Jesus' Tomb Found?

You may have heard about this story in the news. James Cameron and some archaeologists made a documentary to be aired on the Discovery Channel about a mysterious tomb that has been found with many romantic notions it may, in fact, be the tomb of Jesus and his family.

While I'm willing to keep an open mind about what people find in archaeology, there are some things I am not willing to accept. Those things are usually things that contradict my faith. Since I've written a few Inspirational romances in my day, it's not a far stretch to know that I'm a Christian. And I believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. I'm fully aware there is no "evidence" that supports this happened, other than the writings in the Bible and my own faith.

So when I hear about a tomb that could hold the family of Jesus, I think that's very interesting. First of all, it very well COULD be the tomb of Mary Magdalene and others in Jesus' family, brothers, cousins, etc. Would Jesus be in there? No, I don't believe so.

I'm not going to go off on a religious tangent here, but I do have a few things to clear up if people aren't well-versed in why it's so important that Jesus rose from the dead. Christians believe Jesus died on the cross to take the sins of the world on his shoulders. Since our sins are an abomination in the eyes of God, each one of us deserve death, even if we're good people, because we sin every day in thought, word, and deed. NO ONE has the capability to be perfect. You can thank Adam and Eve for that.



So God, in His wisdom, loved the world so much (John 3:16) that He gave us His son to take on our sin. This accomplished a few things. Jesus paid our death penalty, and God was able to take His Judgment of sin and place it on Jesus' shoulders. There is NO WAY to "get out of" the wrath of God. God's Holy and Just Nature demands restitution for the abomination of sin. But He didn't want *us* to pay that price. He wanted to live with us forever in Heaven. The only way to do that was to lay the sins on Jesus, making HIM the sacrifice.

Okay, now on to the Resurrection. Jesus predicted many times he would rise from the dead, but his disciples at the time didn't understand what he was talking about. Why is it so important that Jesus rose from the dead? Well, to prove that:

A.) What he said about himself would come true (his prophecies)
B.) Death and sin has no power (it is not the end; life continues after death)
C.) He was who he said he was (the Son of God)
D.) We will be raised bodily from the dead when Jesus returns in Glory

To make a long story short (too late :P), Jesus' Resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. If he didn't rise from the dead, then his death was for nothing. Sin would have won. But what Jesus proved with the Resurrection was that HE reigns over sin and death, not the other way around.



So the mere thought that Jesus' bones are in this tomb not only challenges one of the three most powerful faiths on the planet, but also negates the entire Easter story. If this is true, there was no empty tomb, Nicodemus did not offer his tomb for Jesus' burial (because Mary and the disciples didn't have a tomb ready and Jesus needed to be buried before sundown which marked the Sabbath), and there was no stone to be rolled away on the third day. And if that entire story had been fabricated, then how can we put any faith on the writings in the Gospels? It's not like the Resurrection is only in one isolated book. It's in all four Gospels. And if that story was a hoax, then what is real? How can you pick and choose? Did Jesus REALLY feed 5000 people (probably more) with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread? Did he walk on water? Heal the sick? Raise the dead? How can we be sure?

In that way, wouldn't it negate the entire persona of Jesus as well? Throw the entire Gospels into myth and fantasy? How, then, can we be sure he actually lived? I think there might be one or two scholars of the day who has a few writings on Yeshua of Nazareth outside of the Bible. (Which is another argument altogether. Jesus wasn't known as "Jesus" back in the day. His Hebrew name was "Yeshua", a form of our modern "Joshua". It was the Greeks and/or Romans who "changed" his name to Jesus, but no one really knows how he came to be known by that name. Some people think it's a form of "Zeus", but that claim cannot be confirmed.)

So perhaps you could prove he lived. But if he wasn't who he said he was (he said he was the Son of God many times, and acknowledged in the positive many times when others called him the same), he would be the biggest fraudulent lunatic ever. And they wouldn't have found the tomb of a "great" man, but of a con-man. Because of this, even if you don't believe, you cannot say that Jesus was a wonderful man or a thoughtful teacher and rabbi. The man claimed to be able to forgive sins and do all sorts of miracles. No better than a "David Koresh of Waco, Texas" fame.

Anyhow, this post has become longer than I anticipated (lol), but I just wanted to post my thoughts on the issue. This could indeed be the tomb of Jesus' family and/or friends, but I do not believe Jesus himself is in there. I'm taking it on faith. :)

~~Becka