The Historicity of Jesus

Can Jesus’ existence be proven?

Yes

The Case For Christ

• There are several very credible non-Christian references to Jesus’ existence that were made by historians and writers of the 1st Century.

• There was undoubtedly a major spiritual movement that resulted from the life of a man named Jesus. The members of which would rather face death and torture than renounce their witness.

• The Bible itself IS a reliable witness to Jesus, but is dismissed as biased by non-beleivers.

Sources:• Primary=face to face with the guy himself

• Secondary =personal witness

• Tertiary =not present but heard about it soon after.

• Contemporary written sources.• Historical records (biased/unbiased)

Jesus

Primary Source

John>John was the youngest of Jesus’ apostles.>He was also the one who lived the longest.>His gospel is called the Book of John.>Peter, Paul, James and Jude, also secondaries.

SecondarySource

John Mark>John Mark heard about Jesus from Peter the apostle. He wrote down some of the events that Peter told him about.this became the Book of Mark.

Tertiary Source

Flavius Josephus a.k.a “Flava JO”-Jewish historian and author of two important works, The Jewish War and The Jewish Antiquities.

-Lived AD 37 to AD 98. He was NOT a Christian.

-Became a Roman Citizen after the destruction of the Temple Mount in AD 70.

Tertiary Source

What Josephus said about Jesus• In book 18 of the Antiquities, 63-64, the text of Josephus as we

have it today says:

• About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it is lawful to call him a man, for he was a performer of wonderful deeds, a teacher of such men as are happy to accept the truth. He won over many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the leading men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again on the third day, as the prophets of God had foretold these and ten thousand other wonders about him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day.‘

• It is likely that this text has interpolations (which I colored)

“Flava Jo’s” Words Continued

• there is a second reference to Jesus in the works of Josephus. In Antiquities 20.200, he describes how, in AD 62, the high priest Ananus was deposed because he had illegally

convened the Sanhedrin [the highest Jewish religious court / governing body]. He had brought before them the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, who was called James, and some other men, whom he accused of having broken the law, and handed them over to be stoned.

The Value of Josephus’ words

• Even without the questionable additions, notice what these passages tell us about Jesus:

• He was a real historical person. • He was a teacher.• He was known as a worker of wonders (miracles).• He gathered a band of followers, who continued

to follow him after his death.• Jesus had a brother called James (supported by

scripture)• James was executed by the Jewish leaders in AD

62 (supported in the book of Acts)• There were claims that Jesus was the Messiah.

What the Roman Historian Tacitus said regarding Jesus.

• Tacitus was a Roman historian writing early in the 2nd century A.D. His Annals provide us with a single reference to Jesus of considerable value.

Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a Senator and a historian in the Roman Empire.He lived from AD 56 to AD 117. Serving during the Christian persecution.

Tertiary Source

Here is a full quote from Tacitus’ “Annals” passage #15.44.

“But not all the relief that could come from man, not all the bounties that the prince

could bestow, nor all the atonements which could be presented to the gods,

availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he

falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for

their enormities…”

Tacitus’ quote continued…

“Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of

Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through

Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also,

where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their

center and become popular.”

The Historical Value of Tacitus’ words

• They confirm Christus (Christ) as a historical figure who lived during the time the Bible says he did.

• They confirm that the Roman named Pontius Pilate had Jesus put to death.

• They come from an official government source who did not think Jesus was from God, but did recognize that he was real.

Pliny the Younger

Pliny the Younger (62?-c.113) was Governor of Bithynia. His letter in 106 AD to Emperor Trajan

included a report on Christians.

Tertiary Source

Pliny the Younger’s reference

• They affirmed, however, that the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verse a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves to a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft, adultery, never to falsify their word, not to deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up.

The Historical Value of Pliny’s Words

• While they do not provide evidence of Christ as a historical figure they do confirm that he was worshipped as a god.

• They also confirm that the Church had been established and openly met for the purpose of worship on a fixed day of the week.

Other mentionings…

• Suetonius (c. A.D. 69 - c. A.D. 140) Lives of the Caesars - Claudius, sec. 25: “He banished from Rome all the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus.”

• Celsus the Platonist (c. 170 AD) wrote at length in his book The True Word about many points where he disputed not the existence of Jesus but the value of Jesus’ teachings.

Debated References

• Jesus may or may not be referenced in the Jewish Talmud. He is NOT mentioned by name, but a figure who fits his description is mentioned (be it NOT favorably) on multiple occasions.

• A writing by Thallus (quoting an ancient named Julius Africanus) might make reference to Jesus and the circumstances surrounding his crucifixion.

• A letter written in the mid to late 1st century by a non-Christian named Mara-Serapion may have referenced Jesus as a “wise king”.

So What Does it Mean?

• There IS evidence outside of the Bible for a person called Jesus who lived in the 1st century.

• There IS some evidence that this person called Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem in 33 AD just as the Bible says.

• There IS evidence that he was worshipped, was thought to be the messiah and was followed wholeheartedly by many who were willing to face death rather than deny him.

• These things are not responsibly debated.

Why isn’t there more non-Christian, first hand evidence for his existence?

• Time tends to destroy evidence of ALL things.

• Writing materials available were not very durable for the recording of history.

• There are limits to the amount surviving first hand evidence for most ancient historical figures. This is reasonable.

Comparison of Ancient Religious Teachers

Leader Lifespan Earliest Writings*Jesus c. 33 AD 60’s ADBuddha c. 600 BC 100 ADMuhammed c. 600 AD 767 ADGathas c. 1000 BC 1278 AD

*Jesus has the shortest gap between his life and writings that mention him.

Ancient Historical Figures• Socrates never wrote anything. The only reason we

know of him is because of what Plato wrote about him later.

• Much confusion can be traced to the oldest available sources of information we have about Alexander the Great. None of his sources are primary, but some of them were written by authors with access to primary resources. These main sources were written by Arrian, Plutarch, Justin, Diodorus and Curtius. The works about Alexander which have been written are inconsistent with one another. Yet we accept them because it is reasonable to do so.

• Ramses of Egypt, Genghis Khan, Harriet Tubman…no one is saying they did not exist because of a lack of first hand evidence. Nor should anyone say such a thing. All we should insist on is to be fair when considering historical Jesus.

Conclusions• Unbiased extra-Biblical

evidence to Jesus’ existence does exist from very near his lifetime.

- It is limited.- That’s OK!- Don’t feel like a fool for

believing in Jesus, you have good evidence for believing…even if many choose not to.