Jesus and the Forces of Death: The Gospels' Portrayal of Ritual Impurity within First-Century Judaism

Named a Sejong Book of 2021, Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA)

2020 Center for Biblical Studies Book Award (New Testament Runner-Up)

"Utterly fresh and innovative, important both exegetically and ethically."--Paula Fredriksen, Review of Biblical Literature

Although most people acknowledge that Jesus was a first-century Jew, interpreters of the Gospels often present him as opposed to Jewish law and customs--especially when considering his numerous encounters with the ritually impure. Matthew Thiessen corrects this popular misconception by placing Jesus within the Judaism of his day. Thiessen demonstrates that the Gospel writers depict Jesus opposing ritual impurity itself, not the Jewish ritual purity system or the Jewish law. This fresh interpretation of significant passages from the Gospels shows that throughout his life, Jesus destroys forces of death and impurity while upholding the Jewish law.

Matthew Thiessen (PhD, Duke University) is associate professor of religious studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He is the author of numerous books, including Paul and the Gentile Problem, Jesus and the Forces of Death, and Contesting Conversion: Genealogy, Circumcision, and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Christianity (awarded the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise). He is also the coeditor of several volumes.