“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’.” (Matthew 16:15-16)
The fact that Jesus existed has never really been doubted by scholars. However, outside of the Bible, there is very little scholarly evidence that Jesus ever lived. At least until recently when Biblical Archaeology Review announced that a newly discovered burial artifact appears to provide the oldest archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ.
The artifact, known as an ossuary, a box that holds the bones of a deceased person after the flesh has gone, carried an inscription on it that reads: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” Experts date the object to 63 A.D. and say the writing style, and the fact that Jews practiced ossuary burials only between 20 B.C. and 70 A.D., puts the inscription squarely in the time of Jesus and James, who led the early church in Jerusalem.
The truth is none of the experts who have examined the ossuary has differed with the prevailing opinion that it is real. And yet, the doubters are lining up to say what any Christian worth his weight in salt knows would be said—”That box doesn’t prove Jesus was who He said He was!”
I told my wife after I heard about the discovery that it’s just one of the many signs that Jesus is on His way back. In other words, it’s a reminder to the unbelievers in this world that very little time remains for them to realize that the half brother of the man in that Ossuary was who Peter said He was: “The Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)
Why should we be surprised? Even when He walked among us, there were those who refused to believe, in spite of the fact that they personally witnessed many of the miracles he performed. Imagine watching the raising of Lazarus from his tomb, or the miraculous healing of the blind man by the fountain. And if that wasn’t enough, His teaching was flawless, His prophecy lined up with everything that had ever been written. Even the religious leaders of the day couldn’t find one thing wrong in anything he said or did. Ironically, they denied the rules of their own faith and lied to bring His ministry to an end.
The more things change, the more things remain the same. That’s why I am not surprised to hear religious leaders today inject some notion of doubt in the only find outside of the Bible that suggests Jesus really lived, which was the case when a Bible professor at Catholic University recently said, “You have to show me the Jesus in this text is Jesus of Nazareth, and nobody can show that.”
I couldn’t help but think of Thomas when I read that statement. Do you remember the story? When Jesus first appeared after His resurrection before His disciples, Thomas was not present. When told about it, Thomas, a believer, said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) Thomas saw Jesus a week later and Jesus said to him: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)
That’s exactly what we need to say to the doubters and unbelievers among us today—Stop doubting and believe—because the day is coming very soon when it will be too late to start believing. Jesus’ birth began the Age of Grace, that period of time when we could stop doubting and believe that Jesus was (and still is) the Christ, the Son of the living God. But when He returns, the Age of Grace will end, and the Age of Judgment will begin. As my daddy used to say, those who remain will be a day late and dollar short.
Don’t let that happen to you or to the ones you love. Answer the knock at the door of your heart. Tomorrow is not promised, my friends, which is why the Apostle Paul said, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)
Share on Facebook