Beware of books proposing a bold new vision of something familiar. “What Jesus Meant” conceives of Jesus as a radical who wanted to break down class distinctions, not in order to found a worldly socialist society or anything like that but to show that all people are welcome at God’s banquet if they only accept the invitation... Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Nothing new there. And what is new in this book is likely to be in dispute because it’s tough to sync up the life and teachings of Jesus into one narrative. Try to combine the different Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and see if you get one clear portrait. What is remarkable about the Gospels is that they present Jesus in four different ways. Add to that the letters of Paul in which we discover Paul’s own unique personal experience of Jesus and the perspective on Jesus offered by Peter and of Jesus in Revelation and so on and so on. Hard enough to get a flesh and blood being’s biography right. What’s the likelihood you can do that with a divinity?

When I was a kid, Garry Wills wrote scholarly historical treatises on the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, even Henry Adams as reviewed here. Lately, he's been busy writing essays on spiritaul issues as a devout Catholic, and as I always liked and respected historical work, I took this slim volume for a spin . . .

. . . And a worthwhile use of time it was. Wills explicates the difficulty we sinful humans have in dealing with Jesus as he was, not what we want him to be. With the lone exception of justifying homosexuality as natural and not sinful, through a rather self-consciously torturous argument, Wills makes cogent and though-provoking points. He relies on ideas from masters of the faith such as Augustine, St. Francis, and Chesterton, and his own translations of the "marketplace Greek" of the New testament.

A couple of interesting points. In the Garden, as Jesus returns to where he left Peter and a small set of the disciples with the admonition to stay awake while he prayed, Wills translates the aphorism "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" as a complete sentence, that may have applied to Jesus, not Peter, as the semi-colon in the NASB translation implies. And indeed, as the God-Man prayed prostrate on the ground and sweat blood in his anguish, His flesh was weak even as His spirit said "Not My will but Thine."

At another spot, discussing the Last Supper and the meaning of the breaking of bread, Wills refers to the "Our Father" and points out the difficulty of translating "daily" bread, as the word rendered "daily" means roughly "approaching" in English, and more literally can be rendered "to come", " or "to be". The "to be" sense is captured in "daily", but Wills links the prayer for the bread "To come" to the Lord's offering of the bread, representing His body, at the Last Supper! Intriguing, and spiritually powerful.

And not very Catholic! His ideas about the Last Supper seem decidedly non-transsubstantiational, if that's a word.

What a fantastic little book. Wills takes a clear historical approach to understanding Jesus, but is careful to distinguish himself from the liberal theologians of the Jesus Seminar movement. His ability to write clearly, succinctly, and poignantly is quite amazing. In particular, I found his interpretations of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, the role of Judas, and the atonement were all remarkable and refreshing. I highly recommend this book!

Not the easiest book to read, but I found some things that I believe in. I especially like the author's minimizing the role of organized churches and the importance of taking care of everyone we come in contact with whether he is our friend or enemy. Naively that is what I believe "religion" stands for. Wills (the author)is no fan of Pope Benedict and the use of religion to promote political agendas. He also exposes the use of religion to make money. A few-paged book to read slowly with thoughtfulness.

This little volume gives one a lot to think about. Example: "What is the kind of religion that Jesus opposed? Any religion that is proud of its virtue...is self-rightous, quick to judge and condemn, ready to impose burdens rather than share or lift them...exalts its own officers, proud of its trappings...neglects the poor and cultivates the rich, any that scorns outcasts and flatters the rulers of this world. If that sounds like just about every form of religion we know, then we can see how far off from religion Jesus stood."

Wills also wrote Why I Am a Catholic, so go figure. This bears reading and reflection.

This is a slim, thoughtful volume that presents an alternative to the common portrayal of Jesus in fundamentalist or evangelical Christianity (a friend coined the short-hand term of "the WWJD Jesus"). Wills highlights some of the complexity in Jesus' narrative and underscores how radical his initial teachings really were. He handles his subject reverently but not uncritically, which I really appreciate. At times his conclusions may be a bit uncomfortable or too scholarly for some, but they really resonated with me. I do think it's worth a read because I feel that, you can walk away with stronger more reasoned version of your own beliefs (and that's whether you agree or disagree with him).

Final note: To the person who objected to Wills use of an internet passage- It sounds like you might have missed the point. He was not citing it as scholarly evidence of anything; instead, he was talking about a personal encounter with ideas presented in the passage that ultimately led him to ask certain kinds of questions that helped him reach a particular conclusions.

This book gives a brief, almost too brief, summary of the sayings and teachings of Christ. Wills' short chapters address such issues as Jesus' early life, his radical message, what he taught about money, equality, and religion, and the meaning of his death and resurrection. Wills does a good job of cutting through all the religious rhetoric of today and gets to the heart of the radical message that Jesus challenged the world with.

Though he is a practicing Catholic, Willis has no love for the hierarchy of the Catholic church. He points out again and again how the traditions and history of the church run counter to the actual message of Christ. Though he proves his argument well, his personal axe to grind often distracts from the purpose of the book.

Wills sums up my own beliefs quite well. All Jesus told us to do is to love God and love each other. Everything else that organized religion imposes on us is just window dressing and often separates us from Christ.

I've been a follower of Jesus all my life; made personal decision at 5-years of age. I attend a Bible believing church, but I'm not a member. At 74 years, I've seen a lot of bad teaching and bad ctions from people professing to be "Christians."

Since Trump and the Far-Right, I've learned that "Christian" can meal lots of things to different people. Christianity frequently means power, Nationalism, and assumptions are made that everyone using that word believes the same way.

I now call myself a follower of Christ because that doesn't pidgin-hole me.

A friend recommended I read this book. It is brilliant and enlightening. Each chapter explains a time in Jesus' life on earth, but with deeper meaning into what Jesus meant in His actions and His words.

I appreciate the insights into main events in Jesus' life.

Interesting insights from this Catholic journalist and biographer of Augustine. The first part of the book was particularly compelling. I was surprised to learn that Koine Greek (in which the New Testament was originally written) was essentially a pidgin language used mostly for trade and basic communication between people who didn't share a native tongue. Koine lacks nuance and refinement. As Wills says, "This does not mean that the gospel language lacks force. But it is a rough-hewn majesty, an almost brutal linguistic earthiness."

At over 50 years of age, among the best books I have ever read, the reviews by the scholars and professionals are correct...compelling and always interesting ..

Not a badly-written book, but nothing profound in it. Ideas are clearly written and there are a few fresh perspectives on some particular words and deeds of Jesus. One chapter, ‘The Death of Jesus’ has a slightly new perspective.

Garry Wills uses scripture, complete with some specific translations from the Greek, to flesh out for us what he thinks Jesus' message was to mankind. Wills is very critical of organized religion (as was Jesus) in general and of the Catholic Church in particular (although he is a member) and provides a clear window into the more "liberal" Catholic mindset.

Much of what has gone wrong with modern American religion and politics is the mixing of the two. Put power into religion and religion into power, says Wills, and you go against what Jesus wanted and sour many people on both.

All in all a very thought-provoking book.