Discovery Channel's, Lost Tomb of Jesus Does Question Resurrection

On Sunday, March 4th, the Discovery Channel aired an archealogical study film by executive producer James Cameron ("Titanic") about limestone bone boxes found in a tomb in Israel. The boxes are inscribed with names such as Mary, Joseph and Judah in Aramaic leading some scholars to believe that this is the family burial tomb of Jesus' family. Although the Discovery Channel's website states that the film is not in conflict with resurrection belief because they say there is historical testimony that the body was moved from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre site to a family tomb, they are missing the point that there was no body to be moved. No body, no bones of Jesus. The film has caused great controversy among Biblical scholars who feel that the very heart of the Christian faith has been questioned. If Jesus arose from the dead, he would have left no bones behind in a tomb. The fact that he arose physically as well as spiritually, is testified to by the Apostle Thomas, who supposedly was asked to touch the risen Christ's hand.

The Bible tells us that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus helped to bury Jesus in an tomb which had never been used before. It also tells us that no bones of Christ were broken either on the cross or afterward in order to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. The Bible's eyewitnesses give an account of the empty tomb and the risen Lord Jesus. Mary Magdalene's tomb is still evident today in a town called Magdala near the city of Tiberias in Israel. There is early evidence of this town in Mark 8 (feeding the multitudes) and other early gnostic gospels.

Most Christians are in agreement on the importance of the resurrection of Jesus to the very foundation of Christianity. It is the defining moment of God's grace and confirms that Jesus is truly Lord. First, by raising Jesus from the dead, God puts his divine seal on all that Jesus had been preaching, particularly the claims he made to his disciples that he would be raised again to the fullness of life.