The first followers of Jesus, their ideas, their Jewish background.
The question of whether the disciples of Jesus ceased sacrificing at the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem following his death is one that comes up occasionally among scholars interested in understanding the very earliest form of Christ-belief. This question has come up again in a new book by Paula Fredriksen, When Christians Were Jews: The First …
Continue reading Did the First Jewish Believers in Jesus Continue to Sacrifice at the Temple?
Every now and then, the subject of Jesus’s celibacy is raised, usually in connection with Mary Magdalene who some suggest was his wife. Still others believe that the tomb of Jesus has been found in Jerusalem, a tomb that contained the remains of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and their son. While the jury is still out …
Continue reading The Bloodline of Jesus? Descendants of the Holy Family
Several years ago I prepared a paper detailing what archaeology and history have revealed to us about the last days and ultimate burial of Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ. Few scholars today would doubt the historicity of the tradition that the apostle Peter suffered martyrdom in Rome. The exact year or the circumstances that surround the …
Continue reading The Burial and Remains of St. Peter – A Study of the Evidence
There are many sacred structures along the east side of Jerusalem, some dating back to before the time of King Herod (37-4 BCE). The oldest is the Tomb of the Bene-Hezir, a priestly family, from the 2nd century BCE. It can be seen to the left in the picture above. To its right is the …
Continue reading Sacred Structures along the Kidron Valley and on the Mount of Olives
This photograph of the Cenacle, or Upper Room of the Last Supper, was taken from the rotunda of the Church of the Dormition. With the kind permission of Father Elias and the assistance of Lukas, a young volunteer worker from Cologne, I was able to access the top of the dome from which I could …
One of the most fascinating recent discoveries in Jerusalem is the gate that once led to King Herod’s palace but was later used by the Roman prefects of Judea as their judgment seat called Gabbatha or Lithostrotos. The Gospel of John 19:13 says that Jesus stood before Pilate here as his death sentence was pronounced. …
While in Jerusalem, I cannot help but to repeatedly visit the structure about which I have extensively written. The above photograph displays with amazing clarity the long history of the building we today identify as the Upper Room of the Last Supper and the Tomb of King David. That history is physically present in the …
Even a cursory glance at the New Testament gospels reveals a startling number of differences both large and small in the telling of the sayings and deeds of Jesus. Similarities among the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke are attributed by scholars to the use of the former by the latter two as well as …
This is the final part of our survey of the contributions of women to the growth of Christianity in the early-to-mid first century. To this point in the discussion, all of the women (save one) were identified in the New Testament Acts of the Apostles. Having exhausted that source, we now move on to Paul’s …
According to the Book of Acts, when the apostle Paul arrived in the city of Corinth in Greece he met up with a husband and wife Christian missionary team of Prisca and Aquila. The text states that the two were among a number of Jews who had been expelled from Rome by the emperor Claudius. …
