What difference did empire make for Jesus and his disciples? What difference did empire make for the broader social currents of which he and they were a part? What social roles did Jesus perform, what “little tradition” did he embody against the “great tradition” of Roman culture? What difference does it make for our understanding of Jesus if we attend to new kinds of evidence regarding popular movements, the dynamics of oral tradition, and reading history “from below”? Richard A. Horsley is a sure and capable guide to these questions and more as he brings together recent discoveries in oral performance, voice under
domination, and people’s history “from below.” The result is a new, insightful, and multi-faceted portrait of Jesus in his social context.