WWJD By Dr. Richard Youngblood
Question: Is there any evidence outside of the Bible that
Jesus really lived?
In
spite of the uninformed claims of some unbelievers, the actual historical
evidence for Jesus is greater than that for any other historical figure of the
same time period. Many volumes have been
written about this topic, and space will not allow us to present and explain
all of the evidence. Therefore, I
recommend Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ, as a helpful summary for the average
reader. For now, allow me to briefly
summarize the evidence he cites.
We
begin with the highly-esteemed writings of the Jewish historian Josephus who
was not himself a Christian believer. Born
in A.D. 37 he wrote near the end of the first century four books detailing the
history of the Jewish people from creation to his own time. In his Antiquities,
Josephus told about a priest named Ananias who “convened a meeting of the
Sanhedrin and brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus, who
was called the Christ.” In another
passage, Josephus wrote: “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 of the
Greeks. When Pilate, upon hearing him
accused by men of the highest standing among 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 Christians, so called after
him, has still to this day not disappeared” (Antiquities 18.63-64). Archeological
excavations at Masada as well as statements by other historians have
demonstrated the general reliability of the writings of Josephus.
Several
early Roman writings also provide corroboration for the Biblical story of
Jesus. For example, the Roman historian Tacitius described in A.D. 115 how Emperor Nero persecuted
Christians and blamed them for the fire that burned Rome in A.D. 64. In A.D. 111, Pliny the Younger, the Roman
governor of Bithynia, wrote to his friend Emperor Trajan about the rapid spread
of Christianity and how he sent Christians who were Roman citizens to Rome for
trial. Another historian name Thallus wrote a history of the eastern Mediterranean in
A.D. 52 in which he made reference to the darkness that the gospels had written
about (Matthew 27:45), attributing it to an eclipse.
In
addition, there are references to Jesus in the Jewish Talmud (finished in A.D.
500) and Mishnah (compiled about A.D. 200). They called him a false Messiah who practiced
magic and who was condemned to death.
They also report the rumor that Jesus was the son of a Roman soldier and
Mary. Although this is negative
evidence, it does provide corroboration for the life of Jesus. Even his enemies did not deny that he
lived.
When we
add to the above the writings of the Second Century Apostolic Fathers, we have more
evidence for the life of Jesus than for any character in ancient history. In his book, The Verdict of History, Gary Habermas
gives details on thirty-nine ancient sources and list more than one hundred
facts concerning the life, teachings, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. But no matter how great the evidence, in the
end each of us must make our own decision.
We can choose to believe or not to believe. The choice to believe in him has been a
life-transforming decision for many of us.
We would like to think that the evidence of changed lives would lead
many to want to honestly consider the evidence and find God’s blessings through
faith in Jesus. What will you decide my
friend?
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