If there is indeed evidence of Jesus' tomb, how then can we say he resurrected? The Bible appears clear that this was a major event and a primary purpose of the messiah. How then could there be a dead body for a resurrected Jesus?

Nothing physical matters. The purpose of Jesus' resurrection was a statement that nothing that happens here matters because nothing that happens here can touch the spirit that is you...the real you. Nothing physical matters. Nothing physical is worthy to be used as a means to create any religion or faith. Only spiritual things matter since only spiritual things are eternal.

"If there is indeed evidence of Jesus' tomb, how then can we say he resurrected? The Bible appears clear that this was a major event and a primary purpose of the messiah. How then could there be a dead body for a resurrected Jesus?"

The Body of The Resurrected Jesus
If there is indeed evidence of Jesus' tomb, how then can we say he resurrected? The Bible appears clear that this was a major event and a primary purpose of the messiah. How then could there be a dead body for a resurrected Jesus? Even though I do not see the Bible as the end-all, be-all words of God, I can easily see where the Bible does provide some answers. You can find these answers as well, if you are willing to see things a bit differently than what the world has taught you.

For starters, when Mary Magdalene and the disciples first saw Jesus after his resurrection, they did not recognize him. Why is this? Because he appeared to them in a new body that did not resemble his previous body and it had nothing to do with the body that had died, because that was not who he was. The physical body of the Jesus they knew, was dead. Now, he appeared in a new body which represented a more enlightened manifestation of what can never die.

Since nothing physical matters, the body of Jesus may have been killed, but his spirit was not affected in any way...as is the case for all of us. He returned shortly after his physical death to let his followers know that physical death is not the end of the journey, but just a step along the way. How he looked was not important and whether his actual body had risen from the dead was not important. What was important was that he ...the spirit that was Jesus, never died and still exists. This is why he can say we never die and have eternal life. It does not refer to our bodies, but to our true selves and true spirits.

The Story of Doubting Thomas
How about when the Bible indicates that Thomas would not believe Jesus was alive until he saw and felt the wounds in his hands and feet...and then Jesus reportedly showed him the wounds? Even regular readers of the Bible should see how this is already out of step with even the basic concept of Jesus' resurrection...even if his original body were risen again.

Would Jesus bring any body back to life and not remove the cause of death from the body in the first place? When Lazarus was raised from the dead, was Lazarus still a decayed and cancer ridden body that was alive, while carrying with him all the signs of why he died? This is not likely since the process whereby a miracle is performed, is in the undoing of what caused the problem in the first place.

If this story of Thomas and Jesus were true, then it would require that Jesus was still also totally bruised and beaten, and had the flesh peeling off his back from the whippings, and his bones would be out of joint and there would be a hole near his heart. Was this version of Jesus then, a walking zombie, somewhat like we might see in the night of the living dead where mortally injured bodies are animated with life? If Jesus' real body were to be risen, wouldn't it be more likely that it would be healed of what killed it...showing no sign whatsoever of the cause of death?

The bottom line is that the story of Jesus and Thomas is not true and was written only to discredit Thomas and also act as a lesson for having blind faith...but it never actually happened. Initially, nobody recognizes Jesus because he had a new physical appearance and he showed no signs of any of the injuries that occurred to his previous body.

Jesus' Ascension Into Heaven
How about where Jesus ascended to heaven with his body? First off, heaven is a spiritual place, so Jesus would not be manifest in heaven with his body, so this was not an actual event as it was described. On every occasion after the new Jesus was seen after his death, he popped in and out of this physical reality from the spiritual and meta-physical realities beyond. In these cases, the body was used to represent Jesus since it is how we associate and communicate here...but the new body Jesus used, did not really exist as anything other that what he created to momentarily exist in this physical reality.

Jesus' body had nothing to do with him being alive. Jesus, as with you or I, are alive, with or without a body. The resurrected Jesus did not have a restored and eternal physical body, but simply made temporary use of a body to communicate with us. As with Jesus, you too are not a body. You are currently making use of a body so that you can communicate and experience things here...other than that, the body has no spiritual use.

The body is often used to create beliefs that are contrary to spiritual beliefs, which then further strengthens your belief that you are not a spiritual being. With this in mind, the best beliefs you can follow are those beliefs that do not depend upon or associate with any physical event in the past, present or future, since the meaning and interpretation of these events will be perceived differently as time passes. This means there is usually little or no truth in them, since truth does not change and is not affected by time. Truth is eternal and exists outside of time and cannot be seen differently than what it is.

Mary Magdalene as Jesus' Companion
One primary issue about the Tomb of Jesus is that it implies Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. This concept has also been introduced within the Gospel of Thomas and other agnostic writings....and the question to ask your self is this...Why should it matter? Who ever said sex was bad? Who ever said that having a close companion here on earth is bad? Who implied Jesus must be celibate in order to be Holy? All these answers are the same. All these conclusions were drawn up by various religions in the first few centuries following the birth of Christianity, but have absolutely nothing to do with Christianity and the original teachings of Jesus.

Jesus never spoke against married sex and Jesus never implied that having sex would prevent you from being holy. Any teachings that arose later that frowned upon sex and marriage and also embraced the requirement for celibacy, were the teachings of men...and although anyone could use celibacy to create focus in their lives, the choice to be celibate or not to be celibate, has no bearing whatsoever as to whether you are accepted as holy before God or not. We are all already holy before God because we are his children. No matter what we do, none of us are more special or more holy than another because we are all unconditionally holy and special to God our Source and Father.

Mary's Immaculate Conception And Jesus' Family Members
The designers of early religions were also the architects behind the concept of a virgin birth and a required virgin lifestyle. Again, nothing physical matters, so why would it matter to God how Jesus was conceived? Again, who said sex was bad? Who said having sex made anything unholy? If it was necessary for the Holy Spirit to impregnate Mary directly so that Jesus would be exactly who he was, why would this also be interpreted that this was done because sex was bad? Why would this also imply that Mary would have to be a virgin her whole life? How would she be less holy by doing what is totally natural for everyone ever born?

Since nothing physical matters, none of these concepts are true and did not occur. Mary had many additional children, whereby providing Jesus with brothers and sisters...which the Bible does list by name in the Gospel of Mark.

On another note, it still always surprises me that the church later adopted this story of the immaculate conception, since in doing so, it stripped Joseph from being the physical Father of Jesus. Once this change was made, Jesus was no longer born from the House of David, which was considered to be vitally important to fulfill the prophecy of the coming messiah as being a direct descendant of King David.

Of course, none of those physical events matter. Don't get drawn in to debate them and argue them. You can discuss them and perceive them and consider them, but don't let any physical event become a basis for your faith, since these events can never be truly confirmed as having happened and so they don't really matter. It's the lessons from the possible events that matter since these lessons can be used by the Holy Spirit as tools that help you open your mind to see things more clearly and more truthfully.

When you look at any worldly event, remember that these things are temporary situations and have no eternal effect. Everything that happens here eventually fades away to dust or to lost and distorted memories. The only things that matter are those things that are eternal...and we do not see those things here, however we can experience them here by expressing and sharing our love. The only thing in this world that is eternal is truly loving thought. Since nothing else but love is eternal, nothing else exists, therefore, nothing else matters.

Overall Conclusions
I think it's a great event that this tomb was discovered. It does not matter if this is actually tied to Jesus or not. What does matter is that is helps to raise the question as to why we have made something so important, that really should not matter. Many beliefs around the world are in bondage to unquestionable requirements that are based upon how we perceived the importance of past events. Simply putting these past events into question is a wonderful exercise in being open to seeing more clearly and seeing the world differently.

The discovery of the Tomb of Jesus' family is a global opportunity to look at our beliefs and see where we feel attacked by this discovery. If we consider then that truth cannot be attacked, perhaps it's time to reevaluate the truths we have held onto so dearly for centuries, since many of these beliefs are based upon things that really do not matter.

Beliefs that are based upon spiritual truths, are free to evolve and can never be thwarted by physical events since they are not based upon them. When you drop any importance to physical events from your beliefs, possibilities and discoveries such as the tomb of Jesus simply become interesting events to talk about....and nothing more.

Truth cannot be threatened since Truth is eternal. If truth is eternal and all physical things perish, truth cannot be found in the physical. Let go of any belief that embraces the physical in any way and follow beliefs of what cannot be seen here, but can be practiced here by expressing and sharing your love, patience, kindness, compassion, forgiveness and total equality for all life.

Jesus never died, so it does not matter what may or may not have become of the body he used while visiting with us. His lesson is that nobody dies and that life goes on, forever. Life may take different forms and we might not be able to fathom them or understand them, but they exist and are real, none-the-less. So, while in this life, know that how you treat yourself and others does matter and that these things will carry forward with you into the next existence and expression of life.

Be loving, be patient, be kind, be decent, be forgiving and be open to see that none of us are disconnected from the other and that what you do for anyone, you do for everyone and yourself. We are one. Jesus knew this and he told us. We just need to learn to better apply this.