Nadim Nassar brings his native Middle Eastern perspective to explore the world into which Jesus was born, its political and religious tensions, the difference between political peace and the peace that Jesus proclaimed. Using stories from the Gospels he reflects on family and kinship, Jesus’ encounters with outsiders, with women, children, and the religious authorities. He opens up hidden meanings in key parables and explores what Jesus understands by such central Christian concepts as faith, love, discipleship, sacrifice and witness.

Every culture is prone to create God in its own image and to read the Bible through the lens of its own social norms and understanding, with the result that so much is missed as readers impose their own assumptions on the text. Just as the original languages can throw open broader perspectives, this engaging series of reflections on Gospel narratives from within Jesus’ own culture reveals layers of meaning hidden to most readers.