What Evidence Is There That Jesus Christ Is a Real Historical Figure?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Today, there are more than 2 billion Christians on our planet, and they believe that Jesus of Nazareth was not just one of the most important figures in world history, he was the Messiah. At the same time, many others reject the very idea that he ever existed at all. For example, a 2015 poll by the Anglican Church found that 22 percent of adults in England do not believe that Jesus was a real person. The Bible says that Jesus is a real person. What other evidence is there?

There is little disagreement among independent New Testament scholars of the Christian Bible on this issue. None of them deny the existence of a man named Jesus. Lawrence Mikityuk, assistant professor of librarianship at Purdue University and author of the 2015 Biblical Archeology Review article on the extra-biblical testimony of Jesus, notes that in ancient times there was no controversy at all. “The Jewish rabbis disliked Christ and his followers very much. They accused Jesus of being a magician and leading people astray, but they never said that he did not exist,”the professor writes.

There is no archaeological evidence for the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. “There is nothing convincing, and I would not expect it,” says Mikityuk. "Peasants usually leave no archaeological traces." University of North Carolina Professor of Religious Studies, Bart D. Erman, author of Did Jesus Exist? The historical argument for Jesus of Nazareth, "says:" The reality is that we have no practical archaeological evidence of those who lived in the time of Jesus and where he was born. The lack of evidence does not mean that the person did not exist at that time. It only means that she or he, like 99.99% of the rest of the world at that time, did not have any impact on the archaeological data."

Some, based on this, have the courage to assert what Jesus means and did not really exist, this is a myth, an invention. But over the course of several decades of his life, Christ was mentioned by various highly respected Jewish and Roman historians who were not at all his followers.

All sorts of controversy and questions about authenticity continue to surround church relics associated with Jesus, such as the crown of thorns, the shroud, and the cross. The crown of thorns that was on the head of Jesus Christ is believed by some to be kept in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Also, a four-meter linen burial cloth, supposedly keeping the imprint of the face and body of Jesus, is in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin. All these artifacts are very controversial, but this in no way refutes the fact of the existence of Christ. Read more about the history of the Turin Shroud, read our article 7 controversial facts about the burial shroud of Jesus Christ.

Archaeologists have been able to confirm many aspects of the New Testament story of Jesus. While some have disputed the existence of ancient Nazareth, the biblical hometown of Jesus' childhood, archaeologists have unearthed its remains. A house carved into the rock was found, in the courtyard of which there were tombs and a cistern. Also, historians have found physical evidence of Roman executions by crucifixion, described in the New Testament.

Of course, there is little documentary evidence outside of Scripture. The most detailed description of the life and death of Jesus Christ is contained in the four Gospels and other books of the New Testament. “All Christians are understandably prejudiced against what they believe. These statements should indeed be very critical. It is important for us to establish any historically accurate information,”says Erman. “But most importantly, the statements about Jesus as a historical figure are absolutely true. In fact, this man was - a Jew with loyal followers, executed by order of the Roman procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate during the reign of Emperor Tiberius. This is confirmed by various sources. For several decades of his life, Jesus was mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians in passages that fully corroborate the New Testament passages describing the life and death of Christ.

The earliest non-biblical accounts of Jesus are found in the historian Josephus. This first-century Jewish chronicler, according to Ehrman, "is by far our best source of information on Palestine of that period." He mentions Jesus twice in Jewish Antiquities, his huge 20-volume history of the Jewish people, which was written around AD 93.

Josephus Flavius was born a few years after the crucifixion of the Messiah. According to the testimony of researchers, about 37 AD. He was an aristocrat with good connections, he managed to visit a military leader in Palestine, in Galilee, during the first uprising of the Jews against Rome. It was between 66 and 70 years old. Flavius was not a follower of Jesus. The historian was a living witness to the birth of the early Christian church. In addition, he personally knew people who had seen and heard Christ.

In one passage from Antiquities of the Jews, which tells of the execution of the apostle James, Josephus calls the sacrifice "the brother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah." According to Professor Mikityuk, very few scholars question the authenticity of this passage. Flavius has another passage, a longer one, which is much more controversial. There, Josephus Flavius writes about Jesus as a man who “performed wonderful deeds” and was sentenced to crucifixion by Pilate.

The Roman historian Tacitus also describes the execution of Jesus Christ by Pontius Pilate. This story appears in the Annals of Imperial Rome, a first-century history of the Roman Empire written around AD 116 by the Roman senator and historian Tacitus. In the chronicle, the chronicler mentions that the emperor Nero falsely accused "people who were usually called Christians of monstrous crimes" and brutally dealt with them. Christ, the founder of this faith, was executed by Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea during the reign of Tiberius. Read more about the Roman procurator of Judea in our article what actually was the procurator Pontius Pilate, who could save Christ.

As a Roman historian, Tacitus had no Christian bias in his discussion of Nero's persecution of Christians, Erman says. “Almost everything he writes matches the stories of the New Testament. He describes it from a completely different point of view, like a Roman writer who despises Christians and considers their faith to be superstitions. Tacitus also tells how Jesus was executed by the ruler of Judea Pontius Pilate for crimes against the state, and after this a powerful religious movement of his followers arose. When the historian wrote his works, he clearly pointed out to the readers the places where he did not consider the information to be reliable. In the passage about Christ, there are no marks or indications of a potential error.

Jesus is also mentioned in many other Roman texts. Shortly before Tacitus wrote about this, the Roman governor Pliny the Younger wrote to Emperor Trajan that the first Christians "will sing hymns to Christ as to God." Some scholars also believe that the Roman historian Suetonius refers specifically to Jesus, noting that the emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome because they "made constant disorder at the instigation of Christ."

Of course, scholars agree that this entire collection of passages from non-Christian sources may not provide much information about the life of Jesus. But it is certainly useful in the aspect of understanding and realizing the fact that Jesus Christ was definitely known to historians. They might not agree that he was God, they might not believe in him, but none of them thought he was a myth.

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