By Marney Blom
It’s been 2000 years since Jesus’ resurrection was first reported yet the city of Jerusalem is still buzzing with the story.
In the residential neighbourhood of Talpiot ancient carvings of Jonah and the whale – the symbol believed to be the earliest iconic identification of the resurrection – were recently revealed on an ossuary, a burial box found under an apartment block.
“For a believing Christian it is very, very, very good news. Here we have … an icon, and the first recognized Christian symbol from the catacombs … the sign of Jonah,” said documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici at a recent press conference in Jerusalem. Using carefully constructed replicas, the three-time Emmy award winner and director of multiple films including the controversial The Lost Tomb of Jesus, described the discovery – the basis of his latest production, The Resurrection Tomb. “It is the only statement that Jesus actually gives in the Gospels in his own words. When he is asked for a sign he says, ‘This is an evil generation. I won’t give you any signs but the sign of Jonah.’”
According to Jacobovici, the Jonah and the whale motif is first century, and therefore the earliest attested Christian symbol found in Jerusalem – predating the catacombs by 250 years.
Within the same tomb and in close proximity, a second ossuary engraved with an ancient Greek inscription was found. Professor James Tabor, chair of religious studies at the University of North Carolina says the text can be interpreted, “The Lord God has lifted me up from Death” – a reference to the resurrection.
Since both the Jonah and the whale image and the Greek inscriptions appear on ossuaries, boxes used in a burial ritual that ended with the destruction of the Second Temple in 72 AD, the engravings are being touted as the earliest Christian records of faith in the resurrection, pre-dating the writing of the Gospels.
Rather than viewing the new find as an endorsement of the biblical account of the bodily resurrection of Jesus, Jacobovici and Tabor appear to be convinced that it’s close proximity to the controversial Jesus Tombs substantiates Jacobovici’s earlier thesis that Jesus’ remains, and those of his followers, were buried in their individual bone boxes, and laid to rest under the sleepy Jerusalem neighbourhood of Talpiot.
A burial box for the bones of Jesus – one whom Scripture says was resurrected body, soul and spirit – would have been unnecessary and according to Dr. Charles Price, author, televangelist and pastor of the Peoples Church, Toronto, it contradicts New Testament scriptures.
“If we said that Jesus was buried somewhere in a dusty tomb outside of Jerusalem, we do not have any possibility of a living relationship with Him,” says Price. “[The Apostle] Paul confirmed the physical resurrection of Jesus. That’s what he spoke of in First Corinthians chapter 15. He spoke of it as a historical event … [Jesus] physically died, He was buried, and He was raised to life … he speaks of all three in the same context.”
Although the authenticity of the markings as early Christian, and their direct association with Jesus are still up for debate, the degree of attention given to this new discovery is a clear indication: after 2000 years Jesus is more popular than ever. And that, if anything, may be proof of the resurrection.
Marney Blom is news director for the Acts News Network.
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