The Nazarene by Sholem Asch

First published: 1939 in English translation (Der Man fun Notseres, 1943)

Type of work: Historical realism

Time of work: The first century

Locale: Palestine

Principal Characters:

• Pan Viadomsky, a twentieth century Polish scholar, an expert on the ancient Near East
• Cornelius, a Roman commander in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate
• Jesus of Nazareth
• Rabbi Nicodemon, a devout Pharisee
• Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus who also betrayed him
• Mary, the mother of Jesus
• Mary Magdalene, a prostitute who became an intensely devoted follower of Jesus
• The Narrator, a young Jewish scholar who is assisting Pan Viadomsky
• Jochanan, a disciple of the Rabbi Nicodemon

The Novel

The Nazarene is an attempt to capture the drama and meaning of the life of Christ in its historical and cultural context from several perspectives. Jesus is particularly viewed from the vantage points of a high-ranking Roman officer, Judas Iscariot, and a devout student of the Rabbi Nicodemon. Many other perspectives are depicted as well. Jesus is seen differently by the ruling Sanhedrin; by his mother, Mary; by Mary Magdalene; by Rufus, a young student who will eventually join the “Messianist” sect; and by the masses of devout Jews in Jerusalem.

As a unifying device and to show the historical significance of his subject matter, Sholem Asch uses the concept of reincarnation to bring three of his first century characters to twentieth century Poland. Their discussions and lengthy narratives then provide the vehicle to tell the story. Asch also uses the device of a “recently-discovered manuscript” to relate the events of the Gospels from the perspective of Judas Iscariot.

The novel is divided into three parts. The first part is a rather convoluted effort to depict a twentieth century scholar, an expert on the ancient Near East, Pan Viadomsky, as the reincarnation of the Roman officer Cornelius, who arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. His arrogance and pragmatic ruthlessness are portrayed convincingly in both roles. Asch uses the Roman soldier as a means of describing for his readers the cultural setting of ancient Jerusalem in intricate detail. Indeed, the novel is worth reading simply for the many insights it gives of first century Jewish life and customs, derived from material gathered over a thirty-year period. One wonders occasionally, however, whether Asch is describing first century Palestine or that of the early twentieth century. (Asch visited Palestine in 1908 and again in 1914.)

Part 2 takes the reader back to twentieth century Poland, where Viadomsky unveils a secret manuscript by Judas Iscariot written in the first person, in which Judas tries to understand his rabbi, becomes convinced that Jesus was indeed the promised messiah, and then, in contrast with the Gospel accounts, decides that he must betray Jesus in order to force the Messiah to demonstrate his supernatural power to deliver the subjugated Jews from the domination of the Romans.

Part 3 returns to modern Poland again where, astonishingly, the young Jewish student who has been helping Viadomsky read the Iscariot manuscript discovers that he himself is the reincarnation of Jochanan, a disciple of the Rabbi Nicodemon. He is then able to recall in a fascinating narrative what it was like to be a young Jewish lad learning from the devout Pharisee who went to inquire of Jesus “by night.” Nicodemon aided in the burial of Jesus and apparently was a “secret disciple.” His spiritual pilgrimage is used to show Jesus from yet another perspective.

The Characters

Asch is particularly vivid in his narrative, and his characterizations are convincing and realistic. From the leaders of the Sadducees and Pharisees to the individuality of each disciple to the fascinating charm of Mary Magdalene or the integrity and courage of Rabbi Nicodemon, Asch depicts real and lifelike characters with human struggles and dilemmas. Judas Iscariot is an intense zealot, but the rationale for his betrayal of Jesus lacks plausibility. There is a certain ambiguity, though, in Asch’s development of his character. At one point, for example, he writes of a conversation between Jesus and Judas in which the Rabbi tells his disciple:

Judah, thy heart is restless; it is like a lost ship in a stormy sea. Why canst thou not find rest, like my other disciples?”

And I answered, saying:

“Rabbi, perform now one of thy wonders and strengthen my faith in thee.” And my Rabbi answered: “Even for this did I pray now, Judah, for thou couldst have been my most beloved disciple.

Cornelius was an agent of Pontius Pilate who, according to Asch, plotted the arrest and execution of Jesus. In sharp contrast to the historical record in the Gospels, the Romans pushed the Jews to ask for the execution of Jesus, rather than their having pressured Pilate to do so. Asch here seeks to modify the anti-Semitic European tradition that viewed all Jews as “Christ-killers.” Orthodox Christian doctrine has always taught the universal guilt of mankind and Christ dying in redemption for that guilt. The historical record in the Gospels shows both Jews and Romans as having been guilty of Christ’s crucifixion. Nevertheless, the charge has been a convenient rationalization for anti-Semites for nineteen hundred years.

It may well be that in Nicodemon, Asch is showing something of his own ambivalence in viewing Jesus. Both remained Jews. Both greatly respected Jesus and saw him as a great Jewish leader. Asch later said:

I couldn’t help writing on Jesus. Since I first met him he has held my mind and heart.... For Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him. You can analyze Mohammed and...Buddha, but don’t try it with him. You either accept or you reject....

Nicodemon never became a follower of Jesus as Messiah; he saw the new sect not as a threat to traditional Judaism but as another way of reaching the same God. A Jew, according to him, could follow the traditional way of the Mosaic law and the Torah or follow the new way through Christ.

Asch identified emotionally with many of his characters, and his intensity reflects that empathy. He respected the intellectual, the wealthy, the powerful in society, but his sympathy was with the simple folk who live honestly and conscientiously at a more intuitive level.

Critical Context

Most of the bitter criticism that Asch encountered came from fellow Jews. He was the first Yiddish writer to gain international, worldwide fame. His deviations from literary traditions, including his sympathetic treatment of Jesus, antagonized some of his contemporaries, especially those in competition with him for public acclaim. Every Yiddish newspaper but one closed its pages to Asch. Liberals considered the novel too orthodox and the orthodox thought it too imaginative. Two million Americans, however, read The Nazarene in its first two years.

Christians, too, had problems with Asch’s ideas. Many found the novel intriguing and the many cultural insights fascinating, but they realized that Asch looked upon Jesus as superhuman, perhaps the greatest leader in history, but still less than a deity. A few realized that Asch’s theology, if logically pursued, would reduce Christianity to merely a sect within Judaism. In theological terms, then, Asch was a Judaizer.

Historians in general paid little attention to the novel, but the ones who did saw that Asch sought to be historically accurate as well as culturally correct. Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue was a composite, and Asch rearranged the chronological sequence of events, but so did the New Testament writers; after all, the New Testament accounts give glimpses into only some 150 days in the thirty-three years of Jesus’ life.

Bibliography

Asch, Nathan. “My Father and I,” in Commentary. XXXIX (January, 1965), pp. 55-64.

Bates, Ernest S. “The Gospel in a Modern Version,” in The Saturday Review of Literature. XX (October 21, 1939), p. 5.

Colum, Mary M. “Re-Creation of New Testament History,” in Forum and Century. CII (December, 1939), pp. 261-262.

Madison, Charles A. “Sholem Asch: Novelist of Lyric Intensity,” in Yiddish Literature: Its Scope and Major Writers, 1968.

Siegel, Ben. The Controversial Sholem Asch: An Introduction to His Fiction, 1976.