Behind CBN’s New Film Series, “Written in Stone: Jesus of Nazareth”

Written in Stone
In 1867, a British engineer and archaeologist named Charles Warren arrived in Jerusalem to uncover the biblical history of the Holy Land. Since then, thousands of archaeological discoveries throughout the Middle East have confirmed the history of the Bible. And not one artifact has ever contradicted the story of God’s Word.

Hosted by CBN’s Gordon Robertson, Written in Stone takes you on a visual journey through the Bible. In Part One, Jesus of Nazareth, you can retrace the life of Jesus, from his birth in Bethlehem to his death and resurrection in Jerusalem. Some of the discoveries from archaeologists may surprise you. Like the answers to the following questions:

•    What evidence do we have that the Holy Sepulcher Church is the place where Jesus was crucified and resurrected? The ancient graffiti of the boat found at the bottom of the church with the inscription, “Domine Ivimus,” which means “Lord we have arrived, we have come.”  It’s carved in a plaster wall and dates to the 2nd Century and has traditionally been understood as an indication of Christian pilgrimage to the location of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher because it's the place that they venerate the death and resurrection of Jesus.

•    What evidence do we have to prove the location of Peter’s house? Peter’s house was in Capernaum within a domestic structure with plaster walls and more than 100 pieces of graffiti dating back to the 1st Century. It has been in continuous use by Christians since about the middle of the 1st Century.

•    Where was Jesus born?  In a cave or grotto at the current site of The Church of the Nativity.

•    What is the “First Church” on Mt. Zion and how does it relate to the early church? Today, just steps away from the traditional Upper Room on Mt. Zion is an underground spot that may have been a place where they worshipped. Part church and part synagogue, it’s known by locals as the “First Church.”

•    Where did Jesus live? He was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, also stayed in Peter’s house in Capernaum.

•    Where did he teach? Specifically, in the synagogue in Capernaum.

•    Where was he tried by Pontius Pilate? Next to the Tower of David, just outside the Old City walls, is a platform that was once part of the palace. Archaeologists say this – not the Antonia Fortress – was the Praetorium where Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd.

•    Where did he die? We have solid evidence that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the place of his death and resurrection. Tour buses will take you to the Garden Tomb, but it’s not the place.

Gordon’s purpose for creating this series was to use archaeology to prove that we can trust the Bible as an accurate historical source. Written in Stone: Jesus of Nazareth.  will take viewers from King David in 1000 BC to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. In addition to providing visual, archaeological evidence of biblical stories, the series will take viewers on a visually beautiful journey of the land of the Bible, at a time when they can’t travel there in person because of COVID-19. It was filmed in archaeological sites in Israel and Jordan, plus show artifacts from the British Museum in London and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.    

The four parts of the series are:

•    Jesus of Nazareth (archaeological finds related to the life of Christ). This is being released first. The next three parts of this series are forthcoming.

•    House of David (archaeological finds from Kings David and Solomon)

•    Kings & Prophets (finds from the time of Hezekiah and Isaiah, through the Babylonian captivity, then the rebuilding by Nehemiah)

•    Secrets of the Temple (a history of the Jewish Temples + archaeological finds from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem)
 
Written in Stone will be a companion piece for the next film, The Oracles of God,  a 2-part series about the creation of the Bible, from Moses and the Torah to the closing of the canon in the early 4th century. Oracles of God is set to start filming in Israel in the spring of 2021.