Visiting Scholar Addresses Claimed Finding of “Lost Tomb of Jesus”

“Have We Found the Tomb of Jesus?” was the topic addressed in a lecture at Fuller’s Pasadena campus Wednesday, July 12, offered by Craig Evans, Payzant Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity School in Nova Scotia, Canada. The evening event, was held in Travis Auditorium.

Dr. Evans, a recognized expert on the Gospels and historical Jesus, focused his discussion on a documentary that recently aired on the Discovery Channel entitled The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which claimed that a tomb found in East Talpiot, south of Jerusalem, belonged to the family of Jesus. The documentary, directed by documentarian Simcha Jacobovici and produced by filmmaker James Cameron, posited that the tomb’s ossuaries contained the bones of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Jesus’ brother Joseph, and other members of Jesus’ family.

Evans began his lecture by explaining traditional burial practices during Jesus’ time, then went on to refute the claims made in the documentary. Drawing on current knowledge of Jewish burial traditions as well as various historical and archeological data, Evans systematically challenged the assumptions and forms of evidence presented in the documentary. He used photos and other visuals to show, for example, how the names inscribed on the tombs which the documentary attributed to Joseph, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Jesus were misread or misinterpreted. He also challenged the documentary’s conclusions that symbols found on the ossuaries and tomb entrance were Christian symbols, demonstrating how they were in fact mason’s marks or pre-Christian symbols.

Because of challenges that have arisen in response to the documentary, said Evans, the Discovery Channel has commissioned a new 30-minute segment to be aired later this year, in which Evans himself along with other experts will present their refutations to the documentary’s original claims.

Evans regularly teaches as an adjunct professor at Fuller and is currently leading a course on Acts-Revelation in the School of Theology. He has authored or edited more than 50 books, including Jesus and the Ossuaries and Fabricating Jesus, and appeared on programs for the History and Discovery Channels, Dateline NBC, and the BBC.