Jesus and the Jews

In Jesus and the Jews, Alan Watson reveals and substantiates a central yet previously unrecognized source for the composition of the Gospel of John. Strikingly antithetical to Johns basic message, this source originated from an anti-Christian tradition promulgated by the Pharisees, the powerful and dogmatic teachers of Jewish law. The aims of this Pharisaic tradition, argues Watson, included discrediting Jesus as the Messiah, minimizing his historical importance, and justifying the Jewish authorities role in his death. Jesus and the Jews joins three other works by WatsonThe Trial of Jesus, Jesus and the Law, and Jesus: A Profileto examine the early dynamism of western religion through refocused attention on biblical texts and other historical sources.