Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and James Lacey for this ARC which I received for an honest review.

This book is written by an historian who is clearly not a Christian, and as such I think it remarkable he gives such an even handed and fair assessment of the Biblical New Testament documents. In the first part of the book he lays out his assessment of the biblical documents and how he treats them as any other ancient documents. In other words, just the same. He doesn't discount them because they are religious texts nor does he hold them to a higher standard than other documents such a Pliny, Josephus, Tacitus, Julius Ceasar etc. He treats each of the gospels as an individual document and as such he sees that there are four different documents regarding the life of Jesus, not one document that has been compiled into a larger document, the Bible. As a Christian I appreciate this even handedness. In fact, I think it's rare (though I could be wrong) for these text to be treated this respectfully outside of Christendom.

Going into this book, and as a history lover, I thought I had a pretty good idea of the Roman world and how it impacted Judea. I guess I didn't know as much as I thought. The author takes a good chunk of time to explain the Roman world, their economy, the impact of Augustus and Tiberius, the political wrangling at that time and how that spilled over to Judea. He makes a case that the execution of Sejanus had a direct impact on the execution of Jesus. (Who's Sejanus? Read about this interesting man in the book. And now I may have to go down a rabbit hole and find out more off line). He spends time explaining who Herod was, his family background and his impact on the area. We learn background on Pontius Pilate and how Sejanus had an impact on him, pre and post execution.

All of this is quiet interesting, and is directly related to the chapters on Jesus. Chapter 15, The Birth of Jesus, is worth the cost of the book, and if you read nothing else in the book, don't skip this chapter!! We learn that Jesus step-father, Joseph, was a tekton, This is a word that goes beyond "carpenter" as we usually see translated (a relic from the King James Bible when many things that a tekton made was made of wood, so it was naturally translated as carpenter. Tekton could also refer to a one who builds, a stone mason, or as we would say today, a general contractor. This explains a lot about Jesus. I always wondered how a poor carpenter could have supported his family in the small town of Nazareth. Well! Rome again, and more specifically their legions, put down a rebellion in Sephoris prior to or close to the birth of Jesus. They utterly destroyed that city. But it was only a couple of miles from Nazareth and was rebuilt. They needed tektons to do that. So Joseph and his sons likely made their living there.
Also, he gets into Bethlehem, Joseph's home town, a couple of miles from Jerusalem. There was a LOT of building going on in Jerusalem. Recall Herod was beautifying the Temple and building other massive things around there. An ideal place for Joseph to get work. I could go on much longer, but I think I've spoiled enough of this chapter, though this is just a small sample.

Several chapters later we get into Jesus's final week. Here is where we see that the author truly is speaking from a non-Christian point of view, but that actually helps. He explains what, to me had a been a mystery, why Jesus was acclaimed by the crowd on Palm Sunday but they later called for his death on Friday morning. Why was Pilot, the Sanhedrin and Herod Antipas shuffling Jesus back and forth? What was their motivation? All explained.

If I hadn't been gifted this book as an ARC I would have had to buy it. It's worth every penny.

I am both excited by, and frustrated by, James Lacey's The Year God Died. Let's get right down to it. This book centers around the idea that the politics of Rome and surrounding regions from 25BC to 33 AD play a large role in determining the fate of Jesus Christ. Lacey makes that point clear and provides a full book worth of historical evidence to back that point up. The argument he makes here is as concise as historical Roman politics can be. And, as a Christian, I value understanding this historical context. I don't take issue with the facts or opinions he provides here, as I feel that they have been well-researched and sourced appropriately.

However, Lacey makes several subtle (or something obvious) jabs at other writer's work that I felt to be a bit aggressive. In particular, I found his dismals of the works by Reza Aslan to be harsh and condescending. That being said, I understand the challenges that come with speculating about event that took place 2,000 years ago with limited information. Most, if not all, commentary on this topic is speculation. Ultimately, I felt the work portrayed has strong overtones of being infallible, when there is no way to prove with 100% certainty the authentic of one's opinions on this topic.

Lastly, I felt that the ending was rushed. Mainly, because there wasn't one. The death and rising of the Jesus from the dead is not the end of the story. But the story abruptly ends there.

Overall, I learned a lot of information from the book and I can credit James Lacey for conducting thorough research on the topic. However, my position about the life of Jesus feels unchanged, neither stronger nor weaker, as a result.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and James Lacey for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have a bias against non-fiction, finding most academic works tedious. It often seems that authors are more interested in showing off their knowledge than in engaging the reader. This is absolutely not true for Dr. Lacey's The Year God Died: Jesus and the Roman Empire in 33 AD. Dr. Lacey's journey to producing scholarly books comes from a background as a retired U.S. Army infantry officer and a professor at the Marine Corps War College. After retiring from the military, he worked on Wall Street and for Time Magazine. These experiences honed his skill, allowing him to write in an informative, engaging manner that captures the interest of those drawn to his subject.

This work covers the life of Jesus from a historical and political point of view. Relying only on available texts from that period and refraining from miracle texts, he offers an in-depth view of a world dominated by Roman civilization. The later section of the book covers the week before the crucifixion. Of special interest for me was the introduction of a political alliance between Sejanus, a major power figure in Rome, and Pontius Pilate. When Sejanus was executed (a way of removing disgraced individuals), Pilate was trapped in a situation with no acceptable outcome. Perhaps he was not the villain history has made him out to be, but merely a pawn. This is just one example of how Dr. Lacey's work gives the reader a chance to reexamine the life of Jesus of Nazareth through the lens of Roman history and power politics.

I mentioned violence as one of the book's markers. The descriptions of war and methods of punishment are graphic but not included for the purpose of catering to a fetish. Some parental guidance is suggested.

Full Disclosure: I received this ARC from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity.

The Year God Died
By James Lacey

This is an interesting take on the historical Jesus. But it is much more than that. In fact the life of Jesus is only a relatively small part of this book. Instead the author gives us an in-depth history lesson on what life was really like during the expansion of Roman influence throughout Europe and the Mediterranean areas leading up to and including Christ's lifetime.

As with any ancient history, there is existing information to be pieced together – but also much that is missing. Lacey builds the case for the Roman provinces (of which Palestine was one) being not poor and illiterate, but actually comfortably well off and educated. If this is true, the idea that Jesus was a poor peasant and revolutionary does not hang together.

Mr. Lacey also gives us much information concerning the political goings on which led to the awkward handling of Jesus trial and execution. He provides background on Pontius Pilate, Herod, the Pharisees and Sadducees, the Sanhedrin (Jewish religious court) – all the persons who contributed to Christ's death. He also lays out how Jesus was able to: (1 plan for the donkey to be available for his ride into Jerusalem; 2) plan the last supper; and 3) know in advance who would betray him. He explains the possible roles played by Josephus of Arimethea and Nicodemus as "inside men" helping Jesus.

All together this is a thought-provoking work. Mr. Lacey's research and conclusions leave the reader with a much clearer picture of the times, no matter what your beliefs are about Jesus.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was super SUPER interesting. The way these deaths parallel and directly interact each other and that if Sejanus hadn't died, Jesus wouldn't have been crucified. It makes you wonder though: if Jesus hadn't been crucified, what would Christianity look like today?

Purported to be groundbreaking work on the historicity of Jesus and the influence of the Roman world. I can see where this would be a valuable for the general layman - the research is fairly solid and the arguments cogent - as it puts the story of Jesus in its historical context... to a point. But I see nothing remotely groundbreaking, or particularly original. The foundation is solid, and the arguments reasonable. But "Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey has more eye-opening content in the first chapter than this one in the whole book. It is well-written and interesting, but I found nothing particularly new there. Good for the Roman context, but not so much for Jesus. Disappointing.

This is not just about The Year God Died. That year, even that week, receive much less attention than the years leading up to it. I guess that was inevitable given what is known about the years prior to that crucial year. The author thus focuses his attention and the bulk of the book on evaluating and challenging other historians' opinions on the truthfulness of the gospels and of other accounts of the life of Jesus. We are given a lot--for me an almost overwhelming amount--of detail on Roman politics and the succession of Roman rulers both in Rome and in the Holy Land leading up to "The Year." The author is a careful historian and makes a convincing case for his views. Though I was a put off by his case for Jesus' divinity and the possible fact of the Resurrection. I felt at a disadvantage because I am not as familiar as the author is with the literature the author surveys. So I leave it to experts on the subject to give the book an informed and fair evaluation. I was glad I read the book. But reading it took work. This relatively short book is not an easy read. I think I would not have felt so overwhelmed by the amount of detail if the author's account of The Year God Died had been livelier.

In tackling THE YEAR GOD DIED, James Lacey has a massive undertaking ahead of him. Speaking in a creditable and historical context about the life of Jesus is a difficult undertaking, as Lacey himself is quick to point out. However, before even beginning to lay out the meat of this book, he sets ground rules: addressing centuries of theory and research to demonstrate that, all matters of personal faith aside, we do have enough material to work with as compared to other historical figures of the time.

The person of Jesus occupies relatively little of this book, with the majority of the content outlining the world he would have grown up in in extreme detail. From political upheaval to census-taking, from the trust and distrust amongst Roman politicians to the state of industry and education, THE YEAR GOD DIED paints a vivid picture of the region in the time of Jesus. And doing so is in aid of explaining the death of one man: not Jesus (not yet at least), but Lucius Sejanus. Only once the turmoil of the time is sketched out in full does Lacey tackle Passion Week, from Jesus's arrival on a mule to the accounts of the stone being rolled away three days after his crucifixion.

Lacey's style is the sort I wish we saw more of in academia: professional enough to be taken seriously, but conversational enough to keep the reader from going cross-eyed. This book is extremely dense at times, with long accounts of political goings-on and the industry of the time. But Lacey remains affable, even occasionally lighthearted, in the midst of this weighty information. Also, and chiefly, he puts faith on the back burner. Nowhere in this book is the reader challenged, or even gently requested, to entertain that Jesus is the Son of God. If anything, Lacey goes to great lengths to explain moments of seeming divine knowledge in Jesus's final weeks. The point is not to convert: rather, it is to demonstrate that Jesus the son of Joseph existed in this time, and that his death is part and parcel of the political upheaval surrounding the assassination of Lucius Sejanus. Beyond that, Lacey asks only that the reader credit that something about the life of this man was transformative enough to affect the people who knew him for decades after.

Those of a religious bent may wish that Lacey was more forthright in witnessing to matters of faith; however, I believe that a book like this is extremely important. If one is not Christian, it does not alienate; rather, it presents an interesting account of an interesting historical figure. If one is Christian, it demonstrates just how much of the life of Christ is provable—and, by extension, what a small sliver of this grand story requires any actual leaps of faith.

What a great book! It's very detailed, but I loved the setup and the historical context for the year that Jesus died. I love putting the Bible stories into actual historical context. This was amazing and great timing with Easter.

This story was so well done and I really enjoyed it. I enjoy reading from this author and I'm looking forward to the next book. The plot was really well explored and I enjoyed the overall story. The characters were great and I was able to dive myself into this book. It was well done and I highly recommend. This book was so good.

The Year God Died was an excellent exploration of the history of Jesus and the political and cultural environment of the 1st century. Often, historians have discounted the 4 Gospels as historical texts to prove the existence of Jesus and the events chronicled. However, James Lacey does a terrific job of showing the method how other historical texts are validated and how to apply it to the Gospels' description. He also pulls in many contemporary sources to further strengthen the argument.
For a reader not well versed in the Roman empire, Lacey's book does a terrific job in laying out the culture, politics and events that led up to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. The book is well researched and laid out in a narrative manner that makes for easy and compelling reading.
While I may not agree with all of the theories presented, I can see the sound reasoning that Lacey uses to lay out his argument.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about the historical record relating to Jesus.

I think I was a little out of my depth with this. I am definitely not an expert on the history of the Roman Empire, and don't have a ton of knowledge on Jesus' life and death besides the basics.

This didn't just cover the year Jesus died, but many years before his birth, during his life, and then his death. Most of what is covered is the history of the Roman Empire and how it influenced Jesus' crucifixion. While the history is definitely interesting, there are a lot of people to keep track of and it can a bit dry at time with all the info dumping. The author did a ton of research, which shows throughout the book. He defends his stance, and points out why other scholars who don't believe in Jesus or the resurrection may have interpreted their research wrong.

My biggest issue is with myself really. There was just so much I didn't know, and I think it would have helped me get into this more if I had. There were plenty of places and cities mentioned which used their names at the time that I needed to look up in order to understand better of where they were. And since I wasn't raised in a very religious household, I missed out on reading the Bible and learning more in depth about Jesus. Some things are explained, but there is definitely a lot that isn't, as it's assumed the reader is already aware of such things.

This probably would have appealed to me more if I had had more understanding beforehand of the life of Jesus, but this will definitely appeal to those who enjoy history and religion, or anything to do with the life of Jesus.

This book does a worthy job of putting the Jesus story in context by grounding it in the known history of the Roman Empire and reminding us that everything we know about Jesus, or purport to know, gains credibility by being put through that filter. A few matters of surprising speculation arise, all of them plausible.

Thank you to Bantam and John Lacey for this ARC.

While non-fiction isn’t usually my go-to genre, the title and subject matter of this one immediately caught my eye, and I’m so glad it did. 😉

🏛 What did you love the most?
Reading this felt like sitting down for a deep, personal conversation with the author. It’s an engaging and accessible look at both the historical legitimacy of Jesus and the larger political and cultural context of Ancient Rome. 📚 If you’re curious about the intersection of religion and history, this one delivers.

🏛 What to expect:
💬 Breaking the 4th wall narration
🗡️ Ancient Roman Empire setting
⛪ Christianity & historical theology focus

🏛 How was the pace?
The structure of the book is super approachable. Lacey starts by tackling the core question: Did Jesus exist as a real person? 🤔 Then he layers in historical context, covering political figures like Herod and the larger Roman world that shaped Jesus’s life and eventual crucifixion.

🏛 Do you recommend this book?
Yes! This is a thoughtful, well-researched deep dive that feels surprisingly easy to read. As someone already familiar with Jesus’s ministry, I still walked away with a deeper understanding of the world he lived in. If you’re curious about the historical underpinnings of early Christianity or love Roman history, definitely check this one out.

🏛 Perfect for fans of:
🖤 Mary Beard
🖤 Reza Aslan
🖤 Bart D. Ehrman

🏛 Mood: 🧠 Thought-provoking | 📜 Historical | ✝️ Spiritually curious

🏛 Read if you like:
📚 Exploring the roots of Christianity
🗡️ Ancient Roman politics and culture
🔍 Debunking myths with historical analysis
🗣️ Conversational, accessible non-fiction

A true history book which would be fantastic as a resource for church leaders as well as those more casually interested in the history of the times around AD33.

The book sets an amazing image and background of all the forces and peoples at work across the known world, leading to a much better understanding of how those worked to form early Christianity.

Drawing from both archeological and a lot of historical documents, the author weaves a view of what life was like in that time period. I really enjoyed it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This is a case where the description for the book completely grabbed my attention and I just had to read it… but then the book fails to live up to the description in major ways. In James Lacey’s upcoming The Year God Died: Jesus and the Roman Empire in 33 AD, the description and the prologue both center around the execution of Sejanus, the recent right-hand man of the emperor Tiberius in 31 AD and claim that his death is tied directly to the crucifixion of Jesus. While Lacey does adequately argue that the death of Sejanus likely played a part in Jesus’ crucifixion, there are a lot of tangents and academic grudges addressed along the way that I had to take Lacey’s claims with a pile of salt. And there just doesn’t seem to be enough in Lacey’s arguments to support the claim from the description that “If Sejanus had not been murdered, Jesus would never have been crucified.”

Exploring the political tensions and rivalries of Rome in the decades leading up to the death of Jesus as well as where local matters stood in the far reaches of the Roman Empire at that time, Lacey traces how what happened in Rome rippled outward. He also examines existing arguments around the historical figure of Jesus, why the Gospels aren’t treated as historical sources (but he thinks they should be), and looks at what can be supposed based on gaps in the information and sources available. Ultimately, Lacey argues that news of the sudden downfall and violent execution of Sejanus as well as the repercussions to his supporters likely affected the way Pontius Pilate handled the case of Jesus when it was brought before him.

For me, the clearest and most engaging elements of Lacey’s book were when he was going through the Roman political machinations – the ways that heirs were treated and tested, the maneuverings by marriages and adoptions, the situations manufactured to generate specific outcomes while leaving room for saving face if things didn’t go according to plan. If the book had focused solely on the Roman situation during those decades leading up to and surrounding Jesus’ life, I would have enjoyed it more and found it more worth the investment of time and energy. However, so much of the book seems more focused on addressing academic grudges and tearing into the theories and methodology of others in the field, disparaging their methods for reaching those conclusions before turning around and drawing conclusions of his own that rest on ground at least as rocky as those just denounced. It all left a bad taste in my mouth and undermined the whole endeavor.

For instance, though he criticizes others as not having their theories based in any solid historical evidence, Lacey argues several times that the Gospels can in part be taken seriously because there would have been people with living memories of the events who surely would have contradicted them if they hadn’t happened. I find it difficult to take that particular claim seriously after watching the rewriting of a major event like January 6th by a huge portion of the population, to say nothing of the way that the narrative around the American Civil War was rewritten in the decades after its conclusion (and the continued debate around it). Lacey similarly makes a lot of claims based around deductive assumptions – some of them interesting interpretations, but they’re often based on gaps in the record so they don’t prove his point so much as leave open its possibility. If so much of the book hadn’t seemed so focused on disproving others with an open bitterness, I might be more inclined to give Lacey the benefit of the doubt but all of that distracts so much from the points laid out in the prologue and the book’s description that it was easy to lose track of what the book was supposedly trying to prove. While I was initially excited by the proposed subject matter, I was left feeling like I’d stumbled across an extended rant on Twitter.

The Year God Died will be available May 20, 2025.

Fascinating. This was more accessible than I anticipated especially this is not a book I would normally have picked off the shelf (thanks to Netgalley for the ARC). I learned a great deal. I understand it's provoked criticism but give it a read with an open mind.

An incredible theological study into the time surrounding Jesus and his personal life. Very detailed and focused on the scientific facts and evidence.

"The Year God Died: Jesus and the Roman Empire in 33 AD," by James Lacey, is an extraordinary text in that it seeks to inform our understanding of the life of Christ by carefully placing it in the context of the Roman Empire as it had evolved up to the Crucifixion and, conversely, it grounds early Imperial history in the events surrounding the birth of Christianity. I am working here from an ARC provided to me by the publisher, Random House-Ballantine. The approach is unique in my own experience since few histories of Imperial Rome that I have read take much time to explore Christ and the events in His life in the context of wider events in Judea and the Roman Empire. This is extraordinary in the way that it illuminates both events for those trying to ascertain the truths surrounding the figure of Christ and those focusing on the Empire and the events surrounding its complex relations with Judea. Lacey's historical training comes through as he tries to sort out historical events and show how they are frequently interpreted with a rather cavalier approach to the historical record, such as it may be. This is an absolute revelation, both for me as a Christian and for me as a trained historian and interpreter of literary texts. I would recommend it for anyone who, like me, has never really explored the importance of historical framework to an understanding of the growth of Christianity and the way it has been interpreted. It belongs in any serious scholarly collection, both secular and theological.

Book Review: The Year God Died by James Lacey
Historical Nonfiction

James Lacey, an accomplished writer and historian, delivers a compelling exploration of the Roman Empire in The Year God Died. Covering the years from roughly 30 BC to 33 AD, Lacey’s clear and direct prose still demands thoughtful reading—a challenge I thoroughly enjoyed.

The book dives into the political, religious, and economic landscape of the era, offering insights into how Rome ruled, grew rich, and shaped the world around it. Particularly fascinating were the discussions on the existence of Jesus, the authorship of the Gospels, and the influence of figures like Herod. I was especially intrigued by how deeply economics influenced Rome’s rise and governance. Lacey’s ability to connect historical facts with larger questions made this a standout read.

I learned a great deal and plan to read it again. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.