Our book study of Reza Aslan’s “Zealot: Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth” continues with Part II of III. In this middle section of Aslan’s book, we hear the details of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and learn Aslan’s insights to the ministry of Jesus and the reasons for his ministry, both as Aslan proposes Jesus understood his ministry and how his followers understood the meaning of Jesus’ ministry and later massaged this meaning to fit their evangelical purposes. Aslan’s claims are always provocative, sometimes compelling, and often based on personal opinion, without the necessity of scholarly research.

Part II’s Prologue highlights Aslan’s opinion that the most compelling story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is Jesus’ up-ending of the tables of the money changers in the Temple. Aslan writes, “Of all the stories told about Jesus…one, that more than any other word or deed, helps reveal who Jesus was and what Jesus meant…” was this zealous act. One could certainly argue this point, and it seems a bit self-serving of Aslan, as his book title is based on Jesus being a “Zealot,” and conveniently John’s Gospel account says of Jesus: “zeal for your house has consumed me.” (an interesting note, Aslan later declares John’s Gospel writing as among the most unreliable). I believe a close study of the Gospel would offer other stories that better describe Jesus’ mission and ministry, but this too would be an open debate.

Chapters 7 & 8 cover John the Baptist’s ministry and then Jesus’ place in society. Aslan seems to have a great liking for John the Baptist, or perhaps simply offers him up to make Jesus his foil…either way, Aslan continues to comparatively refer to John as “Jesus’ master.” (in Christian parlance, this is anathema…so perhaps it’s for impact or something else). Aslan does make some interesting and compelling insights, but I fear they are lost in his language; items like “if the gospel account is to be believed,” “the entire gospel story reads like a fanciful folktale,” a claim that Jesus goes into the desert never to be tempted but to learn all there is to know about God from John, and his suggestion that each successive Gospel author tries harder than the previous one to bury John the Baptist deep within the recesses of history. These suggestions do not thoughtfully take into account the Gospel writers’ evangelical purpose and audience. Aslan’s segway into chapter 9 is his statement that most people believed Jesus to be a miracle worker…finally, perhaps a simple insight we can reflect on for its impact.

Chapter 9 comes as a welcome respite from many of Aslan’s personal opinions and compares Jesus’ miracles against many other miracle workers of his time. An interesting insight is that Jesus offers his miracles, not for money as nearly all others do, but for a purpose. Aslan writes, “It is that Jesus’s miracles are not intended as an end in themselves. Rather, his actions serve a pedagogical purpose. They are means of conveying a very specific message to the Jews.” This insight brings up an interesting point of reflection for our lives…what actions do we take and is it possible for us to offer ourselves, not for personal gain, but for a greater purpose. And if we take up this work, how will that change in dynamic alter not only our lives, but the lives of those we encounter?

The remainder of Part II (Chapters 10, 11, and 12) once again takes up the historical suppositions of Aslan’s beliefs. I will not cover them in detail here because he makes points based on some writings of Josephus, as well selected writings of the Gospel (which he has already named as a “fanciful folktale” which should prevent him from using the text as evidence, but it does not) and these points can only be debated rather than studied for further reflection. Aslan asserts Jesus meant to establish his reign on earth and wholly failed…it would be later Gospel writers that would artificially change the message. My biggest struggle with many of Aslan’s statements is that if even a small percentage of the fanciful “massaging” of Jesus’ ministry and mission were as he asserts, it is difficult to imagine that the Christian movement could continue with the strength and veracity that history has shown to be true. (An interesting exploration of this rise in Christianity can be found in Rodney Stark’s book, “The Rise of Christianity”). I again hope there is a silver lining to Aslan’s story waiting for me in Part III.