Offers a picture of Jesus of Nazareth, highlighting the problems and pitfalls encountered in such a venture, and including a survey of scholarship. This guide discusses scholarship on Jesus since the nineteenth century, introducing and explaining the three different 'quests' for the historical Jesus.

The introduction to this new guide sets out the sources (Graeco-Roman, Jewish and Christian), noting the problems connected with them, paying particular attention to the nature of the gospels, and the Synoptic versus the Johannine tradition. A substantial section will discuss scholarship on Jesus from the nineteenth century to the explosion of works in the present day, introducing and explaining the three different 'quests' for the historical Jesus.
Subsequent chapters will analyse key themes in historical Jesus research: Jesus' Galilean origins; the scope of his ministry and models of 'holy men', particularly that of prophet; Jesus' teaching and healing; his trial and crucifixion; the highly contentious question of his resurrection; and finally an exploration of the links between the Jesus movement and the early church. Throughout, the (often opposing) positions of a variety of key scholars will be explained and discussed (eg. Sanders, Crossan, Dunn, Wright, Brown).

'This is a gem! Bond manages to canvass an ocean of modern Jesus-scholarship in an impressively concise discussion, clearly and accessibly conveying the basics of each scholar and issue considered, and also crisply representing majority views of scholars on the key historical data and what we can make of them. It is, to my knowledge, the best general-reader-level introduction to the subject available.' - Larry W. Hurtado, University of Edinburgh, UK