Jesus of
Nazareth has always been a much debated character. Some believe he is the
Son of God; others believe in the historicity of the character and
appreciate his moral teachings but deny his divine nature; still others
question its very existence Jesus Christ news.
Below we list seven discoveries about Jesus that can help us
shed light on this fascinating figure.
The entrance to the Maria di Nazareth International Center, in
the center of Nazareth, does not strike the gaze of those who cross it. It
is a simple passage located in the narrow Via Casa Nova, a few hundred meters
from the Basilica of the Annunciation.
Yet within this recently built Catholic center of evangelization
resides an incredible discovery that has had a huge impact on the world of
biblical archeology: the remains of a first-century stone house, certainly
dating back to the beginning of the era. Roman in Palestine church
current news.
The excavations of Nazareth are the first concrete
archaeological evidence that demonstrates the actual existence of a town called
Nazareth and that, judging by the limestone cups found on the site, it was
almost certainly inhabited by observant Jews at the time of Jesus.
This definitively demolishes one of the great objections made by
those who claim that Jesus of Nazareth never existed and that the Gospels are
mere fiction:
“We know that Jesus of Nazareth
never existed because a village called Nazareth never existed”.
Incredibly, the archaeological excavations of Nazareth are just
one of many important recent discoveries about Jesus that are forcing lay
scholars, Jews and agnostics, in the best universities around the world, to
revise old skeptical theories about who He was and what goals He had .
However, many faithful have not yet heard of these incredible
breakthroughs of the last hour.
Experts continue to repeat to the media the same theories, now
increasingly discredited, postulated in the period between the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries christian world news daily.
One of these, for example, asserts that Jesus was an
"apocalyptic prophet" who believed the world was about to end, or
that he was a "zealot" revolutionary bent on planning a violent coup
against Roman forces.
Nonetheless, some notable recent archaeological discoveries and
new developments in New Testament studies are challenging these now obsolete
theories.
THE PEOPLE AND PLACES
MENTIONED IN THE GOSPELS REALLY EXISTED
In recent
years, however, archaeologists have unearthed some amazing finds, including the
funerary box (ossuary) of the high priest Caiafa and, probably, that of James
the Just, the alleged brother / half-brother / close relative of Jesus of
Nazareth.
Experts are now convinced that the Caiafa ossuary is authentic. On
the other hand, the debate on Giacomo's ossuary, possibly authentic too, is
still open and heated.
Dating back to the first century AD, it has an Aramaic
inscription on the side that reads: Ya'akov bar-Yosef akhui di Yeshua (James
son of Joseph, brother of Jesus).
Some archaeologists believe that the ossuary and the words
"James son of Joseph" are authentic, and that they date back to the
first century AD, but that the words "brother of Jesus" were added
later by a master blacksmith.
If both parts were authentic, as some evangelical scholars
including Ben Witherington III argue, then it would represent the first
archaeological evidence ever to confirm the historicity of Jesus.
Along with these finds, there are numerous archaeological
discoveries of places mentioned in the Gospels, as in the case of a large,
remarkably decorated synagogue from the first century AD found at Magdala in
2009, on the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus almost certainly preached to the
people.