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by Pastor John Collins

James Cameron—the man who directed the film Titanic; the man who won an Oscar for that same film; the man who, after receiving that award, quoted his own film's best known line, "I am king of the world!"—has himself struck an iceberg!

Unbeknownst to Cameron, his recently–aired documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus is a thesis filled with holes large enough to sink two Titanics. He has steered his wayward documentary onto the iceberg of historical Christianity, the foundation upon which all Christianity rests.

This is nothing new. For 2,000 years, men have sought to refute the resurrection of Christ, and the truth of the empty tomb. For believers, this should be expected. In fact, Jesus predicted it would be so. The humanly impossible idea of a resurrection is the fulcrum on which all of Christianity balances.

"For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!" (1 Corinthians 15:16, 17 NKJV)

God intended for the resurrection to be the lynchpin of our faith, and accordingly, He has given us all the proof—both scripturally and scientifically—to make a reasonable and rational study of the facts. So, let's review the "facts" as supported by Cameron's documentary, and those of the Scriptures.

Cameron's "Facts" for the Tomb of Jesus

In southern Jerusalem, some archeologists discovered a tomb back in 1980. At that burial site, several ossuaries were found (An ossuary is a limestone box, containing the bones of a deceased person.

A total of 10 boxes were found, and six had inscriptions on them. Some of those inscriptions are interpreted as being the names of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Judah, and others.

Two ossuaries bear female names: a Latin version of the name Mary; and another with a version of the name Mary (Marianmne), along with a title that could be read as "Mary, known as master".

Some residual DNA shows that several of the people who were buried in the tomb were related in some way. DNA also shows that the occupant of the Jesus ossuary and the Marianmne ossuary were not related.

From these findings, Cameron has come to the conclusion that this is the tomb of Jesus, that he was married to Mary Magdalene, and that together they had a child. For nearly 30 years, the finding of these ossuaries has never been a source of contention among scholars because any conclusion drawn from the names is a game of thorough supposition.

The names on the ossuaries were some of the most common names of that day. Scholars note that about one out of every three women at that time had the name Mary. On top of that, about one out of every 20 males was named Yeshua, or Jesus. Through the years, some 122 ossuaries have been found with the name Jesus inscribed on them.

Even among the 12 disciples in the Bible, there were two men named James, two named Judas, and two named Simon. In other words, half of the disciples had the same name as one of the other disciples!

Nevertheless, Cameron concludes—2,000 years after the fact—that these are the remains of Jesus and His family. He also conveniently fails to recognize that if these were the actual bones of Jesus, they most likely would have been buried in Nazareth, his hometown, and not in Talpiot, near Jerusalem.

Cameron not only takes the leap of faith that these were the actual remains of Jesus and Mary, but somehow connects the DNA dots to make the claim that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and together they had a son. Some would argue this is an obvious attempt to carry on the ideas proposed in The Da Vinci Code.

There is no historical evidence for Jesus having a son named Jude. There is no credible historical evidence that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene or anyone else. If you had been Jesus and—for argument's sake—had had a son, would you have named him Judas (same as Judah or Jude), knowing that the man who would betray you had the same name?

Despite contradictory evidence from numerous scientists and archaeologists, Cameron claims that there is a 1–in–600 chance that the bones in these ossuaries are of someone other than the historical Jesus and his family.

Those odds are dubious in that they are based on the filmmakers' assumptions, and not on any of the evidence pointing to Jesus being the Christ. With the right "assumptions", one might think they could build the Empire State Building from toothpicks.

Here is what their own statistician said: "I did permit the number 1–in–600 to be used in the film—I'm prepared to stand behind that, but on the understanding that these numbers were calculated based on assumptions that I was asked to use," says Andrey Feuerverger, University of Toronto, statistician. "These assumptions don't seem unreasonable to me, but I have to remember that I'm not a biblical scholar." (No kidding)

Here are the facts that should be relevant and that the reliable early texts of Scripture support.

Scriptural Facts for the Empty Tomb

Jesus predicted His death and resurrection and His statements were attested to by each of the gospel writers (see Matthew 16:21; Mark 9:10; Luke 9:22–27; John 2:18–22).

The apostle Paul, writing in A.D. 56, said that about 500 people had witnessed the resurrected Christ at one time, and most of them were living when he wrote it (see 1 Corinthians 15:6). Had he been lying or exaggerating, his writings would not have been widely accepted.

It is recorded in the Scriptures that Jesus appeared to different individuals after His resurrection some 15 different times.

The apostle Paul, a persecutor of Christians, became the early church's chief proponent of the resurrection after he witnessed the resurrected Christ on the Damascus road. Like many of the other early church fathers, he suffered persecution throughout his life for proclaiming what he saw!

Except for Judas, the disciples— who cowered in fear immediately following the crucifixion—went on to live their lives dedicated to the truth of the resurrection, all of them being martyred for their faith. It's hard to imagine these men giving their lives for a hoax! What happened to transform these men in such an undeniable way?

The tomb was covered with a stone calculated to weigh between 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. There is no logical explanation, apart from scriptural testimony, for how it was moved.

According to followers and enemies of Jesus, there was an empty tomb, and the disciples started preaching about it right away in Jerusalem (where the resurrection happened). They would have been written off as a joke if the tomb wasn't empty.

The tomb was sealed and armed guards were assigned by the Roman authorities to protect it because Jesus had predicted His resurrection (see Matthew 27: 62–66). Failure to prevent anyone from taking the body was punishable by death. Yet, the Roman guards cut a deal for money with the Jewish chief priests to lie and say the body was stolen to protect them from the Roman authorities (see Matthew 28:11–13). Why would they do that if they could simply produce the body and get off the hook?

While some might suggest that the Bible is a book written by those who were "predisposed" to these ideas, the fact is the Scriptures are thoroughly documented historical accounts. Even secular writings of the day attest to the written testimonies of Jesus' resurrection. God has covered all the bases!

Far from having our faith shaken, these attacks serve to reinforce all that the Bible teaches. Those who fail to honestly heed the claims of Christ and His resurrection, will face certain and eternal shipwreck! On the other hand, those who will honestly review the facts and then honestly search their heart will find their own hearts awakened to the greatest story ever told!

"I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying" (Matthew 28:5, 6 NLT).

For 2,000 years, men have sought the truth about Jesus. The more they have peered into the tomb of reason, or science, or philosophy, the emptier the tomb has appeared. For the answer to the great question of Jesus is not in finding His body, but in understanding His absence. All the tombs of men and religious figures past are filled with dead men's bones. But the empty tomb of Jesus separates Him from the rest. The great and awesome specter of death could not hold Him, giving us that same hope of eternity if we will but put our trust in Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16 NLT).

By John Collins
Executive Director, Harvest Crusades
Administrative Pastor