Part 1, Who He Was: Chapter 3, Background: Jewish Roots and Soil Summary and Analysis

In this chapter, Yancey seeks to reunite Jesus with His Jewish roots. He notes that American readers of the Bible often try to separate Jesus and the Jews. These American readers, Yancey states, also do not fully appreciate the impact of Jesus' being a Jew. Yancey insists that to properly know Jesus, one must study His background and culture.

While Jesus' genealogy is long and even includes royalty, Jesus Himself is seen as just an ordinary man by the people of His day. Even the name Jesus is a common name for boys at that time, a fact which must have grated on the nerves of the high Jews. How could a man with such a common name associate Himself with a God...