During the time of the biblical Jesus, there was widespread expectation amongst the Jews that a kingly Messiah, descended from the house of King David, would arise and establish God's kingdom on earth. To Christians today, Jesus is the living fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies. To others, however, he was merely one of a number of false claimants to the throne, a figure whose testament is heavily colored by myth and church dogma. Is it possible, through historical research, to travel back two thousand years and get a glimpse of Jesus the man? Or, like Paul's vision on the road to Damascus, can the real Jesus be only known through faith?

Somewhere between the messianic expectations of the Jews and the high christology of the later Christian Church, was a person who lived in history - who breathed, ate, and had friends and family like the rest of us, then died an abrupt and ignoble death. Yet, aside from the New Testament, contemporary history is almost silent about Jesus. With the help of recent archaeological findings and current bible scholarship, however, there is a great deal we can discern about the events surrounding Jesus and thus gain new insights into the man himself.

The Real Jesus is a critical examination into the life and times of Jesus. I have tried to take a balanced approach in presenting information, some of which is quite controversial. Rather than dismiss some of the more contentious speculations outright, I have presented arguments and counter arguments and allowed logic to dictate which position is correct. For the most part, however, I have relied on conventional biblical scholarship, multiple attestation of sources, and old fashioned common sense to select the material on these pages.

For those who feel that this material directly challenges fundamental tenets of their Christian belief, I can only say that the uniqueness of Jesus and his message emerges with startling clarity. His teachings of selflessness and fellowship are as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago and I can only hope that Christians will find a renewed sense of meaning and strength in Jesus' words and actions.