Theological scholar Andrew McGowan examines how December 25 came to be associated with the birthday of Jesus and became Christmas, a holiday celebrated by Christians around the world. Read more…
Jesus/Historical Jesus
Is it possible to identify the first-century man named Jesus behind the many stories and traditions about him that developed over 2,000 years in the Gospels and church teachings? There are many critical archaeological and Biblical issues that surround the search for the historical Jesus.
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How December 25 Became Christmas
• 12/25/2018
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Bible Scholar Brent Landau Asks “Who Were the Magi?”
• 12/23/2018
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 Read more…
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Why Did the Magi Bring Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?
• 12/21/2018
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 Read more…
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Christmas Stories in Christian Apocrypha
• 12/19/2018
The modern Christmas nativity scene is drawn from apocryphal texts in addition to the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke. Read more…
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Has the Childhood Home of Jesus Been Found?
• 12/18/2018
The childhood home of Jesus may have been found underneath the Sisters of Nazareth Convent in Nazareth, Israel, according to archaeologist Ken Dark. Read more…
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Who Was Jesus’ Biological Father?
• 12/17/2018
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 Read more…
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When Was Jesus Born—B.C. or A.D.?
• 12/12/2018
In which year was Jesus born? While this is sometimes debated, the majority of New Testament scholars place Jesus’ birth in 4 B.C. or before. This begs the question: How Read more…
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Where Was Jesus Born?
• 12/09/2018
If Jesus was born in Bethlehem, why is he called a Nazorean and a Galilean throughout the New Testament? Philip J. King addresses this question in his Biblical Views column. Read more…
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Herod’s Death, Jesus’ Birth and a Lunar Eclipse
• 12/08/2018
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. Read more…
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The Miracles of Jesus
• 10/30/2018
How are we to understand the miracles Jesus performs, as related in the New Testament? BAS editors have compiled articles that explore the key sites and ancient belief systems to Read more…
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Jesus as Lord of the Dance
• 10/02/2018
The apocryphal Acts of John describe the dance of Jesus and the apostles. How widespread was the ritual of dance in Christian worship? Read more…
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The Sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas
• 09/30/2018
New Testament scholar Simon Gathercole examines what the sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas reveal about the early Christian world in which they were written. Read more…
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The Gospel of Thomas’s 114 Sayings of Jesus
• 09/30/2018
Read the 114 sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas as translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson. Read more…
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Mark and John: A Wedding at Cana—Whose and Where?
• 04/29/2018
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? Read more…
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Where Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine?
• 04/28/2018
Where did Jesus turn water into wine? According to archaeologist Tom McCollough in “Searching for Cana: Where Jesus Turned Water into Wine” in BAR, one site offers the most compelling Read more…
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The Bethesda Pool, Site of One of Jesus’ Miracles
• 04/24/2018
The Bethesda Pool, where Jesus heals the paralytic man in the Gospel of John, is a complex site. It appears to have been a mikveh, or ritual bath. As the Read more…
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Jesus Before Pilate
• 03/29/2018
The Gospels offer a surprisingly excusatory depiction of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea directly responsible for Jesus’ death. While the contemporary sources do not mention Pilate’s fatal involvement Read more…
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Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?
• 03/28/2018
Many assume that Jesus’ Last Supper was a Seder, the ritual Passover meal. Examine evidence from the synoptic Gospels with scholar Jonathan Klawans. Read more…
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How Was Jesus’ Tomb Sealed?
• 03/23/2018
What kind of stone sealed the tomb of Jesus? Was it a round (disk-shaped) stone or a square (cork-shaped) stone? While both kinds of blocking stones are attested in Jerusalem Read more…
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Tour Showcases Remains of Herod’s Jerusalem Palace—Possible Site of the Trial of Jesus
• 03/20/2018
Visitors to Jerusalem’s Old City can explore remains of King Herod’s palace, which may be where Roman governor Pontius Pilate tried and condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death. Read more…
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What Did Jesus Really Look Like?
• 03/04/2018
What did Jesus look like? In “Painting a Portrait of Jesus,” D. Moody Smith examined the difficulties in answering this question. Read more…
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Uncovering the Jewish Context of the New Testament
• 02/16/2018
Most Jewish readers approach the New Testament, if they approach it at all, with at best a certain unfamiliarity. This is unfortunate, according to Jewish New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine, Read more…
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Virtually Explore Jesus’ Tomb at the National Geographic Museum
• 01/08/2018
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. Read more…
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The Hungry Jesus
• 12/07/2017
Andrew McGowan challenges the tradition that Jesus was a welcoming host at meals. Read more…
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Jesus Was a Refugee
• 11/30/2017
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. Read more…
