Excavating Jesus

Starred review from September 10, 2001
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.

October 1, 2001
Crossan, author of several best-selling books about Jesus, now goes beyond biography to examine what clues archaeology can offer about Jesus' life and times. With coauthor Reed, a Galilean field archaeologist, Crossan examines the 10 most significant archaeological digs in the towns of ancient Palestine (Nazareth, Tiberias, and Jerusalem) in context with 10 important textual discoveries, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and writings such as the Gnostic gospels of Thomas. First-century Palestine comes alive here. Readers are invited along to visit places like Sepphoris, an urban center only four miles from Nazareth; the Sea of Galilee, where a boat was found and carbon-dated to the time of Jesus; and Peter's house at Capernaum. This is another winner for Crossan, written in language simple enough for the layperson but stimulating and provocative for readers of all kinds. To be illustrated with black-and-white archaeological drawings throughout and a full-color insert.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)