Can you trust the Gospel? September 13, 2007
No doubt you have heard of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” the Discovery Channel’s incendiary new documentary, which aired this past March. There was a colossal media buzz around its airdate. Who can be surprised at all of the media attention? Filmmaker, Simcha Jacobovici is claiming to have found the family tomb of Jesus, and what’s more, he was likely married to Mary Magdalene and had a child named Judas. Scintillating stuff, but what does this all mean? Here is a documentary making claims that are in conflict with historical Christian belief. The film’s experts employ scientific evidence, DNA information and statistical reports. Is this truly a compelling, scientific discovery, or is it pseudo-scientific, CSI- meets- The Da Vinci Code style filmmaking? What is the Christian to make of this?
There are reasons to doubt the claims of the documentary. One big reason has to do with the statistical evidence. Jacobovici claims, basically, even though all of the names on the ossuaries (stone boxes used for housing the bones of the deceased) are common enough, it is the fact that they are clustered together that makes it likely to be Jesus’ family tomb. They focus especially on Mary Magdalene. Director Simcha Jacobovici declares on the official website as “the latest in New Testament studies” what he assumes throughout the film, namely, that Mary Magdalene was known by the same name as the one inscribed on the ossuary, Mariamne (a form of Mary.) He explains the importance of this on the website using an illustration from the Beatles: Suppose, in the future, the burial sites of George, John and Paul are found. There isn’t enough evidence to claim it is the Beatles, right? However if there’s a fourth tombstone that says Richard Starky (Ringo’s real name) then the evidence is more compelling. That is great, but the documentary’s claim that Mariamne is Mary Magdalene in itself is suspect (see the Discovery Channel website for an article about a claim that the ossuary is inscribed “Mary and Martha” not what Jacobivici claims at all)
Even if the ossuary is inscribed as the documentary suggests, “Mariamene e Mara,” the link between the two names Mariamene and Mary Magdalene, come from the Gnostic gospels, specifically the “Acts of Phillip.” The “Acts of Philip” was written much later than the canonical gospels (perhaps as late as the early third century) and is not considered to be as trustworthy. Jacobovici draws on these non-canonical writings and their image of Mary Magdalene as a powerful figure in the early church, implying that she had a “special” relationship with Jesus. The website has a blurb on a handful of these Gnostic writings and each ties in information about this important Mary in a way that is intended, no doubt, to make your imagination soar.
Fiction is fine, but when it comes to facts, the Biblical gospels are our best and most accurate source of knowledge about Jesus, not the esoteric Gnostic writings. That is why Mark D. Robert’s new book, Can We Trust the Gospels? is so timely. If the gospels really are as trustworthy as Robert’s purports, Jacobovici’s documentary has some problems. Why did Joseph of Arimathea donate his tomb, if Jesus’ family already had one? Why would the Jesus family tomb be in Talpiot, not in Nazareth? How did Jesus’ body get from the first tomb to the second? The issues are not merely logistical, for Jesus to have had a wife and family just doesn’t fit in with his life and mission, as we know it from the gospels.
Mark D. Roberts spends a good amount of his book addressing The Da Vinci Code phenomenon and its fallacies as it relates to the Gnostic writings found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library. For this reason I believe it will be useful to the Christian who is baffled by this noteworthy documentary. It also can equip the believer to defend the historical Jesus to non-believers who are interested and baffled too.
At the end of the day, it is better to trust what is historical and time-tested. Not what is new, exciting, and sells. Perhaps the filmmakers have followed the obvious money trail pioneered by Dan Brown ,and put their focus on catering to Westerners who have begun more and more to correlate entertainment and information and don’t seem to care much which is which.
Kristen Jeffrey lives in Seattle, WA, with her husband, Daniel, where she spends her spare time reading, participating with the worship team at Crosspoint Greenlake where she attends, and enjoying the outdoors. She has a degree in English from the University of Washington and is currently working towards a MA in Teaching English as a Second Language at Seattle University.
- Posted in : Faith
- Author : Administrator
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