The Jesus Family Tomb
It turns out Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a kid named Judah. And all this time I thought he had moved to Japan and started a family there.
Anyway, in case you hadn’t heard already, James Cameron, the director of the blockbuster movie Titanic, has a documentary out claiming that he and his crew can prove that a coffin discovered 27 years ago in Jerusalem used to contain Jesus of Nazareth’s remains. To make a long story short, however, the documentary is nothing more than pure speculation, some of the reasons being:
- There is no DNA evidence that this is the historical Jesus of Nazareth
- The statistical analysis is untrustworthy
- The name “Jesus” was a popular name at that time, appearing in 98 other tombs and on 21 other ossuaries
- There is no historical evidence that Jesus was ever married or had a child
- The earliest followers of Jesus never called him, “Jesus, son of Joseph”
- It’s unlikely Joseph, who had died earlier in Galilee, would have been buried in Jerusalem
- The Talipot tomb and ossuaries probably would have belonged to a rich family, which is not a historical match for Jesus
- Fourth-century church historian Eusebius makes quite clear the body of James, brother of Jesus, was buried alone near the temple mount.
- The two Mary ossuaries do not mention anyone from Migdal, but just Mary, a common name
- By all ancient accounts, the tomb of Jesus was empty, making it unlikely that any body was moved, allowed to decay for a year, then put into an ossuary.
For the whole story:
Reports of Jesus’ grave a ’sideshow’
For more on why this can’t be the Jesus of the Bible:
The Jesus Family Tomb?
Hollywood Hype: The Oscars and Jesus’ Family Tomb, What Do They Share?
Jesus’ Tomb: Fact or Fiction?
Titanic II: The Re-Sinking
