Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs : Popular Movements in the
Time of Jesus
by Richard A. Horsley
Paperback - 312 pages (March 1999)
Trinity Pr Intl
ISBN: 1563382733 
Available at:
This book has 11 sample pages available for viewing at Amazon.com
Philologos Comment:
When studying the New Testament you will run across books that deal with
Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes and Essenes and seeing there is such a glut of
info on these it is amazing to realize that they comprised a very small segment
of the population. What the ordinary citizenry of the time were doing is not
usually reflected in the writings of these religious elites and this book delves
into that area of popular movements surrounding the insulated lives of the rich
and powerful that led to change and ultimately to the revolt of AD 66- 70.
Within this context you will learn, among other things, of the Messianic
expectations of the general populace that led to "false prophets"
spoken of by Jesus. This book helps flesh out the bare-bones accounts within the
Gospels by describing the backdrop wherein everything was played out in the
first century AD.
This is a moderately difficult read that I found very, very informative (I have highlighted quite a few passages for further study). Succinct but thorough.