A fact-filled historical examination of Jesus that considers the political and cultural factors that contributed to his trial, conviction and crucifixion. Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly two thousand years after this controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God. The author takes readers inside Jesus's life, recounting the seismic political and historical events that made his death inevitable-- and changed the world forever.

Key players -- A changing world -- 1. Young Jesus of Nazareth : The massacre in Bethlehem ; Growing up in Nazareth ; Archelaus, heir of Herod the Great ; Passover customs in the first century AD ; Missing ; Jesus sits with the rabbis ; The Temple Mount ; The carpenter -- 2. Jesus the preacher : John baptizes Jesus ; Baptism in first-century Jewish culture ; Temple hierarchy ; Turning out the moneylenders ; Ritual sacrifice ; Nicodemus questions Jesus ; Preaching from a fishing boat ; The sermon on the Mount ; Mary of Magdala ; John the Baptist is murdered ; Defeated ; "Who do people say I am?" ; The feast of tabernacles ; The Jewish religious year -- 3. The last week, day by day : The passover journey begins ; The triumphal entrance into Jerusalem ; "Hosanna" ; "Render unto Caesar" ; Judas Iscariot, betrayer ; The Last Supper ; Jesus is arrested ; Caiaphas judges Jesus ; Herod judges Jesus ; Pilate judges Jesus ; Lashed ; Crucified ; Entombed ; Guarded ; The tomb is empty -- Afterword ; The history after Jesus's death ; Counting years ; Jerusalem: holy city to the world ; How we know about the life of Jesus ; The New Testament ; Flavius Josephus ; Tacitus ; Archaeological evidence ; The Dead Sea Scrolls ; The purple cloak ; The symbol of the cross ; Thirty pieces of silver ; A world of many tongues ; Some facts about the first century AD ; The Roman Empire in 44 BC ; Roman government and citizens ; Roman religion ; Roman legionnaires ; Roman roads ; A walk through twenty-first-century Jerusalem ; Time line of Jesus's life.