On March 4, 2007, the Discovery Channel aired The Lost Tomb of Jesus, a documentary that claims archaeologists have discovered the stone box (called an ossuary) that once held the bones of Jesus. Reaction has been fervent. For many, the claim challenges a central tenet of Christian faith, that Jesus was physically raised from the dead on Easter and bodily ascended into heaven forty days later. The discovery of Jesus' remains inside an ossuary would throw significant doubt on the claim of Jesus' bodily resurrection.
Have Jesus' remains indeed been found? For Christians who say we believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus, what would that mean for our faith?
Stephens G. Lytch is a Presbyterian teaching elder in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He has enjoyed training and working with ruling elders for many years.