Did Jesus Exist?

The Historicity of Jesus of Nazareth

If one were to look outside of the Bible for an extrabiblical view of Jesus’s existence, is there any proof of Him?

1.     CORNELIUS TACITUS (55 - 120 A.D.) – Perhaps he is one of the greatest historians of ancient Rome. Tacitus calls Christians a ‘deadly sect’ and even describes how Nero blamed Christians for the fire that happened in A.D. 64 (Ann. 15.38-44; 15.44.2-8; Wenham, & Walton, 2001). In addition,Tacitus verifies that Jesus was crucified at the hands of Pontius Pilate who was the governor of Judea during the reign of Tiberius. In Tacitus’s Annals XV, 44 he writes:

Christus, the founder of the [Christian] name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius. But the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, by through the city of Rome also. (Annals 15.44)

2.     THALLUS (~ 52 A.D.) – During a written debate, Thallus explains the midday darkness which occurred during the Passover of Jesus' crucifixion. Habermas (1996) quotes Thallus:

On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness. The rocks were rent by an earthquake and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. For the Hebrews celebrate the Passover on the 14th day according to the moon, and the passion of our Savior falls on the day before the Passover. But an eclipse of the sun takes place only when the moon comes under the sun. And it cannot happen at any other time[italicsadded]... Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth hour to the ninth-manifestly that one of which we speak. (Chronography XVIII.47)

3.     PLINY THE YOUNGER (63 - 113 A.D) – “A Roman author and administrator who served as the governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor, Pliny the Younger was the nephew and adopted son of a natural historian known as Pliny the Elder” (Habermas, 1996, pp. 197-198). In one of his letters, Pliny wrote to Emperor Trajan due to his concern of murdering to many Christians for not denying their faith in Christ. Pliny comments that these people worshiped Christ as if he were a God! Any sceptic should find it rather convicting that the early Church followers of Jesus were so bold that they would rather be put to death than to deny their faith and renounce that Jesus is not a God.

I asked them directly if they were Christians...those who persisted, I ordered away... Those who denied they were or ever had been Christians...worshiped both your image and the images of the gods and cursed Christ. They used to gather on a stated day before dawn and sing to Christ as if he were a god... All the more I believed it necessary to find out what was the truth from two servant maids, which were called deaconesses, by means of torture. Nothing more did I find than a disgusting, fanatical superstition. Therefore, I stopped the examination, and hastened to consult you...on account of the number of people endangered. For many of all ages, all classes, and both sexes already are brought into danger... (Pliny the Younger, n.d., 10.96)

4.     LUCIAN OF SAMOSATA (120 - ~180 A.D.) – This was a man who was a strong opponent to Christianity. He would ridicule Christianity and the Christ they worshiped. During his ridicules and writings, Lucian confirms the death of Christ by crucifixion and that He was the founder of Christianity.

The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day- the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account... It was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers from the moment they are converted and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws... (The Death of Peregrinus 11-13)

5.     CELSUS (~ 178 A.D.) – Another strong opponent to Christianity was a man named Celus. He went to great lengths to try and disprove the deity of Jesus but yet interestingly never denied His existence! He records reports of Jesus miracles, resurrection, and virgin birth all while making some erroneous claims about these events. Many of these accounts can be found in Origen’s responses to Celsus claims:

Jesus, on account of his poverty, was hired out to go to Egypt. While there he acquired certain [magical] powers... He returned home highly elated at possessing these powers, and on the strength of them gave himself out to be a god... It was by means of sorcery that He was able to accomplish the wonders which He performed... Let us believe that these cures, or the resurrection, or the feeding of a multitude with a few loaves... These are nothing more than the tricks of jugglers... It is by the names of certain demons, and by the use of incantations, that the Christians appear to be possessed of [miraculous] power... (Origen, 1885, 1.6)

Jesus had come from a village in Judea, and was the son of a poor Jewess who gained her living by the work of her hands. His mother had been turned out by her husband, who was a carpenter by trade, on being convicted of adultery [with a Roman soldier named Panthera]. Being thus driven away by her husband, and wandering about in disgrace, she gave birth to Jesus, a bastard. 

One who was a God could neither flee nor be led away a prisoner... What great deeds did Jesus perform as God? Did he put his enemies to shame or bring to an end what was designed against him? No calamity happened even to him who condemned him... Why does he not give some manifestation of his divinity, and free himself from this reproach, and take vengeance upon those who insult both him and his Father? (Origen, 1885, 2.9)

Jesus accordingly exhibited after His death only the appearance of wounds received on the cross, and was not in reality so wounded as He is described to have been. (Origen, 1885, 2.9)

6.     MARA BAR-SERAPION (Post 70 A.D) - Mara Bar-Serapion while he was in prison wrote a letter to his son. In this letter, while comparing himself with three other famous people, Mara acknowledges Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, and His execution all before Rome was destroyed.

What advantage did the Athenians gain from putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished[Italics added]. God justly avenged these three wise men: The Athenians died of hunger. The Samians were overwhelmed by the sea. The Jews, ruined and driven from their land, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates did not die for good. He lived on in the teachings of Plato. Pythagoras did not die for good. He lived on in the statue of Hera. Nor did the wise King die for good. He lived on in the teaching which He had given. (Evans, 2014)

7.     FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS (37 - 100 A.D.) – Josephus was a Pharisee and a Jewish historian of both priestly and royal ancestry. He confirms Jesus’s existence, teaching, miracles, disciples, death by crucifixion, and brother James who later became a believer after he saw the risen Lord.

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, [if it be lawful to call him a man], for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. [He was the Christ], and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. [For he appeared to them alive again the third day. As the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him]. And the tribes of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day. (Antiquities XVIII, 3:2) [There are 2 versions of this text, one containing the text in brackets and the other without them.]

So [Ananus] assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Jesus, the so-called Christ, whose name was James, together with some others, and having accused them as lawbreakers, he delivered them over to be stoned. (Antiquities XX 9:1)

8.     THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD – After the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, about 20 years later the rabbis confirmed in Yavneh that all of the Old Testament scriptures used in Palestinian Judaism were in fact inspired words of God (Corduan, 2012). Later, approximately in A.D. 200 a book called the Mishnah was formed by several scholarly rabbis who wrote down a collection of oral law and legal interpretations regarding the civil/ceremonial commandments, prayer, feasts, Holy Matters, and ritual cleanliness of the Old Testament (Corduan, 2012; Morgan, 2012). In addition to the Mishnah, the Gemara was formed which are exhaustive narratives and illustrations from famous rabbis regarding the biblical text. The Gemara focuses on the how [application] rather than the what [Mishna] (Morgan, 2012). Together, the Mishnah and the Gemara form what is known today as the Talmud (Corduan, 2012). The Talmud speaks of Jesus’s crucifixion on the eve of Passover (Habermas, 1996; Victor, 2016).

On the eve of the Passover Yeshu (Jesus) [Some texts add: the Nazarene] was hanged [crucified]. Forty days before the execution, a herald went forth and cried, 'He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Anyone who can say anything in his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.' But since nothing was brought forward in his favor he was hanged on the eve of the Passover. (Sanhedren 43a)

Perhaps there are other sources that can further prove the historicity of Jesus and the events of Him in the Bible but I think we get the picture.

References

Corduan W. (2012). Neighboring faiths: A Christian introduction to world religions (2nd ed.). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

Evans, C. A. (2014). NT313 Jesus and the witness of the outsiders. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Habermas, G. R. (1996). The historical Jesus: Ancient evidence for the life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company.

Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: Complete and unabridged. Peabody: Hendrickson.

Lucian. (1905). The Death of Peregrinus, in the works of Lucian Samosata (Vol. 4). Oxford: The Clarendon Press.

Morgan, G. R. (2012). Understanding world religions in 15 minutes a day. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.

Origen. (1885). Origen against Celsus. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), F. Crombie (Trans.), Fathers of the third century: Tertullian, part fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, parts first and second (Vol. 4). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

Pliny the Younger. (n.d.). Letters (Latin). Medford, MA: Perseus Digital Library.

Tacitus, C. (1906). Annales (Latin). (C. D. Fisher, Ed.). Medford, MA: Perseus Digital Library.

Victor, W. M. (2016). Jesus, Trial of. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The lexham Bible dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Wenham, D., & Walton, S. (2001). Exploring the New Testament: The Gospels and Acts(Vol. 1). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Top 3 Passage Proclaiming the Deity of Jesus Christ

When it comes to proclaiming the deity of Christ, even though there are many verses, I usually stick to the first chapters of three primary books: John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1.

John 1

John, who was one of Jesus’s closest disciples in the first chapter of his Gospel says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-4, 14 ESV)

John starts off his Gospel by pointing people to the beginning when God created the Heavens and the Earth and highlights how the logos already existed prior before this point in time (“Biblical Studies Press, 2005”; Morris, 1995; Newman & Nida, 1993). For the apostle John, he did not see it fit to start with John the Baptist (Mark 1), he was not satisfied with the beginning of Israel’s people with Abraham (Matthew 1), nor was he content with starting with the beginning of humanity with Adam (Luke 3). John started before it all existed and it started with Jesus (Borchert, 1996).

Not only was Jesus there from the beginning but we also see that Jesus was with God. This prepositional phrase πρός (pros) implies not just proximity, but intimate personal relationship (“Biblical Studies Press, 2005). It also means that Jesus was continually toward God (Hughes, 1999). Hughes (1999) goes on to say, “The preposition with [italics added] bears the idea of nearness, along with a sense of movement toward God. That is to say, there has always existed the deepest equality and intimacy in the Holy Trinity” (p. 16).

Finally, the opening verse in Johns Gospel says that Jesus was God. Jesus has always existed, He is the preexisting one. Jesus is the very agent that God used for creation (John 1:2) and later in verse 14 we see that this logos is the one who became flesh, namely Jesus Christ (MacArthur, 2006). Augustine of Hippo (1887) once said:

And if He was not made, then He is not a creature; but if He is not a creature, then He is of the same substance with the Father. For all substance that is not God is creature; and all that is not creature is God. (p. 21)

Colossians 1

The second scripture that I feel highlights the deity of Jesus Christ like no other is found in the first chapter of a Pauline Epistle to the Colossians:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Paul who was a persecutor of Christianity until he saw the risen Lord was no stranger when it came to believing that Jesus is God (Phil. 2:6; Rom. 9:5; Sproul, 2005; Titus 2:13). Paul starts off by saying that Jesus is the image or in the Greek (eikōn), which conveyed an exact representation of God, the exact likeness of God, and also in this case the actual presence of an object (MacArthur, 2006; MacDonald, 1995; Melick, 1991). Melick (1991) said it this way:

The point is that in Christ the invisible God became visible. He shared the same substance as God and made God’s character known in this earthly sphere of existence. The revelation of God in Christ is such that we can actually see him, even with all of our limitations. (p. 215)

Secondly, Paul emphasizes how Christ is the firstborn of all creation. What Paul is not saying is that Jesus was the first created being like the Jehovah Witnesses would tell you, but rather Jesus is preeminent in position, privilege, rank, uniqueness, and heir over all things (Dockery, 1992; Grudem, 2004; MacArthur, 2006; Melick, 1991; Sproul, 2005). If one just quickly surveys the Old Testament, one sees that firstborn is not speaking of chronological birth order but rather privilege, rank, rights, position, and heir (Exodus 4:22; Jerimiah 31:9; Psalm 89:27; Revelation 1:5). Furthermore, Jesus is identified once again as the creator of all things and then Paul explicitly makes sure that every reader knows that Christ existed before all creation (Colossians 1:16-17; Sproul, 2005). Speaking of verse 17, MacDonald rightly points out:

Paul says, “He is [italics added] before all things,” not “He was before all things.” The present tense is often used in the Bible to describe the timelessness of Deity. The Lord Jesus said, for instance: “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). (p. 1994)

Hebrews 1

Lastly, the final scripture that I believe highlights the deity of Jesus the most is found in Hebrews 1:

In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

This passage again like Colossians and John highlight Jesus as the creator, exact image of God, and sustainer of the universe. This particular verse highlights Jesus’s exaltation sitting down and the right hand of God. Jesus was able to sit because the sacrifice that He made was once and for all time (Hebrews 10:11, 12). In addition, He was now at the right hand of God as prophesized in the Old Testament (Psalm 110:1; Sproul, 2005). Moreover, Jesus is above the Angels and the Angels worship Jesus (Hebrews 1:6).

These are the top three passages I believe highlight the deity of Jesus Christ. I am looking forward to reading yours! Please comment below.

References

Augustine of Hippo. (1887). On the Trinity. In P. Schaff (Ed.), A. W. Haddan (Trans.), St. Augustin: On the holy Trinity, doctrinal treatises, moral treatises (Vol. 3, p. 21). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible first edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

Borchert, G. L. (1996). John 1–11 (Vol. 25A, p. 102). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Dockery, D. S. (Ed.). (1992). Holman Bible handbook. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Grudem, W. A. (2004). Systematic theology: An introduction to Biblical doctrine. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.

Hughes, R. K. (1999). John: That you may believe (p. 16). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American standard Bible.(Jn 1:3). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Melick, R. R. (1991). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 32). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John (pp. 64–65). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Newman, B. M., & Nida, E. A. (1993). A handbook on the Gospel of John (p. 6). New York: United Bible Societies.

Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2005). The reformation study Bible: English standard version. Orlando, FL; Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries.