Meier deals in depth with Jesus' relation to John the Baptist, his understanding of the Kingdom, and his reputation as a miracle worker.

> Focant Camille. John P. Meier, Un certain Juif Jésus. Les données de l'histoire. T. I. Les sources, les origines, les dates. ;
T. II. La parole et les gestes. ; T. III. Attachements, affrontements, ruptures. Traduit de l'anglais par Jean-Bernard Degorce, Charles Ehlinger et Noël Lucas (coll. Lectio Divina). 2004 et 2005.
In: Revue théologique de Louvain, 37ᵉ année, fasc. 4, 2006. pp. 545-553. … ; (en ligne)
URL : https://www.persee.fr/doc/thlou_0080-2654_2006_num_37_4_3550_t1_0545_0000_1

This book is the second volume in John Meier's masterful trilogy on the life of Jesus. In it he continues his quest for the answer to the greatest puzzle of modern religious scholarship: Who was Jesus? To answer this Meier imagines the following scenario: "Suppose that a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew, and an agnostic were locked up in the bowels of the Harvard Divinity School library... and not allowed to emerge until they had hammered out a consensus document on who Jesus of Nazareth was and what he intended...". A Marginal Jew is what Meier thinks that document would reveal. Volume one concluded with Jesus approaching adulthood. Now, in this volume, Meier focuses on the Jesus of our memory and the development of his ministry. To begin, Meier identifies Jesus's mentor, the one person who had the greatest single influence on him, John the Baptist. All of the Baptist's fiery talk about the end of time had a powerful effect on the young Jesus and the formulation of his key symbol of the coming of the "kingdom of God." And, finally, we are given a full investigation of one of the most striking manifestations of Jesus's message: Jesus's practice of exorcisms, hearings, and other miracles. In all, Meier brings to life the story of a man, Jesus, who by his life and teaching gradually made himself marginal even to the marginal society that was first century Palestine.

John P. Meier is William K. Warren Professor of Theology (New Testament) at the University of Notre Dame and the author of A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. He has also written six other books and over seventy articles. At various times he has been the editor or associate editor of The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, New Testament Studies, and Dead Sea Discoveries. ( )

NO OF PAGES: 1118 SUB CAT I: Historical Jesus SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: The author tries to reconstruct the "historical Jesus", using the consensus document on who Jesus of Nazareth was and what he intended. The author uses "modern historical research" to come up with an incomplete and speculative portrait.NOTES: SUBTITLE: Rethinking the Historical Jesus - Mentor, Message, and Miracles