The news that Jesus’ family tomb was discovered in Talpiot, Israel sent Titanic producer James Cameron and a film crew rushing to the scene.
Well sort of.
A tomb was discovered in 1980 containing 10 ossuaries (think caskets). According to DNA evidence, ones labelled Mary and Joseph… get this… DID NOT HAVE MATCHING DNA! Note: they only found DNA on those two ossuaries they were able to use.
This proves what, exactly? Mary and Joseph were married, not blood-related, so their DNA shouldn’t match.
OK, let’s start over. Mary and Joseph have a son named Jeshua (Jesus) who supposedly married Mary Magdalene (if you believe The Da Vinci Code) and they have a son named Judah. Oh, and Matthew the tax collector is also related to Jesus somehow. I think distant cousins or something. Clear as mud?
Yes, you too can be blown away by The Lost Tomb of Jesus coming to the Discovery Channel this Sunday at 9pm Eastern.
Just in case you were wondering, The Discovery Channel doesn’t think this will cause any issues with theology.
Belief in the resurrection is based not on which tomb he was buried in, but on alleged sightings of Jesus that occurred after his burial and documented in the Gospels.
And…
If Jesus’ mortal remains have been found, this would contradict the idea of a physical ascension but not the idea of a spiritual ascension. The latter is consistent with Christian theology.
From “Theological Considerations“
As a Christian, I am thankful that Discovery was able to put my mind to rest. Here, I thought that the key theological implication might be that if Jesus had a son he might be sinless.
A quick question before I go. If this is the tomb holding Jesus’ body, who’s tomb is this?


February 26th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Wait, the first time I heard of Jesus’ tomb was when my friend visited Japan and found it there. In the Shingo Village in northern Honshu. So who is buried here?
February 26th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Thanks to wikipedia, there are a few more!
The tombs of Jesus.
February 26th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Links to more resources about the “Jesus Tomb” stuff:
- Scholars, clergy slam Jesus documentary (Associated Press Story)
- Who’s writing fiction here? (Paul L. Maier, who wrote a fictional book with similar themes to this “news” story, gives 8 reasons why this is bunk.)
- New film claims Jesus buried in Talpiot (Amos Kloner, who oversaw excavation of the tomb, says of the “Jesus Family Tomb” story is nonsense.)
- The Jesus Tomb? ‘Titanic’ Talpiot Tomb Theory Sunk from the Start (Comments from biblical scholar Dr Ben Witherington III)
February 26th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
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