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Posted on March 15, 2007 ...

News media recently has featured the recent discovery of Jesus?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ tomb at a location several miles outside of Jerusalem called Talpiot. Actually, it is a tomb that was discovered in 1980. We are also being told that there was a Mrs. Jesus (Mary Magdalene). In addition, an ossuary (casket) of a child from this marriage has also been found. The case for this being the actual tomb of Jesus?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ family was featured on a recent Discovery Channel documentary and in a companion book by Simcha Jacobovici entitled The Jesus Family Tomb. Forgive me if I am skeptical of these grandiose claims. Here are a few of my thoughts.

?Ǭ? We are informed that the DNA testing from the tombs labeled Mary and Jesus proved that they are not related and so must have been married. How exactly does showing that two people are not related establish that they were married?

?Ǭ? The documentary?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s producer, James Cameron (of "Titanic" fame), said on Larry King Live that we should all be thankful that we now have tangible evidence that Jesus existed. Actually, no serious historian of biblical antiquity doubts that there was a historical Jesus. Beyond the Bible, Jesus is mentioned in the writings of Roman historians, Tacitus and Suetonius, as well as the works of the Hebrew historian, Josephus.

?Ǭ? Much of the claims for the authenticity of the tomb is based on the probability that the names found on the ossuaries, Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, would all be in the same family. Yet, these were common names in ancient Palestine. Also, how does one account for other names present or absent? Apparently there is a Matthew in this tomb. But Jesus had no brothers named Matthew. He did have brothers named James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Mark 6:3). Where are references to their remains?

?Ǭ? Why is it that this announcement goes public only after sufficient time has passed to produce a television documentary and publish a book? I sound cynical, but these claims seem packaged for release in a way to maximize publicity and profit.

?Ǭ? I also wonder what would motivate Jesus?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ family, with roots in Nazareth and Bethlehem, to choose a place several miles outside of Jerusalem as the location for its family tomb?

Of course, my greatest misgivings center on the rejection of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The New Testament is clear that Jesus bodily arose from the grave and forty days later ascended into heaven. The ?¢‚Ǩ?ìJesus?¢‚Ǩ¬ù buried in this tomb simply cannot be MY Jesus. I serve a RISEN SAVIOR!

Ultimately, what we believe about Jesus comes down to a step of faith. Far-fetched conjectures like those presented recently in The Da Vinci Code or The Gospel of Judas will come and go. I choose instead to hold my faith in the long-standing Biblical teaching that the body of the crucified Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb not far from where he was crucified and three days later, He arose. Jay