I realize that this story has been out for almost two weeks now and therefore I am a bit behind the times. This post is primarily for those in my Gospel Foundations School class at Christ Our Hope Church.
Perhaps you’ve heard on the news or in magazines that archaeologists in Jerusalem have discovered a first-century tomb which contains, among other things, the bones of Jesus Christ. Along with the alleged bones of Jesus of Nazareth are the bones of his mother Mary, Joseph, Matthew, at least one of his brothers, Mary Magdalene (who of course was his wife!), and the bones of Jesus’ and Mary Magdalene’s child. According to the producers of the Discovery Channel documentary entitled “The Jesus Family Tomb” which documents this “find,” the statistical probability of having the names so many biblical characters who were known to be family or acquaintances in one tomb is roughly 600 to 1.
This is a publicity stunt founded on poor scholarship which is riding the wave of sensationalism all the way to the bank. Internationally-respected New Testament scholar Darrell Bock, Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, has written a careful critique of the “Jesus Family Tomb” here. I highly recommend reading Dr. Bock’s piece.
