In this classic work Albert Schweitzer, the great Protestant teacher, lays down his thesis - which has shaken and inspired modern Christian thought - on the precise nature of Jesus' understanding of his own mission. All previous presentations of the life of Jesus are satisfactory up to a point - the inception of the thought of the Passion. None renders intelligible Jesus' sudden view that his death was necessary and that it was to be a saving act. Schweitzer departs from convention by making the Passion his focal point, which better enables us to understand Jesus' life. The Mystery of the Kingdom of God is required reading for those interested in the religious development of Western culture.