Bethelem

As we move into the Holy Week of Easter and the Jewish celebration of Passover, it is timely to ponder Jesus’ place in the geography and history of the Holy Land. John Mason, contributing writer, wonders with us that if Jesus were alive today, he would probably want to shed a light on injustice, resist authority, defend the oppressed and poor, and, generally, raise some Cain. But that is a philosophical, religious cut at how the expected Christ figure might act. History, ethnicity, language, religion, and politics would have circumscribed Jesus’ behavior in ways we can’t know. But we can suggest how these might have shaped our perception of the historical Jesus.