this is something that is one of the most powerful and remarkable things about the tradition. is that you can actually go to the place where things happened. reporter: we ve come to the old city with professor paula frederickson in search of the historical jesus. i think the historical jesus has always mattered to christianity or we wouldn t have the gospels. those were stories about jesus the man. reporter: along the area, agony and physical strain for jesus of naz rhett during the march to crucifixion. on his final journey, he faltered carrying the cross. placing his hand on this stone for simon helps to bear the burden. visiting methods from a church in st. louis, find a visit to the place makes for deeper spiritual meaning. i think scripture goes from black to white and technicolor when you come here.
throne was in heaven, not of this world. but that didn t matter. the romans saw him as a political nuisance. to his fellow jews he was just another failed messiah. no one even thought to record his death. the story of jesus has transcended generations and cultures. the tail of a routine execution that gave birth to a new religion. yet today 2 billion people believe jesus was the son of god. even as people pledge themselves to follow jesus teachings we know almost nothing about jesus the man. no other great religious figure, from moses to the bhudda to the prophet mohammed is so shrouded in mystery. it s very difficult to classify jesus within a single category, whether he was a sage or a healer or a teacher or a
became ever more urgent. did he have a real brother? was mary really a virgin? how did jesus live and why did he have to die? who was jesus the man? why is the greatest story ever told also the greatest mystery never solved? almost all we know about jesus life comes to us from the four books of the gospels called mark, matthew, luke, and john. yet the gospels were writen anywhere between 40 and 70 years after jesus died and with an eye to converting people. the gospels weren t meant to be historically accurate accounts in the way we would think of. they weren t written according to our standards of biographical accuracy. they were meant to proclaim the good news of jesus life, death and resurrection. one of the stories that
inscription was forged, the quest for the historical jesus became ever more urgent. did he have a real brother? was mary really a virgin? how did jesus live and why did he have to die? who was jesus the man? why is the greatest story ever told also the greatest mystery never solved? almost all we know about jesus life comes to us from the four books of the gospels called mark, matthew, luke, and john. yet the gospels were writen anywhere between 40 and 70 years after jesus died and with an eye to converting people. the gospels weren t meant to be historically accurate accounts in the way we would think of. they weren t written according to our standards of biographical accuracy. they were meant to proclaim the good news of jesus life, death
and i suspect the most accurate response to the question who was jesus at the time would be a mixture of all of these different identifications. the startling discovery of what some claim to be the burial box of jesus brother james reopened the biggest detective story of all time. the mystery of jesus the man. the plane limestone container called an asuary, is inscribed with a tantalizing clue in aramaic, the language jesus spoke. james son of joseph, brother of jesus. the public was enthralled. from people who flocked to see the display to biblical scholars around the world. could this be the first physical evidence that jesus walked the earth? so when the israeli authorities alleged eight months after its discovery that the ossuary s inscription was forged, the quest for the historical jesus