Did Jesus Exist?

Is the Bible the only historical evidence that Jesus called the Christ ever lived on earth?

Communists taught that Jesus never even existed. Are Christians foolishly relying on a made-up story about a Jesus that never even existed? Do Christians believe that Jesus exists or existed only because "the Bible says so" or are there other reasons for believing in Jesus' existence?

Well, actually, Jesus is mentioned by early historians who were not Christians. Let's see what we can learn from them about Jesus.

1. Josephus - a Pharisee and Jewish historian

Writing about Ananias, a high priest mentioned in the Book of Acts in the Bible, Josephus,  the most significant Jewish historian of the period wrote:

"He convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin and brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned." (Josephus, The Antiquities 20.200)

The Bible teaches that Mary had other sons after she bore Jesus. One of them was James. According to the New Testament, James did not even believe in Jesus before his crucifixion. Paul, in 1 Corinthians, says that Jesus appeared to James. It seems that this made a believer out of James. This passage from Josephus confirms important details in the New Testament and directly mentions Jesus, called the Christ.

Remember that not all Jews liked Jesus, and Josephus was not a Christian. He was known as an accurate historian. We have evidence then, apart from the Bible, that Jesus really did exist as a historical person, and that some called him 'the Christ', which is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word Mashiach, or Messiah.

2. Tacitus - A Roman Historian

In A.D. 115, Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of the first century, wrote as follows:

"Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberias at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome ... Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty: then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind" (Tacitus, Annals 15.44)

It is clear from this passage that Tacitus was no friend of the Christians. He called Christianity a 'mischievous superstition'. But at the same time, he tells us the following:

1. Christ was crucified under Pontius Pilate, who was known of to Roman historians.

This is totally consistent with the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on this point and is in fact part of the apostles creed - an important Christian statement of faith of the ea

Get your free registration and log in to view entire article