DISCOVERIES OVERSHADOWED BY SHR

RECENT ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES OVERSHADOWED

BY SHROUD HEADLINES

While the discovery that the Shroud of Turin is not an authentic relic of Jesus Christ has monopolized recent headlines, the uncovering of a true relic of the Nazarene’s life has been quietly overlooked by all but a few scholars.

The finding of what is believed to be Peter’s house in Capernaum, where Jesus stayed, taught and conducted healings – including that of Peter’s mother-in-law – has been substantiated by archaeology, says James H. Charlesworth. He describes it as an “authentic relic” in his new book, “Jesus Within Judaism,” published by Doubleday.

Dr. Charlesworth is chairman of the biblical department at Princeton Theological Seminary and a leading authority on the Pseudepigrapha, the Jewish religious books written between 250 B.C.E. and 200 C.E.

He insists that the unearthing of Peter’s house – along with six other major archaeological discoveries in the past 20 years and the finding and deciphering of such writings as those at Nag Hammadi, the Dead Sea scrolls and additions to the Pseudepigrapha – all add up to one conclusion:

“Jesus did exist, and we know more about him than about almost any other Palestinian Jew before 70 C.E.”

Even though Dr. Charlesworth maintains that “a biography of Jesus is, and always will be, impossible,” the scholar says that there is no doubt that “he was a real person who lived in Palestine, growing up in Galilee.”

Now on a sabbatical in Israel where he is doing research on the Dead Sea Scrolls and teaching at Hebrew University, Dr. Charlesworth said the new findings substantiate some things previously considered questionable in the accounts by the Jewish historian Josephus and the writers of the New Testament Gospels.

Among the new information is the discovery that most first century synagogues were large public meeting rooms in private homes rather than separate buildings. Such is the design of the house now said to have been Peter’s home. It is beneath the remains of an octagonal church, typical of those built by early Christians over venerated sites. It is also near the famous remains of a later formal synagogue building.

The house, whose construction dates to about 60 B.C.E., contains etched crosses, a boat and more than 100 Greek, Aramaic, Syriac, Latin and Hebrew graffiti from second and third century Christians who venerated the place. It contains ritualistic pottery, and wedged between and under the floor stones are fishhooks, as if a fisherman lived there.

Other recent archaeological finds Dr. Charlesworth described as “sensational, breathtaking” in a telephone interview from Jerusalem include:

The discovery that the rock under the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a rejected quarry stone, seemingly fulfilling and giving the double meaning to the biblical passage in 1 Peter 2:7, “…the stone which the builders reject, this has become the head of the corner.”
Finding the first remains of anyone who obviously had been crucified. The bones of a man named Jehohanan show the ankles still nailed to the wooden cross piece, and scientists have been able to determine from the position of the skeleton that he died of suffocation. He also received a proper Jewish burial, indicating that the same was possible for Jesus and that not all the crucified were tossed into pits, as some historians had thought.
Unearthing of the Praetorium, the official residence of the governor during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, in the upper city. It confirms Josephus’ description.
Finding the double gates and passageways to the Solomonic Stables that confirm that the Temple area was larger than had previously been thought and that it included stalls for large animals, which lends authenticity to the biblical account of Jesus cleansing the Temple of moneychangers.
Discovery of the northern or third wall begun by Herod Agrippa and the Essene Gates as described by Josephus. It defines Jerusalem as a larger city in the time of the Romans than many had thought and confirms the existence there of members of the Essene cult.

Dr. Charlesworth points out that since the 1940s hundreds of pre- 70 C.E. Jewish documents have surfaced to “help clarify the intellectual landscape for first-century Jews such as Jesus.” Among other things, he said, they underscore the fact that the “Palestinian Jesus Movement was a Jewish group that used Jewish tradition to articulate allegiance to Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew from Nazareth.”

That is one reason his book is finding “a warm and open reception” in Israel, said Dr. Charlesworth. He said this fulfills one of his purposes in writing the book.

“I had hoped to bring Christians and Jews together by at least giving them something to talk about,” the scholar said.

(The article is reprinted from THE WORD, January, 1989 – the official diocesan newspaper of the Antiochene Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, 358 Mountain Road, Englewood, NJ 07631. Subscriptions = $12.00 per annum in Canada and the U.S.; foreign countries

$15.00. Single copies $1.50.)