The Talpiot ossuaries found in the Jesus Family Tomb, as reported in a Discovery Channel special, have a lot of people talking. Do your own historical and  archaeological  digging. Find out for yourself why Jesus’ outrageous claims continue to cause people to come to such different conclusions about this man who changed the  course of history.

 

Archaeology is fascinating.  We all love stories like Indiana Jones’ Raiders of the Lost Arc and Lara Croft: Tomb Raiders. What is it about delving into history that fascinates us?  Perhaps it’s the lure of revealing the mysteries of the past, finding secret treasure, and getting a glimpse of what really happened in the past.

The most recent media-covered archaeological hype is the discovery of the Talpiot ossuaries found in Israel, which, according to the Discovery Channel documentary The  Jesus Family Tomb, belonged to Jesus and his family. Religious archeology like this, especially when controversial, definitely turns heads and open wallets – and the media knows it!

The moment I heard about the discovery of the Talpiot ossuaries I thought to myself, “Wow, another Jesus related controversy? Haven’t we had enough of Jesus from The Passion and The DaVinci Code?”

This is a big question. Why is the media so fascinated by controversy surrounding Jesus Christ? Who was he anyway to merit such attention even 2000+ years after his death?

From my observation, I see Jesus making an appearance all over pop-culture: on t-shirts  (“Jesus is my Homeboy”), in music (Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks”) and books, movies and even swear words about or referring to Jesus.

Jesus is a ubiquitous cultural figure that we refer to all the time. Most of us don't seem to give it a lot of thought. Who is this Jesus person?

I've heard one author, Mark Driscoll, give an interesting contextualization of Jesus’ 1^st century Palestinian existence. He described Jesus as being born to a marginalized peasant family in a “dumpy, rural, hick town” where he lived a very simple life over 2000 years ago.  For most of his life, until the age of 30, Jesus lived in obscurity.

So how did this person who came from insignificant origins  become a lasting cultural and religious icon? To see why people, such as the creators of The Jesus Family Tomb  documentary are fascinated with Jesus Christ, we have to look beyond the hype & headlines and think about why this discovery is newsworthy. Why do people continue to search for the tomb of Jesus? Why is it important to find evidence of his existence?

We can probably find the answer by looking at the things Jesus did and said, some of which were pretty incredible and almost outrageous.

Perhaps it’s because Jesus said things such as, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" and "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father except through me."

Some of Jesus' claims did not make him very popular. I'm sure Jesus figured that out when people started threatening to throw rocks at him. Nevertheless, Jesus made the statements anyway. Why did he ahead and continue to make outlandish statements about himself and his purpose?

The “Jesus Family Tomb” controversy stirs up a lot of questions including the ones about the actual identity of the historical Jesus of Nazareth. Was this person Jesus Christ for real? Was he really God and did he rise from the dead?  Or are the stories about him myth? Did Jesus live and and die like anybody else?

No one claiming to be God has ever maintained the sort of devoted following Jesus has drawn during and after their lifetime on earth. There have been millions of followers of Jesus Christ throughout the past 2000 years and there are approximately 2.1 billion Christians today.

What's interesting is that Jesus did not just make such a claim of divinity - he also offered convincing proof of his claim to be God by his resurrection from the dead. We are told of Jesus' alleged resurrection by the documented accounts written by his disciples and followers. While there is no way today of definitively proving or disproving Jesus' resurrection from the dead, you can take some time to examine and weigh the evidence and facts behind this pivotal figure in history.

This is what Cambridge scholar C.S. Lewis did. Once an ardent atheist, Lewis knew that "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, is of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." In his examination of the facts and historical evidence behind Jesus' claim to be God, Lewis eventually believed in Jesus, calling himself the "the most reluctant convert" in his book Surprised by Joy.

If Jesus Christ was really who he claimed to be, do you think it's important to personally investigate if he was God?

We hope that these questions will lead you to consider doing your own historical and archaeological research by personally exploring more about this fascinating person called Jesus Christ.

To get you started on your quest to researching the historical facts and learning more about who Jesus Christ was and claimed to be, here are some resources to help you along the way:

Related Resources:

1) Tales from the Crypt: Do We Have the Bones of Jesus?

2) Did Jesus Really Exist?  Examining the Archaeological Evidence  

3) Fact or Fiction? The Jesus Family Tomb

4) A Prof's Perspective: 'Titanic' Talpiot Tomb Theory Sunk from the Start  

5) A Skeptic Challenges the Resurrection:"If I Had Faked the Resurrection "    

J.P. Tan is the managing editor of this website and an occasional feature writer. Copyright 2007 iamnext.com. May not be used without permission.