Jesus/Historical Jesus

By: Andrew McGowan

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.

By: James Riley Strange

In the early first century CE, Jesus’s hometown of Nazareth was a Galilean village like most others. With a population probably numbering only in the […]

By: BAS Staff

At Shivta, a large early Christian site in southern Israel, scenes painted on the ruined walls of two monumental church buildings have been recently identified […]

By: BAS 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.

By: Megan Sauter

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.

By: BAS Staff

What did Jesus look like? In “Painting a Portrait of Jesus,” D. Moody Smith examined the difficulties in answering this question.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Was Jesus a Jew? Some people claim that Jesus was a Christian. Some have claimed that he was an Aryan Christian. But in recent decades scholars have been returning to ancient historical settings and discovering the Jewish Jesus.

By: Marek Dospěl

How was Jesus crucified? This question sounds so trivial it is almost confusing. Christian tradition has always portrayed Jesus hanging from the cross with his […]

By: Jonathan Klawans

Many assume that Jesus' Last Supper was a Seder, the ritual Passover meal. Examine evidence from the synoptic Gospels with scholar Jonathan Klawans.

By: James Tabor

On Wednesday Jesus began to make plans for Passover. He sent two of his disciples into the city to prepare a large second-­story guest room where he could gather secretly and safely with his inner group.