Most people would answer this question quickly: Of course he was! It has become an integral part of the Jesus story: he was a poor mendicant preacher. I recently saw a post on Facebook that a group had asked for people to submit their favorite pictures of Jesus and someone submitted a picture of a homeless man sleeping under a blanket on a sidewalk. Now, if this was an allusion to the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25 I think it is spot on, as Jesus said that to help someone like that homeless man was to do it for Jesus. (Technically, the “King” in the story says this, but people assume Jesus is referring to himself, Matthew 25:40) And Jesus did say, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:20). So Jesus really was poor and homeless, right? Is this image of Jesus as a homeless poor man accurate? Let’s go back to [...]

Our final Platinum webinar of the year is almost here. Join Bart for a live discussion on one of the most intriguing questions in early Christianity: how believers understood the promised return of Christ...and what it meant when that return seemed slow to arrive. Topic: The Delay of the Parousia in Early ChristianityExclusive Platinum Webinar with Bart Ehrman📅 Saturday, November 15 at 2:00 PM Eastern As always, Bart will bring his trademark clarity, insight, and humor, with time for your questions during the live Q&A. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84078921430?pwd=vyaq4H4FlbWNXL059mUGEShaLszLXD.1 Meeting ID: 840 7892 1430 Passcode: 676222 Can’t make it live? The recording will be sent out to all Platinum members after the live event.  

I'm happy to post this guest contribution from Platinum member Doug Wadeson. He raises a question most of us probably haven’t thought much about: if eternity is endless bliss, would we actually enjoy it? Or would it get… boring? --------------------------------------------------- My favorite TV series is the old Twilight Zone by Rod Serling.  There is an episode in which a small-time crook named Rocky Valentine is shot and ends up in a beautiful place.  Everything is at his fingertips: food, booze, money, women.  He wins every time he gambles.  He gets every beautiful woman he wants.  He doesn’t understand how he deserved all this.  But he becomes increasingly frustrated: it’s all too easy; he gets no kicks from it.  I won’t spoil the ending – you might want to look for the episode the next time SyFy or another channel has a TZ marathon: “A Nice Place to Visit” from season 1, written by Charles Beaumont.  Let’s just say he has a rude awakening about the reality of his situation.  I think this raises a valid [...]

Platinum Members: You’re InvitedJoin Bart for our next Platinum-Only Webinar on Tuesday, September 9 at 7:00 PM ET. This quarter’s topic is a big one:Biblical Explanations for SufferingWhy does suffering exist, and how did early Christians attempt to explain it? Bart will explore the range of answers offered in the Bible and what they reveal about the people and times that produced them. As always, there will be plenty of time for your questions at the end. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81833322504?pwd=2KKsI8XPhqfCzhhkNKxyna8tSwXNIa.1 Meeting ID: 818 3332 2504 Passcode: 854127 (Don’t worry—we’ll send out the recording afterward, so you won’t miss out if you can’t join live.)

Platinum Members, It’s time once again to cast your vote. One of the great perks of Platinum membership is the chance to shape what the whole blog community reads. Below, you’ll find four thought-provoking guest posts written by fellow Platinum members. Read through, reflect, and choose the one you believe deserves the spotlight. The winning post will be featured on the public blog, reaching thousands of readers and sparking wider conversation. Your vote helps decide which voice gets heard next. To vote, make your selection below and click 'Vote'. Voting will be open through Thursday July 17th. Here are your four candidates (links below): Here are links to the posts, in case you want to refresh your memory--then vote! Materialism, Personal Identity, and Resurrection: Part 1 – Platinum Post by Dennis J. Folds, Ph.D. Did Jesus Have a Near-Death Experience? – Platinum Post by Douglas Wadeson MD Do We Have the Lord’s Supper All Wrong? Platinum Post by Douglas Wadeson MD The Death and Afterlife of Jesus: A Historical Reconstruction Part I – [...]

“[T]hey went after the high priests. It was against them that the main rush was made, and they were soon caught and killed. The murderers, standing on their dead bodies, ridiculed Ananus..they threw out the dead bodies without burial.” (Josephus, “The Jewish War”) When the question arises whether early Jewish Christians participated in the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (66–73 CE), the standard answer is typically negative. The tradition, preserved by early Christian sources such as Eusebius, holds that the Jerusalem church fled to Pella in the Transjordan region before the siege began, an act often interpreted as a sign of the community’s political neutrality and prophetic foresight. Yet a closer examination of the historical context complicates this picture. The Jesus movement emerged in a volatile environment: Roman-occupied Judea and Galilee, where messianic expectations, social unrest, and anti-imperial sentiment were pervasive. In this setting, it is difficult to imagine that all Jewish followers of Jesus, particularly those outside Jerusalem or aligned with more nationalist currents, remained uninvolved in the conflict. There is also a striking [...]

Dear Platinum Members, Let’s call this a humble moment of accountability: we’ve fallen behind on something important. As many of you know, one of the special privileges of Platinum membership is the opportunity to submit guest posts to the blog — and then, every four submissions, we open it up for a Platinum vote. The post that gets the most votes is published to the entire blog for all members to enjoy and comment on. In theory, this happens every time we get four new Platinum posts. In reality... we now have a backlog of over a dozen. That means we’re multiple rounds behind on voting. But never fear — we’re setting things right starting now. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out a new vote every couple of weeks until we’re all caught up. After that, we’ll return to our regular rhythm. Today, we begin with the first group of four. These posts were published in chronological order, and we’re asking you to choose one to be featured on the main blog. Please [...]

Here now is Platinum blog member Mark Reichert's second part of his two-part reflections in which he offers his own reconstruction of what might have happened after the crucifixion. So what do I think really happened? There is no way to know for sure but I can put together a story that seems plausible and makes sense to me. I believe Jesus and his following traveled to Jerusalem for Passover during the governorship of Pontius Pilate. How large a following I do not know though enough for it to be considered a “following.” Once there, he came to the attention of Roman and/or Jewish authorities in a negative way. Either he said, or someone accused him of saying, that he was “King of the Jews.” I highly doubt the account in Mark that states Jesus was bound by Jewish priests and elders and brought before Pilate. This would be like Palestinian authorities turning a Palestinian man over to the Israeli army for execution, unlikely to happen. If Jewish authorities had a problem with Jesus, they [...]