Jesus: What He Really Said and Did

by Stephen Mitchell

The best-selling author of The Gospel According to Jesus presents an account of the life of Jesus, aimed at teenagers and using what the author considers to be the most authentic sources.

Genres: Religion

145 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Stephen Mitchell was educated at Amherst College, the Sorbonne, and Yale University, and de-educated through intensive Zen practice. He is widely known for his ability to make old classics thrillingly new, to step in where many have tried before and to create versions that are definitive for our time. His many books include The Gospel According to Jesus, The Second Book of the Tao, two books of fiction, and a book of poetry.

Mitchell’s Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke has been called “the most beautiful group of poetic translations [the twentieth] century has produced.” William Arrowsmith said that his Sonnets to Orpheus “instantly makes every other rendering obsolete.” His Book of Job has been called “magnificent.” His bestselling Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, and Gilgamesh—which are not translations from the original text, but rather poetic interpretations that use existing translations into Western languages as their starting point—have also been highly praised by critics, scholars, and common readers. Gilgamesh was Editor’s Choice of The New York Times Book Review, was selected as the Book Sense 2004 Highlight for Poetry, was a finalist for the first annual Quill Award in poetry. His translation of the Iliad was chosen as one of the New Yorker’s favorite books of 2011. He is a two-time winner of the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets.

His books for young readers include The Wishing Bone, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award as the best book of poetry for children published in the United States in 2003, and Jesus: What He Really Said and Did, which was chosen by the American Library Association’s Booklist as one of the top ten religious books for children in 2002.

He is also coauthor of two of his wife Byron Katie’s bestselling books: Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy. www.thework.com

You can read extensive excerpts from all his books on his website, www.stephenmitchellbooks.com.

Reviews

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mitchell presents a concise collection of what he finds to likely be the most authentic teachings of Jesus. Alongside, he provides brief commentary on each and also addressed briefly some of which he left out. The introduction is crucial for understanding the point and perspective of the book. It also explains the methods used for compiling it and precedence for creating a volume such as this.

He has successfully created a volume which communicates something of the essential elements of Jesus' teaching. This may be of interest to Christians who find it beneficial to focus on core aspects of the teaching or who wish to view Jesus through a slightly different lens. The book is maybe even more accessible to those who wish to know something of Jesus as one of the world's great teachers, rather than as something of a demi-god in his own right.

I appreciate that the author comes from a place of respect across religious boundaries and that he makes a few references to other religious traditions. Something about reading this book was very calming and almost meditative in and of itself.



(Something about reading this book gave me possible insight with reference to The Life of Pi. This is something I will have to explore later and elsewhere, but it had something to do with myself and other readers getting bogged down with fact and symbol, whereas it may have had something more to do with 'belief' and how that is also something 'real.')

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen Mitchell seems to fall into the same trap as everybody else and makes Jesus out to be more like him, rather than making himself more like Jesus.

[Michael Randle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good start for those who are attracted to what Jesus said, but have difficulty with the supernatural events attributed to him.

[Mat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple thoughtful brand new presentation of the Gospels (his life and what he said), according to:

The author, Thomas Jefferson, and the most verifiably true-witnesses…

[Louis Queneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book to say the least. This book is about Jesus' life without the confusion of the bible. I'm not saying that the bible isn't accurate, but some of the things that happened were skewed by writer with other beliefs.

I Thought this book was good. I like how it explained things like to parables and some of the books in the bible. overall this simplified the bible and is a good read (pun intended) and anyone whether religious or atheist should read this book.

[Brandon Peele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent layman's introduction to Christianity from historical, religious and spiritual perspectives. If I was teaching a unit on Christianity as part of a Unitarian curriculum, I would consider this book as the text. Smooth, quick read. The scholarship was a bit light, but Mitchell usually does a great job regardless and this was no exception.

[Jonathan Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really great book that gave you insight to religion but it gives you a different interpretation about who Jesus Christ was and portray him as a regular man instead of a man who performs miracles. I can see how this book may offend people if they truly are religious because it challenges their beliefs but it kind of opened my mind more to these other possibilities.

[Missmeliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am by no means, a religious person, but I find this book and Stephen Mitchell's theories about Jesus and what he really said and did, Fascinating.

Anyone seeking a quick read about the man, should pick this one up.