Is Jesus In the Dead Sea Scrolls?

By Richard N. Ostling

The Dead Sea Scrolls are an endless source of sensationalism. Supermarket tabloids would have us believe that these ancient Jewish texts reveal visitations from outer space, the cure for AIDS and the date the world will end. In a new book somehow inspired by the scrolls, Barbara Thiering of Australia's University of Sydney tells of a Jesus who was crucified but secretly revived at the Dead Sea and who wed a woman bishop at midnight on March 17, A.D. 50.

Amid all the hokum, however, the latest discoveries on actual details in the scrolls are startling enough to generate legitimate headlines. Texts that are only now becoming widely available establish the first connection between the scrolls and Jesus' New Testament words about his role as the Messiah. The debate over all the possible inthed material was mostly thousands of fragments, making reconstruction extremely difficult and interpretations open to dispute. Scholars on the official committee worked on these remaining texts at a painfully slow pace while granting others severely limited access. By the late 1980s, scholarly temperatures reached the boiling point. One recent book claims Roman Catholic priests beholden to the Vatican conspired to cover up the texts lest they shake the doctrinal foundations of the mother church. The true reasons are more mundane: too few scholars monopolizing too much material, team members' personal problems, shortage of money, political and academic intrigue and plain incompetence.

The breakthrough on access occurred in the fall of 1991 when Biblical Archeology Review of Washington capped a lengthy crusade by publishing a bootleg computerized reconstruction of the texts. Specialized research libraries then decided to ignore scholarly protocol and allowed outside experts to examine photos of the unpublished scrolls. Finally the Review published its own photo books.

A co-editor of the photo books is Robert Eisenman, religion chairman of California State University at Long Beach, inveterate foe of the official team and idiosyncratic theorist. Eisenman assumes the Gospels were completed in the 2nd century, although most scholars today date them considerably closer to the time of Jesus. He consequently views the Dead Sea Scrolls as a more authentic account of primitive Christianity than the Gospels.

The leader (perhaps more than one leader) of the Qumran sect was known as the Teacher of Righteousness. Years ago, some scholars theorized that Jesus might have been that teacher, but the idea is seen as untenable, in part because the writings so clearly reflect the Jewish situation in the second century before Christ. Eisenman contends that the later Qumran scrolls were written by a messianic movement that blended into early Christianity. He thinks the teacher was James, the New Testament "brother of Jesus" and martyred leader of the Jerusalem church. James' Qumran faction, says Eisenman, was "aggressive, apocalyptic, nationalist, messianic and violent. Very violent." This wing bitterly opposed the Apostle Paul and his Hellenized movement, which rejected Jewish law and was "otherworldly, cosmopolitan, forgiving."

Such links with Christianity, of course, depend on whether the scrolls were written in Jesus' era pparently referring to the coming Messiah, the text declares that he will "heal the wounded, resurrect the dead ((and)) preach glad tidings to the poor." The passage closely resembles the words of Jesus in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4) ty concern is simply to find out what this text means." He asserts that here and in parallel passages, the Dead Sea Messiah "appears as triumphant -- as is usually the case. That is the normal Jewish tradition." Eisenman says either translation is possible, whereas Wise concludes that the matter will always remain uncertain because of textual problems.

If Eisenman is right, there will be furious debate over whether the Dead Sea Scrolls undermine the traditional Christian faith. The texts could be interpreted as buttressing skeptical contentions that the New Testament was purposely shaped to fit Jewish expectations and did not recount actual events. However, Wise, Eisenman's sometime ally, says the evidence could equally back ws preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me."

-- THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 7: 20-23

Surely the Lord shall visit the pious and shall call the righteous by name. His spirit shall hover over the poor; by his strength he shall renew the faithful. He shall glorify the pious upon the throne of the eternal kingdom. He shall release the captives, restore sight to the blind, make straight those who are bent double . . . He shall heal the wounded, resurrect the dead, preach glad tidings to the poor.

-- FROM WISE'S RECONSTRUCTED DEAD SEA TEXT 4Q521