An eminent theologian’s original and compelling study of how images of Jesus through history reveal each era’s temper and values

“A rich and expansive description of Jesus’ impact on the general history of culture. . . . Believers and skeptics alike will find it a sweeping visual and conceptual panorama.”—John Koenig, front page, New York Times Book Review

Called “a book of uncommon brilliance” by Commonweal, Jesus Through the Centuries is an original and compelling study of the impact of Jesus on cultural, political, social, and economic history. Noted historian and theologian Jaroslav Pelikan reveals how the image of Jesus created by each successive epoch—from rabbi in the first century to liberator in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—is a key to understanding the temper and values of that age.

"An enlightening and often dramatic story . . . as stimulating as it is informative.”—John Gross, New York Times

“A gracious little masterpiece.”—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor