Did Jesus Of Nazareth Exist? —

 

Did Jesus Of Nazareth Exist? — Dewayne Bryant, Ph.D.

Scholars consider the historicity of Jesus a settled issue. This holds true for believers who have a vested interest in the historical Jesus as well as non-Christian scholars who have no religious faith at all. Unfortunately, the Internet has provided a fertile breeding ground for conspiracy theories and bizarre notions about persons and events mentioned in the pages of Scripture. They typically come from hobbyists whose interest extends little farther than finding evidence for ill-informed fantasies.

Contrary to what one might hear on social media channels, academics do not question Jesus’ existence. The late classical historian Michael Grant stated, “In recent years, ‘no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus’ – or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary.1  In his book The Historical Figure of Jesus, eminent New Testament scholar E. P. Sanders offered a substantial list of facts about the life of Jesus that are virtually beyond dispute by experts, including basic details about his life, public activities during his ministry, and death.2 New Testament textual critic Bart Ehrman—who describes himself as a happy agnostic—wrote a book defending Jesus’ historicity titled, Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth.

It would be almost impossible to find any qualified expert in ancient history, classics, archaeology, or biblical studies who would deny the historicity of Christ. Ancient evidence is essential for arriving at sound historical conclusions in these fields. What evidence do we have for an itinerant preacher from Nazareth whose life changed the world as we know it?

Ancient Sources For The Historical Jesus

Even though Jesus left behind no writings, ancient authors captured the details of his life and mission in the biblical text. For many critics, the Bible is biased and, therefore, unreliable. Thankfully, other texts can be used to verify the reliability of the New Testament. These include Roman, Greek, and Jewish works from antiquity.

The Roman historian and senator Tacitus (c. 56–c. 120) mentions the crucifixion of Jesus. He notes that it occurred during the governorship of Pontius Pilate in a larger passage discussing the great fire of Rome in AD 64:

Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, 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. (Annals 15.44)

Pliny the Younger (61–c. 113) served as governor of Pontus-Bithinya (in modern-day Turkey). Fancying himself a great literateur, Pliny kept volumes of his writings. Among them is a letter to Emperor Trajan asking for advice about handling Christians in his province:

(Christians) were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. (Letters 10.96)

The Jewish Roman historian Josephus served as a general in the Jewish military during the First Jewish-Roman War (AD 66–73). After his capture by Roman forces, he entered the employ of the Flavian Dynasty. He offers one of the most hotly-contested mentions of Jesus in a passage known as the Testimonium Flavianum:

About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks … And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease … And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared. (Antiquities of the Jews 18.3.3)

Critics routinely label this reference as a known forgery, but scholars of Josephus accept most of the passage as legitimate. Several small sections appear to be a later interpolation from another writer because they do not sound like something Josephus would have written (such as the statement, “He was the Christ”). However, this is not Josephus’ only reference to Jesus. In another place, he makes a passing reference to Jesus and his half-brother James. The authenticity of this passage goes virtually undisputed by scholars.

(The High Priest Ananias) assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned. (Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1)

The works of Tacitus, Pliny, and Josephus offer vital witnesses to Jesus’ historicity. Critics may dispute the legitimacy of these references, but modern scholars do not. Attempts to dismiss these references are little more than exercises in wishful thinking.

The Historical Jesus Matters

One of the most significant arguments for the historicity of Jesus is that the New Testament makes no sense without him. The apostle Paul flatly states that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then Christians are still in their sins and are to be pitied above all other people on earth (1 Cor. 15:14-19). Without a historical Jesus who lived, died, and resurrected in real time and space, Christianity is nothing more than a foolish dream.

Christians may take confidence in the fact that ancient writings point to the reality of Jesus’ life. The overwhelming majority of professional scholars agree that ancient writings give more than enough evidence to confirm his existence.

Footnotes

1Michael Grant, Jesus: An Historian’s Review of the Gospels (New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1977), 200.

2E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (London: Penguin Books, 1993).