TV REVIEWS : ‘Jesus in Galilee’ Focuses on the Land

The life of Christ is a big row to hoe in just an hour, something recognized by the producers of “Mysteries of the Bible: Jesus in the Galilee.” This A&E; special narrows the focus, then, to the geography of the Holy Land that Jesus trod and how the “fertile valleys pierced by lofty heights” might have influenced the metaphors and mapping of his famously itinerant ministry.

The archeological details uncovered and bucolic scenery offered will prove interesting enough, for the biblically literate at least, but the emphasis on topography may be a tad too narrow after all, rendering this installment of “Ancient Mysteries” less provocative than last week’s Moses episode. Those tuning in for untold insight into Jesus as man, myth or Messiah on Good Friday will find the goings pretty sketchy.

Among the various ancient digs explored, the show curiously expends quite a few minutes recounting the excavation of a 1st-Century boat, uncovered in the sand when a 1986 drought brought the level of the Galilee down considerably. Narrator Richard Kiley then wonders whether this rare find can shed any new light on Jesus’ ministry. Since he just leaves it at that, the answer, presumably, is no.

Other finds are made to seem more relevant, but the hour is weakest in its fleeting mentions of recent archeology. It’s at its best in reconstructing the cultural conditions that were the subtext for the birth of Christianity, establishing the “politically uneasy peace” between the wary Jews and the occupying Roman forces. The biggest revelation for some may be that the land of the Galilee was much more urban and less agrarian than portrayed in the Gospels.

* “Mysteries of the Bible: Jesus in the Galilee” airs tonight at 7 and 11 on A&E.;