The Lost Tomb of Jesus?

by Jonathan B. Jones II
April 8, 2007
Summary: A recent documentary on the Discovery Channel claims that the "lost tomb" of Jesus has been discovered. Is this a legitimate archaeological discovery or a weapon of the anti-Christian agenda in this country? What are the theological ramifications of discovering Jesus' tomb?

Jesus' family tomb?
While building an apartment building, a construction crew digging in the Talpiot neighborhood of Old Jerusalem in 1980 unearthed an ancient tomb (Bryant 20). The Israel Antiquities Authority commissioned an archaeological team led by Amos Kloner to excavate the site. The tomb contained ten first century ossuaries (burial bone boxes) and six of them contained inscriptions. These inscriptions include the names "Mary," "Mariamene" "Judah, son of Jesus," "Matthew," and possibly "Jesus." For decades, archaeologists have known of this tomb and their inscriptions. Upon the discovery of this tomb, none of the archaeologists suggested that this was connected to any people recorded in the Bible.

This tomb is now receiving sensational attention, however. On March 4, 2007 the Discovery Channel aired the documentary "The Lost Tomb of Jesus." This program was produced by two movie directors: James Cameron (director of Titanic) and Simcha Jacobovici--neither of which have any training in archeology or science. This documentary claims that this tomb is the family burial tomb of Jesus of Nazareth containing the remains of Jesus, Mary (Jesus mother), Marianmene (supposed Mary Magdalene), Judah (supposed son of Jesus and Mary Magdalene) and an unidentified man named Matthew. The documentary claims that statistical analysis of first century names coupled with DNA testing prove this to be Jesus' family tomb.

Sensational Bible programs sell
Americans are interested in religion. Unfortunately, few are interested enough to engage in careful study. But most are attracted to eye-catching programs and documentaries on television, especially the sensational. The marketing potential of religion in films and television carries the potential of high ratings and box-office hits. The popularity of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code are evidence of this fact. It is highly suspicious that this program had its debut just prior to the Easter holiday when television and print capitalize on Christian themes.

The response of trained archaeologists
Of extreme interest in this discussion is the response of the Talpiot tomb's original lead excavator Amos Kloner to this new documentary. In an interview with David Horovitz for the Jerusalem Post, Kloner was asked, "What do you make of the assertion that Jesus and his family were buried there?" Kloner responded:

"It makes a great story for a TV film. But it's completely impossible. It's nonsense. There is no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb. They were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem. The Talpiot tomb belonged to a middle class family from the 1st century CE."

Cameron's documentary claims that statistical analysis of the occurrence of these names demonstrate the tomb to be the resting place of Jesus' family. Yet, the name "Mary" (Maria) was the most popular first century name for a girl--with one in every five girls being named Mary (Bock, audio interview). Likewise, the name "Yeshua" (Jesus) was a highly popular male name. The fact that these names are all present in the same tomb proves nothing.

Why does it really matter?
Does it really matter if we have found the tomb of Jesus? Does it make any difference whether Jesus' bones have been discovered? What are the theological ramifications of finding Jesus' "family tomb?"

The claim is made by this documentary that after Jesus' death and burial (in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb?), his remains were then transferred into a bone box and buried in his family's tomb in Jerusalem (the Talpiot tomb). This constitutes a serious attack upon the Christian religion. The entire Christian faith is built upon the doctrine of the resurrection of physical body of Jesus Christ.

Jesus' resurrection--the Biblical record
It is argued that finding Jesus' family tomb and even his remains poses no real threat to the Christian faith. It is alleged in the documentary, "In theory, the ascension could have been spiritual, leaving his body behind." But this explanation denies the records of Jesus' life as found in the gospel accounts of the Bible. After his death and burial, the gospels record that Jesus appeared to many of his followers. On one occasion, Jesus appears to all the Apostles except Thomas (John 20:19-24). Thomas is hesitant to believe that Jesus has actually risen from the dead and objects that he needs physical proof of Jesus' wounds from the cross (20:25). One week later, Jesus appears again and this time Thomas is present. Jesus says to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into my side..." (20:27). Jesus himself demonstrates that his resurrection was not spiritual, rather His physical body was raised back to life. The tomb of Jesus was empty because Jesus' physical body was alive again (cf. Mark 16:6).

On another occasion, Jesus appeared to some of his disciples and they thought that they were seeing a spirit (Luke 24:37). Jesus refutes this idea by saying, "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have" (24:39). The records of Jesus' life strongly affirm that Jesus experienced a physical-bodily resurrection from the dead. Later, when Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles his physical body ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). It was this eyewitness account that prompted Peter to proclaim on Pentecost that David had "looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay" (Acts 2:31).

Jesus' resurrection--the foundational doctrine
The truth of Jesus' physical-bodily resurrection is the foundational doctrine for the entire Christian faith. If Jesus' physical remains are still housed in a bone-box or within a family tomb, the entire Christian religion crumbles. The truth of the bodily-resurrection of Jesus is the main tenet of the Christian system.

If the resurrection of Jesus' physical body is false, the repercussions are catastrophic to Christian faith. Paul explores this concept in a letter to the church at Corinth. Paul first affirms that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are matters of "first importance" in the gospel plan (1 Cor. 15:1-4). The truth of Jesus' bodily resurrection is demonstrated by the multiplicity of eye-witnesses of the event including more than five hundred people on one occasion (15:5-8). Yet, some in Corinth were denying the truth of a Christian's hope of future resurrection from the dead. Paul logically demonstrates how that the doctrine of resurrection is the keystone of the entire Christian faith. The entire Christian faith is destroyed if the resurrection is false. Let us follow Paul's logic:

1. If Christians will not experience a bodily resurrection one day, then Christ's body was not resurrected (15:13).
2. If Christ's body was not resurrected, then preaching is in vain and faith is vain (15:14).
3. If the Apostles' preaching was vain, then they were false witnesses and liars (15:15).
4. If the Apostles' were false witnesses, then your faith is worthless (15:17).
5. If your faith is worthless, then you are still in your sins (15:17).
6. If Christians are still in their sins, then Christians who have already died are eternally lost (15:18).
7. If the benefit of hoping in Christ is limited to this life only, then Christians are to be pitied and are the most mislead and miserable people on earth (15:19).

Clearly, the truth of Jesus physical-bodily resurrection is integral to all that Christians believe. Christianity stands or falls depending upon whether Jesus tomb is empty or not.

Did the disciples move Jesus' body?
The Discovery Channel documentary suggests that after Jesus' crucifixion he was buried in a the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, as the biblical record states. However, after this "first burial" the program takes a drastic turn away from Christian theology. One "scholar" named James Tabor is interviewed in the program and he mockingly declares that the Christian faith says Jesus "magically disappeared" from that tomb. He argues that "if you are going to be historical and realistic" the historical evidence demonstrates that first century burial practices dictated that Jesus' remains would have been later moved to a second grave site.

The burial practices in first century Palestine were unique. Usually, a body would be first buried in a tomb and allowed to decompose for approximately one year. Later, family members would return to the tomb and retrieve the bones of their departed loved one. Those bones would then be placed in an decorative ossuary (bone-box). The ossuary would sometimes be inscribed with the decease's name and then would be placed inside the family's grave plot. This is what the Discovery Channel documentary claims happened to Jesus. It is affirmed that Jesus tomb was empty because his disciples (or family members) returned and removed his remains to be placed in an ossuary and buried in the family tomb. It is this tomb and "Jesus' ossuary" that Cameron and Jacobovici have claimed to have discovered.

Had Jesus merely been an ordinary first century man this would have likely been the record of his burial. Not believing in supernatural phenomenon and likely denying the true divinity of Jesus, critics like the producers of this documentary try to find naturalistic explanations for the events of the Bible. It would certainly look "unscientific" for the Discovery Channel to admit the reality of a genuine miraculous resurrection. Therefore, the academic rationalization is given that Jesus body simply experienced the customary burial practice of the first century, while the disciples began a myth that Jesus had been "raised from the dead." The producers of this docudrama assert that the true story of Jesus is hidden in the words of Matthew's gospel, "His disciples came by night and stole Him away" (Matt. 28:13). A careful observer will note the inconsistency of this explanation as normal burial custom would wait a year before returning to the tomb, while the soldiers needed to explain while Jesus body was missing after only about 37 hours after his burial. Additionally, the soldiers had to be bribed with money to go around telling this story (Matt. 28:12). Only those who have something to hide need to be bribed. The soldiers had witnessed something that they could not explain at Jesus' tomb.

Jesus family and his true identity
Jesus was born to Mary as she miraculously conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20, 25). After Jesus' birth, Joseph and Mary produced four sons: James, Joseph, Simon and Judas (Matt. 13:55). In addition, they had at least two daughters (Matt. 13:56). Jesus grew up in his childhood home in Nazareth as the oldest of at least six other children. During his life and teaching ministry, Jesus physical brothers (half-brothers) did not believe Him to be the Son of God (John 7:5). If Jesus' brothers had known that the "rumor" of His resurrection was simply a hoax orchestrated by His followers, they would have doubtless exposed the conspiracy and revealed the location of the family tomb where Jesus' remains could be found.

Yet, this is not what happened. Rather than continuing in their doubt about their half-brother, Jesus' brothers suddenly experience a dramatic change of belief about Jesus. Paul records that after Jesus' death, He physically appeared to His brother James (1 Cor. 15:7). James and Jesus' other brothers suddenly are found assembled with other followers of Jesus (Acts 1:14). James becomes a major leader in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; Gal. 1:19). Eventually, two of Jesus' brothers (James and Jude) become the authors of two New Testament documents.

Would they die for a lie?

How can one account for the dramatic change of life of Jesus' own brothers? Some might argue that they saw something to gain by joining this movement to commemorate Jesus such as popularity or wealth. If this had been the case, perhaps they would have had a motive for conspiring to hide Jesus' body and begin a rumor of his resurrection. In reality, however, there was no popularity or wealth to gain by following Jesus; rather, the consequences would bring persecution and death.

The church historian Eusebius and the Jewish historian Josephus both record that the Jews executed James by throwing him from the pinnacle of the temple and then finished the job by stoning him to death in 66 A.D. Eusebius (quoting Clement) says that James was killed because he was persuading many to believe in Jesus as he proclaimed, "Why do ye ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man? He himself sitteth in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and is about to come upon the clouds of heaven" (Church History Book II 23.13). James was boldly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus and he was killed for it. If Jesus' remains had been transported to the family tomb, certainly James would have known it. Certainly, James would not have been willing to die for something he knew was a lie. The only explanation for this dramatic change of belief in James is that he had been convinced of Jesus' true identity being an eyewitness of the bodily-resurrected Jesus (cf. 1 Cor. 15:7).

This same dramatic change of behavior is seen in Jesus disciples also. After Jesus' death, his Apostles were disillusioned believing that the cause of Christ had been eradicated with their Teacher's death. The Apostles returned to the occupations they had left before following Jesus (John 21:3). But suddenly the disheartened and doubtful followers are again boldly proclaiming the message of Jesus even to their own deaths. These disciples who were discouraged after Jesus' death are dramatically re-energized in their preaching of Jesus. For their preaching the followers are beaten, imprisoned, and even executed (Acts 4:3, 5:40, 7:59-60; 12:2). And yet, the threat of persecution, torture, and death did not deter Jesus' followers from continuing to preach his message. Rather, the disciples rejoiced that they were "worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41). How can one account for this change of behavior? The followers of Jesus doubtless experienced something that convinced them that Jesus had not been defeated by death (cf. Acts 3:15).

Why all this hype now?

The bodily-resurrection of Jesus Christ is the crucial doctrine of the Christian faith. But it is not an esoteric belief that one must "take a leap of faith" to accept. One can logically examine the evidence and demonstrate that the bodily-resurrection of Jesus was an actual historical event.

But why does there seem to be such an increase in movies, television documentaries, and periodicals that are giving these sensational naturalistic explanations of Christian theology and beliefs? The reason: people are ripe for it. Biblical illiteracy is extremely high and so is Americans' thirst for the sensational (and everyone seems to love a conspiracy theory). These type of programs get high television ratings and rake in piles of advertising dollars.

But perhaps there is even something more sinister afoot. There is an major agenda in our America today attempting to erase everything Christian from the landscape. The agenda is really an "anti-Christ" movement! If hedonistic and materialistic people can erase the idea of a supreme being from the minds of the public, then no one will stand and condemn their immoral behavior. The movement is humanistic and hedonistic in its desire. Let us be prepared to defend the truth of Jesus (1 Peter 3:15) and not give ourselves over to myths.

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

Resources and Links:

1. Bryant, Dewayne. "The Lost Tomb of Jesus." Think Magazine April 2007: 20-21.
2. Horovitz, David. "Kloner: A Great Story But NonSense." The Jerusalem Post 27 Feb. 2007 <http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894527185&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull> 3 April 2007.
3. Audio interview with Dr. Darrell Bock (author of Breaking the DaVinci Code) from Dallas Theological Seminary.
4. Pamphilius, Eusebius. Church History. Book II 23.18. <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.vii.xxiv.html> 4 April 2007.
5. Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XX 9.1. <http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/ant20.html> 4 April 2007.