March 16, 2024

Countdown of the Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries Related to Jesus

-Sometimes the Lord puts a love in your heart for someone or something that’s hard to explain.

I’ve always liked cheetahs, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge, and the way that steam rises off my hot chocolate. I don’t know why those things fascinate me nor can I explain why I’m so fascinated by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

After all, it’s dark, sooty, loud and filled with hanging icons that just don’t work for me, and yet I’m drawn to the place—every inch of it. I don’t believe most of the legends that have sprung up about the church, whether it be that they found the true cross of Jesus there in the fourth century; that Jesus was crucified over the place where Adam’s skull is buried; or that the Holy Fire celebrated annually at Easter won’t burn you; yet, I still find it all rather interesting to learn.

For me it’s not about the pageantry and legends. It’s about Jesus, and just being inside the church and experiencing the life of the place makes me feel closer to him. I believe that he was once there. I believe that he took his last breath on a nearby spot of ground now enveloped by the church and that I was on his mind in that moment. Every ancient pillar in the church, every painting, every churchman who walks the hallways—they all suspend my attention from the trivial things of life and transport me back to that Friday afternoon when Jesus died for me and to the following Sunday morning when he rose again to defeat my two greatest adversaries, sin and death. I am alive in that place, for it is there that I was made alive. Though once dead in my trespasses and sins, Jesus raised me to new life through the cross. If I lived in Jerusalem, I’d be a regular visitor to the church, thanking God that the events which took place there so long ago have impacted me so personally.

-Can it be proven absolutely that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the correct site of Jesus’ death and resurrection? No, I suppose not. But the archaeological, historical and literary evidence for its authenticity is so strong that I have little doubt about it. The church is a powerful testimony, therefore, to Jesus Christ, my Savior. Do you know him?

—Daniel McCabe