A surprising number of people are under the impression that a historical person named Jesus of Nazareth did not exist. These impressions are demonstrably false. All serious historians view it as a historical fact that a Jewish man named Jesus of Nazareth did exist in the Herodian Kingdom of Judea in the early 1st century. Many specific events that are recorded in the NT are subject to historical debate, but there is almost unanimous agreement among historians that (1) Jesus of Nazareth existed; (2) that He was baptized by John the Baptist; and (3) that He was crucified by order of Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman Prefect of Judea from 26–36. Bart Ehrman, a non-Christian NT professor and historian writes:
“[T]here are several points on which virtually all scholars of antiquity agree. Jesus was a Jewish man, known to be a preacher and teacher, who was crucified (a Roman form of execution) in Jerusalem during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea. Even though this is the view of nearly every trained scholar on the planet, it is not the view of a group of writers who are usually labeled, and often label themselves, mythicists.”[i]
Of course, the existence of Jesus is affirmed in all of the books of the NT. This includes the following authors:
- The Four Authors of the Gospels. Although anonymous, there is strong evidence that the Gospels were written by two of Jesus’s apostles (Matthew and John); a missionary companion to Paul (Luke); and a missionary companion to Paul, Barnabas, and Peter (Mark). Furthermore, these Gospels are most likely based on at least five sources containing independent material.[ii]
- Paul. Paul assumes the life of Jesus in his many Epistles. Paul is also known to have interacted closely with Jesus’s apostles during the early days of Christian church formation.
- James. James was likely the brother of Jesus and was an important early church leader.
- Peter. Peter was an apostle of Jesus.
- Jude. Jude was a brother of James, and therefore likely a brother of Jesus as well.
There is virtually no scenario considering the above attestations where Jesus could not have actually existed. However, some will still dismiss any biblical evidence that Jesus existed. This poses no problem, as there are many other non-biblical sources that affirm the existence of Jesus. This includes references to Jesus from both the Jewish 1st century historian Flavius Josephus and Roman historian Tacitus (who was also a senator).
Flavius Josephus (c.37–c.100) was a Jewish historian who was born into a Jewish family, was a military general of Jewish forces, and later defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship. His most important historical writings are The Jewish War (c.75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c.94). These works describe many historical figures of the NT including Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, John the Baptist, James (brother of Jesus), and, of course, Jesus of Nazareth. In Antiquities, Josephus recounts the unlawful execution of James. Josephus refers to James as the brother of Jesus, the man referred to as the Messiah. Other passages in Antiquities, refer to Jesus as a man who did surprising deeds and was crucified by Pilot, but some scholars believe that these passages are not original.
Publius Cornelius Tacitus (c.56 – c.120) was a Roman senator but is best known as one of the greatest Roman historians. His two major historical works are Annals, and Histories. These two works primarily cover the period from the death of Augustus in 14 to the death to Domitian in 96. In Annals, Tacitus recounts the great fire of Rome in 64. He describes how Nero (1) falsely blamed Christians for the burning; and (2) that that founder of Christianity, Christus, was put to death by Pontius Pilate who Tacitus identifies as the procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius. When recording historical events, Tacitus normally noted when he considered any of his sources unreliable. No such notes are present in passages that relate to Christ and Christians.
Although the historical writings of Josephus and Tacitus are the most important in terms of non-Biblical accounts of the life of Jesus, there are many more. Craig Blomberg writes:
“A dozen or more references to Jesus appear in non-Christian Jewish, Greek, and Roman sources in the earliest centuries … These references appear in … several portions of the Talmud … the Greek writers Lucian of Samosata and Mara bar Serapion, and Roman historians Thallus, Tacitus, Pliny, and Suetonius … The Talmud repeatedly acknowledges that Jesus worked miracles but refers to him as one who ‘practiced magic and led Israel astray.’”[iii]
In terms of apologetics, it is straightforward to assert the existence of Jesus of Nazareth as a historical fact, at least as a man who was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified by Pontius Pilate. This may come as a surprise to some, who simply assume that the whole of Christianity is based on a myth. But the realization that Jesus actually existed may open their minds to the possibility that Jesus, if He existed, may have been more than just a man.
[i] Bart Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, San Francisco: HarperOne, 2012: 12.
[ii] Most scholars believe that the four Gospels are based, at least, on Mark, an inferred document called Q, a source (or sources) for Luke called L, a source (or sources) for Matthew called M, and John.
[iii] This quote is from Ch. 21 of Douglas Groothuis’ book, Christian Apologetics, but is written by Craig Blomberg.
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