June 1, 2024: Teaching Notes from John 18

The Bone Box (Ossuary) of Caiaphas

Between 37 B.C. and 70 A.D., Jews placed the bodies of their dead in tombs and then returned one year later to retrieve the bones and put them in ossuaries. As they moved ground to build a waterpark south of Jerusalem in 1990 a construction crew uncovered a first-century tomb. Inside the tomb archaeologists discovered an incredibly ornate, stone ossuary with the inscription, “Joseph, son of Caiaphas.”

Ronny Reich, a renowned Israeli archaeologist, explains, “The name Joseph son of Caiaphas does not necessarily mean that Caiaphas was Joseph’s father. Caiaphas may designate simply a family nickname….. A person named Joseph with the nickname Caiaphas was the high priest in Jerusalem between 18 and 36 [A.D.]. The New Testament provides only his nickname…. Josephus [a first-century, Jewish historian], however, gives his proper name as … ‘Joseph Caiaphas’ or elsewhere, ‘Joseph who was called Caiaphas of the high priesthood’” (Biblical Archaeology Review, Sept/Oct 1992).

—In short, we are explicitly told by Josephus that Caiaphas was indeed a nickname. In all probability then we have recovered the bones of the high priest who presided over the trial of Jesus. That’s extraordinary!

You may remember that Caiaphas asked Jesus, “Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” (Matthew 26:63). Jesus responded, “It is as you said” (v. 64). But the proof of Jesus’ identity goes beyond his claim that day before Caiaphas! Just follow the bones. We have those of Caiaphas. The bones of Jesus have never and will never be found! He rose from the dead to defeat sin and death. It is as Jesus said!

—Daniel McCabe

The Bone Box (ossuary) Caiaphas was discovered in 1990 by chance during earthwork on a hill south of the old city of Jerusalem. Twelve bone boxes (Ossuaries) were found in the burial cave. One, very ornate, was inscribed, in two places, “Joseph son of Caiaphas.”

Inside the box, the skeletal remains of a 50-year-old male were documented. The ossuary is most likely of Caiaphas, the high priest who interrogated Jesus after the “Last Supper,” and is one of the most important finds related to both Christian and Jewish history. It is on display at the Israel Museum next to the Pilate Stone and the pierced foot of the crucified man from Jerusalem.