The site of Peter’s House in Capernaum
This article by Kristin Romey at National Geographic summarizes the amazing archeological discoveries over recent years that confirm the general historical background of the gospels.
It highlights the discovery of Nazareth, Peter’s House in Capernaum, the “Jesus Boat” found in the mud at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee, the excavations at the Galilean village of Magdala and other important finds.
You can go into more detail by reading my friend Robert Hutchinson’s book Searching for Jesus.
In connects with my book The Mystery of the Magi which also goes behind the myths and legends that have grown up over the centuries to discover the essential historicity of the gospel account.
The bottom line is that since the middle of the last century amazing discoveries in the Holy Land have opened up and consequently we know more about the life and times of Jesus than ever before. This is largely due to the fact that the Jews returned to the land and they had a great motivation to make Biblical discoveries in order to validate their history there, and their policy of mandating archeological digs–as well as the increasingly scientific approach to archeology have made these finds very exciting.
The more we discover, the more we see how the gospel accounts fit neatly into the facts. This helps us sift out the misunderstandings we have had about the gospels but it also helps to corroborate the essential historicity of the gospel record.
