Is There Any Evidence That Jesus Really Lived?
The most compelling evidence for Jesus may be found in the preserved witness of the New Testament.
It’s the greatest source of historical evidence for Jesus, because it contains, among other things, direct eyewitness testimony to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It also bears witness to the undeniable impact that Jesus had, which has literally changed the face of the world.
The validity of the New Testament account of Jesus, of course, depends upon its historical reliability and the accuracy of its transmission. The New Testament is arguably the best supported historical document in existence (read more here and here). Despite this fact, skeptics often deny that there is any real evidence that Jesus ever existed. But is this true?
Aside from the good historical evidence supplied by the Bible itself, there are at least a dozen historical sources outside of the New Testament which give evidence for Jesus. What makes their contribution so important is that they’re not written by Jesus’ followers. And, in several cases, they come from staunch opponents of Christianity, releasing them from any skeptical charges of bias.
What follows is a brief sample of four of the most notable historical sources outside the Bible for verifying Jesus’ existence.
Josephus (A.D. 37–97) — A Jewish aristocrat and historian
Josephus wrote many works, including a 21-volume history of the Jewish nation. He wrote it primarily for a Roman audience as a means of validating and verifying the historical facts concerning the Jewish people.
In the 3rd chapter of his 18th volume, Josephus writes a brief recounting of Jewish history under the rule of the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate. And in it, he includes a brief mention of Jesus. He writes:
“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, for he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many Greeks. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared” (Josephus, Antiquities, 18:3)1
Josephus was a Jew and not a Christian, and so he does not give any testimony to Jesus as the risen Messiah. However, what his recounting does provide are at minimum the following facts:
- Confirms that Jesus lived
- Confirms Jesus as the founder of Christianity in Judea
- Confirms Jesus’ crucifixion under the rule of Pontius Pilate
Tacitus (A.D. 55/56–118) — A Roman senator and historian
Tacitus is widely regarded as one of Rome’s greatest ancient historians. One of his surviving works, the Annals, examines the reigns of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero.
“Consequently, to get rid of the report, 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 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, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.” (Tacitus, The Annals, Book 15)
Again, Tacitus is no friend to Christianity. He is a Roman historian with at least ambivalence toward Christianity. Yet, he is another source outside the Bible verifying a few reported historical facts which were still in his day accessible to investigation. At minimum, Tacitus’s writing…
- Confirms that Jesus lived
- Confirms that he was crucified under Pontius Pilate at the behest of the Jewish leadership
- Confirms that Jesus was loved and continued to be followed by those bearing the name Christian even after his crucifixion and death.
Lucian of Samosata (A.D. 115–200) — A Greek satirical writer
Lucian was a writer of satire, not history. His references to Jesus, therefore, come within the context of a satirical play he wrote called The Death of Peregrinus. Since he was not a historian, Lucian’s comments about Christianity don’t necessarily reflect recorded historical facts, but rather the more street level, prejudicial perspectives that people may have had about Christians in the 2nd century. We could say they are more in line with the common opinions of the day. Never-the-less, it at least gives us historical insight into what people commonly thought about the Christians based on common knowledge.
Most noteworthy in The Passing of Peregrinus, Lucian writes:
“The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day,– the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.” (Lucian, The Death of Peregrinus, 11)
So, Lucian…
- Confirms that Christians followed Christ
- Confirms that the founder of the Christian religion was crucified
Pliny the Younger (A.D. 61–113) – Roman lawyer, author, and magistrate
Pliny was magistrate over the Roman province of Bythynia, located in Asia Minor. Numerous letters written by Pliny survive, including a letter to Emperor Trajan that he wrote in AD 112. In this letter, Pliny describes the behaviors of certain “criminals” known as Christians. He writes:
“They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food—but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.”
So, Pliny confirms that Christians met regularly to worship Christ, who they considered divine.
What is notable about these authors
What’s also important is that all of these authors bear evidence that they relied on non-biblical sources for their information. This demonstrates that Jesus’ life and dealings and the witness of his followers were notable enough to be included in the public record and existed in the public awareness of the day.
There are a few other noteworthy sources such as Celsus (a philosopher), Suetonius (a Roman writer, lawyer and historian), Thallus (Samaritan-born historian), the Jewish Talmud (Jewish Oral Law), and Toledoth Yeshu (Medieval Jewish ‘anti-gospel’ or parody of Christianity).
So, is there evidence that Jesus really lived?
In addition to the heavily attested and preserved biblical witness of the New Testament, there and through extra-biblical sources, the conclusion is undeniable: Jesus really lived, was a major public figure, performed miracles, was crucified, started a major movement, and was followed by many. Not surprisingly then, outside of the Biblical witness, the fact of Jesus’ existence is well supported in the historical record.
Footnotes
1 The existing translations include Josephus’ confirming Jesus as “Messiah”, and verifying that Jesus appeared alive to his followers after he rose from the dead. I’ve written elsewhere that these are most likely later additions made by enthusiastic but misguided Christians who wanted Josephus’ testimony to say more than it did. Included above is what the majority of critical scholars accept as the actual words of Josephus.