“The Lost Tomb of Jesus” - Does It fit The Very Definition of Oxymoron?

Webster's says an oxymoron is “a combination of contradictory or incongruous words.” An example would be, it was so hot, it was cold. I would contend that it would also include using the Bible as reliable evidence in order to prove the Bible is unreliable. Either the Bible is reliable or it is unreliable, it can't be both. The makers of the documentary “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” rely very heavily on the Bible to support their claims that they have found the lost tomb of Jesus and his family. Yet, if you follow their theory to its logical end, in order to accept their theory as correct, you must accept the Bible as unreliable. This is an oxymoron, you can't have it both ways. Either the Bible is reliable or it is unreliable, it can't be both.

The documentary was produced by Oscar winning director James Cameron. Its director was Symcha Jacobovici and one of its lead consultants was University of North Carolina scholar James Tabor. The documentary aired on the Discovery channel on March 4, 2007. The documentary suggests that the remains found in a tomb in 1980 are that of Jesus and his family. This is based on ten bone boxes that were found in the tomb. These boxes are known as Ossuaries. The Ossuaries bore crudely etched names. Some of names include: Jesus, son of Joseph; Maria; Mariamene e Mara; Matthew; Judas, son of Jesus; and Jose.

The documentary suggests that Jesus, son of Joseph was Jesus Christ. Maria was his mother Mary. Mariamene e Mara was Mary Magdalen, the wife of Jesus and Judus was their son. Jose was the brother of Jesus. One Ossuary was misplaced or stolen. The documentary suggests that a Ossuary that surfaced from a private collection in 2002 is the lost Ossuary from the collection. This Ossuary bears the name James, the master. The documentary suggests that this is James, the brother of Jesus.

Except for the name “Mariamene,” all the names were common during the time of Jesus. James Tabor contends that a second century manuscript uses the name “Mariamene” for Mary Magdalen. Now Jesus didn't have a brother named Jose. His brother was named Joses. These names are spelled very similar but they are not the same and they do not have the same meaning.

The documentary relies on one speculation on top of another. They present much scientific evidence but this evidence does not lead to any conclusions. If you are interested in some of this evidence and what other experts have said about it, see the article that appeared in TIME magazine.

The point I would like to make is that the Bible is clear what happened to Jesus. He rose from the dead. It was not the resurrection of a spirit. His whole body rose from the dead on the third day just as he said he would. King David prophesied, “neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalms 16:6). And the body of Jesus did not see corruption; it did not decay because he rose from the dead. The tomb was empty. He told Thomas to touch him and see that his body was real. When his ministry was finished, he ascended into heaven. He is alive today. There was nothing to bury in a tomb.

The members of Jesus own family, the Apostles and all his disciples testified to his resurrection. All the Apostles except John were martyred for their faith. They went to their death testifying to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Bible says: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Timothy 3:16). I believe this to be true. You must make your own choice. But you cannot believe it to be true and not true. Either it is reliable or it is unreliable. Many have come to an opinion on the Bible without ever reading it. How can you come to the most important decision in your life without checking it out for yourself?

Many have come to their own conclusion on the reliability of the Bible and have based their decision on false teachings. There are many deceivers in the world today. There are many who proclaim to teach the word of God but they mix in lies. We can only identify these lies and teachers of lies after we have studied the word for ourselves. I believe that we all need to study the word of God for ourselves. We cannot rely on others to tell us what it says. If we rely on others, we are setting ourselves up to believe a “strong delusion.” The Bible is clear that their will be many claiming to be believers who will actually be deceivers. Don't be deceived, study and learn the truth of God's word! Begin today!

When you study the Bible it must be done with prayer. The Apostle Paul writes: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. " (1 Corinthians 2:14)  When we pray, we must pray for the Holy Spirit to give us understanding. Jesus made the following promise concerning the Holy Spirit:  “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:” (John 16:13) Take Jesus at his word and trust him, you won't be disapointed.

Copyright © 2006-2007 John Durr

John Durr is author of an astounding new eBook entitled: “The Soon Coming Judgment of God Upon America And How To Escape It!” The book uses Bible prophecy, little known American history and current events to prove that the United States is the Babylon of Bible prophecy. This is a must read for every American because the Bible clearly says Babylon (America) will be destroyed. The book not only describes how the U.S. fulfills every description of Babylon, it carefully shows what the reader needs to do in order to be saved from this coming judgment. The eBook is available at http://americascomingjudgment.com.