Introduction

Jesus through Brandstaetter’s eyes is the true Jew and the true God, the God of the New and Old Testaments. Brandstaetter did not see any contradictions here, or rather, drew strength from the contradictions he discovered on his spiritual journey. In his own life, he was able to reconcile many seemingly contradictory roles: he was a translator and a writer, a poet and a philosopher, a man of faith and of reason, an admirer of both Jewish and Christian traditions.

There are very few such biographies, and only Brandstetter was able to use all these apparent „contradictions” in one Epic of Christ – the novel Jesus of Nazareth.

„I’m afraid of people who don’t experience contradictions. (…) The devil also doesn’t experience contradictions or doubts. Such people grow up to be the biggest bandits, Hitlers, dictators, etc.”

When you read Jesus of Nazareth, you can see Jesus as the Jewish messiah and the true God. We would like to invite the American – and, in general, English-speaking – audiences to this captivating exploration. Roman Brandstaetter’s unique novel is still waiting for its English translation. We publish it here in episodes, in the Polish original and in English, together with texts that allow for a deeper understanding.