Many Christians and self-proclaimed scholars are oblivious to archeological findings that corroborate the events in both the Old and New Testaments. This is, of course, no surprise as the jewish media and academia work hard to push the notion that Christianity is at odds with “science” and archeology.
The real truth, however, is that there are many archeological findings that support and uphold the Christian Scriptures. Here is yet another major discovery, which most Christians are not even aware of:
In 1990 two burial caves were discovered on a hill immediately south of Jerusalem. They contained twelve loculi (Hebrew kokhim) and four ossuaries. Two of the ossuaries were inscribed with forms of the name Qayapa’, or Caiaphas, a family name familiar from the New Testament and from the first-century historian Josephus.
One member of the Caiaphas family served as high priest from 18 CE to 36/37 CE; he was in office during the public career of Jesus and presided at his trial. Though the New Testament refers to him only by his family name, his personal name, Joseph, is mentioned by Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 18.35). He had a long-standing association with the part of Jerusalem in which the tomb was discovered.
According to Matthew 26-3-5, the leading priests and elders gathered in “the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,” when they conspired to have Jesus put to death. Tradition located this house of Caiaphas on the rise of Abu Tor, and in Crusader times it was given the name “The Hill of Evil Counsel.”
One ossuary, bearing the name qp’ = “Qapa’,” or Caiaphas, contained the remains of five individuals. The other Caiaphas ossuary is highly decorated with an intricate pattern of rosettes enclosed in circles.
On the undecorated long side is the family name, qyp’ = “Qayapa’,” with a slightly different spelling, but the narrow, decorated side shows the name of an individual- yhwsp br qp’ = “Yoseph bar Qapa’,” or Joseph of the Caiaphas family. Although this ossuary contained the remains of six people, one skeletal set is of a 60-year-old man. It seems quite possible that this man was Joseph Caiaphas, the high priest in the time of Jesus.
The identification is not certain, but the name and historical period fit perfectly, and the beautiful, ornate limestone ossuary seems well suited to such a high-ranking individual.”
It had long been contended that no such historical figure as Caiaphas ever existed, so this discovery of his grave completely silenced scoffers. Not only does it corroborate the testimony of Matthew, Luke, and John – it once again shows that the Gospels are in complete agreement with so-called secular history.
The discovery gives historical proof that the crucifixion of Christ was an actual historical even – after all, if Caiaphas was not an historical figure, why would Matthew, Luke, and John all lie and claim that this historical figure presided over the trial of Christ? Even the greatest of skeptics would have to admit that three independent witnesses would not fictionalize a historical figure and claim he did something that he did not do.
Despite the biblical significance of this archeological find, to this day – almost 30 years after its discovery – very few Christians are aware of this remarkable corroboration of the New Testament.
Related:
How Jews Undermined the Authenticity of the Ossuary of James, Brother of Christ
Earliest Christian Tomb Found in Jerusalem That Pre-Dates the Writing of the Gospels
I ended up here by mere chance, after digging into some history of Christianity (my natural curiosity on a random day). I do not consider myself Christian nor Spiritual in any sense, but I respect other’s World Views. With all due respect, and understanding that this post has been posted under a “Right of the right” page, I have to point out that the argument “…[e]ven the greatest of skeptics would have to admit that three independent witnesses would not fictionalize a historical figure and claim he did something that he did not do” is biased. There have been many cases in which people collectively “believe” something happened: three people is actually very little evidence that something indeed happened. Not that this refutes the existence of Joseph Caiaphas, but it definitely does not demonstrate that things happened as the Bible suggest. We have to always take into consideration that the Bible was much more a political text, rather than a spiritual text. The stories depicted on the selected books were useful for the new Roman Empire as they allowed them to keep their influence on the European and Levante tribes and cultures.
There is far more first-hand evidence that Christ existed than there is that Alexander the Great existed. In fact, the first history about Alexander was written almost 200 years after he died, and his tomb has never been found. All accounts of Alexander are third-hand, oral accounts handed down 5 generations or more. Two well-known Roman historians acknowledged Jesus in their writings, along with the apostles and their followers. And contrary to what you allege, Christianity was not politically advantageous to the Romans as it created divisions and dissent, which is why it was forced underground for the first 300 years….
Alejandro thanks but what proof do you have for your statement that the bible was useful to the Romans? Please hold yourself to the same standards you expect Christanity to up hold. What proof.
There have been many such discoveries in the Middle East which point to the accuracy of Biblical records, yet they are not widely published as they should be. Thus remaining obscure, as mainstream scholars and historians continue to promote the historical unreliability of Scriptural literature.