The Gospel According to Jesus: A New Translation and Guide to His Essential Teachings for Believers and Unbelievers ( author of Tao Te Ching - A new translation , Stephen Mitchell )

328 Pages·2022·14.714 MB·English

by  Stephen Mitchell

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The Gospel According to Jesus is a dazzling new presen-
tation of the life and teachings of Jesus by the emi-
nent scholar and translator Stephen Mitchell. In this
book, Mr. Mitchell does for the Gospels what he did
for the Tao Te Ching: he uncovers in a great spiritual
classic a depth, clarity, and radiance which have until
now been obscured.
At the center of the book is a new translation,
from the Greek, of what might be called the Essen-
tial Gospel. Gospel means “good news.” While the
Gospels according to Mark, Matthew, Luke, and
John are to a large extent teachings about Jesus, Mr.
Mitchell has compiled a Gospel that is the teaching
ofJ esus: what he proclaimed about the presence of
God: good news as old as the universe. Following the
example of Thomas Jefferson’s The Jefferson Bible,
and using the best of modern scholarship, Mr.
Mitchell has retained only the authentic sayings and
doings of Jesus, and has omitted the passages added
by the early church. Gone is the “Jesus” who
preaches hellfire and damnation, in contrast to the
authentic Jesus’ teaching about God’s absolute for-
giveness and love. Gone are the passages which call
Jesus the son of God, in contrast to Jesus’ teaching
that all people can become sons (or daughters) of
God, as they become like God—generous, compas-
sionate, impartial, serene. What is left is an im-
mensely provocative and moving image ofJ esus as a
real person and as a great spiritual teacher, an image
that will challenge and delight readers of any reli-
gion or of no religion.
The Essential Gospel is preceded by a long med-
itation on Jesus’ life and teachings, and is followed
by Mr. Mitchell’s detailed commentary on the text,
which draws on his own Judeo-Zen background and
on illuminating parallels from the Buddhist, Hindu,
Taoist, Sufi, and Jewish traditions.
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The Gospel According to Jesus
Also by Stephen Mitchell
POETRY
Parables and Portraits
TRANSLATIONS
Variable Directions: The Selected Poetry of Dan Pagis
Tao Te Ching
The Book of Fob
The Selected Poetry of Yehuda Amichai (with Chana Bloch)
The Sonnets to Orpheus
The Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christoph Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet
The Notebooks ofM alte Laurids Brigg e
The Selected Poetry ofR ainer Maria Rilke
ANTHOLOGIES
The Enlightened Mind: An Anthology of Sacred Prose
The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry
Dropping Ashes on the Buddha:
The Teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn
FOR CHILDREN
The Creation (with paintings by Ori Sherman)
BOOKS ON TAPE
The Enlightened Heart
Letters to a Young Poet
Parables and Portraits
Tao Te Ching
The Book of fob
Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke
THE GOSPEL
ACCORDING
TO JESUS&
A New Translation and Guide
To His Essential Teachings
For Believers and Unbelievers
S lek liceCrn E EE
SIO
ss HarperCollinsPublishers
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS. Copyright © 1991 by
Stephen Mitchell. All rights reserved. Printed in the
United States of America. No part of this book may be
used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles and reviews. For informa-
tion address HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd
Street, New York, NY 10022.
An extension oft he copyright page follows p. 311.
FIRST EDITION
Designed by David Bullen
Compositor Wilsted & Taylor
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Mitchell, Stephen, 1943-
The gospel according to Jesus : a new translation
and guide to his essential teachings for believers and
unbelievers / by Stephen Mitchell. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Chiefly commentary on biblical excerpts.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-06-016641-X
1. Jesus Christ— Words. 2. Jesus Christ—
Buddhist interpretations. 3. Jesus Christ— Jewish
interpretations. 4. Bible. N.T. Gospels— Criti-
cism, interpretation, etc. I. Bible. N.T. Gospels.
English. Selections. II. Title.
BT306.M55 1991.
226’.1—dc20 90-56390
a
Cy OT 92°93. 94 95" RR DUO TO 7s 2G) SA seas
CONTENTS
Introduction - 1
Notes 62
The Gospel 99
Commentary i27
Baptism 29
He Begins to Teach 131
The First Disciples 133
At Capernaum 134
First Healings 136
He Heals aL eper 138
The Kingdom of God (1) 139
The Kingdom of God (2) 140
The Kingdom of God (3) 145
The Inner Light (1) 147
With the Wicked 148
The Twelve 156
He Heals a Paralytic 17
The Beatitudes : 158
The Inner Light (2) 161
Fulfilling the Law 162
Charity 173
CONTENTS
Prayer 1g
The Inner Light (3) 181
Trust 182
Providence 186
You Receive Exactly What You Give 186
The Narrow Gate 190
Hearing and Doing 191
Jesus’ Family (1) 92
Accusations ofS orcery 17Z
Jesus’ Family (2) 195
Two Healings 196
Rejection in Nazareth 203
The Syrophoenician Woman 206
He Heals a Deaf Man, a Blind Man 209
An Exorcism 210
You Must Become Like Children (1) PM bg
Forgiveness 21
The Good Samaritan 218
The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin 22
The Prodigal Son 223
You Must Become Like Children (2) 230
The Rich Man YasV s
Let the Dead Bury Their Dead tl
First Days in Jerusalem Van
The Tax to Caesar 246
The Greatest Commandment 247
The Woman Caught in Adultery 0
Gethsemane 255
The Arrest 257
Peter’s Denial 263
The Trial Before Pilate 264
The Crucifixion \268
VI