Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict

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The movement’s vision meant the rich would have to give up their wealth, but the poor would be afforded a life of heavenly luxury.

More generally, if the Jewish historian Josephus is the chief witness for the Galilean world of “excessive taxation, discontent, banditry, warfare and violent reprisals”, his own motives for painting this picture for the Romans should be more closely examined. Without such testing, it remains unclear that the Jesus movement was a product of class-conflict and agrarian unrest. From the outset, this book seeks to place the “Jesus Movement” within its wider economic and social context.Tensions flared up considerably when the movement marched on Jerusalem, and Jesus was willingly martyred for the cause. To my knowledge, this book will be the first major contemporary biography on Jesus from a historical materialist perspective and written by respected experts in the field. Watson then proceeds on the basis of two historical principles: first, the grant of the benefit of the doubt, that evidence should be accepted unless there is reason for disbelief; and, second, the uniqueness of historical events. Of the three last words of Jesus on the cross offered by Mark/Matthew, Luke and John which is historical or does that not matter?

In so doing, the authors speedily debunk the “Great Man” myth and demonstrate the large number of similar grouplets in a Palestine that was being convulsed by serious dislocations. Crossley and Myles offer a vivid portrait of the man and his movement and uncover the material conditions that converged to make it happen. Despite being written from a perspective that questions many of the traditions of the Christian faith, it is respectful in its approach, reasonable in most of its assessments, and simply enjoyable to read.Crossley and Myles locate Jesus’s class position as that of a tektōn, an ancient Greek noun meaning craftsman or carpenter. Whether you are an academic of the field, a lay Christian, or clergy, you should be reading this volume and seriously considering it. The book is sound in its scholarship, reasonable in its conclusions, yet provocative enough that it will hold an array of readers' interests.