In The Real Jesus, Geza Vermes, best known for his work on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jesus of history, offers lucid and engaging presentations of his lifelong research, along with comments on a variety of contemporary religious themes, such as The Da Vinci Code, Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ, Benedict XVI's book Jesus of Nazareth, and the Gospel of Judas.

Informed by the work of a world-class scholar, the short articles in this book open to the reader the findings of some of the major discoveries of the twentieth century, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, especially as they shed light on contemporary religious and biblical questions.

This collection of shorter popular pieces, many of which appeared in The Times of London and other newspapers, makes Vermes's research on Christian origins, the Dead Sea Scrolls and most importantly Jesus the Jew accessible to everyone. The 29 short, lively pieces are arranged in four parts:

Part 1: Jesus

Part 2: Christmas — Passion — Easter

Part 3: The Dead Sea Scrolls

Part 4: Miscellanea