Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts

by John Dominic Crossan, Jonathan L Reed

The premier historical Jesus scholar joins a brilliant archaeologist to illuminate the life and teaching of Jesus against the background of his world. There have been phenomenal advances in the historical understanding of Jesus and his world and times, but also huge, lesser known advances in first–century Palestine archaeology that explain a great deal about Jesus, his followers, and his teachings. This is the first book that combines the two and it does it in a fresh, accessible way that will interest both biblical scholars and students and also the thousands of lay readers of Biblical Archaeology Review (150,000+ circulation), National Geographic, and other archaeology and ancient history books and magazines. Each chapter of the book focuses on a major modern archaeological or textual discovery and shows how that discovery opens a window onto a major feature of Jesus's life and teachings.

Genres: Religion, History, Christianity, Nonfiction, Theology, Archaeology, Spirituality

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2001

About the author

John Dominic Crossan is generally regarded as the leading historical Jesus scholar in the world. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Birth of Christianity, and Who Killed Jesus? He lives in Clermont, Florida.

John Dominic Crossan was born in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland in 1934. He was educated in Ireland and the United States, received a Doctorate of Divinity from Maynooth College in Ireland in 1959, and did post-doctoral research at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 1959 to 1961 and at the École Biblique in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1967. He was a member of a thirteenth-century Roman Catholic religious order, the Servites (Ordo Servorum Mariae), from 1950 to 1969 and was an ordained priest in 1957. He joined DePaul University in Chicago in 1969 and remained there until 1995. He is now a Professor Emeritus in its Department of Religious Studies.

Reviews

[Shelley Alongi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book 3 stars because I like the fact that he explained in the introduction clearly what he was going to tell us in the book. It is a classic academic procedure and if he had not done that it would have been harder reading than it was. If you are accustomed to reading academic prose you may be able to follow his logic. I spent twenty years in academic circles, not surrounding archaeology, and I had a hard time following this book. The reading becomes more convoluted when we begins discussing the layers between archaeology and text. The history found in the excavations prove interesting. It is the scholarly breakdown of the Gospels and the inclusion of the Gospel of Thomas that brings disagreement. My understanding is that the Gospel of Thomas was written later than 70 CE, much later. All of the text that we have as Cannon is excepted by the church by the end of the first century CE. I found some of his conclusions unacceptable. As far as Old testament scripture I understood them and also have understanding of other passages that further explain them. I disagree with his conclusions. The discussion about the birth of Jesus does have material I've read before, the recounting of stories about his supposed adulterous conception, but I found it a little disconcerting that he would put words in the mouth of the gospel writers or try to analyze their thought processes when relating the story of the virgin birth. It's easier to believe a story about a virgin birth than it is to follow this team's explanations.

When one writes a book of this nature one is certain to get criticism from any camps.

Since I've read the Christ the Lord series by Anne Rice, I see where she and other authors have gotten basic information about the geography of the Galilee. The finding of the items, the comingling of the different aspect of "kingdom in general were enlightening. I dismiss the scholarly interpretations

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that takes as many controversial stances on bible scholarship as this one does needs footnotes. Too often, the authors present an concept about the books of the New Testament as if that concept is well-established and settled among bible scholars, when in fact, it is not. For example, the book simply states that Matthew and Luke both independently used Mark to write their respective gospels, without acknowledging that there are many well-respected, non-traditional bible scholars who disagree, Mark Goodacre being one of them.

But the book is quite good when it is describing houses, temples, buildings, villages, cities and other structures as they existed during the time of Jesus. It is truly amazing what archaeology can tell us.

But purporting to use an archaeologist's methods to analyze New Testament texts is simply not very convincing when you don't have footnotes or citations to support your assertions, particularly when those assertions are not well settled or widely accepted.

[marcus miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crossan and Reed combine archeological findings with digging through scripture, Josephus and other sources to explain what life was like during the time Jesus lived and when Christianity began spreading across the Mediterranean. There is probably a lot I didn't understand but some things I learned include, there was a significant gap between the few wealthy and the many poor. Some wealthy Jewish folks began emulating the lifestyles and architecture of the Roman occupiers; Jewish responses to the Roman occupation ranged from the Herodians who accommodated to the Romans, to the Essenes who withdrew from society, the Zealots who fought back and the many poor who were busy struggling to survive; that many Jewish folks resented the Jerusalem priests who used the temple system to become wealthy. Into this context comes Jesus whose message threatens the powers that be. It helped me realize how radical the message of Jesus can be.

[Care · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crossan and Reed deliberately exaggerate archaeological and exegetical points to emphasize their thesis that Jesus’ Kingdom Movement stood in opposition to the imperial powers of Rome. While I completely agree with their thesis, parts of their book gloss over complicated discussions about empire and archaeology. For example, they ignore strata from the synagogue at Capernaum that does not support their argument.
Perhaps my biggest critique comes from chapter 6, where they repeatedly ask “Why is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher not called Church of the Blessed Resurrection?” This utterly ignores the Greek name for the church and the Orthodox Christians who call it the Church of the Anastasis. It may seem minor, but this reveals a lack of detail and a tendency to gloss over facts to make their main points.

[J.M. Cornwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book presupposes that Jesus was real and yet relies on excavations to tell the story. I did not believe in the excavations as the did not actually prove Jesus was real. So much for the story dreamed up by Rome to defeat the messianic fervor & prove Jesus was real!

Didn't convince me he was the son of God! .maybe I'm too much of an atheist to believe in this fairy story, though it was a good attempt at trying to flesh out Jesus's history. No wonder history is all about His-story.

I would've believed if I had written it myself.

As a child, I imagined fishers of men actually spearing men while they were in the water. So much for a child's imagination.

[Pearl Loewen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am surprised at the criticisms of this book. I enjoyed its blend of archeology and exegesis in describing the life and times of Jesus, and how the Kingdom of God differed from the Kingdom of Caesar. It is well laid out, and summarized at the beginning for easy reference. I particularly liked the authors' treatment of resurrection in the latter part of the last chapter, steering away from the usual argument of whether it was a literal or metaphorical resurrection to what a claim of resurrection meant in a Jewish context in Jesus' day. Also, I appreciated the wrap-up in the Epilogue "Ground and Gospel."

[Cooper Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books I’ve read which deal with Jesus as a historical figure—a human being, that is, rather than a divinity descended to earth—this is almost certainly the most sensible, the most inclusive of all the variant strains and types of evidence, and—by implication—the most damning toward contemporary Christianity, especially in its “western” capitalist incarnation.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I appreciate the key premise of the book, the parallelism between archaeology and ancient textual analysis, the book still fell neatly into two halves. The Crossan half was insightful, but mostly things I've read in other Crossan books. The archeology half was too dry and focused on the things in which I wasn't interested. So, ultimately, not for me.

[Rita McConnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but a bit problematic for Catholics and other Christians. Seems to be a lot missing in Crossan’s arguments, not in the least room for faith and Gods miraculous nature. Often contradicts himself.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good scholarly book on the Biblical archaeology of the life and times of Jesus. I think there is an assumption that the audience will be Christian, but the authors make good efforts to be respectful to other faiths (especially Judaism and Islam).

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, it took me a very long time to read, but, I found it very interesting.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very technical in descriptions, meant more for those specializing in archaeology.

[Amanda Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely detailed book, but asks the relevant questions and provides good answers.

[Sav]

Did not finish; 11%. Not for me.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazon.com
"Why did Jesus happen when and where he happened?" is the question that drives Excavating Jesus, a collaboration between the leading historical Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan and noted Galilean archeologist Jonathan Reed. Excavating Jesus is a groundbreaking work of popular biblical scholarship, an extraordinarily mature and accessible integration of textual study with archeological research. "Words talk. Stones talk too. Neither talks from the past without interpretive dialogue with the present. But each demands to be heard in its own way," the authors write. True to this principle, Crossan and Reed consider archaeology and exegesis "as twin independent methods, neither of which is subordinate or submissive to the other." The bulk of the book identifies, analyzes, and integrates what the authors believe to be the "top 10" archeological discoveries pertaining to the life of Jesus (such as the house of the apostle Peter at Capernaum), and the top 10 exegetical discoveries (such as the Dead Sea Scrolls). Their excavation of the most important sites and texts, accompanied by stunning illustrations and photographs, provide perhaps the most precise picture of the world in which Jesus lived. For many readers, this information will also shed light on the central themes of Christianity. For instance, in the first century in Galilee, "the Kingdom" meant the Roman Empire. "When, therefore, Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God, he chose the one expression most calculated to draw Roman attention to what he was doing. Not the 'people' or the 'community' of God, but the 'Kingdom' of God." That's why the Baptism movement of John and the Kingdom movement of Jesus started there and then." --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
In his monumental The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, Crossan brilliantly challenged conventional historical Jesus scholarship. Using social-scientific and literary critical methods, he uncovered the layers of the Jesus traditions in the Gospels, excavating not an eschatological prophet preaching a future divine kingdom, but an itinerant Galilean peasant preaching a kingdom based on "commensality," or the just distribution of food. Many critics disagreed violently with Crossan, contending that his book was full of outlandish assertions. Now Crossan partners with archeologist Reed to demonstrate the material basis of his earlier textual arguments. With exceptional skill, the authors weave a spellbinding tale of the ways that recent archaeological finds support the rich textual layers of the Gospel stories. For example, Crossan and Reed show the radical nature of Jesus' kingdom of itinerancy and commensality by using the archeology of Herod's palace to demonstrate that his meals, far from the all-encompassing feasts associated with earlier temples, had become elite affairs. Jesus' invitations to the marginalized and outcast to sit at the table flew in the face of this social and political structure. Like any other book that uses archeology to support its claims about biblical texts, this one will be criticized for using material remains to read the Bible in a particular way. However, Crossan and Reed's book provides a fascinating, beautifully illustrated and elegantly written account of the life and times of Jesus, providing readers with one of the richest glimpses into Jesus and his world now available.

[Steven H]

A "PAIRING" OF THE "JESUS SEMINAR" SCHOLAR, AND AN ARCHAEOLOGIST

John Dominic Crossan (born 1934) is a New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, Professor Emeritus at DePaul University, and former Catholic priest known for co-chairing the Jesus Seminar; he has written/co-written many books such as 'The Historical Jesus,' 'Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography,' 'Who Killed Jesus?', 'The First Christmas,' 'The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N. T. Wright in Dialogue,' 'A Long Way from Tipperary: What a Former Monk Discovered in His Search for the Truth,' etc. Jonathan Reed is a professor at the University of La Verne, and the author of 'Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus' and 'The HarperCollins Visual Guide to the New Testament.'

They wrote in the Prologue to this 2001 book, "The purpose of this book is to integrate the archaeology of ground and the exegesis of gospel by giving each its full explanatory power and by refusing to privilege one over the other. There is nothing new in archaeologists reporting on what they have excavated. There is nothing new in exegetes describing what they have discovered. What is novel here is for a seasoned field archaeologist and an experienced Jesus scholar to work together and to do so not just on parallel tracks with alternatively written chapters, but on a single track with each discipline woven into each and every chapter." (Pg. xv-xvi)

Crossan (presumably) observes, "We Christians usually translate the New Testament word 'agape' as 'love' and interpret it to mean charity or almsgiving. It would be better to translate it not as the rather vague term 'to love,' but as the much more precise term 'to share.' That is, of course, 'to share' on the presumption that we are not so much generously sharing what is ours as equitably distributing what is God's. And that means, very simply, that justice in the Christian Old Testament is exactly the same as agape/love in the Christian New Testament." (Pg. 134)

They observe, "Even if we can never know for sure what IMMEDIATE cause resulted in crucifixion, Jesus' incarnated enactment of the Kingdom of God as a program of resistance... must eventually have resulted in a fatal collision with official authority. It was only a matter of at what time and in what place." (Pg. 218)

They state about Pilate, "There are early-first-century governors about whom we know only their names, others about whom we have only a passing comment. But we know about Pilate from two separate first-century Jewish sources, from Philo... but also from Josephus. And precisely what they choose to criticize is his way with unjust condemnations and protesting crowds... Pilate was neither saint nor monster, but everything else we know about him renders the gospels' story implausible as actuality." (Pg. 226)

This joint production is, to me, less effective and enlightening in actuality than it probably sounded during verbal discussions in the publisher's office. Still, there is interesting historical material herein, that will be of considerable interest to both students of biblical archaeology, and of the historical Jesus.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excavating Jesus has been put together by two writers, covering two topics. John Dominic Crossan excavates the exegesis, and Jonathan Reed describes the archaeological layers, in this synthesis on first century Palestine.
Crossan covers the NT texts, Gospel of Thomas, Nag Hammadi Codices, Q Gospel, Gospel of Peter etc.,to excavate back to the historical Jesus. Of course contemporary writings from Josephus, Philo, Tacitus etc are also covered.
Reed sifts through the stones to evaluate The James ossuary,(not certain that this is up to date though), Qumram, Herod's Caesarea Maritima, Masada, The Herodian and the Temple in Jerusalem. Also covering the Galilean constructions of Antipas at Sepphoris and Tiberias. I particularly enjoyed the archaeology of Nazareth and Capernaum.
Between the two writers a picture of Jesus of Nazareth emerges showing a Galilean peasant, rising with a radical non-violent resistance for a covenantal Judaism and a Kingdom of God, into the faces of corrupt Jewish aristocracies and Roman imperialism.
So glad I bought this book, because I certainly need to re-read.

[Alejandro Melo-Florián · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro en versión castellana del año 2003, es escrito por dos expertos, uno en historia del cristianismo y otro en arqueología de tierra santa, a saber John Crossan y Jonathan Reed. La perspectiva que muestra la obra es enriquecedora en la medida que los textos neotestamentarios muestran una mayor prolijidad cuando se les agregan matices de los elementos del diario vivir, y se describen los escenarios arquitectónicos, los objetos del diario vivir que muestran el corazón palpitante de una civilización, los cambios a gran escala origen de decisiones políticas. Y los elementos neotestamentarios son igualmente mostrados con la perspectiva del modo de redacción a la luz de este marco del diario vivir que muestra la arqueología al traer el pasado al presente.

Es así que los autores tratan sobre una barca desenterrada del Kennereth o mar de Galilea (al norte del mar muerto), datando de la época de Jesús, de la casa de Pedro en Cafarnaum, de los restos del sumo sacerdote Caifás, una piedra con la inscripción del nombre de Poncio Pilatos, un resto de un crucificado con un clavo en el talón.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a promising mash-up of archeology and exegesis. At first I thought it would be fairly even split, and that exegetical discussion would clearly relate to the archeology (as they do in the early discussions of Nazareth and the virgin birth). While I very much disagreed with what I would call irrational overconfidence in the findings to date of archeology and how they related to Nazareth and the virgin birth (and later, especially in relation to Q), I think the book would have been more interesting if the archeology was more clearly linked to important exegetical points, even if I disagreed with them (as in the case of the virgin birth). Occasionally the two join forces and produce some interesting results, but too often they are disjointed, and, frankly, uninteresting without some connection, especially the archeological information.

Not awful, and a few good points here and there, but not great either.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excavating Jesus is a title with a double meaning as Crossan and coauthor Reed not only discuss the physical archeology of the land of the Bible but also the intellectual archeology of the Bible, going below the temporal layers of Biblical writings even as they describe going below the temporal layers of the soil of Israel to find the past. They seek for the connections and events that ring true and are not likely to be the glosses of time and worship. There is, for instance, an interesting section on the Roman practices of crucifixion, including the burial of a crucified man, a rare find, followed by a discussion of what probably actually happened to the body of Jesus as opposed to the elaborate story in the book of John.

A book for those who don't need or want to be Biblical literalists, but have an interest in the story of the Bible.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The perfect book for those interested in the historical Jesus, right? A combination of archeology and textual analysis. It's the book I've been waiting for. And the authors are no nubes, but very well respected scholars in their fields. However, this is not an easy read. The connections between the different kinds of digging can seem tangential at times. The best chapter is the very last one, where some of the threads tie up and some interesting insights are revealed. But I have this sinking feeling I need to read it again so I can either understand what I missed or I can more precisely point to the flaws. To advise others I can only say you may want to pass on this one until the combination of archeology and exegesis is prefected.

[David Olmsted · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Dominic Crossan is the leading historical Jesus scholar for his attempt to find an objective, non-theological method for judging the authentic sayings of Jesus. His methodology is socio-economic in which the earliest sayings are assumed to reflect the sudden intrusion of the commercial Roman empire culture into a peasant based traditional culture. To know what those effects are one needs to know the socio-economic situation of the times and this is where this book comes in. He has teamed with an archeologist and they weave together the story for the general reader from all available evidence. The time of Jesus comes alive in this book.

[Al Gritten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not light reading, but it is an excellent look at the way archaeology helps to inform the study of the biblical text. This is a more scholarly work, more like a textbook on biblical exegesis that is based in understanding the text in the same way one would understand the layers of an archaeological excavation. It looks at the lifestyle of ancient Palestine as revealed in the digs of the last century or so, and then explores the way these understandings enlighten the text of the Bible. For the serious biblical historian or for one who just wants to explore the deeper meanings of the biblical stories in the culture of the day, it is an excellent tool.

[G0thamite · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combines liberal theology with archaeology. It succeeds at the latter, not the former. I do not share Dr. Crossan's presuppositions and methodology, but he does have some incisive comments regarding the theology of the NT. I found the discussion of the Temple and of the Caiaphas ossuary to be quite informative. No matter what you think of his Jesus Seminar, you'll still come away with a better understanding of the Semitic and Greco-Roman background of the NT.

[Brian Steed]

You could see the seams between the sections written by Crossan (the Jesus historian), and the more tedious sections written by Reed (the archaeologist) describing ancient Roman and Jewish buildings in interminable detail. This book was still a great resource for learning about Jewish culture at the time of Christ, and it whet my appetite for more of the same.

[Renee Easter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book comes with two perspectives: archeological and biblical. It is a good book to connect the context of the 1st Century to the culture of that day in the region where Jesus lived. It is not an easy read, but is worth the effort. I would recommend it for serious biblical study.

[Evan Kostelka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of this was pretty dry, but his exegesis on early first century and second century writings was worth it. Some great research with great care taken to examine the questions he raises as fairly as possible.

[Lucid B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book, and probably the easiest of his reads to be honest. But be warned that mr crossan often goes off on wild tangents that don't seem to connect.

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to finish this book, but it was very interesting reading. I think their approach from both the archeology and the texts gave the book a good balance.

[Michael Powe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of Crossan's determinedly thorough tomes. As with The Birth of Christianity, bring as much knowledge of Biblical archaeology to the reading as possible.