There can be no doubt that Jesus - "a religious genius" as Geza Vermes describes him, lived and taught in Palestine some 2000 years ago. The influence he has had is incalculable. How can we distinguish between the doctrines shaped by the needs of the burgeoning Chritian Church and the original views laid out by Jesus himself? In this work, Vermes subjects all the sayings of Jesus to an informed scrutiny. The result is a book which scrapes aside the accretions of centuries, attempting to come close to the true Jesus.