In August 2016 the
Egypt Exploration Society (EES) decided not to reappoint Obbink as general editor of the
Oxyrhynchus Papyri series, stating this was “because of unsatisfactory discharge of his editorial duties, but also because of concerns, which he did not allay, about his alleged involvement in the marketing of ancient texts.” This fragment contained portions of six verses from the first chapter of the
Gospel of Mark, and was designated 𝔓137 in the standard classification of
New Testament papyri. Obbink and Colomo dated it to the later second or earlier third century, but rumours of its content, provenance and date had been widely discussed since 2012, fuelled by an ill-advised claim by
Daniel B. Wallace in 2012 that a fragmentary papyrus of Mark had been authoritatively dated to the late first century by one of the world's leading paleographers, and might consequently be the earliest surviving Christian text. Following publication in 2018, the EES, the owners of the papyrus fragment, released a statement clarifying both the provenance of the fragment and Obbink's role in the circumstances of misleading information subsequently emerging on social media. The EES stated that the text in the fragment had only been recognised as being from the Gospel of Mark in 2011. In an earlier cataloguing in the 1980s by Revel Coles, the fragment had been described as 'I/II', which appeared to be the origin of the much discussed assertions of a very early date. In 2011/2012 the papyrus was in the keeping of Obbink, who had shown it to Scott Carroll, then representing the
Green Collection, in connection with a proposal that it might be included in the exhibition of biblical papyri
Verbum Domini at the
Vatican during Lent and Easter 2012. It was not until the spring of 2016 that the EES realised that the rumoured "First Century Mark" papyrus that had become the subject of so much speculation was one and the same as their own fragment P.Oxy. 5345, whereupon Obbink and Colomo were requested to prepare it for publication. In June 2019, the EES released a further statement following the publication by
Michael Holmes of the
Museum of the Bible of a contract between Obbink and
Hobby Lobby dated 17 January 2013 for the sale of a number of fragmentary texts, one of which Holmes identified as P.Oxy. LXXXIII 5345. The Egypt Exploration Society reaffirmed its previous statement that this fragment had never been offered for sale by the EES, while offering the clarification that, in that statement, they had "simply reported Professor Obbink's responses to our questions at that time, in which he insisted that he had not sold or offered for sale the Mark fragment to the Green Collection, and that he had not required Professor Wallace to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in relation to such a sale". In the July/August 2019 issue of
Christianity Today,
Jerry Pattengale wrote an article in which he published for the first time his own perspectives on the 'First Century Mark' saga. Pattengale stated that he had been present with Scott Carroll in Obbink's rooms in
Christ Church, Oxford in late 2011, when the 𝔓137 fragment was shown to the Museum of the Bible, which Pattengale then represented. Also shown for sale were fragments of the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John, all of which Obbink had then proposed as likely to be of a second century date, while the Mark fragment was presented as more likely first century. According to Pattengale, he had undertaken due diligence in showing images of the four fragments to selected New Testament textual scholars, including
Daniel B. Wallace – subject to their signing non-disclosure agreements in accordance with Obbink's stipulations; and the purchase was eventually finalised, with the fragments agreed to remain in Obbink's possession for research prior to publication. It was not until a gala dinner in November 2017, celebrating the opening of the Museum of the Bible, that Pattengale realised that the First Century Mark fragment had been the property of the Egypt Exploration Society all along, and consequently had never legitimately been offered for sale. Obbink had shared personally with Pattengale and Carroll, and in his documents, that he was researching and selling these items for a wealthy family. In October 2019, the EES announced that twelve papyrus fragments and one parchment fragment were being returned to them by the Museum of the Bible, which acknowledged that the fragments belonged to the EES. The Museum of the Bible stated that eleven of these pieces had come into their possession after having been sold to Hobby Lobby by Obbink in two batches in 2010. The other two pieces are reported to have been bought from a dealer based in Israel. The EES said that the corresponding catalogue card and photograph for most of these thirteen items were also missing from the EES collection, and that they were only able to identify the missing items because backup copies of the catalogue cards and photographs had been made. The EES is continuing to check its collection for any more items that may have been taken without permission. In October 2019, Obbink was suspended from his role at Christ Church, Oxford. The alleged thefts of these items were reported to the
Thames Valley Police on 12 November 2019. Obbink's arrest by officers from Thames Valley police was reported on 16 April 2020 in the student newspaper
The Oxford Blue. In June 2021 the
Museum of the Bible stated it was suing Obbink for £5 million.
Hobby Lobby, the company behind the Museum, alleges that Obbink sold fragments of papyrus and ancient objects stolen from an Oxford University collection in seven private sales between 2010 and 2013, worth a total of $7,095,100. In December 2021,
Christianity Today reported that a default judgement had been issued against Obbink. The case was transferred to the
Western District of Oklahoma, where Hobby Lobby is headquartered, in 2023. On March 11, 2024, a further default judgment was issued against Obbink, who neither appeared in court nor named an attorney throughout the entire case. Hobby Lobby was awarded its $7,000,000 investment, interest, and other fees. As of the date of the judgment, Obbink has refunded only $10,000 to Hobby Lobby. ==Activities after arrest==