Why are we so fascinated with the person of Jesus of Nazareth? What made him so intriguing and attractive? Why then was he executed as a heretic and rebel? This brief book seeks to imagine what might have happened in those years when Jesus lived in Israel: how did his family react to him? How did his friends and enemies respond to his teachings and actions? How are we like them in our own encounter with the person of Jesus? The Jesus that emerges in these pages is deeply spiritual and political, human and humorous, both surprising and authentic. Prepare to be surprised.