The Lost Tomb of Jesus

There's been a lot of hype about the Discovery Channel's upcoming "documentary" "The Lost Tomb of Jesus."  Some Christians are getting up in arms over it.  Personally, I think the issue should be re-framed and seen as an opportunity.

This show is an obvious attack upon the Christian faith and calls into question the validity of Christianity.  The resurrection of Jesus is the link pin that holds Christianity together.  Without it, everything else falls apart.  St. Paul recognized this, "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."  (1 Corinthians 15:14)

Making up stories to disprove Jesus' resurrection is nothing new.  It has been happening for 2,000 years.  "When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, 'You are to say, "His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep." (Matthew 28:12-13) 

The thing is, I don't see the apostles throwing a tizzy fit over the chief priests' actions, like some Christians are doing with this TV program.  That Hollywood disses Christ should come as no more of a surprise to us than the fact that the chief priests did way back when.

For many years Christians had free reign over American culture.  We could have lax and lazy theologies because it was assumed that everyone bought into a Christian worldview.  "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" proves once again that this is no longer the case.  Christians have a couple of choices how they will deal with this program.

1.  They can holler and scream and call for letter-writing campaigns and boycotts.

2.  They can just ignore it, and act like it has no impact whatsoever.

3.  They can use this challenge to commitment themselves to building spiritual muscle. 

I choose option 3.  The first 300 years of Christianity was a time of incredible evangelistic growth within the Church.  It was also a time of great theological thinking.  Is there a Christian apologist alive today who can match the likes of Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Tertullian or Origen?  Not to my knowledge, but there needs to be.  Personally, I know I'm not intelligent be that person. However, I, like every other Christian, have the responsibility to witness to what the living Christ has done in my life.

While it's important that the denial of Christ's resurrection not go unchallenged, most people aren't pursued to put their faith in Him through some well thought out theology.  Rather, the greatest witness to the truth of the resurrection is a life lived in love with Jesus and with others.

That being said, I believe Christians need to be able to say more than just "Jesus saved me," as true as that might be.  Faith is not solely a matter of the heart and a believer should have the ability to clearly state in a reasoned the evidence of Jesus' resurrection.  So briefly, here it is.

It's argued that the disciples stole the body.  The fact is the tomb was guarded by soldiers who knew full well that falling asleep on duty as punishable by death and even if they had, it is in no way possible that the disciples rolled away the large stone covering the tomb so quietly as not to awaken the guards.  Further, the disciples were depressed and disillusioned following Jesus' death.  Their despair and fear, as exemplified by their fleeing from the Garden of Gethsemane and Peter's denial would have made it highly improbable that they would attempt such a daring feat.

The second proof is the reported appearances to the disciples and their incredible change in behavior.  These mostly uneducated men didn't back down from an argument with the most highly educated people of their nation.  Further, many of them died a martyr's death.  Would they have undergone torture and death into order to maintain a lie?  Not likely.

Thirdly, is the growth of the Church.  In a mere 300 years, they revolutionized the world.  And wherever they went, their message was unchanging, "Jesus is alive."

I hope American Christians can take advantage of the opportunity presented by "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" to proclaim an alternative, one which has the power to transform the world, "Christ is risen."

Comments

[Steven Carr]

' And wherever they went, their message was unchanging, "Jesus is alive."'

Early converts to Jesus-worship in Corinth certainly believed Jesus was alive, they just scoffed at the idea that God would choose to raise a corpse.

Paul reassures them that Jesus became a life-giving spirit, and that they would be resurrected in the same manner.

[John]

I am astonished at Christians who look at the controversy and say "It doesn't matter; it won't change my faith either way." It does matter a lot! If Christ was not raised, then our teaching is in vain.