Choice
"The book is remarkably lucid and informative, exemplifying careful attention to much significant literature on its topics. McKnight makes very good sense of how Jesus could have ended up on a Roman criminal's cross; in doing so, he improves on many contemporary treatments of the historical Jesus. . . Highly recommended for all college libraries. All academic levels and general readers."
The Bible Today
"An exceptionally good book on the historical Jesus. . . The heart and foundation of Jesus' teaching, McKnight affirms, is Jesus' experience of and teaching about God. Jesus' understanding of God was forged within his Jewish heritage and is the ultimate source and point of coherence for everything else. McKnight illustrates this thesis forcefully and eloquently. While he does not attempt to draw out the full contemporary meaning of this perspective for Christian life, the thoughtful reader will find this a rich source of contemplation."
Interpretation
"McKnight is well known as a careful, historically conscious exegete. By disclosing the original intention of Jesus' teaching, he manages often to reveal the eternal relevance of that teaching as well."
L. D. Hurst
— University of California, Davis
"Writing with a careful eye to scholars and students alike, McKnight judiciously exposes how much of Jesus' teaching was directed to the nation of Israel in its role as God's holy people in the first-century Mediterranean world. Providing a lucid and comprehensive guide to recent scholarship on the subject, McKnight gives us one of the freshest and most compelling contributions to the continuing question, `Who really was this Jesus?' Bravo!"