The Jesus Scandals

by David Instone-Brewer

Jesus scandalized both friends and enemies.

Genres: History, Religion, New Testament, Nonfiction

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Instone-Brewer has made scandal his business. He is a Baptist minister, biblical scholar and Senior Research Fellow at Tyndale House, Cambridge. As scandalous as ministry and academia may be, it is not his profession which provides scandal. Scandal is his professional interest. In particular, he reads the Gospels with an eye for what sort of scandals are evident in the life of Jesus, his followers and his teaching.  Why? Because scandals self-authenticate Christian truth claims. As Instone-Brewer writes:

Scandals are the best guarantee of  historical truth in the Gospels. When disgraceful, embarrassing and shocking details about Jesus are recorded by his friends and supporters, it is much harder to disbelieve them.
Jesus was accused of being a bastard, blaspheming, abusing alcohol, partying with prostitutes, being mad and working for Satan--in other words, scandal followed him. And a huge part of his teaching and ministry tackled head-on the scandals that pervaded society and would therefore have been regarded as scandalous by his audience (11).

Many of these 'coffee-break-length' chapters first appeared as columns in Christianity magazine (the rough UK equivalent to Christianity Today).  So while Instone-Brewer is a scholar by day, this book is written for a popular audience. I will enthusiastically recommend this book for anyone interested in Jesus (i.e. Christians, seekers, apologists, evangelists, exegetes, the Doobie Brothers, etc.).  I found it eye-opening.

The book's three parts discuss the different realms of scandal which surround Jesus: his life, his friends, and his teaching.  Instone-Brewer brings his knowledge of first century Judaism and Roman culture to bear on New Testament texts and is able to uncover scandal in texts which contemporary readers may miss, which reveals fresh insights. For example, Instone-Brewer discusses how Jesus' illegitimate birth actually made him an ineligible bachelor, or nearly so.  He also discusses the ways in which his healing miracles, his table manners, his 'alcohol abuse,'  and  the way his triumphal entry was socially suspect by the religious establishment,  his confrontation of the temple money lenders and the events surrounding his crucifixion.  I especially liked his discussion of Jesus' arrest warrant (preserved in Jewish literature) and the ways in which subsequent Jewish generations censored and rewrote the warrant. Instone-Brewer makes the case that the original warrant, describing the execution of Jesus on Passover for sorcery and enticing Israel, has the ring of truth to it but various additions by the rabbis seek to alleviate the scandal of it being an illegal trial, on one of Judaism's high holy days, and ways in which a charge of sorcery added validity to claims that Jesus' miracles were genuine.

Instone-Brewer's insights into Jesus' scandalous friendships were likewise revealing. Yes he talks about the way Jesus was friends with tax collectors and sinners (i.e. prostitutes) and he spills some ink clarifying Jesus' relationship to Mary Magdalene (not a prostitute but formerly possessed or possibly mentally ill).  One aspect which I found interesting was his comparison of Jesus' disciples (who were at best second rate) with the disciples of the great rabbis which were extolled for their virtue and understanding.  The way in which Jesus conducted his ministry  and those with whom he spent time, was at complete loggerheads with the religious establishment of his day.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="186"] David Instone-Brewer[/caption]

Perhaps the most fascinating part of this book for me is Instone-Brewer's discussion of Jesus' teaching.  Two aspects of Jesus teaching with Instone-Brewer illuminates are his teaching about divorce and abuse.  Instone-Brewer argues that when the religious leaders ask Jesus, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause? (Matt. 19:3)," they are using coded legal language. Divorce for 'any cause'  is roughly equivalent to the modern concept of a 'no-fault' divorce.  Jesus rejected these grounds and arguing that marriage should be a life long commitment;  however this does not, and should not mean that a neglected or abused spouse should stay in a marriage (Jesus was not discussing the case of abuse but the idea of a 'any cause' divorce.

However Jesus does appear to address child sexual abuse when he says, "It would have been better for them if they'd had a millstone hung around there neck and cast into the sea than to have caused one of these little ones to stumble. (Matt. 18:6, Mark 9:42). The word stumble (skandalizo) most often refers to sexual sin within Jewish Greek literature.  According to Instone-Brewer, Jesus is decrying sexual abuse of children, because of its long term consequences (a sexually abused youth becomes an abuser or continues to be abused).

As may be evident from the sample of topics I just profiled, Instone-Brewer is great at drawing comparisons between Jesus and his contemporaries. There are a lot of other  aspects which Instone-Brewer explores (there are 29 chapters to his book). The short stand alone chapters makes this an easy book to read and it also means that you cover a lot of ground. Click here if you are interested in reading an excerpt.

Thank you to Kregel Publications for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for this review.

[TAMMY CUEVAS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus often shocked his listeners with his teachings. His views were seen as radical by his contemporaries, and clashed with the teachings of the Jewish leaders of that time. His very birth was scandalous, and he was not shy about spending time with those considered less than desirable. He had compassion for those who no one else wanted. His very ministry, his life, death, and resurrection was a scandal.

Dr. Instone-Brewer has taken thirty areas of the teachings of Jesus and broken them down into short, easy-to-study chapters for the average Bible student. Each chapter covers an area of the ministry of Jesus or His teaching that was found scandalous in His day. Chapters include His illegitimate birth, his bachelorhood, Judas Iscariot, and His views on polygamy. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Mary Magdalene. Because I believe in avoiding spoiler alerts whenever possible, I'll just say that not only do I appreciate the fact that Dr. Instone-Brewer set the record straight once again, but he also explained why we dye Easter eggs. Yes, it's all in that one chapter. In the chapter "Second-Rate Disciples", I so appreciated the idea that perhaps Jesus was making a joke at Simon Peter's expense when he said he would be a "rock". Again, no spoiler alert; you'll just have to read it for yourself. But I have always felt that Jesus had a sense of humor while He walked upon the Earth, and I'm sure we'll discover some day that He still does. That has nothing to do with the book; just a personal observation.

This book would be excellent for a study group, as well as for individual reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have to give it 5 stars.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Kregel Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Kregel Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

[Harold Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Why He Shocked His Contemporaries (And Still Shocks Today)

“The author’s aim is to help thinking lay persons and people preparing sermons to apply NT ethics within a modern culture, while still remaining faithful to the text - by taking into account the ancient culture. This is high quality scholarship at a very accessible level. Over the centuries Jesus’s teaching on ethical matters has often become muted and distorted. This book sets the matter straight. Here are 30 areas of ethical debate: in each context Jesus offered insights which would have left his contemporaries agape.” (From the publisher’s website)

It seems that the masses today love a good scandal. That’s why there are hundreds of scandal-filled tabloids published and sold worldwide – each offering pages and pages of slanderous and scandalous stories about famous people or people of some renown.

And so we have the story of Jesus Christ to consider along with the author. Dr. Brewer breaks his book down into 3 parts – each part in some way looking at the life of Christ and who he associated with and the scandals that were associated with them. In Part 1 author Brewer wrote about the alleged scandals in Jesus own life, in Part 2 he wrote about the alleged scandals among the friends of Jesus and finally in Part 3 he wrote about the alleged scandals in Jesus teaching. And it’s worthy of note that the author had plenty of good potential evidence to use in building his case concerning “the Jesus Scandal.”

For starters in Part 1 we have the author looking at the narrative of Christ’s conception and birth to Mary…that he was conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit and that Joseph, Mary’s husband, did not have relations with her prior to Jesus birth. Even Joseph had some doubts as he considered “putting her away privately” because of what appeared to be infidelity on her part – that is until the Angel of the Lord revealed to him that the child inside Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that when Jesus was born, Joseph would call his name Jesus. Which the author notes was a unique factor because it was customary at that time for Jews to take their father’s surname as theirs, but Joseph obeyed the Angel of the Lord and named him Jesus.

From the 1st chapter of the book to the last Dr. Brewer refers to plenty of Scripture to support his ultimate claim…but I’ll get to that in a bit. Also in Part 1 Dr. Brewer points out the issues of Jesus’ miracles and whether they were from God or not claiming that the matter of miracles was distasteful and “embarrassing” to the Jews. Some of the other “scandals” the author writes about in the life of Jesus include what he refers to as “Alcohol Abuse, (that Jesus was a winebibber); “Disruptive Worship and the Exposing of Temple Scams,” his “Shameful Execution” and finally His “Embarrassing Resurrection.” Imagine trying to convince the masses of that fact – that some guy conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit and lived a very good, moral and exemplary life, and who made claims that he was God, was ultimately publicly crucified, (so there’s no denying that fact), only then to be raised from the dead. Were it not for the testimonies of the Apostles and countless others it would seem a pretty scandalous and unbelievable story. Could it really be? The answer which Dr. Brewer gives us in his book is a resounding YES.

Then there was the matter of Jesus friends. Dr. Brewer shares with us what the Bible does and that is that Jesus hung out with some pretty unsavory and sinful people in his day. His crowd was not the kind of crowd that the Jews would have taken much of a liking to. Author Brewer lists some of Jesus friends and the scandals associated with them – First, there was Mary Magdalene who had seven demons in her and most likely acted pretty strange; Judas Iscariot, who sold Jesus out for cash, some of his disciples such as Matthew who was a tax-collector, (which did not make him at all popular with the Jews), “The Unchosen” and unwanted of the society in which Jesus lived, “The Cursed” and “The Prostitutes.” Such were the kind of people that Jesus hung out with on a regular basis and was quite comfortable being around. Surely, if he were the Son of God and God in the flesh he would not have hung out with the riff raff crowd he did…or if he really were the Son of God and very God would he have associated himself with such people? The answer might just surprise you. Dr. Brewer in his book comparing Scripture with Scripture as well as historical writings from that time period writes YES He would and He did.

Then finally there was the problem with Jesus’ Teaching and that was a major bone of contention for the Jewish spiritual leaders of his day. Some of the topics of Christ’s teaching that Dr. Brewer examines include “Child Abuse,” (Jesus stated that if anyone caused one of his little ones, a child, to stumble- which the author states has a sexual connotation, it would have been better that a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea); “Hypocrisy,” (he blasted the religious leaders for their hypocrisy and calloused indifference to the spiritual and physical needs of the people of that day), “Oaths and Curses,” Good and Bad Luck,” God-Sent Disasters,” “Unforgivable Blasphemy,” and finally “Eternal Torment.” Without knowing the context of the Scriptures that relates these teachings of Christ as well as the Old Testament Scriptures behind what Jesus taught, one would want to sign him up for a Dale Carnegie Course on “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Because as the author writes, when Jesus taught what he did quite often he stirred up quite a hornet’s nest. It was so bad that the religious leaders absolutely hated Christ and plotted his death waiting for the opportune time. And when it came they took advantage of it and had him crucified. So, this Jesus, who started out in life with more than a few points against him, who then hung out with some very undesirable and unsavory people, who throughout his adult life and ministry taught that he was the Son of Man, Son of God, and even God himself - which by the way was the ultimate blasphemy to the ruling Jewish spiritual leaders, could this man who seemed to be surrounded by so much scandal really be who he stated he was? Well, Dr. Brewer believes so and states as much in his very insightful book about Jesus. And you know what? I have to agree with him. I hope you will read his book and agree with him as well about who Jesus really is…that he truly was and is the Son of God and God.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr David Instone-Brewer is Senior Research Fellow and Technical Officer at Tyndale House, Cambridge. A Baptist minister, his hobby is computer programming. A rabbinic scholar, he is author of many academic and popular articles, and of ‘Divorce and Remarriage in the Church: Biblical Solutions for Pastoral Realities', published by Paternoster.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher, Monarch Books for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

[Doug Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish teacher in the late Second Temple period, our understanding of his life and teachings is greatly enhanced when we learn as much as possible about that historical context.

Scholar David Instone-Brewer is an expert in that context and is especially well-equipped to give an idea of how the details of Jesus' life and teachings would have been understood by those around him. This book is a collection of 30 short essays about Jesus, intended for a general audience. These essays are full of fresh insights and contain many applications for contemporary Christians.

Two of the essays summarize New Testament teaching on marriage and divorce, which the author has written about at length elsewhere.

It also appears that the author is working on an expanded version of the material in this book, to be published by Lexham Press, entitled "Jesus as a Jew in the Bible: Gospel Insights for Gentiles"---see http://www.biblecontexts.com/p/jesus-...

[Kyleigh Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instone-Brewer makes lots of good points about how scandalous Jesus's ministry and teaching were in his day (as well as in our own!). It is a fairly fascinating book. However, much he said was not supported very well (it's not an academic book, I get that, but some statements he made needed footnotes!), and I have some significant disagreements with him in his view of OT law (he seems to view it as temporary, not just in a redemptive-historical sense, but that laws such as no interest or the lack of ban on polygamy were because those things were needed at certain times but now we can charge interest and marriage is more restricted?) as well as his views on providence, human responsibility, and natural disasters.

Also, I read it all at once, which was fairly tedious. Probably better to read one or two of the very short chapters a day over a longer span of time.

Still, it was helpful to give some cultural and historical background to the Gospels.

[Georg Sagittarius · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lügen & Schwachsinn! JESU entrückt 7J nach 3.Wk Seinen WEIZEN Stunden vor Totalvernichtung, mE 2033! j-lorber.de! Gerd Gutemann! Walter Lutz

[Trevor Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Jesus Scandals by David Instone-Brewer (2012)
This little book of 191 pages is subtitled, Why he shocked his contemporaries (and still shocks today).
“Why look for scandals?” the author asks. His answer:
Scandals are our best guarantee of historical truth in the Gospels. When disgraceful, embarrassing and shocking details about Jesus are recorded by his friends and supporters, it is much harder to disbelieve them (page 11).
The book is divided into three sections; scandals in Jesus’ Life; scandals among Jesus’ friends & scandals in Jesus’ teaching. The first section opens with a chapter on his illegitimate birth. The author emphasises that being called the “son of Mary” was insulting to Jesus because a Jewish male would normally be named as the son of his father. This label was a way of saying no-one knew who his father was: Joseph denied he was the father. Moreover, everyone in Nazareth knew that Jesus was born less than nine months after his parent’s wedding. This approach makes for fresh readings of the gospels, as when Jesus speaking in the temple in John 8 is subject to the taunts of a heckler who openly questions his legitimacy.
The chapter on his shameful execution describes in detail why the cross was such a scandal to people in first century Palestine. He notes how centuries of treating the cross as a decoration in the church or as a piece of jewellery has made it respectable. It is hard for us to perceive just how disgusting a crucifixion was and how it disgraced the victim, while killing him painfully and slowly. He points out that with this death, Jesus identified himself with the worst criminals of his time.
The second section begins with a chapter on the scandal of having female disciples like Mary Magdalene. More particularly, he takes his cue from Luke 8:2, that Jesus’ exorcism of seven demons from Mary was ‘an ancient description of mental illness’ (page 82). He argues that the western church conflated her with the “prostitute” of Luke 7:37-50 because it was easier for it to handle a reformed woman than one with the taint of mental illness.
The final section begins with a chapter on child abuse. The author argues that child sexual abuse is the target of Jesus’ furious pronouncement in Matthew 18:6. He informs us that the Romans combined their immoral lifestyle and oppressive slavery in a particularly noxious way with their treatment of slave girls and boys as sex toys.
Jesus spoke out against this practice with more vehemence than anyone else of his day, and the Gospels record him speaking more stridently against this than anything else. Our society and the church have only recently learned to view this crime with as much seriousness as Jesus (page 121).
The final chapter in this section, and of the book, is on eternal torment, Jesus’ teaching on hell. He claims that Jesus taught more about hell than any other Jew of his time, 45 verses on hell, compared to 65 verses on love (page 179). He argues that Jesus’ teachings were similar to common Jewish beliefs of the time, even to the point of using the imagery of the Jerusalem garbage dump, Gehenna, for hell. However, the scandal for Jewish hearers was that Jesus suggested that those who knew more about the will of God and failed to do it, would be punished more severely than those who did not know (Luke 12: 47-48). Finally, the author argues from the Greek words used, that the punishment in hell is torment followed by destruction. This is certainly an example of Jesus’ teaching that still shocks today.
I have a few criticisms: in the chapter on second-rate disciples, the author has forgotten the attempt by James and John to corner the best seats in heaven, when he says: They [the disciples] didn’t care about their own reputation or greatness; they wanted only to tell the world about their rabbi Jesus (page 100).
In the chapter on embarrassing resurrection, he talks about the search for an ossuary inscribed with the names Joseph, Mary & Jesus (page 78). He seems to be unaware of the ossuary (ancient bone box) inscribed with the name: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”. This ossuary was the subject of the “forgery trial of the century” in Israel which ended in 2012 with a verdict that the inscription was “not forged”.
The author is a Senior Research Fellow at Tyndale House, Cambridge and a Baptist minister. As the blurb at the back says, the book can be read as a whole or as stand-alone chapters. It would be useful for fellowship groups looking for interesting discussion starters, as each chapter is quite short.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A contextual look into why Jesus was so scandalous to his contemporaries and why he continues to be today.

This book was fantastic. Instone-Brewer breaks the scandals into three parts:
Scandals in Jesus' life
Scandals among his friends
Scandals in his teaching

The chapters are very short but he packs a wallop in each one. He brings to light social and community insights that I never thought of before. And that is saying something with all of the "Jesus in his First Century Context" books I have read.

You'll learn a possible reason why Jesus remained single (Who would want to marry an illegitimate son?), how it was the children that perpetuated the chanting while Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and all the gritty details as to why his relationships were fodder for anger.

The section on his teaching scandals is worth the read. You'll learn about Jesus' stance on divorce, child abuse, anger and oaths along with a number of other topics that ring true in our world today.

There is so much nuance and aspects to social life that we take for granted. By taking the time to relearn some of these aspects, you gain a fuller understanding of Scripture and the truth behind Jesus' words and actions. To be sure, the stories of Jesus were not written in 2012 USA.

This is a great book to read in one sitting or as a daily study. It will whet your appetite to dig further and explore the life of first century Palestine.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Monarch Books.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Jesus Scandals by David Instone-Brewer is written in a lively, bold style with a strong scriptural basis. Biblical references are found through out each chapter.


This book delves into how Jesus' friends and enemies really thought about him and their reactions to his teachings. The author then takes the next step and shows us how Jesus' teaching are still shocking the world today.

It's separated into three sections: Scandals in Jesus' Life, Scandals Among Jesus' Friends and Scandals in Jesus' teachings. It can be read as a whole or broken down into stand alone chapters. I recommend reading it in chapters as I found the book to be a bit overwhelming when trying to read it as a whole.

The concepts and parallels shared in The Jesus Scandals are definitely thought provoking and interesting but overall. I didn't particularly enjoy reading this book.

Many thanks to Kregel publications for the opportunity to review this book. My views and thoughts are an honest representation of my thoughts and feelings regarding this book.

[Dusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bite-sized chapters detailing extra context around several of the ways Jesus and his followers were seen as scandalous in their day (ranging from accusations of drunkenness to bad manners to whispers of illegitimate birth). I kind of wish there was more info, though, and that each chapters was more fleshed out. He does provide a list of further sources at the end of each chapter, though, so I can go digging myself if I want more info.

But it gives me some interesting contextual tidbits I didn’t know, and gives me plenty of resources to turn to should I want to dig further. Though most of the resources look like major scholar-level books, the sort you only get to see in the reference section of the library or purchase for $60+ each. Or straight up ancient manuscript sources, which I’m not… even… I mean, can I even? I don’t think I can. (edit after finishing) ohhohoHO jackpot. At the end he provides some more layman level titles for those looking for further context. I’ll be adding those to my wishlist.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

In diesem Buch geht es um die angeblichen Skandale von Jesus Christus. Bestimmt denkt man sich jetzt dass man hier ein aufklärerisches Werk angeboten bekommt, dem ist es aber bei Weitem nicht so.

Die wirklich lesenswerten Stellen sind die ersten zwanzig Seiten, danach geht es mit der Spannug , vor allem für Menschen die von Religion nicht viel halten, nur noch bergab.

Das Buch ist in einem einfachen und lockeren Stil geschrieben worden. Es werden auch vergleiche bzw. Beispiele aus unsere Zeit und aus dem Leben des Autors erwähnt, um seine Interpretation zu stärken.
Manchmal kam es mir so vor, als veruche der Autor eine freundschaftliche Beziehung mit dem Leser aufzubauen.Das mag für einige ansprechend sein, aber ich kaufe mir dafür kein Sachbuch das Religion zum Thema hat.

Was mich auch etwas ärgerte , ist dass der Autor nach fast jeder Erläuterung es nicht lässt zu prädigen.

Kurz: Das Buch ist für religiöse Chrsiten gut, aber nicht für mich.

[Lars · Rating 4 out of 5]

It starts of as an apologetics book, but then gradually turns into a devotional, and I'm not sure if the author intended this shift. It's easy to read, though, and I definitely learnt a lot about how the words and actions of Jesus would've been perceived in a first century rabbinic context. It interpretes familiar passages in new (or perhaps "old") ways.
However, the "scandalous" aspect of it all was kind of vague. Instone-Brewer could've been more consistent with what he thinks consitutes a "scandal" and what it all means. Instead, it ends up being nothing but a rhetorical device to draw attention to the book.
But no doubt, Jesus remains radical and provocative even in the church today, and this book does a good job of demonstrating just that.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some excellent background on Jesus and the gospels from an expert in Rabbinic Judaism that enriches one's understanding. The author's motivation is to show, in part, that the gospels continue historically reliable information because Jesus' behaviour, friends, and teachings were so outrageous for his time that they wouldn't have been invented by his followers. Valuable for anyone interested in the history and culture of Jesus' time.

[Richard Coombs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This an intriguing book to read. It is thought-provoking, well researched and well-written.

It consists of three parts - Scandals in Jesus' life; Scandals among Jesus' friends; and, Scandals in Jesus' teaching.

The author draws from OT and NT sources of the time which brings fresh understanding to several texts and incidents from Scripture.

[Michael Ots · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent though provoking book with loads of new material. It's really fresh. Love the short chapters as it makes it very easy to get into. Similar in style to Kenneth Baileys books. Highly recommended.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://deeperwaters.wordpress.com/201...

[Liz Figures · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very helpful indeed.

Combining Scholarship with a readable style and logical thinking about First century issues in the New Testament.

Insightful.