Jesus for Everyone: Not Just Christians

by Amy-Jill Levine

Why Jesus’s historic and cultural influence makes him fascinating, provocative, and relevant for everyone, not only Christians. Two thousand years after his birth and death, Jesus of Nazareth continues to be of vital interest. Yet much of the scholarship around Jesus focuses on his religious significance. Jesus for Everyone examines his most famous teachings from a fresh perspective, exploring how they have continued to shape ethics and civilization in the West for two millennia. Even for those who reject faith, Jesus’s life and his philosophy are important to study, writes renowned biblical scholar and author Amy-Jill Levine, because of the insights they hold for us today. Poring through scripture, analyzing what historical scholarship has revealed about Jesus’s views on a number of subjects—including women—reveals surprising messages sure to be fascinating to all readers. Placing Jesus of Nazareth within his historical context, Levine brings him vividly into focus and invites everyone from faithful Christians, agnostics, and the most committed nonbelievers to appreciate his lasting impact on the modern world.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Faith, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2024

About the author

Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies. Her books include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus; Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi; four children's books (with Sandy Sasso); The Gospel of Luke (with Ben Witherington III); and The Jewish Annotated New Testament (co-edited with Marc Z. Brettler). Her most recent books are The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently (co-authored with Marc Z. Brettler), Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven; and The Kingdom of Heaven: 40 Devotionals. In 2019 she became the first Jew to teach New Testament at Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute. Professor Levine, who has done over 300 programs for churches, clergy groups, and seminaries, has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Institutions granting her honorary degrees include Christian Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest.

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is religious history free of religion. It places Jesus of Nazareth within his historical and jewish context and examines his most famous teachings, and then explores how they continued of shape Western civilization for two millennia. This is done while avoiding the Christian dogma that developed regarding interpretations about the cosmic significance of the life and death of Jesus.

The author’s original intent was to title this book “Jesus for Atheists.” Her intent was to reach the “nones” and “dones,” so on second thought she was concerned that they would not identify with the term “atheist” and the current title was selected. The author is uniquely qualified to write a book such as this because she is a Jewish professor of New Testament studies. She "live[s] as if there is a God" and is "religious" (in terms of practice) but not "spiritual" (in terms of belief).

The following is how the author describes the goal of this book.

... how a historical approach to the stories of and by Jesus, coupled with awareness of how these narratives have been understood over time, helps us see better what matters in his world, and ours. This book asks how Jesus and the Gospels can help us get through the minefields of today's culture wars in such a way that we bind up wounds rather than blow up bodies. (p.9)

The following list of chapter titles illustrate how the contents are assembled to apply the teachings of Jesus on current social and political issues.

CHAPTER I: ECONOMICS
CHAPTER 2: ENSLAVEMENT
CHAPTER 3: ETHNICITY AND RACE
CHAPTER 4: HEALTH CARE
CHAPTER 5: FAMILY VALUESy
CHAPTER 6: POLITICS

Near the end of the book the author provides a recapitulation of the previously covered chapters by commenting of how the parable of the sheep and goats applies to all the previous chapters.

The parable of the sheep and the goats returns us to other chapters in this book. For the hungry, thirsty, and naked the Gospels speak to economic issues responsibilities and opportunities (Chapter 1). Though the parable does not mention those who are enslaved (Chapter 2) we can extend its concern for those who are in prison to those who are not free whether because of slavery or debt, or because of what the state sees as criminal behavior, or because they have been kidnapped or trafficked. For those who are sick and weak the Bible speaks to the importance of healthcare (Chapter 4). Further, speaking of those who are sick reminds us also of those who are enslaved who are sick, beaten, or flayed. When the sheep care for those who cannot take care of themselves they become the new family based on a common ethical code (Chapter 5). For the migrant the parable employs the category of stranger (Chapter 3). Salvation is not based on converting this stranger to the same beliefs or politics or rituals as the person providing aid. Salvation is based on care for those in need regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or any of those categories that today so divide us. For the first century and for the twenty-first, politics (Chapter 6) cannot be divorced from questions of economics, national identity and immigration, slavery, healthcare, gender and sexuality, and any other facet of life. Politics helps determine who can do what, who has access to resources, who can speak up and who is silenced. ... ...

At this point the author describes how the parable can be applied to how we relate to our human community.

... ... we can take the point of the parable to heart. If we do not see the face of the divine and the face of everyone else, even if we don't believe in a God that looks like us, we should nevertheless be able to see the human face, the face we share in everyone else. If we cannot we are lost. The first step may be looking in the mirror and seeing our own humanity. The next steps are to look at the faces, not just of those we love, but also of those we despise and move away from demonization. We may never get to love of enemy. I'm not there yet, and love of enemy is not on my bucket list. But human decency? That's obtainable. The Bible helps us get there. The Jesus tradition helps us focus.

[Traci Rhoades · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time and again, Levine puts Jesus's stories in ancient Jewish context, and I am here for it! So much wrong teaching can come out of ignorance of context. Granted, it was a long time ago, but Levine references ancient sources to set the actual scene. I've long wondered about the lazy scholarship of a hand-me-down theology, and am so thankful to have reference books like this.

Excellent resource, as I'm certain her other books are, too. I'm about three books in, and counting.

[Edie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Amy-Jill Levine is one of my absolute favorite Bible scholars. Her academic credentials are impeccable and her teaching is always full of compassion and humor. She balances her academic brilliance with wisdom, making her someone I may not always agree with, but I trust. Jesus for Everyone is yet another opportunity to learn, stretch, and grow from someone who has taught me so much already. Thank you to the author, HarperOne, and NetGalley for the eARC.

Jesus for Everyone is a guide to what Jesus said, what people said Jesus said, and what people have said and are saying about Jesus. It presents what is known currently, the academic understanding, and then puts that into context for the reader to chew on. Like Jesus, the book asks more questions than it answers. The questions it asks are the good kind of questions which make you think, maybe even squirm a little bit.

[Andrea Engle · Rating 5 out of 5]

(NOTE: My edition is entitled — “JESUS FOR EVERYONE: NOT JUST CHRISTIANS). This deeply moving, thought- provoking book explores the relationships between the Jesus of the 1st century A.D., and the Jesus we have constructed out of mis-readings of the texts. It covers the areas of: Economics; Enslavement; Ethnicity and Race; Healthcare; Family Values; and, of course, Politics. Levine ends with an “Afterword, Afterward,” where she sums up her findings. One intriguing remark about Matthew’s “Parable of the Sheep and the Goats” is typical: “… We may not experience a final judgment when everyone, sheep and goats, is already a worshiper of Jesus, which is what I think Matthew has in mind. But we can take the point of the parable to heart. If we do not see the face of the divine in the face of everyone else — even if we don’t believe in a god who looks like us — we should nevertheless be able to see the human face, the face we share, in everyone else. If we cannot, we are lost. …”
Thank you, Amy-Jill Levine, for a magnificently affirming portrait of Jesus, for both Christians and Non-Christians … Absolutely stellar …

by Matthew the Apostle
by Robert Alter

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given that “nones” and “dones” are the two fastest growing cohorts in American regarding beliefs, those professing a lack of interest in religion and those who have quit its organized manifestations, what should we do about Jesus? A non-believing member of an Orthodox {shul} who teaches at Vanderbilt in the Bible Belt, Amy-Jill Levine throughout her professorial career elucidates in witty, accessible style the relevance of teachings attributed to Christ and his disciples, and as her subtitle admits (originally, she was to title this {Jesus for Atheists}), she addresses a broad, diverse audience.

She begins: {To misunderstand Judaism is to misunderstand Jesus. Years ago I wrote “The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus” (the subtitle was necessary lest readers think the book was autobiography--see my review on it). Like that book, this one offers corrections to popular, but erroneous, stereotypes of Jesus’s Jewish context.} This passage typifies Levine’s characteristic attributes. She writes pithily. She offers wit. She presents in clear prose her informed interpretations.

While this book’s replete with references to {enslaved persons}, {gender-affirming surgery} and {heterosexist binary}, Levine eschews academic jargon or belabored polemic. While firmly in the progressive camp, she addresses straightforwardly the distorted readings endemic among scholars who strain to claim Jesus as the only Jew who cared about healthcare, poverty or the dangers of Church-State relations. She warns that when activists typecast Christ among {outcasts} as a Galilean peasant {transgressing} social standards, {more than likely the context is a false and poisonous depiction of Jewish practice and belief} during the first century C.E., when contrary to frequent Christian assertions from both the left and right, this rabbi aligned more with than against the Temple institution itself. He meant to purify its intentions, rather than eradicate the institution.

What Jesus criticized, similar to political challengers today across the spectrum, more accurately should be defined as the corruption of a top-down system rather than a call for the abolition of the enterprise itself. Levine developed this thesis in depth in {The Misunderstood Jew} (2007), which may be better for one new to this subject. Similarly, her twists on the parables as {Short Stories by Jesus} (2014) expand her appealingly raw, clunky translations of the original Greek, which show the mangled, tangled vernacular, stripped of the resonances of a King James Version, and of any veneer.

Levine’s previous scholarship gets, therefore, repeated often if inevitably in {Jesus for Everyone}. This may be unavoidable as the number of texts is after all fixed, and their scope, after a biblical historian scours the same material as her life’s work, remains framed and limited within its extant parameters. However, she strives in her newest foray to organize material around themes designed to appeal to the unconvinced, those who might not naturally pick up a work on the Son of God.

Her chapters take up in turn economics; slavery; ethnicity and race; healthcare; celibacy, marriage, divorce and adultery; and politics. She orients each topic within the Gospel passages, then elaborating on how much the evangelists narrated content {case-specific} versus contemporary resources which those in the ancient world would have known, whether Hebraic, Greek, Roman or from the diaspora in origin. In each section, if sometimes in too diffused a discussion rather than a firm condensation of pertinent facts (at times she leaves certain parables themselves with points unresolved, left hanging or abandoned), she strives for level-headed sense blended with apt proofs.

But this doesn’t mean her approach lacks vigor. She cautions against smirking at the rich so-and-so who at first seems set up as the fall guy in many parables. She asks if Mary in accepting the Annunciation signaling that she will bear the Christ Child calls herself neither {handmaid} nor {servant} but {slave}. She chides how a {need to find a negative foil over and over against which Jesus looks good is historically inaccurate, theologically false, and ethically wrong.} She suggests the rather antiquated malady of dropsy (edema) with its symptom of unquenchable thirst may make sense for moderns as similar to the {insatiability} addicts strive to overcome in 12-step programs.

While her conclusions to stop moralizing and start mobilizing to bring about the kingdom of God, or for those not enamored of this messianic makeover, to incorporate the pioneering models of justice, righteousness, broadmindedness and inclusion of the stranger and exile break no new ground, Levine’s timely insistence that we can all bring to the reception of Jesus’ bold prescriptions necessary descriptions of how to build a fairer society resonate. {Jesus for Everyone} encourages respect across denominations or separations among us, exposing a figure whose appeal discomforts, and who leaves many solutions for the problems the Gospels raise for those today to face, not flee.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Amy-Jill Levine's comfortable handling of the New Testament material. It is refreshing to see Jesus as a rabbi and teacher among Jewish teachers, critical of some others but loyal to the tradition.
I think her use of the material as the basis for important discussions on issues such as slavery, family values, health and politics is very admirable. She is not a reader looking to proof-text various positions or to develop a religious life - but as a contemporary reader she finds the life of Jesus raises important issues that need to be discussed not legislated on.
As such it is not necessarily a satisfying read; it is not a tour de force or a book of answers or how-tos or particular views. But the healthy discussions allow for a nuanced and open weighing of alternatives: 'on the one hand... on the other hand'. And that's how life is best treated.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had heard things about Amy-Jill Levine before. Some of what I’d read, on certain subreddits, Academia and elsewhere, indicated that she brought a lot of new insight to Jesus and his parables and teaching by looking through Jewish eyes.

And, some other insights indicated that this might be at least in part good marketing.

But, I’d not latched on to one of her books before.

And now?

“Jesus for Everyone” makes me think it is indeed — at least in part — good marketing.

First is her spending multiple pages beating down “Jews 101” stereotypes. Most people who really have all those stereotypes probably aren’t reading this book in the first place. (On the other hand, that she had to call out a piece in Sojourners, and talks about relatively critical Catholic and Protestant theologians, says maybe this is an issue.)

Second, she does blow her own horn.

Then, near the end of the opening chapter, which overviews the subject ahead, the “Family values, celibacy, marriages and divorce, adultery” subsection says “He is single and celibate.”

Is he? A fair chunk of serious NT scholars of recent years have at least partially pushed back against that. At a minimum, unlike Paul, who references Peter’s wife and thus indicates he has one, this is an argument from silence.

Wooden translations are literalistic, not literal, and as bad as Jesus Seminar’s translations of sayings of Jesus. Or, for another comparison? It’s like reading the English line of Bible Hub’s interlinear. In fact, maybe that’s what it IS, or similar.

It also comes off as pedantic, and per the title of the book, I think would lose a fair share of her target audience.

OK, I have several disagreements, theological, exegetical and sociological, with material in all the individual chapters. Most of it will go behind a spoiler alert, but to pull out two things?

First, just as Candida Moss did in “God’s Ghostwriters,” she overstates the prevalence of slavery in Rome, especially outside Italy.

Second, her insertion of queer sexuality into the Legion pericope? Laughable.

Before the spoiler? A callout of one two-star reviewer, who might be Levine’s target audience. She actually does care very much about the “title character”; there’s no disdain.

Now, behind the spoiler, detailed issues, but also a couple of kudos:

Economics chapter. Did the steward know the debtors’ debt? I’ve always thought that “show me your books” was followed by the rich man taking them.

Slavery chapter: Does not talk about Israelite enslavement of non-Israelites. Wrong on one-third or more of Rome being enslaved; in the provinces, it was no more than 15 percent. Even in Italy itself, they were no more than 30 percent the population. See Wiki, also linked in my Moss review. You’ll see occasional estimates higher to much higher, but I don’t think they’re credible. In short, contra Levine (and Candida Moss) it wasn’t that 10 percent of the Empire owned the other 90 percent or even close.

At this point, I turned to the back and realized — no index! This itself can get a ding of up to 1 star. Also missing? No bibliography. I couldn’t find if she cited Moss. Or later, Yonathan Adler. Finally, a lesser ding than the other two? No end-of-book list of biblical passages or pericopes cited, referenced or discussed. Total ding is, say, 1.25 stars right there, meaning we’re guaranteed not more than 3 stars. It also means that when, I’m going web searches later, I can’t find the pages for what she said about an alternative etymology for “Pharisee.”

Centurion’s slave misses point. The story itself is about the centurion’s trust, and healing at a distance rather than in person, since such stories of magic usually relied on physical contact.

Name of high priest’s slave Malchus could also come from Hebrew for “messenger.”

What’s really at issue with both Levine and partially with Moss is that they, by saying “Look, slaves” don’t do enough to distinguish Roman slavery from modern Western versions, as in, the number and type of roles slaves held. (Moss is somewhat better, on the idea that slaves were literate in terms of both reading and writing.) This came out in the parable of the vineyard. And, Ms. Levine, probably anybody this side of Peter Singer would be more concerned about the death of their son than that of slaves.

Could do better, going beyond these actual passages, to counter White-privileged modern White evangelical Christians who embrace the idea of being God’s slave with no idea of what slavery actually entails. (Incorrect interpretations of the Parable of the Talents confirm what most these people think.) That said, noting clearly that the master, per the parable, is a conniver, Levine does NOT use that to fully overthrow most Christian analogies.

Ethnicity et al: Claim that Jews didn’t evangelize are overblown. We know that 150 years earlier, Hasmoneans evangelized at the point of a sword. And, elsewhere, like in Muslim-Christian borderlands in places like Spain centuries later, at a minimum, Jews didn’t dissuade converts. Plus, the “four abstentions” in Acts would indicate that there was some Jewish evangelism. And, Paul was a Pharaisee, was he not? Levine later “softens” by admitting that a “hey neighbor,” at least, led godfearers to synagogues.

Injecting queer sexuality into the Legion pericope? Laughable.

Credit for noting that Gerasa, in Mark, is likely the correct town, contra Matthew, and that Mark may have been punning. If so, maybe Moss isn't totally wrong on claiming Mark was deliberately writing "social confusion" in his mixed-up geography a chapter or two later.

That also said, credit where credit is due elsewhere. The section about John 4, Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well at Sychar, was well handled in general.

Health care chapter:

Didn’t do much for me in general. Even more than some previous chapters, much of it was about “what most Christians, including many academics, get wrong about Jews.”

On the Jairus pericope, the note that “archisynagogos” can also appear in feminine declension is irrelevant to the story at hand.

Family matters chapter:

Contra the first page of the chapter, there is no such thing as “gender reassignment surgery” as sex is not gender. With me expecting that to set the tone for the chapter as a whole, we’re pretty much guaranteed two-star territory. Tis true that ancient Hebrew, in part borrowing from Greek and Hebrew, had words for people who were intersex or similar, as well as people with fluid gender representation. But, gender wasn't sex back then, and on sex, we know some of the issues of human reproduction and sexual development.

Second: How do we know that Jesus was only metaphorically in favor of eunuchs, rather than Origin, at least allegedly, thinking he was literally in favor? Two paragraphs later, Levine herself talks about Jesus talking about it in the literal sense, in fact. Then later, it's back to metaphorical angles.

On Antipas executing John the Baptizer, is it really more plausible to follow Josephus and think this was a pre-emptive strike against John’s movement, rather than thinking John had angered him?

Also, interestingly, on modern Judaism and a husband’s refusal to grant the bill of divorce so as to block a Jewish-ceremony remarriage (Is this for Orthodox only, or all Jews? Levine doesn’t say) she overlooks the partial parallel of Catholic annulment.

Biblical criticism in this chapter? On most theories of development of the Torah, and not limited to a full documentary hypothesis, Deuteronomy was written before Leviticus and therefore, contra Levine, cannot “update” it.

Politics chapter:

On Romans 13, tho it’s fun to argue it’s universal and absolutist, it probably isn’t. That said, it’s highly doubtful that it’s referring to synagogue rulers. Rather, I think the interpretation that it’s time and location specific, and referring to Jews in Rome recently returned from Claudius’ expulsion, has much to commend it.

Finally, let’s look at the title: “Jesus for Everyone.”

To do that, we have to ask “Who was Jesus,” and set aside the fundagelicals, C.S. Lewis, etc.

We have:
1. Apocalyptic prophet
2. Jewish faith healer
3. Zealot-type revolutionary
4. Jewish Cynic.

On No. 4? I’m not aware of any A-list scholar besides Burton Mack who still plumps for that. Crossan moved away again. Don’t know of any top-level younger scholars who have picked that up. That said, it’s very much detached from No. 3. Maybe not so much from 1 or 2.

Of 1-3, they’re not mutually exclusive. To pick up on “bios” type theories of Jesus, Apollonius was arguably both 1 and 2, to some degree, in the pagan world. To some degree.

But, Jesus could have been following on John the Baptizer’s lead (little mentioned here) proclaiming the immanent kingdom, while the healings were part of the “exousia” with which he taught.

That said, 1 and 3, or 2 and 3, or all three, aren’t mutually exclusive. Maybe Jesus eventually felt called to, if you will, personally immanentize the eschaton? Zealot-type or zealot-like, perhaps not an open revolutionary against either Rome on the one hand or the Temple cultus on the other, but partially? As I’ve pondered before, behind Luke’s increasing hand-waving late in Acts, maybe Paul actually did bring a goy in the temple and for similar reasons, as I have discussed, also linked in the Moss review.

Anyway, does an actual secularist NEED Jesus for them, as I infer the title implies, and as the subtitle “Why He Should Matter More to Everyone” goes beyond implying? Not so much, contra Levine’s attempts to try to make him speak about health, mental health and other things.

And with that, the title, and the presumptuousness, guarantees two stars. It gets the "meh" tag, but not the "disappointing," because I wasn't expecting as much as with Moss. But, in broad ways, they have some similarities, and I'll pass on reading Levine again, just like Moss.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on Jesus I’ve ever read. And I’ve read a lot of them. Levine is masterful here.

[John Martindale · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing Levine does, every chance she gets is to attack Christians who attempt to contrast Jesus (who is so wonderful) with Judaism (which is so bad). She shows how Christian commentators and scholars do often look for some Jewish writings that seem to convey the negative, which is set forth to show how Jesus is so innovative and good with Women, Samaritans, and the Unclean, yet Levine points out these Jewish passages are either taken out of context, or they only show one voice among many.

I do think the Bible itself contrast Jesus, and shows that many of his sayings and actions were antagonistic with Jewish leaders; this shows there was some type of perceived difference. While it would be wrong to overgeneralize and attempt to provide a negative stereotype for the whole of Judaism, to make Jesus look good, we can say, that at least to the Jews who passed on the stories about Jesus, they thought Jesus was better than certain religious leaders and had justifiable critiques of them. So much within Judaism is self-critique, and Jesus continued this, being highly critical of individuals. It seems to Levine, to take any of these critiques, at face value (simply drawing from the text) would be anti-semitism, it would be throwing all Jews under the bus in order to say, yea Jesus and yea Christianity, and boo Judaism. I suppose Levine does show we Christians need to be more careful, in being clear, that Jesus was in favor of X, and against Y, just like lots of other Jews, Jesus wasn't innovative in this supposed positive trait.

Anyhow, unlike other books by Levine, this work seemed way more negative. Jesus is painted in an unattractive fashion. He is not admirable at all; she shows the the positive traits are all over-spun, and the many negative traits are too often ignored. So I suppose the title seemed misleading. It seemed this book was more about saying "Jesus for no one: why he shouldn't matter to anyone"

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you see A. J. Levine’s name on a book, you should read it. In Jesus For Everyone she takes on contemporary issues with stories of Christ in his cultural context rather than the standard Christian readings we are handed in the New Testament.

It was a refreshing telling of stories that I microwaved over and over while under the tutelage of uneducated pulpit thumpers who thought they knew and understood all. These surface level tellings neglected all the layers of complexity that were just waiting to be discovered by a scholar who is not afraid to take on the issues and help us understand that Jesus, messiah or not, was a Jew living in an occupied land during the 1st century CE.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperOne for an ARC of this book.

[J.L. Neyhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quotes from Introduction:
"In his classic book When Religion Becomes Evil, Charles Kimball notes, “Authentic religion encourages questions and reflection at all levels. When authority figures discourage or disallow honest questions, something is clearly wrong.”"

"I want to speak to atheists, but also to agnostics, to deists and theists, to the seekers who want a social-justice Jesus, to the baptized who now reject Christian identification, and to Jews who might be curious about, or even prejudiced against, one particular first-century Galilean Jew. I want to speak to people who have concluded that since we cannot prove Jesus existed, then he was probably fictional, like Hercules, William Tell, Ned Ludd, or Betty Crocker.4 And as some skeptics correctly note, there’s no body.5 I also imagine in this audience Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans, and others for whom the New Testament might be unfamiliar."

"Ironically, my historical approach has helped a good many people remain in church. Weird as it is, when Christian students find their faith failing, they often come to me, the Jew. If I, as an outsider, can find enormous value in the Gospels, they can too."

***
A.J. Levine is a respected New Testament scholar and Jewish academic, and in this book she challenges common misconceptions about Jewish customs and beliefs, offering nuanced interpretations of biblical stories.

Her portrayal of Jesus is complex and human, highlighting his flaws, struggles, and contradictions. This approach may be unsettling for some readers, especially those with conservative Christian views, but it adds depth and value to her analysis.

I was especially interested in Chapter 6 which focuses on the political aspects of Jesus’s life and teachings.

Levine explores the political environment of first-century Judea under Roman rule, discussing the various political groups, such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes, and their interactions with Jesus and how Jesus navigated the complex political landscape. Levine highlights Jesus’s teachings on justice, power, and authority, emphasizing his challenges to Roman authorities. She analyzes the political implications of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem and his actions in the Temple, providing insights into how these actions were perceived as threats to the established order. She also discusses the political reasons behind Jesus’s crucifixion, including the role of Roman and Jewish authorities. Levine explains how Jesus’s execution was a political act meant to suppress dissent. This chapter provides a nuanced understanding of Jesus as a political figure and the impact of his teachings on the socio-political structures of his time.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not share some basic presuppositions with Levine regarding the New Testament (so, for example, she is free to be quite critical of how she believes writers like Luke have "manipulated" the goodness of Jesus' life and ministry for their own theological agendas), and so I find myself parting ways with her in a few key areas, and the prospective reader (particularly if they are a conservative Christian) should know that going into this book.

However, there is so, so much to appreciate about Levine's work, particularly on the historical context of the New Testament writings (most especially the Gospels). She is at her best when she is pushing back on the popular characterizations of ancient Jewish and/or Roman cultures, especially the ways that Protestants tend to constantly pit Jesus over and against the prevailing Jewish attitudes at his time. I always find myself pleasantly challenged by Levine's writing in this way, realizing that I may have unknowingly imbibed some less-than-positive views of ancient Judaism that are a bit uncomfortable when you stop to reflect on it (were they all really so anti-women, anti-Gentile, stuffy, legalistic, xenophobic, contemptuously religious?) and this book shines the most when she clarifies these very issues and how they impact popular teaching and interpretation. The chapters on "slavery" and "family values" were the most illuminating for me, personally, and I will definitely be referring to this work in the future when the related subjects come up in my own teaching and preaching.

So even with the disagreements mentioned above, this is a very enjoyable and worthwhile book that enriches one's understanding of the background of the New Testament.

[Brian Hutzell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read other books by Amy-Jill Levine, and listened to her in interviews and on podcasts. Usually, she seems quite personable. In Jesus For Everyone, however, she comes off as pedantic, argumentative, and defensive. Additionally, both the title and the blurb on the jacket flap (“Why Jesus’s historic and cultural influence makes him fascinating, provocative, and relevant for everyone”) are misleading. Most of the focus here is less on making Jesus relevant, and more on countering those who would use him as a tool to wield against Jews. This is a worthwhile objective, but not what I was expecting based on the cover.

The most annoying aspect of Jesus For Everyone is Levine’s “fairly literal” translation of Bible passages. They are extensive and they are almost unreadable. I’m not sure what Levine was hoping to accomplish with these “fairly literal” translations, but she seems to have forgotten that the purpose of translation is to render something understandable which might otherwise not be–such as texts in a foreign language. The reader may want to keep a good study Bible handy to help translate the translations. (Ironically, I highly recommend The Jewish Annotated New Testament, which Levine co-edited, along with Marc Zvi Brettler, who also co-edited the equally excellent Jewish Study Bible.)

Jesus For Everyone still has plenty to offer. Levine clearly knows her material, and her insights are well worth hearing and pondering. (I should add that she can also be extremely funny.) And if you get a chance, look for her on podcasts such as “The Bible for Normal People.”

[Neil Purcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally like the books I’ve read by Amy Jill Levine. They present an interesting perspective on the New Testament, reflecting her scholarship and knowledge of the Old and New Testaments from a Jewish perspective. In this book, Levi offers more of the same, and I found it interesting and enjoyable to read. That said, I disagree with some of what she has to say about the political implications of the ministry of Jesus. I think John Dominic Crossan makes a strong argument that Jesus comes to Jerusalem to demonstrate opposition to and condemnation of both the cruel injustice of Roman rule and the corruption and collaboration of the Temple authorities. Levine, ever sensitive (however justified by centuries of anti-semitism and genocide) to Christian criticism of “the Jews”. Unlike Elaine Pagels, whose “Miracles and Wonder I read last sedk, Levine is not inclined to qualification -she has strong views about the nature of Jesus and little patience for other interretations. She can be a bit too literal in her approach - for example, she reads “the last shall be first” to mean that Jesus would have been dissatisfied with a world in which we were all on equal footing. She looks at Jesus on the subject of divorce at some tedious and meaningless length. She never really makes the case why non-Christians should be much impressed with Jesus, the promise of the book’s title. I’m a little disappointed, to sum up.

[Mhughessc · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jesus for Everyone: Not Just Christians" was written by Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish Professor of Religion who was raised to ask questions about what she had been taught. She brings this same mind frame to the Scriptures, and encourages her readers to understand the context in which Jesus was teaching, as a "Galilean Jew living under the Roman domination in the early first century CE." When we read the Bible, we must keep in mind how our interpretation needs to include the original audience to whom it was written. Levine does not discourage questioning Scriptures, rather she says we must ask questions because if we don't "we abdicate our responsibility for engaging with the text . . . and we make the subject under discussion boring." Levine brings this trademark honesty to some difficult topics, such as economics, slavery, ethnicity, and others.

If you're looking for a book that includes in-depth conversation on some of the more difficult Scripture topics, this is the book for you. I found it to be more academic than an easier, more personalized book. However, it did answer several questions for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[David Tade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy Jill Levine's writings have had a profound impact on how I read and interpret The Bible.
If you love her books, this one will not disappoint. As with all of her books, she is not shy about challenging both the reader and how people have read and intrepreted scripture. I find (as always) her unique perspective as a New Testament Scholar who happens to be Jewish, to be both challenging and rewarding. I cannot emphasize enough how this book (as well as her other books) have opened my eyes to how 1st century Jews would have heard and understand these teachings as well as how we today can hear and understand in a new and enlightened manner. I find myself in study groups constantly asking, but how would a 1st Century Jew, hearing this particular teaching of Jesus, reacted and understood his message. By redirecting our focus in this manner assists in giving us a new, clear and concise as well as challenging how we have been taught.

[Travis Sharpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy-Jill Levine writes with an interesting premise, can Jesus help answer the major questions of the day. Levine is a Jew who also happens to be a New Testament Scholar, which causes her to write from an interesting perspective. She is fascinated by Jesus, but at the same time doesn't completely believe Jesus. Yet, in this book she challenges readers to allow Jesus to impact important topics in the greater culture like economics, slavery, racism, health care, Family Values, and Politics. She confronts both scripture and common church teachings, showing the positives and negatives of both. She also tries to deal with the world as it is, asking the question does Jesus really matter. While she ultimately leaves the question up to the reader, she does seem to argue that a true following of Jesus will in fact lead to positive outcomes in all of these areas. One just has to follow Jesus, and not the misguided teachings of Christians or the Church.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting perspective on Jesus and his historical context!

I think I liked the idea of this more than I actually liked reading this. Not that any of it was bad- it was just very dense and I don't think I always grasped every point that Dr. Levine was making.

There were some really interesting nuggets here, and this is a book I think I could get something different out of every time I read it- I'll definitely be revisiting it in the future.

I do think this book won't be for everyone, and that's okay. This should be fairly interesting and applicable for Christians, but I'm not personally convinced that many non-Christians would get a lot of this, outside of those with a particular interest in religious studies and history.

3.5

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

[Christinalovesreading]

I am having a hard time even creating a review, and have not rated this read. I only read the first chapter. It took me more than a week. I am a Christian (a former catholic who emerged from 1970s education) so I do know a thing or two about the life of Jesus and the parables and contexts of chapter one. I am not a dummy, I have a BA in journalism and creative writing. I can handle multi syllable words, complex themes and deep thoughts. In addition, I was very interested in what this book seemed to be offering. Despite all this, my opinion is that any book titled "...for everyone", should be able to reach, educate, touch, move, affect... everyone. I'm not saying dummy it down. The author is obviously an expert in her field, and can create the book she wants to create. But if she wanted to present Jesus to everyone, then it needed to be much easier to grasp.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited about this book, and I generally like AJL’s writing, but I found the organization a bit chaotic. I think there are a lot of great nuggets in here, especially challenging many assumptions and falsehoods that have propagated through certain Christian schools of thought, and an outsider perspective bringing cultural, religious, and historical context to the writings of the New Testament is refreshing. Personally though, it felt like it couldn’t make its mind up between leaning into the scholarly dimensions or the general audience one’s, and that left me feeling a sort of whiplash working my way through many of the chapters. I’d say still a worthwhile read but temper expectations if you already have done some work exploring the context of biblical writing.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with Levine's takes about 98% of the time and would give it 5 stars for content, but I had a few problems with it. It's her only book that I can't enthusiastically recommend without reservations.

First, the title. This book is not at all for "everyone." It isn't just for Christians, but you need a religious Christian or Jewish *background* even to grasp her assumptions and care about her arguments. Readers with Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or non-religious backgrounds are unlikely to get past the first chapter.

Second, unlike Levine's other books, this one includes *long* gospel passages in Grenglish (Greek syntax, English vocabulary). Her students, many of whom study koine Greek, may appreciate this, but a little goes a long way. Word-for-word translations into something that isn't quite English can be enlightening, but in homeopathic doses. They certainly aren't for everyone. They can work in her lectures because she's a brilliant teacher, her students are biblically literate, and many of them are studying koine Greek. In a book for a broader audience, after the first few such passages, even those who agree or enjoy arguing with her are apt to wander off, dazed.

Finally, much as I appreciate her insights into the parables that assume slavery, her repeated use of the terms "enslavement" and "enslaved persons" was annoying. It implies a patronizing disrespect for the terms used both by slaves and by the movement that abolished slavery, as if slaves and abolitionists didn't know that slaves are people and we need 21st century academic language police to point that out in every sentence. That chapter is otherwise the *best* in the book. Unlike other chapters, it doesn't just rephrase or build on what Levine and others have often said and written before. What's more, I agree with her conclusions! But the drumbeat of contemporary jargon makes it the *least* likely for "everyone" to finish.

I strongly recommend this book, but it's her least readable. I hope she eventually writes a book for "everyone," not just observant and lapsed Christians and Jews with a high tolerance for broken English and jargon. Sadly, this isn't it.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is strange The first chapter gives us some ideas that would tell us there will be a good reading event. But, in the first pages, there are difficult things to get for a whole book.

And then the book goes from the “Intro” labeled with Jesus and then chapter 1 comes up It’s about economics. Then there’s “Enslavement.” Is it a real word? And at page 134 we have: ethnicity and race.”

And then there is “Exorcising False Views.” (182) And THEN it’s “anachronistic mapping” on page 185 and there’s a piece of page 195 has “anachronistic mapping.”

There’s so many books that I can’t understand.

[Myra Dykes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on some things. It went too fast for me to comprehend on Audible. Really would suggest reading bits at a time and chewing on them. Don't care for the Bible translation she used. Lots of Greek and Hebrew words are used and for the average reader like me it's a bit much. Written like an historian for sure. Also didn't care for narrator. This type material, for me, would be more enjoyable in a classroom/lecture setting where questions could be asked. You can tell the author is a professor.

[James Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique perspective on Jesus, if not a little intentionally milquetoast. Levine gives an overview of how the teachings of Jesus can be applied to the modern everyday life, even for those who may not identify as Christians. Several worthwhile teachings, though in many ways she works to make Jesus so palitable to everyone that one has to wonder what made him significant for his time. Looking at her view, Jesus was so much in agreement with the authorities of his time, one has to wonder why he was crucified. Still, well worth a read for considering how to apply Jesus to the modern day.

[Clay Mason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know she's a highly considered academic, but this book was a slog for everyone in our book study club. Her disdain for the title character came through loud and clear. Finding the points she was making in each chapter was quite challenging.

[Nathan Perrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about Jesus for non-religious folks about why Jesus is awesome, even if you don't believe the God part. I'm very religious, but I enjoyed it and look forward to sharing it with folks curious about him.

[Drick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy Jull Levin is religiously Jewish but voctionally a New Testament scholar. She draws on her understanding of the Jewish writings of old to shedl ight on the meaning of some of the more difficult passages in the New Testament.

[Carolyn Nguyen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF got up to page 80smth and found it hard to read

[Jennifer Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another insightful book by Levine. I appreciate her approach. I think she did a really good job at making this an interesting Reid for the general public.