Customer Reviews

The Final Days of Jesus: The Archaeological Evidence

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This is a very clear and concise presentation of Mr. Gibson's view of the historical Jesus. I was able to read this book in two days. It's a fascinating account, and hard to put down. In some ways, it's more of a clarification of historical events, such as, which way Jesus took to Jerusalem, what might have happened when he rode into town on the donkey, and what might have happened during those stories of Jesus raising the dead. There's an excellent section of ancient Jewish burial practices, and also a section on the Shroud of Turin. I commend Mr. Gibson for a thoughtful discussion of the trial of Jesus, and his fascinating presention of a new location for where it may have taken place. In addition, Mr. Gibson gives a detailed first hand account of a discovery in Jerusalem of a crucified man.

But my disappointment with this book is that Mr. Gibson gives a big wind up in a section called "who moved the stone" and then lets the reader down without having the courage to really answer the question, basically saying he'll leave it to believers to decide. And on the question as to the final resting place of Jesus, Mr. Gibson says it's where Christians say it is traditionally without presenting much evidence for his conclusions after the previous sections of his book are filled with lots of details elsewhere. It's almost as if he wants to present new material without going too far as to offend any readers. Nonetheless, for those who are interested in the historical Jesus and first century biblical archaeology, this book is a very interesting addition to the discussion which I highly recommend.

I bought this book for research I was doing on the historical evidence for the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The author evidently is an archeological historian who had done much work in Israel. Was very complete on the tombs and some on history of crucifixion. Would have liked more evidence on resurrection but overall an interesting book. Author has good writing style that's easy to follow. Assorted photographs included as well.

If you're interested in the historical Jesus, you'll be fascinated by this book. Shimon is a thorough researcher and archaeologist. He is up-to-date on current scholarship, while at the same time providing new insights and theories, with a writing style that keeps you reading. Shimon excels in vividly portraying the everyday life of Jesus and his times. You'll learn the geography, the rituals, and the lifestyle of first-century Jews as you walk in the shoes of Christ through the final days of his life.

Shimon cautions that "some of my conclusions regarding Jesus and Jerusalem may be controversial," but throughout the book I found all of his arguments to be logical and carefully documented.

I'm one of those fanatics that marks his books up with highlights and margin notes, and this is one of those books where I've got bright paragraphs and blue ink on every other page. I sometimes look over my notes as I prepare to write my reviews, but I simply don't have the time to reread everything this book taught me. I'll just leave it at this: If a book's value can be measured by how much you learn from it, then this one deserves the praise I give it.

If you walk along what is presently called the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, Israel, you will find several patches of well-worn stone-slabs. These were excavated and raised up to the present street level from a much deeper elevation, where they had been resting for two-thousand years, so that people could walk over the stones on which Jesus walked on his way to Golgotha. It may very well be that Jesus walked on these stones, but he would not have been carrying his cross; he would simply have been wandering through the streets of Jerusalem long before his trial and crucifixion.

All of this is implied by Shimon Gibson's book, The Final Days of Jesus: The Archaeological Evidence. In the 1970s Gibson was on the staff of the Israeli archaeologist Magen Broshi, excavating a 280-meter stretch outside of the Ottoman city wall between the Citadel next to Jaffa Gate and the southwestern angle of the Old City. He knew that just inside of the wall was the Praetorium, which was Herod's palace where Jesus was put on trial (partially excavated in the Armenian Garden). As happens sometimes, they excavated several related features and did not immediately recognize what they had found. Only years later, when Gibson again turned his attention toward this project, did he see the significance. They had found a courtyard between two fortification walls, and on its northern side a platform of bedrock with steps leading up to it, and south of these a monumental gateway into the city, probably the Gate of the Essenes, as described by the contemporary Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius. The platform is described in John 19:13. "When Pilate therefore heard these words he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the pavement (lithostrotos), but in Hebrew, gabbatha." According to the New Testament, when Pilate had interrogated Jesus, he led him out to the crowd and proclaimed: "Ecce Homo: Behold the Man!" This had to be at the top of the steps that lead into the monumental gateway, with the crowd standing directly to the west, where there is space enough to accommodate hundreds.

All of these things make eminent sense, and if they are true, then all of the holy sites along the present Via Dolorosa, beginning with the Antonia Fortress and ending at Golgotha, were wrongly attributed in the fourth century. Instead of moving from east to west, the Via Dolorosa should progress from south to north. Gibson gives a balanced assessment on every relevant point, discussing Jesus' progress toward Jerusalem, his raising of Lazarus, his acts in the temple, his miracles at Bethesda and Siloam, his trial, his crucifixion, his burial, and his resurrection. At the end of the book there is an excursus, another very balanced assessment of the famous Talpiot tomb, which has recently been proposed as the family tomb of Jesus, and an appraisal of the "James" ossuary, which had the inscription "Ya'aqov (James) Bar Yosef (Joseph) brother of Yeshua (Jesus)" on it.

This book has had a very quiet entry into the world. Let us hope that it will have a long life and steady sales, because in its level-headed way it may revolutionize the topography of the last days of Jesus.

The Final Days of Jesus does not provide "speculation" about the final days of our Savior. The research is well done and the sources used add to the credibility of the information. The book is easy to read yet it provides the details that the author explains very clearly so one does not have to be a scholar to understand it. This point alone makes the book a worthwhile reference book for everyone interested in the accurate recording of the final days of Jesus. I strongly recommend it.

Greg
Blogs:
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Shimon Gibson (SG) is a very experienced and knowledgeable Israeli archaelogist on excavations around Jerusalem & beyond. The idea of this book is to fill in the gaps in the history of Jesus' final days in Jerusalem. Then the question is, this archaelogical evidence (AE), what is it based on? SG uses analysis of the Gospels (Mark, Luke, Matthew & John) and other historical Israeli literature to give us AE to support the literature/give more insight on the last days of Jesus. The problem here is the lack of greater details in the literature to support the AE & vice versa and where there are divergent literature views, he takes his preferred view (what can one do?/what if he is wrong?) These may make some of his conclusions controversial & may even be outrightly wrong. I would have liked SG to give more evidence on why he thinks Jesus'tomb is likely to be the one in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (CHS) or give some thorough history how/why/when/who it came to be that the church (CHS) was built in this site. His out of hand dismissal of the Talpiot Tomb (TT) as the tomb of Jesus is very interesting but shallow. He (SG) is the one who did the archaelogical mapping of the Talpiot Tomb for Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in 1980 when the TT was first discovered. He, however is quite successful in painting a probable picture of the landscape of Jerusalem during the last week of Jesus in Jerusalem. He also manages well to fill in the gaps on this difficult & sometimes controversial subject. Some revision of this important book in the future may be very helpful as this AE book paints a valuable landscape picture during the time of Jesus.

Christian debates emphasize Sunday as the day on which Jesus was resurrected. Arguments ignore all evidence and cite only Mark 16:9. "Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene..." The assertion is simple; there's no other way to interpret what was said. This was all the evidence necessary proving Jesus was resurrected on Sunday. Admittedly, early Christians honored the seventh day Sabbath, but eventually the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday was replaced by the real Sabbath; the Christian Sabbath on the Lord's-day, which is recognized worldwide, separating Christianity from the erroneous Jewish religion. The support for Sunday Sabbath also included several points.
1. Whenever the transformed Christ appeared and the day is mentioned, it's always the first day of the week. (Matthew 28:1,9,10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:1,13,15; John 20:19,26).
2. From Acts through Revelation the Sabbath is only mentioned for evangelistic Jewish purposes. The setting is usually in a temple.
3. Once Paul went to the Gentiles, the Sabbath is never again mentioned (Acts 18:6)
4. There's never mention of adherence to the Sabbath after Acts and actually implies the opposite. Thus, there is no obligation for the New Testament believer to keep any Sabbath. In Colossians 2:16-17, the Jewish Sabbath was abolished at the cross where Christ canceled the written code, with its regulations.
5. The Sabbath is still Saturday but it is for Israel, certainly not for Christ's church. The Sabbath is part of the Old Testament Law. Christians are free from the Law so Sabbath keeping is not required. The first day of the week, Sunday, is the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10). This is the celebration day of the New Creation with Christ as the re-born head where Christians are not obligated to follow the Mosaic Sabbath. There's an amazing misrepresentation occurring with this reasoning. No passage in the Bible defines the "Lord's Day" to mean the Sabbath was changed to Sunday. Referencing this passage is a means to confuse the issue. There's a real meaning, considering the Duality to Singularity transformation. The real Lord's Day is the Great Sabbath Renaissance; the return of Jesus as king of kings.
There's another take to this bias analysis. Like all trials, evidence needs to be presented from both sides of the issue. The entire context can be viewed from an analytical perspective, honoring the Singularity - Duality connection. That means the infinite - finite intersection, the divine resurrection, cannot deviate from the governing principles of Creation.
Truth requires careful examination beginning with Mark 16:9. Conversion from Greek into English makes the sentence readable two ways. That's the problem with translations. The first way can give an impression that Jesus had risen on the first day. The second way can mean that he had already risen and on the first day after the Sabbath he first appeared to Mary Magdalene. The punctuation (location of comas) was placed awkwardly. That's because the Greek language doesn't follow English punctuation rules. The other way would be, "Now after He had risen; early on the first day of the week He first appeared to Mary Magdalene." It's interesting that the original Bible composition didn't include verses 9-20. It was later added.
This argument is exactly the type used to prove a positive from a negative. Basically there's a flaw from the beginning because both liberal and conservative Christians aspire to the preconceived idea that Jesus was raised-up on Sunday. By naturally assuming this to be a fact, the analysis is faulty.
The Sign (Repudiated by Followers of Jesus)
Matthew 12:40: The word `day' used in this reference has to mean the same when comparing examples. One figure can't mean one thing while the other means something else entirely. The book of Jonah is short (4 chapters), but like many stories in the scriptures there is a Duality. Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish but symbolically this reference identifies with the nation of Israel declaring God's truth to the world. Several important issues are specifically addressed. The sea creature (most likely a whale or possibly a rare enormous fish) was important to Jesus. There's obviously some deep meaning. The significance may have been misunderstood at the time, but Israel had failed miserably in educating evil societies. So the great fish is a representation of Babylon, who in fact swallowed the Israelites (figuratively). The disgorging of Jonah upon the land illustrates the return of the Jews from exile.
The incident purposely teaches obedience, gratitude, God's patience, and his mercy. Astonishingly, this whole story is taken lightly by the Christian avant-garde. They disregard the remarkable duality parallels purposely ingrained into all biblical accounts. Most consider the tale to be strictly allegorical. Despite other supernatural miracles, being swallowed by a whale and living through it is beyond belief. But consider the mysterious set of circumstances.
The sea creature could very well have been a huge aquatic like reptile that once inhabited the ocean; a currently extinct species. Another possible example is a sulfur bottom whale. One was captured in 1933 off the coast of Cape Cod. It was over 100 feet long with a ten feet wide mouth. The cranial cavity chamber measured 7 ft. by 7 ft. by 14 ft. A factual Duality comparison analysis follows.
1. God prepared the great creature (symbolic of preparation-day). An instinct more than likely was implanted, preventing bodily harm. There was no chewing or injury, just swallowing.
2. Witnesses on board the ship saw Jonah sink in the water turbulence (Ps69:1). The water then calmed, the storm ceased. Passengers and crew members could see a giant creature swallow Jonah. The news must have spread like wild fire throughout the land. The prophet (II Kings 14:25) was, after all, well known; even famous.
3. Jonah drowned. It's probable that he may have been dead when swallowed by the fish or maybe unconscious. This is a replication of the same state of being as Jesus. Both were in a tomb for 72 hours. This historical accuracy foreshadowed Christ's own death and resurrection. Jesus would not make a comparison with this prior event or associate with the story if it wasn't duplication (another form of Duality). He especially would not claim this sign if it were indeed a fairytale. Jonah was most likely dead, not alive. The point made, of course, is the incident parallels the resurrection staging. If Jonah was not consumed and then saved from death, than neither did Jesus. He used him as an example for his resurrection.
4. (Luke 11:29-30): Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites. The news about this famous prophet perishing in the sea and ending up three days later made alive through a supernatural resurrection event must have made him a divine hero. He was a member of the undead. This also compares to the sign of the generation of Jesus.
5. Men of that day, in Jonah's time, never ridiculed the story. Because of the sign, they feared God. Ninevites turned from their evil ways. Jonah's success throughout the huge city would not have been likely without the sign. Other prophets of that period, as an example, were generally ignored, as they are today, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Obadiah. What was deeply disturbing to Jonah was his forty day warning which became false after God's forgiveness.
6. Both Jonah and Jesus cried onto God due to deep affliction. Both spent three days and three nights without life in them. Both were rescued from death by God. The sudden calmness of the sea typifies Christ's visitation to Earth and redemption of transgressions. Swells ceased upon the ocean of misery and death, overcome by a holy calm. Both occurrences were signs; a test of respect, search for truth, understanding, and faith for humanity.
That's why Jesus purposely identified with this historical event. The declaration was generally not accepted. Even his close followers didn't believe Jesus. Some in authority thought it may be possible though, because of their knowledge of the prophet Jonah. To prevent the three day resurrection, a guard blocked the tomb entrance. Some may have believed grave robbers would claim a resurrection but others considered a true rising from the dead just like Lazarus. There were no witnesses, except the one guarding, but the cosmic resurrection energy overloaded consciousness frequencies. Two important non-human witnesses arrived for the event, however. They believed the Old Testament prophecy. If anyone else actually understood the sign, they would have timed the event and showed up to be a witness as well. That same attitude has existed ever since. Christians claim to believe in Jesus but still do not believe what he says. They don't believe the sign!
The prophet was in the creature 72 hours because the exact amount of time was specified in the book of Jonah. Original scriptures were written in Hebrew and there's no doubt about the length of time. Another example supports this. The city of Nineveh, the ancient capital of Assyria was located on the Tigress River in today's northern Iraq. The referenced walking journey of three days would be twenty miles times three. Archeological investigations measure this area over a fifty mile distance across this huge city. It was so big; Jonah only covered a portion of it in one day. It would be ridiculous to expect he traveled one day covering over half the distance and two half days for the rest. The results of this assumption would be a two day walking distance (not enough to cover the expanse).
The exact same reasoning is expected measuring the length of a day inside the great sea-serpent. Three days coupled with three nights cannot be interpreted differently to be one full day, two partial days, one full night, a partial night, and one nonexistent night. These are specific measurements in time, not figurative periodic displays. So the New Testament Greek language can become puzzling because the word `day' could be referenced to interpret periods of time. But, logically if one sign is not three days and the other clearly is, there's no possible legitimate association. This would than discredit Christ's comparison.
Jesus, however, specifically used the example of Jonah, representing the failures of humanity, to compare the Son of Man's adaptation and payment for human transgressions. Comparisons match and agree. It absolutely does and sanctifies Jesus as the Word and legitimizes his Messiahship. There's more than one Biblical proclamation which coincides, matching the exact time.
The Sign Defined by Jesus (but not believed)
Matthew 12:40: Christ said the three days and three nights would be the only sign (the one and only evidence) that he was indeed the Messiah! Christians today do not believe this. Thus, they do not believe the sign. They do not believe Jesus. That's indeed a troubling paradox; because if they don't believe Jesus, the sign is destroyed along with his Messiahship!
John 2: 19-21: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." Again, there's a comparison and Duality. The temple represents the body of Jesus. Three days just happens to be a reference used throughout the bible. It's a time measurement as well as referring to distance (3-days walk).
Matthew 27:63: "After three days I will rise again." This absolutely establishes Jesus' time in the tomb to be not less than three days!
Mark 8:31: "...and after three days rise again." Specific claims are for at least three days which means it could be longer.
Mark 9:31: "He shall raise the third day." This verse continues to enforce the notion that Christ has to be dead at least 48 hours to even make this statement true.
Luke 24:21: "...and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done." This, of course refers to all related crucifixion events.
Matthew 28:1-6: "In the end of the Sabbath..." or after the Sabbath(s) before dawn, the women came to look at the grave. But Jesus was gone. He had already risen. There were more than one Sabbaths that week. The verse was originally translated from Greek using the plural form. Technically speaking, the women purchased spices for the body after the first Sabbath which was a high-day annual holiday after Passover. There was only one day that this could occur (Friday), another clue they didn't believe Jesus when he gave them a sign. There's no reason to purchase spices if you know for a certainty that Jesus would live again in three days.
John11:9-10: Christ defines the difference between day and night. "Are there not twelve hours in a day?" He further explained what `night' means. By Christ's own explanations; to be raised up the third day required at least two periods of night in between. This is undeniable and Jesus defined this period so there would be no doubt about what his analogy met.

This Is a Interesting Look at the last days of jesus based on the archeaological finds dating to his time. Some readers may be somewhat distrubed by his conclusion's, but that only made the book more appealing to me. It begans with his journey to jerusalem, and ends with his burial a week later.Some of the Information presented was new, some I had read about before, but I found It all Informative. The archaeological record and the biblical records differ a lot and this book suggest that a rexamination of the scriptures Is vital to understanding the life of the historical jesus. The discription of crucifixion Is graphic, and shows what a horrific practice It was, certaintly not the picture of the peaceful dying christ that adorns many chruch walls all over the world. I would recomend this book to anyone Interested In archaeology, the historical Jesus, and the world of the bible.

Even before I bought this book I knew that the author is not a Christian what I did not know is that he considers Christians as idiots for believing what they believe. This book is not where it really belongs, in the trashcan.

If you are looking for solid evidence for the real Jesus please check out a book from Lee Strobel called "The Case for Easter: Journalist Investigates the Evidence for the Resurrection" Did Jesus of Nazareth really rise from the dead? Of the many world religions, only one claims that its founder returned from the grave. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very cornerstone of Christianity. But a dead man coming back to life? In our sophisticated age, when myth has given way to science, who can take such a claim seriously? Some argue that Jesus never died on the cross. Conflicting accounts make the empty tomb seem suspect. And post-crucifixion sightings of Jesus have been explained in psychological terms.
How credible is the evidence for-and against-the resurrection? Focusing his award-winning skills as a legal journalist on history's most compelling enigma, Lee Strobel retraces the startling findings that led him from atheism to belief. Drawing on expert testimony first shared in his blockbuster book The Case for Christ, Strobel examines: The Medical Evidence-Was Jesus' death a sham and his resurrection a hoax? The Evidence of the Missing Body-Was Jesus' body really absent from his tomb? The Evidence of Appearances-Was Jesus seen alive after his death on the cross? Enjoy!