Archaeology and the “Bloodline Conspiracy”

Photo of the findings

A tomb discovered near the Rennes-le-Chateau church in France contains several artifacts that date to first century Jerusalem. According to a news report, the tomb also contains a mummified corpse draped in a shroud bearing a red cross.

These discoveries are used in a new film, “Bloodline,” to challenge the death and resurrection of Christ. The movie was directed by Bruce Burgess and produced by René Barnett. The film promotes the “bloodline conspiracy.” The premise of the film is that “Jesus married Mary Magdalene and fathered a child with her. After the crucifixion, Mary escaped Roman-controlled Judea by sea along with the child and their servants, eventually ending up in modern day southern France.”

Israeli archaeologist Gabi Barkay describes the content of the tomb. According to the news report,

One of the pottery vessels, he said, is an ungentarium jar typically used for perfumes, while the other is a small bowl known as unguent ware. The glass vessel is an elongated alabastra, also known as a "tear bottle," made of blown glass. Some thirty coins were also found dating primarily to the Hasmonean, Herodian, and Byzantine Periods, with a single silver coin of the Crusader period minted in Jerusalem.

Without commenting on the validity of the "bloodline conspiracy" story of the movie, Barkay said that all of the objects found in the wooden chest, besides of course the Crusader coin, are indeed of the 1st century BCE-1st century CE and of Judean origin. He said that they are "very typical to Second Temple Period Jerusalem," and that "they can be found in large numbers in tombs in Jerusalem, but in other parts of Judea as well."

This is another attempt at contradicting the message of the Gospel. There is no evidence that these findings will be the “smoking gun” that will prove that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were husband and wife. The fact is, there is no “smoking gun.” Notwithstanding all the efforts to prove that Jesus was just a mere human, the testimony of the biblical text is that Jesus was the Son of God.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Bloodline Conspiracy, Gabi Barkay, Jesus, Mary Magdalene,

The Baptism of Jesus Christ - Uncovering Bethany Beyond the Jordan

“The Baptism of Jesus Christ: Uncovering Bethany Beyond the Jordan,” is a film that describes the effort to locate the site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

Watch the trailer by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Baptism, Bethany, Jesus

Jesus: Not Welcome in Hollywood

Tyler Perry, the author-director of movies such as Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea’s Family Reunion and the actor who will appear as the head of the Starfleet Academy in the new Star Trek movie, said that Jesus is not welcome in Hollywood.

In an article published in Time, Perry said “that he’d been asked to produce a TV comedy series but turned it down because it couldn’t be religious.” According to the article, Perry told a group of admirers:

“Did you know you can’t say ‘Jesus’ in a sitcom?” “They told me that, and I was like, You gotta be kiddin’ me. If you don’t want my God here, you don’t want me here either. God has been too good to me to go and try to sell out to get some money. That’s O.K. I will sit in a corner and be broke with the Lord before I will sit there and have them give me millions and sell my soul. It ain’t gonna happen.”

It seems that there are still a few people in Hollywood who will put God above money. After all, as Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Hollywood, Jesus, Money, Tyler Perry

Jesus: A High Priest After the Order of Melchizedek

Several days ago, a friend asked me to explain the statement in the book of Hebrews that Jesus is “a priest after the order of Melchizedek.” This designation of Jesus as a priest after the order of Melchizedek has baffled many Christians and has produced several interesting interpretations. The purpose of this post is to study the meaning of the statement in Hebrews that Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Five times in the New Testament, Jesus is called, directly or indirectly, “a priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:11, 17). The text in Hebrews 5:5-10 presents two examples of the designation of Jesus as a high priest:

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:5-10 ESV).

The proper understanding of Jesus as Melchizedek must begin with Genesis 14:18, where Melchizedek is introduced for the first time: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.”

Melchizedek met Abraham when the patriarch returned from the pursuit of Chedorlaomer and the other Mesopotamian kings who had taken Lot as a prisoner of war. In the text, Melchizedek is introduced as the priest of God Most High and as the king of Salem. Salem is an ancient name for Jerusalem: “His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion” (Psalm 76:2).

The identification of Melchizedek has been highly debated in the history of the church. Jewish tradition has identified Melchizedek with Shem, the son of Noah who, after the chronology in Genesis, survived the flood and lived at a time when Abraham was alive and was his contemporary for a hundred years.

Christian tradition has proposed different interpretations to identify who Melchizedek was. Origen said that Melchizedek was an angel. Others have proposed that he was the Holy Spirit in human form.

Many Christians, ancient and contemporary, have said that this is a classical example of a Christophany in the Old Testament, that is, Melchizedek was Jesus Christ himself, who appeared to Abraham in human form.

The concept of Christophany should be rejected because it contradicts the statement in the book of Hebrews that Jesus was designated a priest after the order of Melchizedek. If Melchizedek was Christ then how could Christ become a priest in the likeness of Melchizedek?

Another view is that Melchizedek was a type of Christ. The typological interpretation suggests that the priesthood of Melchizedek was a type of Christ’s priesthood. As Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God, so was Jesus. As Melchizedek was a king, so was Jesus. Both Melchizedek and Jesus were royal priests. In the persons of Melchizedek and Jesus the offices of priest and king were combined.

The text in Genesis indicates that Melchizedek was a Canaanite king who reigned in Jerusalem before the city was conquered by David and became the capital of the united monarchy (2 Samuel 5:6-10).

As king of Jerusalem, Melchizedek combined the offices of priest and king into his official duties. The combination of priesthood and kingship into the office of the king was not uncommon in the Ancient Near East. For instance, Ethbaal king of the Sidonians and the father of Jezebel, was also the priest of Astarte (1 Kings 16:31).

So, when David conquered Jerusalem and made the city the capital of his empire, he called the stronghold of Zion “The City of David” (2 Kings 5:9). David incorporated the original inhabitants of Jerusalem into the population of Israel and became their king.

Since the king of Jerusalem was also a priest, David became a priest, not because he was a Levite, but because he continued the tradition established by Melchizedek. This is what Psalm 110:4 is trying to communicate. The words of verse 4 are addressed to the king: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.’”

Melchizedek now becomes a type of the Davidic king. The descendants of David will be king and they will be priests; this is clearly expressed in 2 Samuel 8:18: “and David's sons were priests.”

The priesthood of Melchizedek is used by the author of the book of Hebrews to prove the claim that Jesus Christ was a high priest. In Israel, the high priest had to be a Levite and a descendant of Aaron. Since Jesus was from the tribe of Judah and a descendant of David, it was impossible for the writer of Hebrews to say that Jesus was a high priest.

But, this is precisely what the author of Hebrews is emphasizing in his writing. As a high priest, Jesus presented a sacrifice for sins. Jesus Christ was the “great high priest who has passed through the heavens” (Hebrews 4:14). Jesus Christ was the high priest who opened the way for people to approach the throne of grace (the Mercy Seat) with confidence so that they “may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

The writer of the book of Hebrews then is saying that Jesus became a high priest, not because he was a descendant of Aaron. Jesus because a high priest after the order of Melchizedek because he was a descendant of David and a legitimate successor of the legacy left by David when he became king of Jerusalem.

By saying that Jesus became a priest after the order of Melchizedek, the author of Hebrews is emphasizing that Jesus “become a priest, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent” (Hebrews 7:16-17), but because of the promise made to David that he and his descendants would become priests forever after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4).

The erroneous view that Genesis 14:18 is a Christophany or that Melchizedek was an angel or even the Holy Spirit makes it difficult for the reader to understand the meaning of the statement that Jesus Christ is a high priest “after the order of Melchizedek.”

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Hebrews 7, Jesus, Melchizedek, High Priest

The Ultimate Testament

In a review of the book, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, Joan Z. Shore wrote:

We do not have time to read philosophy, to engage in esoteric discussions, or to formulate theories. Even psychotherapy is too long and too costly an undertaking. We want the ready-made, the microwaved, the heat-and-serve, the wash-and-wear; we do not want to be bothered with serious study and careful analysis. We want answers at a discount, nicely packaged and ready to go.

And that's what The Secret is all about. Oprah Winfrey and her audiences ate it up. The mail in response was off the charts. The book jumped to Number One on the New York Times bestseller list, and the DVD is selling like heavenly hotcakes.

After the Old Testament and the New Testament, The Secret is the Ultimate Testament. It is The Gospel According to Rhonda Byrne (the author, an ingenuous Australian woman) and her peppy band of disciples. It promises not salvation but, better yet, wealth and success and happiness and love. Maybe health, too, if that's your problem. Just stop thinking you're a jerk and a failure, and begin to see yourself as infinitely powerful and talented and gorgeous and wise. Then everything wonderful and enriching and gorgeous and wise will come to you.

So, The Secret is better than the Old Testament and better than the New Testament; it is the “Ultimate Testament.” And the reason it is the Ultimate Testament is because this Ultimate Testament does not promise salvation but it promises something better: wealth, success, and happiness.

That’s it, folks: wealth, success, and happiness is the trinity of a new religious movement that is spreading throughout the world. People are more interested in worshiping the trinity of the present age than they are in seeking the truths of God revealed in Christ.

One classical example is the Reverend Creflo A. Dollar (his name says it all), a Georgia preacher with an international ministry known as the Changing Your World television ministry. Reverend Dollar preaches a message of change that includes health, spirit, and finances. As an article in The New York Times shows what the almighty Dollar has accomplished:

Mr. Dollar, whose Rolls-Royces, private jets, million-dollar Atlanta home and $2.5 million Manhattan apartment, furnish proof to his followers of the validity of his teachings, is a leading apostle of what is known as the “prosperity gospel.”

So, I ask again: Was Jesus rich or poor?

Claude F. Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Creflo Dollar, Jesus, Prosperity Gospel, The Secret, Ultimate Testament

Newsweek: Jesus Is a 'Nice Jewish Boy'

’Tis the week before Christmas and what’s on the cover?
A picture of Jesus, His father and mother.
But the story inside tells a trite leftist tale,
With misconstrued facts, Christian faith to assail.

On this Christmas season, here is an essay published in Human Events Online that Christians should read. The essay is a critical review of the article on Jesus published by Newsweek.

To read the essay, click here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Christmas Story, Jesus, Nativity Story