Did Jesus Exist? To a skeptic or non-believer, we need to first show that Jesus actually existed as a human.

Consider these passages:

• Jesus was born and lived in Palestine. He was born, supposedly, to a virgin and had an earthly father who was a carpenter. He was a teacher who taught that through repentance and belief, all followers would become brothers and sisters.
• ‌He led the Jews away from their beliefs. He was a wise man who claimed to be God and the Messiah. He had unusual magical powers and performed miraculous deeds. He healed the lame. He accurately predicted the future. He was persecuted by the Jews for what He said, betrayed by Judah Iskarioto.
• ‌He was beaten with rods, forced to drink vinegar and wear a crown of thorns. He was crucified on the eve of the Passover and this crucifixion occurred under the direction of Pontius Pilate, during the time of Tiberius.  On the day of His crucifixion, the sky grew dark and there was an earthquake. Afterward, He was buried in a tomb and the tomb was later found to be empty.
• ‌He appeared to His disciples resurrected from the grave and showed them His wounds. These disciples then told others Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven. Jesus’ disciples and followers upheld a high moral code. One of them was named Matthai. The disciples were also persecuted for their faith but were martyred without changing their claims. They met regularly to worship Jesus, even after His death.

‌The above is a summary of writings from NON-BIBLICAL and sometimes HOSTILE writers found in history from dates of 37AD to 175AD: Josephus (37AD), Thallus (52AD), Tacitus (56-120AD), Mara Bar-Serapion (70AD), Phlegon (80-140AD), Suetonius (69-140AD),  Lucian of Samosata: (115-200 A.D.), Celsus (175AD)

‌Our primary sources for Jesus ’ life all come from the first century AD, most of them within 60 years of Jesus ’ crucifixion.

‌In comparison, biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than four hundred years after Alexander’s death, and yet classical historians still consider them to be trustworthy.

‌In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul recounts what biblical scholars recognize as an early Christian creed dating to within 3-5 years of the crucifixion.

The early date of this creed rules out the possibility of myth or legendary development as a plausible explanation and demonstrates that the disciples began proclaiming Jesus’ death, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances very early.

‌There was simply not enough time for a great deal of myth and legend to accrue and distort the historical facts in any significant way.

‌The witnesses would still be alive to dispute these writings, yet nothing in recorded history exists of such declarations.

Are the NT Writers Trustworthy?

‌When historians examine the New Testament, they’re not treating the Bible as a holy, inspired book and trying to prove it’s true by quoting it.

‌Rather they’re treating the New Testament just like any other collection of ancient documents and investigating whether these documents are historically reliable.

‌It’s important to understand that originally there wasn’t any such book called “The New Testament.” There were just these separate documents handed down from the first century.

Death on the Cross

‌History tells us that there was a tremendous penalty to be paid by Roman soldiers if they allowed a capital criminal to either escape or avoid the penalty for which they were sentenced.

‌Jesus disappeared from the historical record following His reported resurrection and ascension and was never sighted again

The Burial

‌All four gospel narratives attest to the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea and place women as the primary witnesses to the empty tomb. Both of these are highly unlikely to be Christian inventions. With regard to Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, he would have been easy to dismiss as a made-up figure given the early dating of the NT writers. With regard to the women first reporting the tomb empty, why use women considering the low social status of women in both Jewish and Roman cultures and their inability to testify as for legal witnesses.

Finally, there is no competing burial story in existence.

‌The Resurrection

‌The only early opposing theory recorded by the enemies of Christianity is that the disciples stole the body. Ironically, this presupposes the empty tomb.

‌The Jewish authorities had plenty of motivation to produce a body and silence these men who “turned the world upside down,” effectively ending the Christian religion for good. But no one could.

‌Conclusion

‌Did Jesus exist? No scholar denies the fact that the Christian religion exploded out of the first century Israel. Where exactly did the Christian faith come from and what best explains its origin?

The most obvious answer to this question is that the disciples truly saw the resurrected Christ. Only an event of this magnitude could turn scared, scattered, and skeptical disciples, with no prior concept and expectation of a crucified and risen Messiah, into courageous proclaimers of the gospel willing to suffer and die for their belief that Jesus rose bodily from the grave.

Many people will die for what they believe to be true but no one willingly suffers and dies for what they know to be false. Yes, Jesus exists!

‌Liars make poor martyrs.

Lee Strobel wrote an amazing book on this subject as part of a series. I wholeheartedly recommend them.