Jesus/Historical Jesus

Jesus/Historical Jesus

Gospel of Thomas (Sayings of Jesus) from the Nag Hammadi

Mar 7

The Gospel of Thomas’s 114 Sayings of Jesus

By: BAS Staff

Read the 114 sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas as translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson.

Woodcut from Die Bibel in Bildern (1860) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld.

Feb 13

Jesus Was a Refugee

By: Joan E. Taylor

Scholar Joan E. Taylor says that it’s worth remembering that Jesus’ earliest years were, according to the Gospel of Matthew, spent as a refugee in a foreign land.

Woman, Unnamed

Feb 11

The Three Most Important Women in Mark’s Gospel—All Unnamed

By: James Tabor

Clearly in Mark the 12 male disciples are complete failures and are never presented as heroes, even at the end. However, what we do find in Mark, in stark contrast to this chosen group, are three unnamed women who become Mark’s heroines and carry the core message of the entire book for those readers with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Lorenzo Lotto, The Nativity, 1523

Feb 8

Who Was Jesus’ Biological Father?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Was Joseph Jesus’ biological father? If not, who was Jesus’ biological father? Andrew Lincoln examines what early Christians thought about conception and explains how views about this subject have changed over time.

Cana Wedding

Feb 1

Mark and John: A Wedding at Cana—Whose and Where?

By: James Tabor

James Tabor discusses the wedding at Cana from the Gospels of Mark and John. Whose wedding was this and why were Jesus and his family present?

nat-geo-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre

Jan 18

Virtually Explore Jesus’ Tomb at the National Geographic Museum

By: Samuel Pfister

3-D technology brings Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre to life in the National Geographic Museum exhibit Tomb of Christ: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre Experience.

Dec 26

Bible Scholar Brent Landau Asks “Who Were the Magi?”

By: BAS Staff

A lost Syriac manuscript, the Revelation of the Magi, translated into English by Bible scholar Brent Landau, may help answer that key question from the Christmas story: “Who were the magi?”

Ravenna Jesus

Dec 23

Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

Did Jesus of Nazareth, “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5), really exist? What’s the evidence outside of the Bible? Classical and Jewish writings from the first several centuries C.E. give us a glimpse of the person who would become the central figure in Christianity mere decades after his crucifixion.

Giotto adoration of the magi

Dec 21

Herod’s Death, Jesus’ Birth and a Lunar Eclipse

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Read letters published in the Q&C section of BAR debating the dates of Herod’s death, Jesus’ birth and to which lunar eclipse Josephus was referring.

Why Did the Magi Bring Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?

Dec 19

Why Did the Magi Bring Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Were the gifts of the magi meant to save Jesus from the pain of arthritis? It’s possible, according to researchers at Cardiff University in Wales who have been studying the medical uses of frankincense.