The Jesus Dynasty

THE JESUS DYNASTY: James D. Tabor: Simon & Schuster: nonfiction: 363 pages

This highly interesting account of the beginning of Christianity (before Paul and way before the Roman Catholic Church) offers some genuinely fascinating and important information. This is served up with enough speculation and conjecture that Tabor’s work is bound to be controversial and marginalized by mainstream Christians.

According to Tabor, Mary was born and raised in Sepphoris, the dominant city in Galilee at the time of Christ. In 4 B.C. an uprising in Sepphoris resulted in three Roman legions quelling the rebellion, burning the city to the ground, enslaving many inhabitants, and crucifying two thousand men. Mary is about 14 years old, betrothed to Joseph, and must move to Nazareth in the wake of this destruction. Pointing to passages from the Old Testament and other ancient sources, the author argues that Jesus and John the Baptist saw themselves as a pair of Messiahs: a “Kingly” Messiah (Jesus) and a “Priestly” Messiah (John). After the crucifixion and resurrection it is James who continues the "dynasty" until his execution in A.D. 62. The dynasty then continues with James' descendants for a generation or so after him.

SML