Jesus/Historical Jesus

Jesus/Historical Jesus

Crucifix showing Jesus with his palms and feet nailed to the cross (Spain, 12th century). Photo: The Met Cloisters, public domain

Apr 16

How Was Jesus Crucified?

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 […]

Late-15th-century painting of The Last Supper by the Spanish artist known as the Master of Perea.

Apr 8

Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?

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.

Roman Catacomb Painting at the Catacombs of Santa Priscilla

Apr 6

The Last Days of Jesus: A Final “Messianic” Meal

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.

The Ravenna mosaic of Jesus. Photo: Sant’Apollinare Nuovo Ravenna, Italy/Bridgeman Images

Apr 3

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.

last-supper

Apr 1

Jesus’ Last Supper Still Wasn’t a Passover Seder Meal

By: Jonathan Klawans

Many people still assume that Jesus’ Last Supper was a Seder, a ritual meal held in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Passover. In this exclusive Bible History Daily guest post, Boston University Professor of Religion Jonathan Klawans provides an update to his popular Bible Review article questioning this common assumption.

Judas Betrays Jesus with a Kiss 1873 in 'The story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation'

Mar 27

Why Did Judas Identify Jesus with a Kiss?

By: Hershel Shanks

I’ve been reading a new book titled Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem “On the Life and the Passion of Christ”: A Coptic Apocryphon by the Dutch scholar Roelof van den Broek.1 In case it has escaped your attention, it provides a new translation of an eighth-century Gnostic gospel in Coptic from Egypt that has been in the Morgan Library in New York since 1908, a gift of J.P. Morgan.

Giotto adoration of the magi

Mar 25

Where Was Jesus Born?

By: Megan Sauter

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.

Herod Tomb

Mar 25

How Was Jesus’ Tomb Sealed?

By: Megan Sauter

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 tombs from the time of Jesus, square (cork-shaped) stones are much, much more common than round (disk-shaped) ones.

Cana of Galilee

Mar 23

Where Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine?

By: Robin Ngo

Where did Jesus turn water into wine? According to archaeologist Tom McCollough, one site offers the most compelling evidence that Cana of Galilee has been found.

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

Mar 8

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.

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