$20.70 with 20 percent savings
List Price: $25.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 13 hrs 9 mins
In Stock
$$20.70 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$20.70
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Robert J. Myles
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict Paperback – March 1, 2023

by James Crossley (Author), Robert J. Myles (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$20.70","priceAmount":20.70,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"20","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"70","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"AbC7aQk4fQeUe%2BXbb28UlTH9a1uGMiSJ8qIyoM9GGEkKPxipT0psuRXWGMjEwr1SLm1RAtdUrnFu2EDFa4NMEza%2B3M1aYhNTpWe5xiv5CwCQUCmTdsUK35knNzrzWGTg4LZKSMPppk%2F%2Fv1qaI0FFqA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

'Precise, clear, accessible, and important. I can think of no better introduction to the historical Jesus for the general reader, no clearer statement on the legacy of the Jesus movement in the sweep of subsequent history, or a more worthy challenge to contemporary scholarship on Jesus and the rise of Christianity.' Neil Elliott, author of Liberating Paul: The Justice of God and the Politics of the Apostle

What made the Jesus movement tick? By situating the life of Jesus of Nazareth in the turbulent troubles of first-century Palestine, Crossley and Myles give a thrilling historical-materialist take on the historical Jesus. Delivering a wealth of knowledge on the social, economic, and cultural conflicts of the time, Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict uncovers the emergence of a fervent and deadly serious religious organizer whose social and religious movement offered not only a radical end-time edict of divine reversal and judgment but also a promising new world order ruled in the interests of the peasantry. The movement's popular appeal was due in part to a desire to represent the values of ordinary rural workers, and its vision meant that the rich would have to give up their wealth, while the poor would be afforded a life of heavenly luxury. Tensions flared up considerably when the movement marched on Jerusalem and Jesus was willingly martyred for the cause. Crossley and Myles offer a vivid portrait of the man and his movement and uncover the material conditions that converged to make it happen.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Zero Books
  4. Publication date
    March 1, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    5.54 x 0.68 x 8.28 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1803410825
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1803410821
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict
$20.70
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The Cross and the Lynching Tree
$15.99
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Historical Jesus: What Can We Know and How Can We Know It?
$16.53
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The greatest story ever told as told from below is more compelling than ever. I was utterly engrossed. What impresses the most, though, is in how by demystifying an epic class struggle of the past lessons of strategic relevance to struggles for liberation in the present can be drawn. Essential stuff.' -- Ciara Cremin, author of Totalled: Salvaging the Future from the Wreckage of Capitalism

'Copious and informed material information by way of well-wrought and well-written biographical narrative. The book conveys a sharp sense of the times and places, the issues and discussions, the difficulties and possibilities. A marvelous idea on the part of Crossley and Myles' -- Fernando F. Segovia, Oberlin Graduate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Vanderbilt University

'This book moves on from the Third Quest for the historical Jesus, so focused on seeing Jesus as a great innovator within a particular cultural, religious and societal context. Seeing such portraits as romanticized and overly idealized, the interest here is on the social and economic forces that produced the Jesus movement.' -- Joan E. Taylor, Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism, Kings College London

'Crossley and Myles have recaptured the mind-blowing excitement generated by the original quest to distinguish the Jesus of history behind the myth.' -- Deane Galbraith, Lecturer in Religion, University of Otago

About the Author

James Crossley is Professor of Bible and Society at MF Oslo and director of the Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements. He lives in Cumbria, UK.
Robert J. Myles is Senior Lecturer in New Testament at Wollaston Theological College in Perth, Western Australia and the University of Divinity. He lives in Perth, Australia.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zero Books (March 1, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1803410825
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1803410821
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.54 x 0.68 x 8.28 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Robert J. Myles

Robert J. Myles

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dr Robert J. Myles is Senior Lecturer in New Testament at Wollaston Theological College in Perth, Western Australia and the University of Divinity. The author and editor of several books, his academic writing integrates critical theory and ideological criticism with rigorous historical research on the early Jesus movement and the New Testament against the backdrop of Roman imperial power and agrarian economics. www.robertjmyles.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
21 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Taylor M. Weaver
5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Groundbreaking Book That Will Stand the Test of Time
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
Reading the early Jesus-following movement in light of class struggle is coming back into vogue, and Myles and Crossley are leading the way. While Engels and Kautsky were the early torchbearers who have been mostly ignored by scholars (even after the scholarly turn to the social sciences in NT studies), the last few years Myles and Crossley have attempted to reignite the importance of attending to, especially, historical materialism as an important model for reading these early movements. If you want a good volume on that see, especially, Myles' edited volume Class Struggle in the New Testament (recently released in a cheaper paperback; also, to be upfront, I do have an essay in that volume).

All, of that preliminary copy to merely say that: this book is both timely, and important. And, if merit is to be rewarded, then this book needs to be read widely, assigned to undergrads, and taken seriously.

But, why do I say that? Firstly, the book has a good amount of introductory materials regarding the Jesus movement (and, of course, Jesus), making it perfect for newcomers (including those familiar with historical materialism, but no good knowledge about New Testament studies). Secondly, and most importantly, the book continues an important correction (lamentably rare in NT studies) to the Great Man reading of Jesus (something that I, among others, have tried to do with Paul, even if we have been misread). Jesus is best understood within the socio-political (and, here, this is meant in a grounded, *material* way) movements operating within his context. The Jesus movement was part of wider dynamics going on; and, well, it's existence would have *been* without the singularity of the historical man seen at the centre of it. Jesus was *formed* by the social and economic forces operating in first century Galilee.

That is, of course, a challenging and provocative statement, and many in NT studies will not happily embrace it. But, Myles and Crossley bring the receipts! They provide a convincing lens through which we can read the early movements as grounded within a rather tumultuous period, and recognise Jesus as a religious organiser, similar to his contemporaries.

The book, as a whole, is great. However, if I had to pick out a stand-out chapter, it would be Chapter 7, which focuses on nuances of the community itself, it's aims, and futural operations. They take naïve readings of the Jesus movement by scholars like N.T. Wright, as well as so-called "progressive" readings of the Jesus movement to task within this chapter; this is a corrective badly needed, especially when it comes to the relations of violence and the Jesus-followers.

All-in-all, I expect this book to both ruffle feathers, and spur on new, creative scholarship within New Testament studies. A wonderful achievement for Crossley and Myles!
9 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
J. Edgar Mihelic, MA, MA, MBA
4.0 out of 5 stars The Life and Times of a Nazarene
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024
I enjoyed reading this materialist approach to the life of Jesus. It was a good exploration of both what his life would have been like and the world he lived in, as well as the construction of the gospels and the epistles. The author did a really good job putting the construction of the books of the bible in context in looking at similarities and differences in the stories between Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and examining how that represented what might have been going on in the larger “Jesus Movement” that sprang forth 2000 years ago. Even as an atheist, this book made me want to go back to the original text to look at it with fresh eyes.
Helpful
 Report
Matthew D Wion
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Examination of the Jesus Movement in terms of Class and Social Context!
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2023
I have read extensively on the historical Jesus, and I must say that Crossley and Myles have provided one of the most engaging and interesting accounts I have read in some time. Working from the perspective of historical materialism, the authors explain the Jesus movement as a response to social conditions present in Galilee in Jesus' time, rather than the visionary product of Jesus the "great man" alone. It's a compelling and important way to understand the early traditions about Jesus.

This perspective is extremely valuable in approaching the gospels in their context and proving the limits of how close we can get to the Jesus of history and what precisely we are doing when we do historical Jesus research. Even more importantly, it places an emphasis on the role of movements as wide groups of people responding to the social and political conditions of their time and place. This is a much needed perspective in historical Jesus research and I learned a great deal from it.

I find the book's argument regarding the Jesus movement's "Mission to the rich" to be extremely persuasive. They argue that the reason we read so frequently of Jesus dining with "tax collectors" is that they are among those who had money and were convinced to support the movement and/or return that money to the poor in an act of repentance in the face of God's imminent judgment. Honestly I find this the most compelling and convincing discussion of Jesus' dining with sinners I've yet to read.

Some aspects of this book are new to me and I must think more deeply before I am sure how to fully evaluate them. In particular, the book spends a great time discussing the role of masculinity and how the Jesus movement reinterpreted in in light of their circumstances. I found this thought provoking and want to learn more.

Though I agree with the authors' basic premise that Jesus and his movement is best interpreted as millenarian or apocalyptic, I find that I disagree with them on one major point. They argue that for the Jesus movement the soon-to-arrive Kingdom of God will be structured exactly as the present Kingdom's of Herod and Rome are. The only change will be who is in charge. The oppressed and exploited peasants will be on top and the rich and powerful will be on the bottom. This reversal of who is in charge is surely what the movement expects. But it seems to me that God's Kingdom will not merely change who is in charge, but that God will rule differently than Herod and Rome. There are passages at every level of the tradition that condemn the nations for "lording it over their subjects" and speaking of the need for "humility," sharing resources in common, and the Kingdom of God as a great banquette where all have enough food. In short, I don't think there will be oppressed, hungry, and downtrodden people in the coming Kingdom.

For the Jesus Movement what will happen to the corrupt and powerful in charge that now repent? My guess, following the work of Bart Ehrman is that they will be destroyed and cease to exist, rather than hang around and be the new oppressed. Whether this is a better fate, depends on your point of view I suppose.

But despite this disagreement. Crossley and Myles have written a wonderful book. It is a joy to read and provides much to think about and continue to discuss.

I highly and enthusiastically recommend their book for anyone interested in the Historical Jesus!
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Baptist Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating and illuminating book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is a brilliant and accessible exploration of the origins of the Jesus tradition by two leading Marxist scholars. There are new insights into the social world of the historical Jesus, with particular attention to class and economic conditions. It also sheds new light on the conditions that shaped the early years of the Christian movement, and explains the key socio-economic forces that drove those who followed Jesus.
5 people found this helpful
 Report
Weird of Hermiston
4.0 out of 5 stars A truly realistic first century Jesus, but do we need the Politburo involved?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2023
Verified Purchase
Firstly the excellent things about this book, of which there are many. Its the most realistic portrait of the earthly Jesus I have read, its factual, concise and to the point. It portrays a realistic man of his time, not a godly type great man you get from the overly theological US & German seminarys and NT Wright, or a hippy itinerant preacher you get from liberal US universities.

It could quite easily be the definitive portrait. It is however very distracting in its over use of dated, Soviet era language. The Kingdom of God becomes the Dictatorship of Peasantry, the Apostles become the Politburo. Really? This may be amusing among people who've spent too much time in academic circles, but becomes very boring, very quickly for us proletariat!

Worse for a book that has possibly rewritten what we accept about Jesus, it thus makes itself an easy target to the Great Man and Hippy Jesus believers. Please stick to the modern language of the working class in future, and you will reap the awards (and 5 stars)
One person found this helpful
 Report
J Whitgift
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting insights, but not much that isnew
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
This was an interesting book from the perspective of the Historical Jesus, and introduced me to sone ideas I'd not come across before, as well as some new facts about Jesus’s time. However I'm not convinced it moved much beyond that perspective, hence the meagre three stars.

One critical has said that it was 'too academic in its language'. I would say that it tended towards the slightly dry, but like any book aimed at an educated audience, assumed a certain level of literacy, one beyond that assumed by the Church of England's Liturgical Commission. And as the boom isn't that cheap, I can't see any but someone with a professional interest in the subject, be they academic or Priest picking it up.
Report