Bro. Matt’s Blog

Click here to view. Approx. 27 minutes in length.

Do We See The Dignity of Jesus?

via Boone’s Creek Baptist Church on 1/20/08

Luke 3:21-38

We as Baptists are at a critical time. We are defined more by what we do than by what we believe. I come across this mindset quite a bit. Some say they do not want their doctrine to get in the way of the Christianity — as if the two are mutually exclusive. We grow quite content with the basics rather than drinking deep and meditating on God’s revealed Word to us.

Weekly, I read through the Western Recorder (our state Baptist newspaper). One day, I decided to respond to much of what I read in this manner. I mention this note not simply to draw attention to this, but share with you my desire as your pastor here. We need to remember who Jesus is and the mission which he sent us to accomplish. That we all agree with. But do we see the cruciality of knowing who He is and what He accomplished? For instance, when we see the Great Commission, do we see that Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18)? Well, who is this Jesus who possesses this authority? If we simply say, “He loves me and died for me” — that could apply to a U.S. soldier. So it’s more than that!

Then you say, “Well, he died for my sins!” What qualifies him to do such a thing? “Because he died on the cross!” Why a cross? Many died on a cross — why was Jesus dying on a cross 2,000 years ago any big deal? The usual answer is, “So we could go to heaven!” But even in the Great Commission, Jesus exhorts us to teach those who would be disciples everything that he has commanded. My point is, the glory of Jesus is not that he simply put us on a mission, he wants us to know the One who commissions us.

1. See the divine dignity of Jesus.

Luke 3:21-22 tells us:

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, [22] and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22, ESV).

Notice that Jesus’ divinity is seen in a number of ways. First, the heavens opened up! That’s right — the clouds parted in a way that likely no filmmaker could reproduce. We see this happen in a number of other times in the Scriptures.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove. What was the purpose of this? When John the Baptist noted that Jesus would come along baptizing with the Holy Spirit and with fire, the fire represented the Word of God that has a two-fold function: it purges in judgment, but also reconciles by bringing peace. John Piper rightly puts it:

The dove suggests to Jesus purity, meekness, innocence. It was not majestic like the eagle or fierce like the hawk or flamboyant like the cardinal. It was simple, common, innocent, the kind of bird poor people could offer for a sacrifice.

Jesus called his disciples to minister in a rather interesting way. Matthew 10:16 says, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves”(ESV). Various political administrations are marked by a certain propensity for aggression or non-aggression. If they tend to lean toward war and aggression, they are called hawks. If toward a more peaceful understand and an aversion to war, they are called doves. But do not mistake us saying that Jesus’ ministry in being marked by a dove means that he is weak. It means that he will be tender with the weak.

Then the Lord calls from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Jesus is of the same substance as the Father, thus he is fully God. This is not the only time the Father calls out of heaven. He did so during Jesus’ transfiguration. God is showing His seal of approval on his Son.

Let me ask you, when you think of Jesus, what comes across your mind? Is he someone that may cramp your style? A cosmic killjoy who wants to take away your freedom and fun? Or maybe you have gotten past this, but look around and really wonder if Jesus lives up to the biblical billing? Do you see his meekness as weakness? Do you see his humility as someone who is a chump before the world? Make no mistake about this One. His power conquers death. His power conquers the very thing that separates us from God.

With this we also see…

2. … the human dignity of Jesus.

The fact that God would condescend to minister to us as a human being is such an amazing fact and feat, words can hardly describe this. In fact, in the early part of church history, the average Christian had a difficult time grasping how Jesus could be fully divine and fully human. IN Jesus’ time, they had an easy time seeing Jesus as a human (after all, he was standing right in front of them) but not as divine. In our day, the problem is the exact opposite — all divine, but too far removed from being human.

In Jesus’ time, they had a difficult time seeing him as holy God! Yet, that’s exactly what the Scriptures in general teach about Christ — and what this passage teaches us about him. Here we see the emphasis on his divinity with some of his humanity intertwined. Notice the humanity. Jesus was ‘baptized and was praying.’ These two things seem like very human things, doesn’t it? If Jesus is God, two questions arise: why did he need to be baptized, and why was he praying?

Why did Jesus have to be baptized? To many, this looks very undignified. If Jesus is truly God, and if he is King of kings and Lord of lords, why would he come to John, asking to be baptized by him? This baptism was a baptism of repentance. Was Jesus coming up and confessing some sin or shortcoming in his keeping of the law? It goes back to why Jesus came to begin with. Jesus came to save his people from their sins. In order to do this, Jesus needed to identify with his people. Remember from Galatians 4:4-7:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. [6] And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” [7] So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Look at this again. God sent forth his Son. In what way did he enter into the world? He was “born of a woman.” Under what conditions? He was “born under the law.” What was the result? “To redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons.” This explains what the Gospel of Matthew was referring to. Look with me at Matthew 3:13-17:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. [14] John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” [15] But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. [16] And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; [17] and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

So what was Jesus doing? Jesus was being undignified — at least as far as the world is concerned. How many dignitaries and famous people do you know who would condescend to merely speak or shake hands with and ‘ordinary’ person? Yet why would he do such a thing? He did this to identify with our situation so he may be able to be a worthy substitute in paying for our sins. Consider this passage from Romans 5:12-21:

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— [13] for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. [14] Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

[15] But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. [16] And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. [17] If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

[18] Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. [19] For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. [20] Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, [21] so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus came as a Second Adam to overpower the curse of sin in this world. The grace He brings is far superior than the bleakness and the devastation of the curse. And on a day to day level, let’s see why Jesus coming as a human is so important:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16, ESV).

What temptations has Jesus faced? All of them. Think of how you are tempted — things in which you would be mortified to see the light of day . Things that you afraid to even mention in your prayers to God. Please know that our Great High Priest (the only priest I need in this life and the next) not only intercedes for us, but also understands our issues. We can approach Him through the Gospel and find sanctifying help whenever the need arises — and that need constantly arises.

Conclusion

In reference to the letter I wrote to the Western Recorder, a reader left a comment that I thought was particularly enlightening. Her name is Wendy Duncan who authored a book entitled, “I Can’t Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult.”

Hi Bro Matt,

Thank you for responding to the letter in the Kentucky State Baptist paper. As a former Southern Baptist with a master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I am one of those who “strayed” to a cult. It was a Bible-based cult with a masterful and manipulative cult leader and like several other former Baptists who were involved in this cult, I got hooked. Interestingly, one of the cult members worked for our state Baptist paper.

When I was in seminary I took a course on cults and the emphasis was on the teachings and doctrines of the various cults. Before joining this particular cult, I did my research. I reviewed their doctrinal statement and it could have passed for any mainstream Christian group. I also called several cult awareness ministries to see if this group was included in their list of cults and was told it was not.

I ended up staying in this cult for over seven years before leaving. One of my last conversations with the cult leader was most telling. I said (shouted), “Your voice is so loud, Ole, that I can’t hear God’s anymore.”

After leaving the cult, my husband, who had been a member for twenty years, and I, struggled to regain our relationship with God. The first year after leaving was one of the worst periods of my life, but with God’s grace, we are managing to hang on to our faith. We joined a liturgical church (cult experts recommend going to a church completely different than the cult experience) and are slowly making our way back to a strong relationship with Christ.

Although now I see that the doctrine that this cult taught was heretical, the teachings were only one thing that was problematic. I think it is important that we teach the church and especially our young people, the other signs of a cult, as well as how they recruit and why they appeal to individuals.

The largest number of cults in our society today is Bible-based cults. Thank you for addressing this issue. I pray you will continue to grow your church in these areas and teach your members how to minister to those who leave cults.

My desire is that you are so gripped by the Gospel, you would never find yourself becoming fodder for Bible-based cults who hijack our terminology, but redefine those same terms. Chase hard after God to see what His will is and to understand what his Word says. Let’s not be a mile wide and an inch deep. Let’s explore the depths of Christ as found in His Word!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Recently, in response to a letter submitted to our Kentucky state Baptist paper’s Baptist Forum section that seemed to say “No creed but the Bible,” I felt the need to respond to this mindset. Given how many Southern Baptists are straying to other cults such as Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses because of the lack of biblical depth they possess, I wrote the following.

I am saddened and stunned at the outcry of those who lament how Southern Baptists seek to clarify doctrinal issues concerning the Scriptures, God, Christ, the church, and family. And yet all of us show the same type of shock when we see that of all the denominations from which the cults steal their sheep, Southern Baptist are their primary source of growth. Why is this?

It is because we Southern Baptists define ourselves more by what we do than by what we believe. Look back over older Western Recorder editions: they spent more time teaching what the Scriptures say rather than talking about missions and church growth almost to the exclusion of doctrinal beliefs. In fact, when Southern Baptists take a stand, they are derided as uncaring, academic, and divisive.

I am all for loving Jesus, but I believe creeds are just as valuable as the deeds. Both must be present — both the content of Scripture as well as the fruit of obedience to the Scriptures. I am for loving the Jesus of the Bible who has clear attributes and had a clear mission for His people. Until Southern Baptist rigorously study who Jesus is, what He has done, what the implications are for us who claim to be Christ-followers, what he expects from His Church and its individual members, we will continue to be fodder for those who deny the faith as we will cease to grow in any significant and spiritual way. Numbers are not the only way to grow a church — we need to be sure there are enough faithful in the church already as well!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Tonight, I’ll be speaking to the Campus Crusade students on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY. I would appreciate your prayers. It is a rush, really, to see over 250 students come on a Thursday night to fellowship with God’s people and hear God’s Word. Adam Dixon is the new leader of the EKUCRU, so please keep Adam in your prayers.

A number of these college students come to Boone’s Creek — and I must say they have really helped my preaching. College students are inundated with so many philosophical, spiritual, and social worldviews that we preachers need to be aware of these issues and speak directly to them from a biblical perspective. I’m becoming more and more convinced that we must know and study our people as well as know and study the Word. Graham Johnston, in his book Preaching to a Postmodern World, notes that we cannot expect that our regular church listeners “subscribe to a Christian worldview” (p. 14). Listen to this quote:

When the speaker demonstrates an understanding of contemporary concerns and issues as well as the pressures to reject a biblical worldview, listeners will sense a personal interest. Listeners today will have their antenna up, looking for the speaker’s personal agenda or angle. Is the speaker’s desire to wield influence or chalk up another notch on the response list? When compassion and mercy flow from the messenger, people may walk away having listened and be unwilling to embrace the message and yet still maintain an openness because they perceived genuine concern (p. 69).

Having been preaching for five years and in ministry for fifteen, I’m just now starting to understand that we must love the truth and love our doctrine as well as love our people (hmm, Ephesians 4:15 still applies, yes?).   Some have said that we evangelicals care more about the Bible than we do people.  While the Bible is certainly our authority, we must remember why God left us here — as a salt-and-light witness to those around us (Matthew 5:13-16).

Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. [14] “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  [15] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
I do not think that this sermon for tonight will be recorded, but I’ll try and fill you in as best as I can.

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

To say I’m eager for this book to come out would be an understatement.  Plus, Keller writes this book for unbelievers.  Mark Combs had an excellent idea of reading this book with someone you know who is a skeptic to the faith. 

(HT:  Mark Combs/Justin Taylor)

Powered by ScribeFire.

Albert Mohler of Southern Seminary addresses “Evangelicals, Mormons on the Same Side of Cultural Divide.” Here’s an excerpt:

Is Mormonism now a part of the American mainstream? That question raises a host of issues — including the question of what constitutes the “mainstream” now anyway?

There are two questions here. One has to do with the status of Mormonism, the second with the definition of the mainstream.

I must answer the Mormon question first, and from two perspectives. As an evangelical Christian theologian, I must clarify that Mormonism is in no way consistent with orthodox Christianity. It borrows Christian themes and texts, but its most basic beliefs directly contradict the central teachings of Christianity.

Read the entire article here. Well worth it!

powered by performancing firefox

Philip Conner writes an interesting article at the Center of Missional Research at the North American Mission Board website (click here to read) that may surprise you. I found this article exceedingly helpful in preparing for my Sunday sermon in Bible Belt Lexington, KY. (HT: Mark Combs)

Yet, we must continue to heed Tim Keller’s advice in addressing defeater beliefs in our sermons and address the issues many in our secular world find problematic with Christianity. We as pastors and teachers must be willing to deal with these issues — may God continue to give us the words in which to do so.

Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, has written a compelling article about “The Secret.” Here’s an excerpt:

We should be very concerned to live in a country in which so many citizens evidently want to be told that they, individually, are the very center of the universe. The Secret is just the latest form of American esoteric positive thinking run amok. The nation seems to endure periodic waves of positive-thinking nonsense, and every generation seems primed to believe that it can have all it wants and more. Can anyone actually believe this stuff?

Evidently so. Oprah is a big fan, as are other Hollywood and entertainment types. Byrne has attracted publicity, books sales, and attention, if nothing else. (To read the rest of the article, click here.)

This article is so helpful to me. I had one of our college students ask me about it, and I had no idea what she was talking about. Then I clicked by Oprah, and saw someone advocating it as well. Does this seem like a repackaged “Power of Positive Thinking?” What do you think?

Among the average Southern Baptist member, the knock against Calvinism is that they are not evangelistic. Some believe that Calvinists have no place in Southern Baptist life because of the emphasis Southern Baptists put on missions and evangelism. With the IMB, the NAMB, the CP, with FAITH Evangelism Through Sunday School, the Acts 1:8 Challenge all prevailing programs within the SBC helping SBC agencies with their Great Commission call, Calvinism just doesn’t fit.

Why does Calvinism not fit, according to the average SBCer?

The first reason is a misperception of the role of God and man in salvation. What is God’s role? Does he initiate the process, or do we? If God does initiate the process, when does he do so? And if God is the sole arbitor of when salvation occurs, where does man come in — if at all?

Some who fail to look into the doctrine of God’s sovereign grace believe that “Calvinism” is a brand of fatalism. Some who are known as ‘hyper-Calvinists’ advocate the idea that God has chosen whom he will, so therefore man has no need to respond to him by faith at all — for God has already chosen him. This is not only untrue to the Scriptures, but exceedingly dangerous.

God ordains the ends of our salvation, but God’s role is also ordaining the means by which we are saved and he also grants us the faith. We know from God’s Word that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). One cannot have saving faith outside of the hearing and responding of the Word of God.

The second reason is a misperception of our ability to respond to God by our own will.

Take the first two words of Romans 10:17: “Faith comes … .” The question to ask is, where does faith come from? The average Southern Baptist says, “From my heart when I see what Jesus has done — I then have the faith to call on him.” I would agree with this — but only so far. But if you recall Romans 3:9-11:

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, [10] as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
[11] no one understands;
no one seeks for God.

None on earth are righteous. In other words, we do not have a right standing before the Creator and Judge of all things — and we have to rely on a righteousness that he gives to us (Romans 3:21). No one understands the things of God either, so God has to give us that understanding to help us understand the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-15). No one even seeks after God, for “all we like sheep have gone astray, each of us turning to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Not righteous before God.

No understanding of godly things.

No one even seeks after him.

With this, how do we have any hope of being saved? The grace of God.

Ephes. 2:8-10 tells us:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I use this verse and all the preceeding ones because these are verses with which we as Southern Baptists grew up in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. And I suppose I am also saying that a right and full understanding of these verses would show that not too many SBCers are that far away — and may already be closet “Calvinists.”

“It is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God,” Paul says. What is the ‘it’ that is the gift? Salvation? Yes — but how. By grace? Yes — and why is this grace applied? Faith. Yet, if we cannot seek God on our own, cannot obtain our own righteousness, cannot even understand the things of God, how shall we have faith? Not of yourselves, but this salvation by grace through faith is the ‘it’ which is God’s gift to us.

You may say, “Salvation. Grace. Faith. That’s three things, not one.” I say it is one accomplishment of salvation — the other is just the means by which this salvation occurs.

So How Does an Average SBCer Reconcile Calvinism with Evangelism?

Simple. The pressure is off of us. We are called to “go and make disciples” (that’s still in the Bible — Matthew 28:18). We are called to “be his witnesses” (Acts 1:8). We are called to preach the Good News and call people to repentance to Christ (Mark 1:14-15; Romans 10:13-15).

For the “Calvinist,” those commands are still in place, with one notable exception in perspective: I know that someone getting into heaven is not squarely on my shoulders but on the one who calls. We already know that we are to plant and water, but God causes the growth, yes (1 Corinthians 3:8, ESV)? We already no that “no one comes to [Jesus] unless the Father who sent [Him] draws them” (John 6:44). We already know that “all that the Father has given [Christ] will come to Him, and whoever believes in [Christ, He] will in no ways cast out” (John 6:37).

We are in the telling and persuading and disciple-making business, which God empowers us to do (Acts 1:8a). But we are not in the soul-saving business — that is entirely of God.

So we go and tell and witness and persuade and beg and plead — knowing that God is moving in someone’s heart someone — but we do not know whose. So we tell everyone we can about Christ and trust the Holy Spirit will move where he chooses (John 3:7-8).

——-

Previous posts on “Why All the Angst Against Calvinism?”

• Introduction

Major Bowes was a popular radio host of the Original Amateur Hour in the 1930s — a show which predated and even inspired other shows such as Star Search of the 1980s and Americal Idol of today. He had an expression which he used to open up every show by spinning a wheel to determine the order of the performers. As he spun the wheel, he noted, “’Round and ‘round she goes, where she stops, nobody knows.”

As I heard this past Sunday and Monday about the latest news which calls into question the person and character of Jesus Christ, that saying came into my head again. “Where she stops, nobody knows.” First, the DaVinci Code’s conspiracy theory on how the Church was hiding the truth about Jesus and his supposed offspring. Then came along The Gospel of Judas, a poor example of Christian ‘literature’ which contained fourteen pages with large pieces missing, and the pieces which remained portrayed Judas as the hero of the story because he gave Jesus over to death, thus setting him free from this evil body into the more holy spirit world. Though this rang of Gnosticism which by default says that all things earthly are evil and all things spiritual are good (and thus sang a different tune to the biblical Gospels), many people believed it because it cast doubt not only on the reliability of the Scriptures but also cast doubt as to whether they needed to be accountable to the Scriptures as well.

Now comes the latest of these Titanic tales! The Discovery Channel will show a documentary entitled The Lost Tomb of Jesus telling the story of ten stone coffins called ossuaries found in a 2,000-year-old tomb in Jerusalem by Israeli builders. This, coupled with Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pelligrino’s book The Jesus Family Tomb: The Discovery, the Investigation, and the Evidence That Could Change History (HarperCollins).

Though they do not seek to undermine the resurrection (there were no bones found). What they seek to do is propound the notion set forth in The DaVinci Code and The Jesus Dynasty that Jesus was married and had offspring. They claim these ossuaries have inscriptions of names on the side which show conclusively of Jesus’ family. One ossuary has the inscription, “Jesus son of Joseph,” while another immediately beside it reads, “Mariamene e Mara.” They have concluded that this is Jesus’ wife named Mary and that he had a son named “Judah” because they feel the odds of each of these New Testament names being together in one tomb are astronomical. They believe they have run the appropriate tests and that the evidence is conclusive. I disagree and here’s why.

Who is Behind This?

When conducting research of this nature, one has to ask the question, “Who is involved in the actual research itself?”

James Cameron. Earlier, I used the word ‘Titanic’ and for a reason. James Cameron is a top-flight movie director who has directed such movies as Terminator and Titanic. Much of the ‘facts’ that Cameron promoted in Titanic were called into question, and he seems to be using his poor researching skills to promote this particular story as well.

James Tabor. Author of The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity (2006) in which he promoted the idea of a Roman soldier named Panthera being the father of Jesus and had much to say about this particular tomb. Yet Ben Witherington of Asbury Seminary makes a great point about his involvement:

In that book, he had quite a good deal to say about the Talpiot Tomb, and about Panthera being the father to Jesus, and about Jesus being buried in Galilee, and of course nothing about an ossuary which claims that Joseph is the father of Jesus. Why such a quick reversal of his earlier opinions? This makes him very [pliable], not a very reliable witness who sticks by his guns when he draws a conclusion, for he has now reversed himself not just on one or two minor points, but on several major ones.

Statisticians. I took a class on statistics and found out quickly that the conclusions you make are solely based upon the data you have. What must be realized (thank you again, Dr. Witherington) is that Jesus was never called “son of Joseph” by his followers but only by outsiders who did so by mistake. Plus, would you like to guess the most popular names among Palestinian Jews? Simon is first, then Joseph. The name of Jesus is sixth. As for women, 21% of them were called Mary. With such popular names, it will be a stretch to go from their hypothesis (what they seek to prove) to their desired conclusions.

DNA Experts. In our CSI world, we take our steps of getting DNA and trying to discern from that portion of evidence from the bone fragments (remember, no bones are in these boxes). Many CSI experts will tell you that trying to come up with something quite conclusive from bone shards 2,000 years ago will be next-to-impossible work.

Any Critics Yet?

It took all of about fifteen seconds for the critics to come out — and not from Christians. Now there are an inordinate amount of critics (here) who are distancing themselves and quickly from this project.

In 1996 when the BBC aired a documentary on the exact same subject, archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television. He rightly notes,

Jesus and his relatives were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem. The Talpiot tomb belonged to a middle-class family from the first century.

Steven Pfann, a biblical scholar at the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem, said, “I don’t think that Christians are going to buy into this. But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes into the story that so many people hold dear” (AP, February 26, 2007).

Should We Let This Shake Our Faith

No.

OK, OK — I’ll go into more detail.

First, why would anyone follow as a Savior a man from a small country who had a middle-class family? Jesus was one for whom each of his followers died — and this after they thought he was dead and the dream of a Kingdom of God being on earth had vanished. Enough people saw him crucified and over 500 people saw him resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:6). Even doubting Thomas, the last of the disciples to be convinced, saw Christ and said, “My Lord, and my God” (John 20:29)!

Secondly, there will always be critics out there who seek to crack the very foundation on which our faith lies — the nature of Christ. If James Tabor is right that Jesus had an earthly father, and Dan Brown and James Cameron were right that Jesus took a wife and had children, then Jesus would be a man — and only a man. Yet, if Jesus is God, the implications are far reaching — they have to listen to what He says, and will be accountable to Him since He is God!

One pastor said that the Bible is an anvil with little hammers broken all around it. This is the case here as well. I write this simply as an introductory paper for all of us to read, then explore some more. You will not find your faith weakened, but strengthed!

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. [19] For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
[20] Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? [21] For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. [22] For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, [23] but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, [24] but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. [25] For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Cor. 1:18-25, ESV).