Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries Related to Jesus

February 24, 2024

—According to the Gospel writers, Jesus visited Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem on numerous occasions. First as a newborn for his circumcision, then as a twelve-year old, presumably for his bar mitzvah, and then frequently as an adult to celebrate Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, the three, annual, religious festivals required of all Jewish men. Any archaeological evidence that confirms the historicity of Herod’s Temple adds to the veracity of the New Testament’s accounts of Jesus at the temple, and there is a great deal of temple evidence to be sure.

—Books have been written on this topic, but let me just mention three. First, in 1871 a French archaeologist discovered a complete stone tablet, inscribed with painted red letters that read, “No outsider shall enter the protective enclosure around the sanctuary, and whoever is caught will only have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” This warning inscription is known to have been posted on a barrier wall that surrounded the temple building itself, and we have found it. See my original post on this discovery from Sept 24, 2022 that’s archived at shalomyallministries.org in order to learn more.

—Second, archaeologists have uncovered massive stone steps on the southern end of the present Temple Mount that once led up to Herod’s Temple through underground walkways. Pilgrims to Jerusalem walked up these steps, singing the psalms on their way to offer their sacrifices to the Lord. You can visit these steps today and even touch the temple walls that date to the time of Jesus.

—Third, in the 1970s archaeologists removed tons of rubble from the southwestern corner of the present–day Temple Mount, uncovering a market street, a priestly inscription and more that corroborated first-century historians’ accounts of the temple. The rubble resulted from the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. who quelled a Jewish revolt at that time and systematically dismantled all the buildings.

—The corroborating evidence for Jesus and for the accuracy of the New Testament is beyond dispute!