If Christianity bases all its authority and claims to relevance on somebody named Jesus … then it’s pretty critical to  identify and verify the existence of that man. 

Historical Sources

Identifying and verifying the existence of someone who is purported to have lived two millennia ago can be a tricky task. But where Jesus is concerned, we have plenty of documentary evidence to consider: Jesus is named by Roman historian Tacitus (writing in 64 AD), Roman governor Pliny the Younger (writing in 112 AD), and Jewish historian Josephus (writing in the first century). Jesus is also named in the Babylonian Talmud (70 – 200 AD) and by Lucian of Samosata (a 2^nd century Greek satirist).

New Testament Record

The New Testament scriptural record is, itself, considered historically valid by most scholars – at least in terms of dates, place names, etc. Luke’s gospel orients Jesus’s story in a specific time, geographic location, and both religious and secular governmental contexts: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas…” (Luke 3:1 – 2).

Intriguingly, an unusual number of ancient copies of the New Testament make it unique among texts of that age in terms of being able to cross-check and verify details. Read about this fascinating situation in Nicky Gumbel’s “Why Jesus” booklet.

Modern Writers

My favorite sources for establishing the authenticity of the historic Jesus are the GREAT books (see some in the list below) which were written by atheists who set out to disprove the existence of Christ and ended up by becoming Christians!

So, did Jesus really exist? I am convinced that he did. But don’t take my word for it… check out the evidence for yourself.