The Man Nobody Knows: A Discovery of the Real Jesus, published in 1925, is the second book by Bruce Barton, an American advertising executive. A nonfiction bestseller in 1925, The Man Nobody Knows is a revisionist portrayal of Jesus as a kind of CEO who created a world-altering organization with a small group of carefully selected men. Barton’s book controversially refers to Jesus as an executive who created parables that were influential advertisements and used methods that salesmen should study. In a later 1956 edition of The Man Nobody Knows, the text was amended to appeal to a wider audience.

This guide is based upon the 1925 edition of the book published by Grosset & Dunlap, by arrangement with the Bobbs-Merrill Company.

Summary

As a boy attending Sunday school, Bruce Barton disliked the traditional depiction of Jesus as pale, weak, and sad. Jesus as the “lamb of God” sounded to the young Barton like “something for girls—sissified” (x). Barton admired masculine, physically strong fighters such as Daniel in the lion’s den or David defeating Goliath. As an adult, Barton decided to read only what those who had personally known Jesus said about him. Barton became convinced that many artists and writers had misrepresented Jesus. He decided to write a revisionist portrayal of Jesus that would appeal to American businessmen of the 1920s.

Barton declares that he is not providing a chronological biography, but a portrait of Jesus, by threading “back and forth through the rich variety of his life, picking up this incident and that bit of conversation, this dramatic contact and that audacious decision” (11-12) to best illustrate his purpose. Barton organizes the book topically and supplements Jesus’ experiences with anecdotes about American political and business leaders, such as President Abraham Lincoln and Henry Ford.

The first chapter examines Jesus as a successful executive who formed an influential organization that spread his message around the world. Barton asserts that “stripped of all dogma” (9), Jesus’ life is the greatest achievement story. Barton passes over the first thirty years of Jesus’ life, except to note that sometime in that early period Jesus experienced “the eternal miracle—an awakening of the inner consciousness of power” (11). Barton describes a present-day gathering of distinguished men who also had experienced an inner, youthful awakening, which had led them to realize that they could be greater than their obscure origins.

After Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, “he felt the power stirring in him” (14) and was eager to begin his “calling.” Barton describes Jesus’ subsequent temptation by Satan for forty days and nights as akin to the “trials and doubts” experienced by any man “of outstanding genius” (15). Barton sets forth principles by which Jesus, from the rural village of Nazareth, became the greatest leader: Jesus had authoritative conviction, the remarkable power of recognizing men’s hidden potentials, and vast patience in training his disciples.

In the second and third chapters, Barton stresses Jesus’ masculinity by pointing out that he would have developed muscles from years of toil as a carpenter and a bronzed look from his life in the open air, walking from village to village. Barton claims that Jesus was sociable and enjoyed life on the basis that he dined at people’s homes and transformed water into wine to keep a wedding celebration from failing. Barton rejects what he deems to be traditional artists’ feminization of Jesus, which he attributes to the theological exaltation of Mary as it “denied any large place to the masculine” (40-41).

In the fourth and fifth chapters, Barton analyzes the method by which Jesus appealed to and persuaded potential believers of his message. Barton suggests that Jesus’ approach brilliantly exemplified the “principles of modern salesmanship” (104). Jesus also knew how to anticipate and deal with listeners’ objections, effectively asking an unanswerable question. Barton declares that Jesus spread the most splendid idea that all humans can claim God as their loving Father, an idea which had revolutionary implications. Barton asserts that Jesus also created influential advertisements with the news of his miracles and with his parables. Jesus’ parables conveyed his message in concise language that created striking pictures drawn from common daily experiences.

The sixth chapter explores Jesus as a business leader with principles. Barton strives to show how Jesus’ principles of service, losing one’s life in devotion to a purpose in order to find it, and doing more than is required, are applicable in today’s competitive world. Barton illustrates these principles in anecdotes about present-day American business leaders, such as Henry Ford, who amassed a fortune as an effect of providing a quality service. Barton cautions against being excessively busy and working only to hoard wealth, reminding readers that the little inn at Bethlehem was too busy to welcome the most momentous event in history, the birth of Jesus.

The book’s last chapter describes the final tests of Jesus’ life and how he endured disappointment and death. Despite the growing opposition that he knew would eventually kill him, Jesus continued on his path. Therefore, Barton asserts that Jesus exemplified “courageous manhood” (213). He remained a remarkable leader, unbroken by betrayal, and urging his disciples to be of good cheer.