Killing Jesus by Bill O'Reilly

In Bill O'Reilly's, Killing Jesus (Bill O'Reilly's Killing Series), Bill and his co-author provide a historical reconstruction of the life of Jesus. The author's are careful to note that their version of events is their best attempt to piece together the past. They use sources outside the Bible to give a fuller picture of the main characters and events in the life and crucifixion of Jesus.

It puzzled me why Jesus would choose fisherman to be members of his group of disciples. The authors noted that the fisherman needed to be conversant in many languages to successfully sell fish. This skill proved to be useful later in spreading the gospel.

The authors uncover the underlying threat that Jesus posed to the operators of the Jewish temple by his condemnation of the money changers.  In order to purchase perfect sacrificial animals or birds, the Jewish faithful were required to use the services of the temple money changers to convert the Roman currency into shekels.  The money changers often used unfair exchange rates to extract extra money for the temple. The faithful were understandably unhappy about the situation and supported Jesus when he called the money changers out for their dishonesty. As Jesus posed a threat to this temple monopoly, he had to be eliminated.

The detailed description of the hedonistic rulers of Rome and the gruesome methods of execution made for some difficult listening. The authors also carefully describe the various types of torture prior to the crucifixion of Jesus.

The book provided me with a clearer understanding of the setting and the motivations of the central characters in this part of history.

Killing Jesus CBS 60 minutes - 3 min.

Killing Jesus - Glenn Beck interview - 18 minutes