Historians may debate who Jesus was, but most agree that he was a real person who walked the earth 2,000 years ago.
The letters of Paul
Among the earliest surviving Christian documents are letters from the Apostle Paul. These letters were written around twenty to thirty years after Jesus died. That isn’t considered very long by ancient historical standards.
Paul writes about Jesus as if He was an actual historical person who existed, died by crucifixion, and had disciples. Paul even mentions that he personally knew men who knew Jesus Christ firsthand, including Peter and James.
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus
The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote Antiquities of the Jews around AD 93–94. It mentions Jesus on two occasions. One passage refers to James as the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ. The other passage focuses on Jesus and his crucifixion by Pontius Pilate.
Scholars widely debate the authenticity of parts of the longer passage, given that Christian scribes could have changed it. Josephus is particularly valuable because he was a non-Christian writing independently of the Church.
Roman historian Tacitus
In AD 116, Roman historian Tacitus wrote about Nero’s persecution of Christians after the Great Fire of Rome. Tacitus wrote that the sect was called after Christus, who had been punished by death in Tiberius’s reign by prefect Pontius Pilate.
What makes Tacitus’s account stand out is his deeply hostile attitude toward Christianity. The origin of Tacitus’s knowledge is disputed, but his text supplies a non-Christian confirmation matching the basic account of Jesus’ crucifixion.
The Gospels
The four canonical Gospels are composed several decades after Jesus’ lifetime, with Mark usually dated to around AD 65–75, and the others usually dated later in the first century. However, they were composed nearer to the lifetime of Jesus than any other sources.
The authors of the Gospels wrote from faith perspectives, but they are studied by historians as ancient sources rather than accepting every single statement as religious fact. They recount traditions relating to a Jewish preacher who gained a following as he taught in Galilee and elsewhere and was put to death in Jerusalem.
Jesus’ awkward baptism
Gospels report that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Yet how did Jesus, whom Christians believe is superior to all other religious teachers, submit to baptism at the hands of another preacher?
Some historians have argued that because this idea is potentially embarrassing to early Christian proponents, it is unlikely to have been made up. This concept is known as the criterion of embarrassment.
An unlikely end
Crucifixion was a common, hated Roman form of execution reserved for slaves, criminals, and revolutionaries. That’s hardly the glorious ending you’d anticipate for a man who deliberately set out to be a religious savior.
But the fact that Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilate is one of the core elements of the earliest traditions about him. Crucifixion is mentioned in these ancient sources because it happened; historians also believe that Jesus was crucified because it makes sense politically.
Executing Jesus is one of the few things about his life that historians consider an absolute certainty.
The Babylonian Talmud
The Babylonian Talmud was compiled centuries after Jesus’ life from Jewish rabbinic writings. One passage names a man called Yeshu. Sanhedrin 43a says he was executed on the eve of Passover after being accused of sorcery and leading Israel into apostasy. Some believe this passage refers to Jesus of Nazareth and presents evidence that Jewish tradition remembered Jesus’ execution.
Historical evidence for Pontius Pilate
A 1961 excavation at Caesarea Maritima unearthed an inscription containing the name of Pontius Pilate, who served as the Roman governor of Judaea at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion according to the Gospel accounts.
Although this does not prove Jesus existed directly, it does independently verify the name and title of a key figure mentioned in the Gospels, thereby corroborating that Jesus was placed within a specific historical context by the gospel writers.
Historical context of Jewish messianic movements
First-century Judea was marked by Jewish religious tensions, Roman occupation and interference, and anticipation of divine intervention in Jewish history. We hear of various Jewish preachers, prophets, and popular leaders from ancient sources that attracted disciples and followers during this time period.
Jesus of Nazareth is understood by Christians to belong within this general historical milieu as a Jewish teacher among those who preached about God’s kingdom. Jesus’ alleged ministry corresponds with what is known about religious or popular developments during this time. Therefore, the general premise of the narrative is historically plausible.
Pliny the Younger’s letter
In AD 112, Roman governor Pliny the Younger wrote Emperor Trajan asking how to handle Christians in his province of Bithynia. Pliny states in the letter that Christians gather regularly and sing hymns to Christ as a god.
This Roman letter confirms that organized groups were worshipping Christ during the early part of the second century. Pliny did not research Jesus’ life firsthand, but his letter does serve as evidence independent of Christian sources for the movement’s existence.
Lucian of Samosata
In the second century, Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata ridiculed Christians in his book The Passing of Peregrinus. When describing them, he mentioned their Founder was a man who had been crucified in Palestine and whose doctrines were still preached to his disciples.
Lucian was strongly opposed to Christianity and had no motive to propagate Christian doctrine. His writings prove Jesus was seen as a historical founder by at least one non-Christian writer more than 100 years after his death.
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