Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs : Popular Movements in the Time of Jesus by Richard A. Horsley Paperback - 312 pages (March 1999)  Trinity Pr Intl ISBN: 1563382733 Click to buy:

Our Comments: When studying the New Testament you will run across books that deal with Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes and Essenes and seeing there is such a glut of info on these it is amazing to realize that they comprised a very small segment of the population. What the ordinary citizenry of the time were doing is not usually reflected in the writings of these religious elites and this book delves into that area of popular movements surrounding the insulated lives of the rich and powerful that led to change and ultimately to the revolt of AD 66- 70. Within this context you will learn, among other things, of the Messianic expectations of the general populace that led to "false prophets" spoken of by Jesus. This book helps flesh out the bare-bones accounts within the Gospels by describing the backdrop wherein everything was played out in the first century AD.

This is a moderately difficult read that we found very, very informative (we have highlighted quite a few passages for further study). Succinct but thorough.

10/08