The Authentic Gospel of Jesus

This study examines every saying attributed to Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, grouped by literary type: commands and narratives, controversy stories, wisdom, parables, uses of scripture, prayers, Son of Man sayings, Kingdom sayings, and rules for the end time. Vermes, working as a historian of first-century Judaism, tries to separate words that fit a Galilean Jewish preacher and healer from later church doctrine about a universal divine figure. The closing chapters set out tests of authenticity and a reconstructed teaching focused on concrete piety rather than speculative dogma. The book is historical criticism, not a gospel harmony and not a devotional life of Jesus.

Three-quarter bound in dark red buckram with Modigliani paper cover printed and blocked with Christ Pantocrator, 7th-century encaustic painting. Brown slipcase.