, 2025
A thoughtful presentation of a traditional evangelical view of Jesus and his mission, albeit with a few surprising gaps and arguable over-simplifications.
What the book does well is it provides an overview of the details and significance of Jesus’ life for readers who do not buy into the assumptions of modern secular historical-critical readings of the bible, which treat it as just one more ancient text alongside many others.
This is a book for mainstream believers who want to explore the life of Jesus within a paradigm of confessional practice, which accepts that the ‘biblical gospels are reliable sources by multiple eyewitnesses,’ although the content is theologically framed, ie collated and arranged for a specific purpose.
One of the problematic features in the book is that there seems to be over-simplifications of some of the issues. For example, the author notes that the ‘virgin birth’ is a ‘matter of credal faith’ (16%). Yes, that is so. But when we look at the content of the ancient Church’s credal faith it also involved the perpetual virginity of Mary. That is clearly not a view shared by the author, as he informs readers that Jesus had at least four brothers (18%). This raises a question of how the author can be so sure that one aspect of ancient credal faith is true, but another aspect that was also widely believed at the time is not true.
Another example of an arguable over-simplification occurs in the author’s discussion of the Eucharist. He insists that it should be interpreted as ‘representing’ Jesus (ie not as being Jesus). (80%). That is certainly a viewpoint, but it is not the view of what are arguably the oldest Christian Churches (Orthodox and Catholicism). The author cites a biblical proof for his view (John 6.52) but that text can be interpreted in the opposite way, as the people who walk away and abandon Jesus are arguably those who hold a view similar to the author. These kinds of issues need a more detailed exploration and explanation, otherwise the author’s position looks like an assumption.
A final example of over-simplification concerns the author’s view of Jesus’ relationship to John the Baptist. The book tells us that Jesus joined John on baptism tours, and it implies that Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s prayer was inspired by John’s teaching his followers how to pray (22%). Those claims may be true, or they may be false. The point is that they go beyond the information available from the gospels, so how can the author be so sure of his position? Once again, a more detailed argument is needed if the author is to justify his claims.
In places in the book, the author engages with oppositional viewpoints. We see this occur in his dismissal of Hume’s scepticism about miracles (52%).
But in other contexts there seems to be gaps where oppositional viewpoints are not addressed. For example, some exegetes note parallels between the nativity narratives and other myths and they conclude that that part of the gospels should be interpreted metaphorically. The author does not share that viewpoint, but where is the argument to justify his approach
One of the most surprising gaps in the book involved in the issues of redemption (atonement). The author makes passing remarks about the fact that Jesus has ‘atoned for sin by paying the redemption price’ (84%). But what does that mean? There are at least 3 or 4 very different models of atonement, and so this is an issue which needs unpacking.
Redemption is also particularly important because the author opens the book by warning readers about how theological perspectives can skew interpretations of Jesus. One of the potential skews is traditional interpretation of Pauline soteriology which drives a ‘high Christology’ as it depicts a divine Jesus becoming human in order to atone. If we are to avoid the potential biases of former ages, then surely we need to be particularly clear about what we think Jesus’ redemption means? But that seems to be missing from the book.
Overall, I think that this is a good idea for a book. But the execution of the project seems to have been a little incomplete, with arguable over-simplifications and gaps in the presentation. Hopefully a further edition of the book can address issues like that.
What the book does well is it provides an overview of the details and significance of Jesus’ life for readers who do not buy into the assumptions of modern secular historical-critical readings of the bible, which treat it as just one more ancient text alongside many others.
This is a book for mainstream believers who want to explore the life of Jesus within a paradigm of confessional practice, which accepts that the ‘biblical gospels are reliable sources by multiple eyewitnesses,’ although the content is theologically framed, ie collated and arranged for a specific purpose.
One of the problematic features in the book is that there seems to be over-simplifications of some of the issues. For example, the author notes that the ‘virgin birth’ is a ‘matter of credal faith’ (16%). Yes, that is so. But when we look at the content of the ancient Church’s credal faith it also involved the perpetual virginity of Mary. That is clearly not a view shared by the author, as he informs readers that Jesus had at least four brothers (18%). This raises a question of how the author can be so sure that one aspect of ancient credal faith is true, but another aspect that was also widely believed at the time is not true.
Another example of an arguable over-simplification occurs in the author’s discussion of the Eucharist. He insists that it should be interpreted as ‘representing’ Jesus (ie not as being Jesus). (80%). That is certainly a viewpoint, but it is not the view of what are arguably the oldest Christian Churches (Orthodox and Catholicism). The author cites a biblical proof for his view (John 6.52) but that text can be interpreted in the opposite way, as the people who walk away and abandon Jesus are arguably those who hold a view similar to the author. These kinds of issues need a more detailed exploration and explanation, otherwise the author’s position looks like an assumption.
A final example of over-simplification concerns the author’s view of Jesus’ relationship to John the Baptist. The book tells us that Jesus joined John on baptism tours, and it implies that Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s prayer was inspired by John’s teaching his followers how to pray (22%). Those claims may be true, or they may be false. The point is that they go beyond the information available from the gospels, so how can the author be so sure of his position? Once again, a more detailed argument is needed if the author is to justify his claims.
In places in the book, the author engages with oppositional viewpoints. We see this occur in his dismissal of Hume’s scepticism about miracles (52%).
But in other contexts there seems to be gaps where oppositional viewpoints are not addressed. For example, some exegetes note parallels between the nativity narratives and other myths and they conclude that that part of the gospels should be interpreted metaphorically. The author does not share that viewpoint, but where is the argument to justify his approach
One of the most surprising gaps in the book involved in the issues of redemption (atonement). The author makes passing remarks about the fact that Jesus has ‘atoned for sin by paying the redemption price’ (84%). But what does that mean? There are at least 3 or 4 very different models of atonement, and so this is an issue which needs unpacking.
Redemption is also particularly important because the author opens the book by warning readers about how theological perspectives can skew interpretations of Jesus. One of the potential skews is traditional interpretation of Pauline soteriology which drives a ‘high Christology’ as it depicts a divine Jesus becoming human in order to atone. If we are to avoid the potential biases of former ages, then surely we need to be particularly clear about what we think Jesus’ redemption means? But that seems to be missing from the book.
Overall, I think that this is a good idea for a book. But the execution of the project seems to have been a little incomplete, with arguable over-simplifications and gaps in the presentation. Hopefully a further edition of the book can address issues like that.
Displaying 1 of 1 review