Jesus' Casket - Update

"Jesus tomb documentary ignores biblical and scientific evidence, logic experts say"

The heavy weights have weighed in! James Cameron is airing a documentary that claims to have found the actual casket and bones of Jesus Christ. I wrote yesterday sharing my thoughts on this sensational claim.

Others have begun to make their opinions known. Scholars that have much more intellectual clout than I do have begun to publicly debunk the newest anti-Jesus myth.

For some great articles check out the Baptist Press News today.

Good articles by:

Michael Foust

Mike Licona - great summary of the evidence against this hypothesis.

Jeff Robinson on Dr. Albert Mohler who appeared on Larry King Live about this subject.




By the way, I have always watched the major television conglomerates religious specials. Peter Jennings has done some on religion in Israel in the last several years. There were a couple of programs that came out related to The Davinci Code. These shows always have several "experts".

Invariably, they always find some "expert" that has a view on the particular topic that is contrary to the majority of "experts" and is always more sensational.

"Experts" are a dime a dozen these days. This is true whether we are talking about religion, biology, or any other particular field of study. Since this is true, if you are building a case for a particular argument, you have give more weight and credibility to the majority of experts.

This documentary on Jesus' casket uses experts. But, from what I have read, the majority of experts that have been close to this issue since 1980 give no to very little credibility to the claims this documentary makes.

"When the Talpiot tomb hypothesis is weighed on the historian’s scale, a few beans may be placed on the side in its favor while a brick of historical evidence is placed gently on the side against it. The tip of the scale that follows is not a gentle one." Mike Licona

Found: The Body of Jesus?

(Ossuary - ancient casket found in Jerusalem)

James Cameron and the Discovery Channel are airing a documentary that claims to have found the family caskets of Jesus Christ, his wife, mother, and brothers. Basing their thesis on archaology, statistics, and even DNA evidence, makes this claim truly eye-catching. It caught mine. But, could it be true?

First, if it is true the results are catastrophic! The promos by the Discover Channel have this subtitle, “The One Revelation That Could Change Everything”. If the bones in that casket are those of the one and only Jesus Christ, Christianity is destroyed. If Christ is not risen then our faith is in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is in vain and so is your faith.”

Be reassured, weigh the evidence, and bolster your faith. Let me give some reasons why to believe the Resurrection.

This is not new. These ossuaries were actually discovered in 1980 and they are real. They do seem to be from the general time period of the New Testament. But, every year from the time of Christ’s resurrection there have been detractors that have attempted to undercut the foundation of Christianity. Attacks on the veracity of the Christian message are as old as the days are long.

Recently, the last several years, almost every major television conglomerate has featured some sensational show attacking the credibility of Christianity. And they always run these shows in the spring before Easter. Why? That’s when they will make the most money.

So, it is no surprise that a documentary is coming out a few weeks before Easter attacking the claims of Christianity. And, look who the director of the project is – James Cameron of the “Titanic” fame. To me that is a serious credibility hit. How am I supposed to take any argument serious when the motivating factor is the proverbial “bottom line”. Scientists may be quoted, archaeology shown, the word “DNA” used, but the underlying purpose is clearly money. That factor alone casts an unrecoverable pall over the credibility of the claims. Have you seen the commercials on the Discovery Channel? Those weren’t free. This is a build up of sensationalism to make a buck.


There are other factors that call me to question the thesis of this show. God gave us a brain, intellect, and logic which He encourages us to use. Christianity does not rest on “blind”, “check-your-brain-at-the-door”, faith. There are clear paths of evidence that facilitate our faith in the Biblical truths.

Here is one of the biggest evidentiary facts that compels me to reject the claims of this documentary. I believe in the “secret-to-big-to-keep” theory. When Jesus Christ of Nazareth was killed on the cross and buried in the tomb there were huge numbers of people that were vehemently opposed to Him and his message. They knew of His claim that He would rise from the dead. The easiest and most logical way for them to entirely discredit Jesus Christ and the Christians would be a casket with the body of Christ inside. An actual dead body would have been a secret to big to hide.

By there own testimony, the scholars in this documentary note that the ossuaries they found were in the grave of a middle class family. It was not hidden or in some secret location, but in Jerusalem. If the Pharisees of Jesus day had access to the actual casket of Jesus they would have exploited that to entirely destroy Christianity. Yet, what has stood the test of time? The Resurrected Christ.

We could go on and on giving credible evidence on the truth claims of Christianity. You can read books on the subject that giving compelling and ample reason to truly believe. But, the final goal is that – belief. Not just intellectual assent, but a sold-out, surrendered, obedient, trusting – belief. Be encouraged that the One who conquered sin and death through the Resurrection lives today and indwells the hearts of those who believe.

Christian resources on the subject of the Resurrection

The Bible

Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell
The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel
Who Moved The Stone by Frank Morrison
The Battle For The Resurrection by Norman Geisler

I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is provided by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than they great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.

Thomas Arnold, Oxford University

Abhorrent Sin, Precious Life

What’s going on?! I saw these two headlines next to each other today, “Italian Judge Sentences 13 Year Old Girl to Abort Baby”, and “Born At 22 Weeks Tiny Baby Leaves Hospital”.
What two amazingly disparate pictures of life? One demonstrates the incredible value of life, one shows the utter depths of human depravity.

The story of the 13 year old is that she got pregnant by her 15 year old boyfriend(I’ll save comment on this for another blog). She wanted to keep the baby but her parents are in an uproar. They have thrown an unholy fit to the point that they have gone to court. In Italy the parents have the final say over the 13 year old, so the judge is ordering the abortion of this baby.

I know this is not the American justice system, but it is still a system of supposed justice. Our world has sunk so deep that justice is a joke. Justice is to serve and protect the innocent, not order it’s execution. That little baby in that 13 year old girl is not at fault. Why make that baby pay the price for the mistakes of many?! How detestable! What a horrible violation of the sanctity of life!

And then the good news of a 22 week old baby born, and thriving! Born last October at 21 weeks 6 days, Amillia set a record for being born so severely premature.

The abortionist must hate this story! The mother was barely showing and yet this “fetus” was born, and is thriving with an excellent prognosis. The pictures are so amazing, it is not a blob of cells, it is a precious life!

Scripture leaves no room for doubt. We are responsible for protecting and standing up for those who cannot do so for themselves. “Thou shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) Murder is the killing of innocent life. What is more innocent that a baby in a womb?! We need to use civility, order, prayer, and the ballot box to stand up for the innocent.

Proverbs 17:15 “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent – the Lord detests them both.”

Jeremiah 22:3 “This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

Death Penalty

The death penalty is serious. (that's a picture of "sparky" an electric chair which was once used in Huntsville) When it is carried out there are witnesses to the event. One of the things the witnesses see and hear is a description of what crimes have warranted this ultimate punishment.

This is not a new practice. It just makes sense that when punishment is carried out that the offense is made known. This goes back through American history and all the way back to ancient history.

The Romans put the charges of the criminals being punished in plain sight. When Jesus was nailed to the cross the Romans affixed the charges against him. “King of the Jews”.

There were other charges affixed to the cross of Jesus Christ. These charges were not the ones trumped up and fabricated by the Pharisees. These charges were not petty ones which merited a lesser punishment. In fact, these charges were so serious, so comprehensive, so grievous that Jesus was the only one capable of paying for them. And to pay for them he had to die – the death penalty.

What were these charges that were affixed to the cross?

Colossians 2:13-14 says “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

The nails that pierced the wrists and feet of Jesus Christ were not just holding him to a tree, they were holding the record of our debt, the guilty charges of the crimes we had committed.

It wasn’t for His own crimes that He suffered and died, it was for yours and mine. The guilty notice that is the cross, was ours, and He took it upon Himself. What a deed!

The law was clear that we are all breakers of the law. That is the definition of sin – lawlessness(1 John 3:4). The law of God stood against us because we failed to keep it, we failed and fell short of the glory of God. The wages, the price, the penalty was serious. It was not a small fine, or a few years in jail, it was death. The price for such egregious rebellion against a Holy God, who has done nothing but give us life and grace, is death! Our sin is a capital offense.

But, “The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.” (Isaiah 53:5)

The record of our sins, the charges against us were cancelled. Not because they were just overlooked – God being Just could not overlook sin. So, He paid the price in full on our behalf and in our place.

What should we do? Whatever He says! Anyone who would go to such lengths to love me in that way deserves more than just a token recognition. He deserves my entire life, devotion, commitment, and surrender. Anything other than complete surrender is a lessening of what Jesus did on that cross. May I never take the cross of Jesus Christ for granted.

Whiter Than Snow

Psalm 51:7

"Purge me with hyssop and I will be clean, wash me and I will be whiter than snow."

Being from Texas and not familiar with much snow, Colorado was amazing to me. It was like a postcard! Every rooftop was covered with over a foot of snow. There was no bare ground to see, all was covered and with white. It was so vivid and picturesque. It was absolutely beautiful.

I have heard that there are different types of snow. I could actually see some subtle differences. The most obvious was the difference between snow that man had tread upon and the untouched snow. Tracks of any kind, human or otherwise, show up very distinctly. So, the pure stuff, the completely virgin, unadulterated snow was a sight of unique perfection.

This made me ponder on Psalm 51 verse 7. This is David's famous song of confession for his sins in the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah. He confesses his sin, expresses a repentant heart and seeks the mercy and forgiveness of God. It is in this context that David appeals to the cleansing hand of God and states that if God cleanses him then he shall be whiter than snow.

After being surrounded by pure snow, I am not sure that there is anything that can be whiter than snow. This seems impossible. And that is exactly what Psalm 51 is indicating.

My sin is so grievous that no amount of human scrubbing can completely remove all indications of its filth. Sin not only is filthy it stains. The stain of sin cannot be removed by any natural means. It takes a supernatural effort. Indeed, it takes a miracle to cleanse the human heart to the point that it is "whiter than snow."

This is exactly what God has done. Psalm 51 verse 7 alludes to this miracle when it says, "Purge me with hyssop and I will be clean." Hyssop was a plant that the branches of were used ceremonially in temple worship. Specifically the branch of hyssop was dipped in the blood of the sacrifice and then sprinkled for atonement from sin.

It is blood that cleanses us from sin. Not just any blood, but the perfect blood of the spotless Lamb of God. Jesus Christ shed His blood for our sin. He gave His blood so that we can receive the miracle of forgiveness.

This is the forgiveness that cleanses from sin. This is powerful cleansing. It doesn't cover over dirt but removes it completely. It is only through the blood of Jesus that you and I can be "whiter than snow."

Thank You Jesus for your blood. I too confess my sin and ask you to purge me, cleanse me, and make me whiter than snow.

A Memory is Worth a Thousand Toys

You always hear the famous phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” (which I don’t think is true) but I have a new phrase. “A memory is worth a thousand toys.”

This was our first time to do a family vacation during the winter. We have done most of our vacations in the summer time. This year we wanted to try one in the snow!
This meant that our vacation was close to Christmas. You remember Christmas – all the presents. Our girls are 4 and 8 and are really into the presents. But, I’d be willing to venture a guess that 20 years from now they won’t remember their presents, but they will remember the great time we had as a family on vacation.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you shouldn’t give kids presents – I am not that big of an idiot(I think). But, giving a kid a present is not nearly as lasting as giving them a memory. Our kid’s don’t need toys, they need us to be and interact with them. And the great thing about our vacation is it was family centered.

We traveled, ate, played, and did everything together. They will remember the long trip and the things we saw together as we entered the mountains. They will remember the times we played in the snow, together. They will remember the sledding, the skiing, the bible studies, and all the things we did, together.

The purpose of our vacation was to spend some uninterrupted time together. I thank God for the opportunity we had to get away and enjoy His creation and one another. It was a time that I will never forget.

Vacation

What a great time we had on vacation! The mountains surrounding South Fork, Colorado were absolutely stunning. The snow was fresh, deep, and perfect! The girls loved it all and had a fantastic time.

We arrived at our cabin after dark and immediately discovered that we had to dig our way in through the snow. I have never seen this much snow before. We couldn’t even open the door. That was a good sign to a great week.

The first day we all bundled up and just played outside in the snow. Snow is such a novelty to us as Texans. We get half an inch of sleet and ice, cancel school, and go outside and play, hopefully before it all melts away.

In Southfork, we woke up to temperatures 10 degrees below zero and the high around positive 18. I loved it(for a week).

That afternoon we went sledding. There was a huge hill and we had a variety of different types of sleds. It was tough walking up that steep hill, but the payoff was well worth it. It was a blast. It was almost as fun crashing into the fresh powder as coming down clean. Hannah and Michelle had the best wipe-out!

The next day we ventured to the Wolf Creek Ski Area. The girls went to ski school, and mom and dad got to hit the slopes. The last time we skied was after Michelle and I had just got engaged about 13 years ago. But we picked it up quickly and had a great time skiing the mountain.

After Hannah recovered from a little altitude sickness, we all skied together. I was so impressed at how well both Hannah and Emily picked up skiing. They did awesome! Maybe we have some future Olympic skiers in our family.

Hannah was absolutely fearless. She quickly wanted to tackle some fairly difficult blue runs and loved it. She even liked crashing and sliding down the hill on her bottom.

Emily stuck to her green run, but was blazing fast. She amazed me at her confidence and skill for a four year old.

I also have to mention the deer. The backyard to our cabin was the Rio Grande National Forest. Every day a herd of mule deer would come into the yards and streets looking for something to eat. We all had fun watching the deer tromp through the snow.

I could go on and on. We made smores, played games, talked about the mountains, went for walks, and had a great time.

We can’t wait to do it again!

Church Attendance Saves Lives

You know what they say about statistics?! So, take this humorous compilation that I got from FUMC Palestine with a grain of salt.

Play It Safe

1. Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20% of fatal accidents.
2. Don’t stay at home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home.

3. Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.

4. Avoid traveling by air, rail or water because 16% of all accidents involve these forms of transportation.

5. Avoid hospitals because 32% of all deaths occur in a hospital.

Conclusion: Only .001% of all deaths occur in a worship service in a church, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders. Therefore, the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is in church! Bible study is safe too. The percentage of deaths during Bible study is even less. For safety’s sake – attend church and read your Bible.

Sharp Edged Sword

Hebrews 4:11

"For the Word of God is living, and active, sharper than any two-edged sword."

Psalm 1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

Psalm 119:97

“Oh how I love Your law.”

I just finished up my Bible reading plan for the year 2006 and I am ready and looking forward to 2007. I am not sure how many times I have read through the Bible, but every time is different and good. It is not different because the scriptures are different. It is different because the Word has changed me. That is reason enough to discipline myself to faithful Bible reading and study.

I read a biography of George Mueller that really challenged me to be more consistent and faithful in my reading and study of God’s Word. George Mueller was a mighty man of faith. He is known for the orphanages he established in England and how he used those to minister, witness, and glorify God. But that wasn’t his only job. He was also a preacher, a missionary, an evangelist, a businessman, and a faithful prayer warrior.

What struck me about George Mueller’s life was his devotion to God’s Word. Here is a man who was extremely busy. In one of his journal entries he noted how often he would read the Bible. Each year George Mueller would read through the entire Bible, the full 66 books, 5 times. This does not include his study or sermon preparation.

I often think that I am busy, and I am. But George Mueller was also a busy man, even more so. And yet he made the time to delight in the law of the Lord. If he can do that 5 times surely I can do it more.

It amazes me how so few people have read and are reading the Bible. Statistics have been pretty consistent. Most people have a Bible and most people don’t read it. I am not sure why this is, but they are losing out.

I know that it does take some discipline and effort to plan out and read the entire Bible. But is there any other better, more beneficial pursuit than seeking God in His Word? I guess for many there is.

I follow my own Bible reading plan. This year I tried something a little different. I read through the New Testament twice and the Old Testament once. My Bible reading is separate from passages I study, and separate from my preparation from my sermons(sometimes there is some overlap).

You can find yearly Bible reading plans all over the place(just google it), but here is what I do. I take the table of contents at the front of my Bible and use that as a guide. I break it down into months. I need to read 3.5 books out of the OT and 4.5 books out of the NT. Then I start reading a NT book and an OT book. I don’t really have a set pattern. I do try to keep the Pentateuch together and read that in order.

So how much do I read daily? It varies. I do occasionally miss a day or two. But if I try and read for at least 15 minutes a day then that keeps me on schedule. I try and discipline myself to stay on schedule monthly because catching up at the end of the year can be too difficult and you will miss too much.

I generally do in depth Bible study different from Bible reading. Sometimes what I am reading will lead me to study that passage more in depth. Other times I am studying something completely different. In addition, I keep those things separate from my sermon study and preparation. I don’t want to substitute my sermon preparation for devotional time with the Lord. Even though all my study is somewhat devotional in nature.

I hope that you find a plan that works best for you. It has been a rich and rewarding exercise that has led to some great times of prayer, conviction, encouragement, and time spent with the Lord.

Christmas Gift

Up at the crack of dawn,
Eager and filled with glee,
Gifts wait no more,
Ripped, opened, seen,
Eyes full of surprise,
Hearts warmed with love.


It is a joy to watch kids on Christmas morning! The excitement builds to a crescendo until it is about to burst. It is a wonder that they ever went to sleep at all. Hannah and Emily got everything a little girl could possibly want.
I also received many gifts and presents, and opened them with the anticipation of someone much younger than I actually am.

I did finally take a moment to pause and reflect, and I am glad I did. Otherwise, I might have missed Christmas. I have received another gift, one much more important than something that comes in a box. I have received the gift of life. And not just any life, life in Christ, eternal and full of hope, love, joy, purpose...
It takes my breath away! To think that God would send His most treasured Son for someone like me. I am a worm, a wretched man, the chief of sinners, and God gave a Gift, a precious Gift, the Gift of His Son. And this came not in fancy wrapping, but "in the form of man, taking the very nature of a servant, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross".(Phil. 2:5-11) The Gift shed His blood for my wretchedness and sin. He died as my substitute, in my place. And the Gift rose again on the third day. I have received this Gift into my life, almost 18 years ago, by repentance and faith. Have you received the Gift -- Jesus Christ?

Thank You Lord for sending the Gift for us! I praise you!