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Private Notes
In the 14th Century a shroud bearing the image of crucified man surfaces in France, before eventually finding a home in Turin. Is this the very shroud that Joseph wrapped Jesus in? Is the image of the man Jesus Christ? The shroud appears to tell the whole story of Jesus' Passion in one image - the scourging; the Crown of Thorns; carrying the cross; the Crucifixion; the spear in his side.
John, Baptiser of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan, the man who hails the coming of a new Messiah. John is a prophet and preacher whose message is so powerful that his name is revered for centuries after his death. So who was the real John the Baptist? We explore John as he has been viewed in Christian tradition, as well as how he is presented in the pages of the Gospels. A decade after the discovery of a buried box in Bulgaria that contained a cache of 2000 year old bones believed to be those of John, we instigate a new DNA investigation into a relic housed in a Kansas museum and revered as one of John finger bones.
Judas Iscariot is one of the most despised men in history - the disciple who hands over Jesus to the Jewish authorities and sets in motion events that lead to the crucifixion and resurrection. But why Judas betrays Jesus is one of the great unanswered Biblical questions. In this episode, we re-examine the character of Judas as he is portrayed in the Gospels, and then contrast this story with text from a book that did not make it into the Bible - The Gospel of Judas.
In 2002, an ancient burial box is unveiled to an astonished world. The casket, known as an ossuary, bears a tantalizing inscription: James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. It is immediately hailed as one of the most important religious relics ever found - the only material evidence of Jesus and his family's existence on earth. But the ossuary is immediately shrouded in controversy: although it is carbon dated to the 1st century, has Jesus' name been added in later years or is it authentic? The box also triggers another question: Who was James?
This episode investigates the incredible legend of the True Cross, the actual cross Jesus died on. Considered by many to be the greatest relic in Christianity it boasts an amazing back-story. According to Church Tradition, the mother of the Roman Emperor travels to the Holy Land three hundred years after Jesus' death. Empress Helena, as she is known, and her son Constantine are the first openly Christian rulers of the Roman Empire. On the site of Christ's crucifixion she discovers the remains of three wooden crosses. News of the discovery spreads across the Empire and the legend will help turn Christianity from an underground cult into a global religion. But how much of this legend is true?
Mary Magdalene has been viewed in the Western world for nearly fifteen hundred years as a repentant prostitute. A woman who Jesus forgave of her sins, and who joined his movement. But looking again at the pages of the New Testament, we discover that there is no evidence to support this interpretation. The Mary in the pages of the New Testament is one of Jesus' most loyal disciples - supporting his movement out of her means, following him from the Galilee, right the way through the Passion narrative and witnessing both the crucifixion and the Resurrection.
