Note
Archaeology confirms New Testament detail
When the New Testament makes incidental claims, archaeology repeatedly confirms them.
The Pilate Stone (Caesarea Maritima, 1961) confirms Pontius Pilate as the Roman official. The Caiaphas Ossuary (Jerusalem, 1990) confirms the high priest of the trial. The Yehohanan heel bone (Givat HaMivtar, 1968) is the only archaeological remains of a first century Roman crucifixion victim, with the iron nail still embedded.
The Pool of Bethesda was long doubted because John 5:2 describes a five porticoed pool, an unusual layout. Excavation revealed exactly this configuration. The Pool of Siloam (John 9) was discovered in 2004 with first century coins and pottery confirming the location.
The Erastus Inscription (Corinth, 1929) confirms Romans 16:23. The Politarchs of Thessalonica (Acts 17:6) were a term skeptics said Luke invented; thirty five inscriptions have now been recovered, nineteen from Thessalonica, three from the first century AD. Lysanias Tetrarch of Abilene (Luke 3:1) was once thought a Lukan error; an inscription from Abila confirmed a second Lysanias holding the office during Tiberius's reign.
A. N. Sherwin White, a Roman historian without Christian apologetic motivation, wrote in 1963: "For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. Any attempt to reject its basic historicity even in matters of detail must now appear absurd."
Reading
- Craig Evans, Jesus and His World: The Archaeological Evidence, 2012.
- Colin Hemer, The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History, 1990.
- A. N. Sherwin White, Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament, 1963.
Builds on
- Section 06The high priest tore his robesThe blasphemy reaction at the trial confirms that Jesus’s claim was understood as a claim to divine identity.
- Section 07Virtually certainJesus’s death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate is among the most secure facts in ancient history.
- Section 08The tomb was emptyThe tomb where Jesus was buried was found empty on the third day. Attested in all four Gospels, presupposed by the earliest preaching, accepted by ~75 percent of working scholars.