I Was Wrong

In my last blog, Disposing of Dead Bodies, I referred to an edict, as told by the late Professor F.F. Bruce. Professor Bruce retold the story of Roman Emperor Claudius and his edict to forbid tampering with dead bodies. Because this edict was issued within fifteen years of the resurrection of Jesus, I agreed with Professor Bruce and concluded that the narrow time-span strongly suggested that the edict may have been a reaction to the resurrection of Jesus. In addition, because the edict allegedly came from Nazareth, the Jesus connection would seem natural.

Well, recent research strongly suggests that I was wrong. Earlier this year, after getting permission to extract a sample from the back of the tablet, which is housed at the National Library of France, geochemists ground one milligram of the marble into powder and used laser ablation to release the gas from the marble’s minerals. By measuring the ratios of carbon and oxygen isotopes, they captured the unique chemical fingerprint of the marble.

The study of the tablet published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, clarified the origin of the tablet and points to a finding different from what I stated in my last blog. In other words, to infer that the “Nazareth Tablet” may have been as a result of the resurrection of Jesus is wrong.

However, what is not wrong, is to conclude that the bodily resurrection of Jesus did take place. Apart from the affirmations from Scripture, there are other valid archaeological inferences that could be made to confirm the resurrection of Jesus. One inference I often use is the absent bone box.

Bone boxes or ossuaries are made of limestone. In the first century, following death and entombment, the bones of the diseased were taken and placed in a bone box or ossuary. On the outside of the ossuary was inscribed the name of the deceased. This process would take place sometime after one year of entombment. Ossuaries would then be stored in a crypt (vault) like books are stored in a library. Of the roughly 900 catalogued ossuaries from the first century, 250 bear inscriptions.

In 1990, a bone chest was discovered accidentally during work in Jerusalem’s Peace Forest. This “Caiaphas Ossuary” belonged to the high priest from CE 18-36. The inscription, found in two places, read: “Caiaphas” and “Joseph, son of Caiaphas.” First-century Jewish historian Josephus provided the full name, “Joseph, who is called Caiaphas of the high priesthood.”

Archaeologists have found bone boxes for Pilate and even James, the brother of Jesus, but no credible claims have been made concerning an ossuary for Jesus. Should such an ossuary be found, that would be the death of Christianity. At the heart of the Christian faith is the claim that Jesus died and physically came back to life. To find an artifact that suggests otherwise would be disastrous.

The apostle Paul expressed this view when he said, “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The issue for historians, is not so much the death of Jesus. It is the claim that Jesus came back to life. To come back to life is not humanly possible. Hence, the Christian claim is that God intervened and brought Jesus back to life.

In 2007, the documentary “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” unveiled two ancient stone boxes they claim may have once contained the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The researchers for the film argued that ten small caskets discovered in 1980 in a Jerusalem suburb may have held the bones of Jesus and his family.

But that argument cannot be credible. It has been debunked by credible non-Christian scholars. In addition, the family of Jesus came from Nazareth, approximately eighty miles away from the area where this tomb was found. Furthermore, how was this ossuary not found before?

Imagine, by the third day following the death of Jesus, his followers were contending that he was alive. From that moment, his fearful followers displayed strength. They vigorously claimed to be eyewitnesses of Jesus, following his death. This would have been before his remains should have been transferred to a bone box. It would have been so easy to identify the tomb and confirm that the body of Jesus was still in the tomb.

Fifty days following the death of Jesus, Peter publicly claims that “God raised Jesus from the dead” (Acts 2:24). Following this declaration, thousands of Jews made commitments to follow the resurrected Jesus. Why wasn’t the declaration of resurrection debunked by the authorities? That would have nullified the commitments made at that Pentecost event.

However, today, almost 2,000 years after the death of Jesus, many are still looking for his bone box. There is one simple reason the bone box of Jesus would never be found – no bone box was ever necessary. Bone boxes are for the deceased, not the delivered.