Searching for the Historical Jesus

Overview

Course No. 60090

Join historian, biblical scholar, and best-selling author Jean-Pierre Isbouts to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. As the largest religion in the world, Christianity comprises thousands of denominations wrestling with 2,000 years of ideas. While many branches of the faith vary wildly, they all spring from the same source: a rabbi from Galilee in the far provinces of the Roman Empire. To better understand Christianity today—and, thus, our world—journey back to the source and reflect on the man at the center of the Christian faith: the historical Jesus of Nazareth.

Who was this man? Where did he come from? And how would he have viewed his own ministry? To investigate these questions, Searching for the Historical Jesus takes you back two millennia to explore the history, context, and character of a humble carpenter who changed the world. Taught by Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts, a professor emeritus at Fielding Graduate University, these 15 thought-provoking episodes, filmed on-location in Israel and Jordan in the Holy Land, bring Jesus and his world to life through the lens of a historian of faith.

Jean-Pierre reveals what we know about the man behind the religion of Christianity: from the nativity story with Joseph and the Virgin Mary to the Sermon on the Mount to Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem to his trial and crucifixion. Jean-Pierre elucidates what we know from historical and archaeological evidence, including the Gospels, the writings of Josephus, and 21st-century excavations. He also delves into the mysteries of the faith and considers how Jesus’s message transformed into a world religion.

Full of psychological insight and vividly detailed and illustrated, with wonderful cinematography and 3-D animation, Searching for the Historical Jesus offers an excellent companion piece for anyone wrestling with history or with walking in faith.

Video Lectures

• The Historical Jesus (23 min)

Begin your exploration by considering the diversity of Christianity today.

• Rome and Herod the Great (20 min)

Understand the world of the Roman Empire during Jesus’s time.

• Mary and Joseph in Galilee (18 min)

Explore the life of Jesus’s parents in Galilee.

• The Birth of Jesus (21 min)

Reflect on the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus.

• Growing Up in Galilee (20 min)

Discover what Jesus’s childhood may have been like.

• Rabbi Jesus (22 min)

Investigate Jesus’s education and the philosophies he encountered.

7. John the Baptist in the Jordan (22 min)

Examine the political context of John the Baptist’s message.

• The Ministry Begins (20 min)

Follow Jesus as he embarks on his ministry.

9. In the Kingdom of God (20 min)

Analyze the Sermon on the Mount and its significance.

• The Mystery of the Miracles (22 min)

Explore the nature and implications of Jesus's miracles.

11. The Conspiracy against Jesus (23 min)

Delve into the potential conspiracies surrounding Jesus.

12. The Road to Jerusalem (23 min)

Track Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem and the challenges he faced.

13. The Arrest and Trial (22 min)

Follow the events leading to Jesus's arrest and trial.

• The Jesus Movement in Crisis (22 min)

Transition from Jesus's life to the rise of the movement.

• The Rise of Christianity (25 min)

Conclude with the spread of the Jesus movement into a world religion.