To understand Jesus of Nazareth, it is essential to read writings from the four-century gap between the Old and New Testaments. Matthias Henze introduces this period and its writings, discusses how they have been read through history, guides students' encounters with select texts, then introduces key ideas in New Testament texts that can't be understood without these early Jewish writings- the Messiah, angels and demons, the law, and the resurrection of the dead. Mind the Gap broadens students' perspectives on early Judaism and Christianity and welcomes them to deeper study.