Did Jesus really exist?

Did Jesus really exist? Is there any historical evidence of Jesus Christ?

We're going to answer those questions. Typically, when this question is asked, the person asking qualifies this question with outside the

Bible. We do not grant this idea that the Bible cannot be considered a source of evidence for the existence of Jesus.

The vast majority of scholars, both Christian and non -Christian, will grant that the epistles of Paul were in fact written less than 40 years after Jesus' death.

In terms of ancient manuscript evidence, this is extraordinarily strong proof. If you'd like to find more information on the accuracy of the

Bible or see our cited references, please visit GotQuestions .org. It is also important to recognize that in AD 70, the

Romans invaded and destroyed most of Israel, slaughtering its inhabitants. Despite this and the geographical limitation of his ministry, a surprising amount of information about Jesus can be drawn from secular historical sources.

Tacitus, who is considered one of the more accurate historians of the ancient world, mentioned superstitious

Christians who suffered under Pontius Pilate. Suetonius, chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote that there was a man named

Crestus who lived during the first century. Flavius Josephus, the most famous Jewish historian, refers to James, the brother of Jesus, who was called

Christ. Julius Africanus quotes the historian Thallus in a discussion of the darkness which followed the crucifixion of Christ.

Pliny the Younger recorded early Christian worship practices, including worshipping Jesus as God, noting they were very ethical, and he includes a reference to the love feast and the

Lord's Supper. The Babylonian Talmud confirms Jesus' crucifixion on the eve of Passover and the accusations against Christ of practicing sorcery and encouraging

Jewish apostasy. Lucian of Samosata was a second -century Greek writer who admits that Jesus was worshipped by Christians, introduced new teachings, and was crucified for them.

He said that Jesus' teachings included the brotherhood of believers, the importance of conversion, and the importance of denying other gods.

Marabar Serpion confirms that Jesus was thought to be a wise and virtuous man, was considered by many to be the king of Israel, and was put to death by the

Jews and lived on in the teachings of his followers. Then we have the Gnostic writings that all mention

Jesus. In fact, we can almost reconstruct the gospel just from early, non -Christian sources.

Jesus was called the Christ, did magic, led Israel into new teachings, and was hanged on Passover for them in Judea, but claimed to be

God and would return, which his followers believed, worshipping him as God. There is overwhelming evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ, both in secular and biblical history.

Perhaps the greatest evidence that Jesus did exist is the fact that literally thousands of Christians in the first century

AD, including the twelve apostles, were willing to give their lives as martyrs for Jesus Christ.

People will die for what they believe to be true, but no one will die for what they know to be a lie.

That answers the question, did Jesus really exist? Research this question further on our website,

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