It is quite possible to say that Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most influential people that have ever lived. With as Much conviction we can say that what I know of his life is the concern of much debate. People's lives have been spend in the pursuit of understanding what Jesus actually did in the three decades he had to change the world. This paper will look a two accounts of these thirty odd years as told by two that have devoted better part of their lives to the life of Jesus. By looking at the biblically explicit life of Jesus in the book A Life of Jesus, By Shusaku Endo and the more liberal historical novel by Jose Saramago, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, we can begin to see a picture painted in the bible a bit clearer. These two books take a very chronological order and so will this paper, looking at the life of Jesus of the Bible.
             As Endo points out little is said of Jesus as a child, but he supposes that much can be assumed as to the thought that anyone growing up in Nazareth, affected by traditional Galilean sentiment. (13) This being the case Saramago takes much liberty with concerns for Jesus' early life. In fact half of this book is devoted to pre-baptism of Jesus. While Matthew story of conception is one of sole divinity it would seem that Saramago looks to Luke more vague description of Jesus' conception and claim that Mary was not a virgin but had relations with her husband before Jesus was born. This birth, which is described in detail in Saramago's work, is ignored in Endo for only one chapter is devoted to Jesus childhood. Saramago describes a visit by a self-proclaimed angel, which presents itself to the characters in the book a number of times before he talks of the actual birth of Christ. This birth story follows Luke chapter two in theme, talking of the birth in a manger and the visit of the shepherds.
             The story of King Herod's massacre of the children of Bethlehem is the next...