For lack of a better term, this is what I am calling what I am sure many of you have seen on the Discovery Channel in recent days.  I believe it was called "The Lost Tomb of Jesus."  The same film producer who produced the excellent program on the Exodus has tried another direction.  This time he may have forgotten something very important.  I really would not know how to talk intelligently with him or with any of the archaeologists about the tombs, ossuaries, etc., which they have found supposedly containing remains of members of Jesus' family.  I watched the program and duly noted that they think they have found remains of Mary, mother of Jesus, siblings of Jesus, and perhaps Mary Magdalene.  What really got my attention is what they omitted entirely.  It is the eight hundred pound gorilla sitting right in the middle of the floor before them.  It is the resurrection.

Now, I know you can't prove the resurrection.  But it is an article of faith for nearly all Christian groups.  Why would a Christian archaeologist and film producer be trying to find the "lost tomb of Jesus" when according to biblical testimony, He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea but was only in there for portions of three days?  I wonder if these learned scholars remember the central tenet of our faith?  The resurrection of Jesus?  The reason for Easter?  The resurrection of Jesus?

The four gospels tell us that the tomb was empty.  Jesus' body was not there.  He appeared to his disciples and others later.  John's Gospel tells us that Jesus was in the garden when the women arrived.  He spoke to Mary, and she recognized Him when He called her name.  He never died another earthly death.  He ascended into Heaven after forty days.  All of this is taken by faith and really cannot be proven as archaeologists and historians wish to prove it.  But it helps to explain why my reaction to the program on TV was one of denial:  There was no tomb of Jesus. 

Well, what about the claim that Jesus' name is on the ossuary along with that of Mary, Jose, Mariamne, etc.?  My response is that it may have been another Jesus. You see, Jesus was a fairly common name in those days.  There might have been another family member with this name, or this might well have been another family altogether.  How do we know for certain that it was the family of Jesus?  I agreed with the challenge put to the film producer by one of the archaeologists who was on the panel.  He claimed that the film producer automatically assumed that what they had was the ossuary of Jesus' family.  How did they know? How could they have known?  What good will DNA tests do?  How do we know what their DNA was?  The answer is simple:  We don't know.

I am not being negative just to be negative.  I just don't believe in the claims being made for the tombs and ossuaries discovered by this team.  It would be the same for claims made by any individual or any team to have the tomb of Jesus.  It smacks of a publicity stunt, and  I have no interest in that.  My interest is that Jesus died, was buried, was raised on the third day, and ascended into Heaven where He lives with God today.