I am sure many of you have heard the hype concerning the Discovery Channel’s film The Jesus Family Tomb. They received better ratings for this show than any since September 2005. If any of you are not familiar (Having been sleeping under a rock), the film claims to have discovered the ossuary of Jesus of Nazareth, some of his family and Mary Magdalene. An ossuary is literally a bone box. After a person was buried and their body had decayed they would take the bones and put them in a box. Many responses have been made so rather than reinventing the wheel here are some good links to check out.
www.realfusion.com/
www.biblicalfoundations.org/
www.aomin.org/index.php?catid=21

That should be sufficient. The film has been shown to be totally untrue. But, running off the Da Vinci code hype, the film continues the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a child. A Christian could accept the idea that Jesus was married (thought there is no evidence) but the idea that his bones have been found, if true, would cause Christianity to crumble at its foundation. The Apostle Paul, in about A.D. 55, wrote a letter to one of the churches that he had planted in Corinth (Greece.) In it he states the importance of the bodily resurrection of Jesus when he says,

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? (13) But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. (14) And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (15) We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. (16) For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. (17) And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (18) Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (19) If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Paul is clear that if Jesus did not rise from the dead then we are misrepresenting God and are still in our sins. In other words, if Jesus did not rise from the dead our message is false and Christianity is not true.

I watched the press release on the Discovery Channel web site. One of the panelists, Dr. James H. Charlesworth, believes that this finding, if really the bones of Jesus, would not affect the Christian faith for Jesus’ resurrection was a spiritual resurrection. I have also heard many comments stating the same positions from believer’s interview on the street. Both Dr. Charlesworth and these uniformed believers are simply mistaken. The BODILY resurrection is absolutely essential to Christianity. If Jesus’ body, the same one that died, was not brought back to life, then Christianity is a lie and billions of people have been duped. Now I do not believe that this ossuary is the ossuary of the Jesus of the Bible as I believe the above links will show (If you would like more information contact me at anygren.crc@gmail.com) and I would like to comment on this from a biblical perspective. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. To be continued.........