The Tomb of Jesus
| Every Easter someone seems to dispute the resurrection of Jesus Christ with some theory or new evidence that initially appears convincing. After close observation and testing it is easy to conclude that these theories are built on sand. These theories are nothing new and consist of weak evidence lacking any foundation built on historical facts or truth. Throughout the centuries repeated, futile attempts have been made to discredit the death and resurrection of Christ resulting in the same outcome. Every year some writer finds a “lost gospel”, or a film maker makes the latest discovery of the “lost tomb” of Jesus. The writers and film makers that make these landmark discoveries only mange to present themselves to scholars as an uneducated lot, lacking knowledge, historical facts and honesty basing their opinions on fabricated imaginations rather than factual truth. According to Simcha Jacobovici, a filmmaker, Jesus married Mary Magdalene, had a son Judah, died and stayed deceased. Jacobovici’s imaginative documentary, directed by James Cameron, aired on the Discovery Chanel last year in 2007. He would do better if he did not limit his research to Dan Brown novels and Hollywood hype. Brief History of the tomb The “lost tomb” of Jesus is nothing new. As a matter of fact this tomb hasn’t been lost at all but was discovered in 1980 by a construction crew in Talpiot, a Jerusalem suburb. During this time frame of growth it was not surprising for construction and excavation crews to discover numerous tombs and archaeological sites each month. About 900 similar tombs have been found within a 2 ½ mile radius of Jerusalems’ old city 1. After the initial discovery of the tomb was reported to the authorities the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) sent a team of archaeologist to examine the site further. During the excavation of the site ten ossuaries were discovered but no remains were recovered. Six of the ossuaries were inscribed with names so common to the first century they were considered to be of no significance. Tomb Theory Flaws • As previously mentioned the tomb was actually found in 1980 and dismissed by the IAA as I will detail later. • The tomb was unusually large. How could a humble carpenters’ family afford such a luxury? • Location. The tomb discovered was located in Jerusalem. How could a tomb this size go undetected by the Roman authorities and Jewish Pharisees within the city of Jerusalem? Both Jewish and Roman authorities were putting forth their greatest efforts in an attempt to crush the rise of Christianity. • The tomb also supposedly had the mother of Jesus in it when in fact she was taken to Ephesus by the apostle John. • The apostles had fled Jesus during His crucifixion. Did they get courageous and overpower the Roman soldiers to rescue Jesus or steal His body? If what Jacobovici says is true then the disciples would have had to steal the body of Jesus and later deposit the decomposed remains in an ossuary, which entirely contradicts a faith rooted in the resurrection of Christ. • The apostles would not spread the gospel, face horrific persecution, suffering and eventual death by martyrdom for a lie. • Jesus was seen by more than 500 witnesses after His death by crucifixion. • DNA evidence. In order to have credible DNA evidence an original control sample is needed. Where is the original control sample of the DNA of Jesus? The idea of DNA samples being submitted as credible evidence is so ludicrous that it should be an embarrassment to even mention something so obviously absurd. Scholars Dismiss Claims Ben Witherington III a professor of New Testament interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary said “This is a theory so deeply flawed it deserves to be dismissed reasonably quick”2. Gary Burge, a professor of New Testament studies at Wheaton College compares such claims to “archaeological sensationalism,” and says such claims are nothing new. The Holy land frequently experiences such claims by people seeking exposure and attention 3. Craig Parshall, author of The Resurrection File (2002), says there are numerous first century ossuaries continually being discovered in Jerusalem and that it was “just a matter of time before someone claimed that one of them contained the remains of Jesus of Nazareth 4. The team of archaeologist sent by the Israel Antiquities Authorities to examine the site was led by archaeologist Amos Kloner a Bar llan University professor. He has called Jacobovicis’ theory nonsense and told National Geographic news that “their movie is not serious.” Kloner wrote the official IAA report in 1980 and never made a reference to Jesus of Nazareth and dismisses any claims identifying the discovered family tomb to that of Jesus Christ. Stephen Pfann, president of Jerusalem’s University of the Holy Land and an expert in semetic languages believes the ossuary says Hunan or something but does not believe it says Yehoshua [Jesus]. Pfann, who also appeared in The Lost Tomb, told National Geographic News that he doubts the movies claims 5. It is typical to see the same arguments and discoveries recurring over and over as if presenting something new. Throughout the passing of two millennium not one person has been able to discredit the Biblical account of the life and resurrection of Christ and no one ever will…………Because He’s Alive and seated at the right hand of the Father. Notes 1) National Geographic News, Jesus Tomb Claim Slammed by Scholars Feb 28, 2007 2) Christianity Today, Remains of the Day – Tabby Yang Feb 28, 2007 3) Christianity Today, Remains of the Day – Tabby Yang Feb 28, 2007 4) The Lost Tomb of Jesus’: Lame Facts, Great Fiction. Harvest House Publishers. CBN.com 5) National Geographic News. Jesus Tomb Claim Slammed by Scholars. Feb 28, 2007. |
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