In the first book to challenge the findings of the Jesus Seminar, the controversial group of 200 scholars who claim Jesus only said 18 percent of what the Gospels attribute to him, Johnson shows that the "real Jesus" is the one experienced in the present through faith rather than the one found in speculative historical reconstructions.

The Real Jesus--the first book to challenge the findings of the Jesus Seminar, the controversial group of two hundred scholars who claim Jesus only said 18 percent of what the Gospels attribute to him--"is at the center of the newest round in what has been called the Jesus Wars" (Peter Steinfels, New York Times). Drawing on the best biblical and historical scholarship, respected New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson demonstrates that the "real Jesus" is the one experienced in the present through faith rather than the one found in speculative historical reconstructions. A new preface by the author presents his point of view on the most recent rounds of this lively debate.