In early October, two secular news sites—the Daily Mail and MSN—published stories about the alleged ossuary of James, the brother of Jesus.

Ossuaries were small limestone boxes used to store the bones of the deceased, which were typically collected about a year after burial.

The box, which measured 21 inches long and 10 inches wide, contained a few bone fragments and bore the roughly etched words, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”

James, Jesus’ half-brother, held a significant leadership position in the early church and played a key role in the first church council, recorded in Acts 15. He is also traditionally credited with writing the Letter of James.

If authentic, it would be the first archaeological discovery with a direct connection to Jesus’ family.

The box itself was dated to sometime before AD 70 because the Jewish practice of collecting the bones of the deceased and placing them in ossuaries stopped after the destruction of the Temple that year.

The box’s owner, Oded Golan, purchased it sometime in the 1970s and supplied an old photograph of the ossuary taken in 1976.

In 2003, the Israel Antiquities Authority accused Golan of fraud claiming that he added the words ‘brother of Jesus’ and artificially aged the inscription to increase the box’s celebrity status and subsequent value.

The original words, ‘James the son of Joseph,’ were believed authentic.

Golan was eventually charged with forgery and fraud. However, in a 2012 court case, he was found not guilty. The judge overseeing the case was quick to point out that this decision did not automatically mean the ossuary was authentic.

But Bible scholar, Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, believes it just might be.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Johnston pointed out that, during the trial, two experts from the Geological Survey of Israel testified that the inscription had aged naturally rather than being artificially aged. However, the Geological Survey later contradicted their testimony, stating that it did not believe this was the case.

During the trial, another renowned expert in ancient handwriting, Ada Yardeni, also testified that the inscription was authentic.

Dr. Johnston believes there is evidence that the inscription is credible.

“If James died in AD 62, custom says his bones were gathered about a year later, around AD 63…that is precisely the window the ossuary’s style and epigraphy point to,” Dr. Johnston told the Daily Mail.

The bone fragments found inside the ossuary are now Johnston’s primary focus. A team of specialists will examine the bones in 2027 to analyze their DNA and determine their age.

The Gospels state that Jesus had four half-brothers—James, Joses, Simon, and Jude—as well as half-sisters (Matthew 13:55–56).

John reported that Jesus’ brothers were initially skeptical of His ministry and even mocked Him (John 7:3–5). Early in Jesus’ ministry, His family even believed that He had lost His mind and wanted to put Him away (Mark 3:21; Mark 3:31–33).

During His crucifixion, Jesus asked John to care for His mother, Mary (John 19:26–27). This request is unusual because caring for Mary would normally have been the responsibility of Jesus’ brothers. It appears that they had abandoned Him and even Mary fearing repercussions because of their association with Jesus.

However, that all changed with Christ’s resurrection. We are told in Acts 1:14 that Mary and Jesus’ brothers joined the prayer meeting that preceded the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

In addition to James’ contribution to the New Testament, tradition also credits Jude, Jesus’ half brother, with writing the Letter of Jude. Jude begins his letter by identifying himself as the brother of James.