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Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2 - |
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“THE LOST TOMB OF
JESUS” AND THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST (Mark 16:6) 4/8/07 Pastor A. On
February 26, 2007, filmmakers and researchers unveiled two ancient stone
boxes they claim may have once contained the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
On Sunday, March 4, 2007, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," produced by
Oscar-winning director James Cameron aired nationwide on the Discovery
Channel. A related book by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino entitled
The Jesus Family Tomb: The Discovery, the Investigation, and the Evidence
That Could Change History (Harper Collins) released the day of the press
conference to coordinate with the special. (Ankerberg and Burroughs, Nine Facts That Disapprove the Discovery
Channel’s The Lost Tomb of Jesus) B. These researchers argue that 10 small
caskets discovered in 1980 in a C. The truth is that several unsupportable
assumptions have been made to provide maximum hype for the book and
television event. (ibid.) D. Theological Ramifications 1. If
Jesus’ bones were found in an ossuary in 2. If Jesus did not have a bodily
resurrection, then the Scripture’s account of Jesus is inaccurate. 3. If the Scripture’s account of Jesus is
inaccurate, then Jesus was not the Son of God (Rom 1:2), and the Scripture’s
account of our resurrection is also inaccurate. II. “THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS”
AND THE REAL TOMB A. The Body 1. How
would the disciples manage to steal the body in the first place? There were
guards posted by the grave to prevent the body from being taken (Mat
27:64-66). 2. When the body came up missing, either the
disciples were able to overpower the trained Roman guards or Christ was
raised from the dead. 3. The guards knew what happened because not
only did they fall prostrate in fear (Mat 28:2-4), but they also took bribes
from the chief priests to spread the rumor that the disciples stole the body
(Mat 28:11-15). B. The Real Tomb 1. The real
tomb in which Jesus was buried was the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (Mat 27:57-60). 2. If Jesus’ body were to be buried in a
family ossuary, it would have been in 3. Incidentally, if the disciples wanted to
keep the body hidden in order to promote the false belief of a bodily
resurrection, they probably would not have hidden it in Jesus’ family
ossuary. 4. The whole significance of an empty tomb
was evidence of Christ’s resurrection (Mar 16:6). C. The Name “Jesus” 1. The name
that was on the ossuary was, “Jesus.” Yet in the Scriptures, because there
were many with the same name, Jesus was frequently called, “Jesus of
Nazareth,” distinguishing him from all others (Mat 26:71; Luk 18:37; Joh
1:45; Act 10:38; 26:9). 2. So many were there named, “Jesus” that
the name was, discovered on 121 other tombs and ossuaries during this time
period (ibid). a) This
indicates that of all existing tombs and ossuaries of the period, that there
is nearly a 1 in 20 (4.6%) chance that any male tomb would have the name
Jesus on it. b) Yet according to the film’s statistics,
the evidence is 600 to 1 in favor of their story being true. (ibid.) D. The Name “Mary” 1. The name
Mariamne (Miriam), a variation of Mary, was found on the same ossuary. 2. However, not only was this a common name,
but one of the most popular names of that time. Even the Bible gives a total
of six different Marys. a) 21% of
Jewish women were called Mariamne (Mary). b) This is hardly strong evidence suggesting
Mary as the Mary Magdalene of the New Testament. (ibid.) 3. From
this assumption, they deduce that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. A fact
which is not supported by the Scriptures, not to mention extra-biblical
sources, or even Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper. E. Conclusion 1. "The
claim that the burial site [of Jesus] has been found is not based on any
proof, and is only an attempt to sell," says Israeli archeologist
Professor Amos Kloner." 2. A similar film was released 11 years ago,
and Kloner said that this current film was merely a renewed effort to create
controversy in the Christian world in order to make a bigger profit. He
added, "I refute all their claims and efforts to waken a renewed
interest in the findings. With all due respect, they are not
archeologists." (ibid). III. “THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS”
AND THE RESURRECTION A. Spiritual Resurrection 1. Several
have tried to defend both the film and Christianity by arguing that Christ
was resurrected spiritually and not bodily. This way, Christians can have
their resurrection and the filmmakers can have their bones. 2. In a panel discussion with Ted Koppel,
James Tabor, a consultant to the film and head of the religion department at
the B. Bodily Resurrection 1. The
believer’s basis for belief is the Scriptures. The Scriptures teach the
bodily resurrection of Christ in the OT (Psa 16:10-11), in Christ’s teaching
(Joh 2:19-22; Luk 24:25-27), and in the apostles’ writings who were witnesses
of Christ’s resurrection (Luk 24:39-46). 2. It is also through Christ’s bodily
resurrection that believer’s base their own hope for a bodily resurrection
(Phil 3:21; 1Co 15:42-44). a) "To
lack a bodily resurrection teaching is to teach in distinction from what the
earliest church had received as a key element of the hope that Jesus left his
followers, a hope that itself was rooted in Jewish precedent. b) Paul, our earliest witness to testify to
this in writings we possess, was a former Pharisee who held to a physical
resurrection as 1 Corinthians 15 also makes clear… He explicitly denies an
approach that accepts only a spiritual resurrection." (Darrell Bock, IV. PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS A. If the bones in the
ossuary documented by, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, are those of Jesus of
Nazareth, then as Paul states, your faith is worthless; you are still in
your sins (1Co 15:17). B. However, just as Paul continues, but
now Christ has been raised from the dead, (1Co 15:20), believer’s will
have a full redemption and their bodies will not remain in the tomb (Joh
5:28-29). C. The false assumptions of, The Lost Tomb
of Jesus, are answered by the angel who said, Do not be amazed; you
are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He
is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him (Mar 16:6). |
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