16. Remaining a matter of historical dispute, the James Ossuary supports the biblical inclusion of Jesus’ brothers in defiance of traditional church teachings
James the Just, an early leader of the Jerusalem Church of the Apostolic Age who died in martyrdom in approximately 69 CE, has remained the focus of sustained speculation regarding his relationship with Jesus. Described in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark as the “brother of Jesus who is called Christ”, among other siblings, traditional Christian doctrine teaches that Mary remained a perpetual virgin and thus did not bear any other children than Jesus. Held by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant Churches, the argument remained inconclusive until the discovery of the James Ossuary.
Unearthed southeast of the Temple Mount, in the Kidron Valley region, the James Ossuary is a limestone box that once housed the bones of a highly respected individual. Dating from the 1st century of the Common Era, it bears the inscription: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”. The authenticity of this inscription, but not the box itself, has been challenged. The refusal of the State of Israel to permit the international archaeological community to perform their own independent assessment has merely intensified speculation concerning the relic, with historical opinion divided regarding the veracity of the ossuary.