What Evidence Do We Have That Jesus Was A Real Person

The most imporatnt decision in your life will be whether to ccept Jesus as your lord or not. This decision will shape your life and and dictte how you spend etenrity.

The critical beliefs in Christianity are that:

Mankind has fallen from God’s original intention due to sin,
God loves us so much He sent His son to rescue us,
Jesus came here and lived among us,
He suffered and died as an innocent man to pay the price for our sins,
He was raised from the dead on the third day and now rules in heaven,
Folks who repent and turn from their sinful ways, and believe in Jesus as their lord are transformed in this life and will get to spend eternity with Him in heaven, and
Folks who choose to ignore or reject Jesus and remain separated from God in this life will spend eternity separated from Him in one of the hells.

There are many reasons folks choose to reject Jesus. Some claim the bible is only a collection of myths and that Jesus either was a fictional character and never lived. Some argue that he lived but didn’t die on the cross, or if He did die, he was never raised from the dead. Contrary to those claims, there is convincing evidence from multiple sources that

Jesus was a very real historic person,
He died by crucifixion at the hands of the romans, and
He appeared alive to many after being buried in a sealed tomb for 3 days.

I encourage you to review this evidence to become convinced and further deepen your commitment to Jesus in faith.

Jesus WAS a real person

Let’s start with establishing Jesus as a real historic person. No serious historian doubts that Jesus was a real historic person who lived in Judea during the reins of Pontius Pilot and Tiberius, and that He had followers called Christians who truly believed he was raised from the dead.

Extra Biblical Writing:

Some of the key ancient documentation of Jesus existence from outside the bible are:

Flavius Josephus: The Jewish historian and military leader wrote about Jesus in his 20-volume history of the Jewish people, Jewish Antiquities, around 93 AD. This included discussion of Jesus doing surprising deeds and being crucified by Pilot. He mentions that He had a following of believers called Christians. He also writes of Jesus’ brother James who he identified as “the brother of Jesus who is called Christ” being brought before the Sanhedrin as a follower of Christ and being sentenced to death by stoning.
Tacitus: The Roman senator and historian wrote about Jesus and His execution by Pontius pilot during Tiberius’s reign in book 15, chapter 44, of his history of the Roman Empire, “Annals of Imperial Rome”, published around 116 AD.
Pliny the Younger: The Roman governor wrote to Emperor Trajan in 112 AD seeking guidance on how to proceed regarding putting Christians on trial. In one letter he stated that the early Christians would “sing hymns to Christ as to a god”.

Early Jews:

The ancient Jewish community embraced Jesus as a real person during his life and after his death. He was widely recognized as being an excellent teacher. Their issue was that He claimed to be God but did not fit the image they had of a conquering warrior king who would set them free from the romans. They accused him of being born illegitimately, of doing miracles by using evil magical forces, of making a false claim that He was God, and leading folks astray from the latest doctrines of the Jewish leaders. They disliked what he was doing but never doubted his existence. They believed he lived and was crucified, but that his body was stolen from the grave.

“Jewish rabbis who did not like Jesus, or his followers, accused him of being a magician and leading people astray, but they never said he didn’t exist.” Lawrence Mykytiuk, associate professor of library science at Purdue University. Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible – 2015

Early Christians:

The disciples and others provided eye-witness accounts of Jesus life which are recorded in the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John which were written down within 30-60 years of the events. These are well preserved to this day.

Early Muslims:

The Muslim community has always revered Jesus as a prophet and messenger from God. The Quran mentions Jesus numerous times (Isa in Arabic). It details his life story including his virgin birth to Mary, his prophetic role, and miracles he performed. Muslims consider Jesus to be one of the major prophets sent by God, following the line of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Solomon, David. The twist comes when the Quran says that Jesus avoided crucifixion and was raised directly to heaven. The Quran teaches that God (Allah) is the only true God, Jesus was not God because He was just a prophet. The Quran provided different guidance on who He was and how to deal with him, but it does not question that Jesus was here.

Surah Al-Imran (Chapter 3, Verse 45): “And (remember) when the angels said, ‘O Mary! Verily, Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter, and of those who are near to Allah.

Jesus Died By Crucifixion

Jesus died by crucifixion at the hands of the romans. Several of the ancient documents that document his existence, specifically state that he was crucified.

The medical community has reviewed the process of roman crucifixion and concluded that anyone that undergoes this process will surely have died.

“Clearly the weight of evidence suggests that Jesus was dead even before the spear was thrust into His side.” Journal of the American Medical Association

Jesus was Raised from the dead

Jesus was observed alive after His burial by various groups. There are 9 eye-witness accounts of the resurrected Jesus, some within, some outside the bible. He appeared to over 500 total witnesses. None of these witnesses received any earthly benefit from claiming they saw him, the only risked persecution, excommunication from their community, punishment, and torture, up to and including death.

Individual accounts of encountering the risen Jesus are provided by Matthew, John, Peter, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the other disciples including Thomas and are recorded in the 4 gospels.

Eyewitness accounts were integrated into a Creed used by the early church. This creed was written very shortly after the resurrection. Paul learned of this creed when He visited Jerusalem 3 years after the resurrection. Paul included this creed in his first letter to the Corinthians:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve”. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

We have solid evidence that Jesus was real and that He died by crucifixion. It was common at the time, to believe that the tomb is empty 3 days after He was burried. Critics of the resurrection theory suggest the body was stolen, they do not debate that tomb was empty. Well, how else would the tomb become empty with roman guards on it 24/7.

The most compelling evidence for the resurrection is the conviction of the disciples. 12 humble disciples were willing to suffer torture and be put to death for testifying they interacted with Jesus after He was raised in the flesh. This is remarkable and very unlikely if His resurrection was a lie. For example, The Watergate perpetrators were some of the most powerful men in the world and they could not maintain their lie for just 3 months. These 12 men endured great suffering and went to the grave confessing that Jesus was raised from the dead.

Why would 500 other eyewitnesses be willing to be excommunicated from society and possibly be stoned to death for claiming they saw Jesus resurrected in the flesh if it was a lie. It wouldn’t happen.

Would you be willing to give your life for something you believe in? Each veteran does just that. God loves us so much He sent His only begotten son to rescue us, to restore that which was lost through sin. Jesus loves us so much He was willing to bear the burden of our sin on His back to the point of death, trusting in faith the Fathers’ promise to resurrect Him in glory on the third day. That is some serious faith, that is some serious love.

He is still alive, Just Ask Him

If you still don’t believe, Just ask Him. Say: “Jesus if you are who the bible says you are, the Lord of the universe, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Redeemer, the Savior, please reveal yourself to me in some meaningful way. I truly want to get to know you.” You must be serious about it though. If you ask with all your heart you will find Him.

Believe! He is risen. Acknowledge Him, Invite Him, Let Him lead you into the life He intended for you and then enjoy eternity with Him.

If you want to review in more detail, here are a couple links

Do you understand the Gospel? How do you know?

Do you really understand the gospel message? Are you sure? How do you know?

Do you know Him? Does He know you? It is a big deal – the biggest.

See if the following description fits your understanding… if not… you are missing out now, and will be very disappointed when you knock on heavens door and He says….sorry I don’t know you.

Please get to know Him personally while you still can – the days are getting short.

Clarification of the Gospel..

He did not die just so you could get into heaven someday, He died so you could bring heaven to earth right here and right now. He died so you could live “in Him”; He died so you could become love, So you could become His love in action; He died so you could become your best self, the person He intended for you to be; He died so He could come and live inside each of us. He died so we could live fully reunited with the Father. He died so we each could become the body of Christ, His arms and legs on this earth. He died so we could become like Him, so people would see Him when they see us. He died so you could be a light that shines in this dark world. He died so you could be a bright beacon for Him and the kingdom.

If this resonates and is how you live your life, then I look forward to partnering with you planting seeds for the kingdom as we execute this life, and I look forward to spending eternity with you in His presence.

If this does not resonate – please verify the facts behind you understanding… you are likely the victim of modern doctrine based on one or more lies.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6)

He saw this coming and made a big deal about focusing on The Word and gaining knowledge (facts), understanding (meaning in context), and wisdom (experience in application).

“Get wisdom! Get understanding!

Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

Do not forsake her (wisdom), and she will preserve you;

Love her, and she will keep you.

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom.

And in all your getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:5-7)

………………………………………..

I will offer one point of discussion that may offend some but hopefully opens some eyes to the truth

Believing is a great start, it opens the door, but it is not enough just to “believe” as Even the devil believes.. and trembles.

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19)

Your belief only becomes effective when you choose to put it into action in faith, and then that faith into action as works in your life.

“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:17)

He makes a very direct and crystal clear statement that in order to get into heaven, He must KNOW you. And for Him to KNOW you, you must conform to His commandments. That is a lot more involved than just “believing”.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

For Him to “know you” means you have conformed yourself to His commandments.. That is putting your belied into action in your heart and soul. It is much more involved than just believing and it is not easy.

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

You must conform your behavior and how you live your life. Your life lived is the evidence of what you truly believe. If you have become love, and people can see Christ when they see you and talk to you, than you have it right. If your life lived looks more like a secular non-Christian than you have missed the point.

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

You also can’t just “Earn” your way into heaven either by just doing stuff. You must gain knowledge (facts), then understanding, then you accept those beliefs as truths in your heart. Then you build Faith as you act on those beliefs in your heart. The process of acting on your beliefs is what builds faith and opens the door to God’s miraculous salvation. If there is no action, there is no faith. If you act with no foundation of belief you are wasting your time on empty “Works”.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith (acting on beliefs), and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

The intended process is to put beliefs into action to build faith, then apply that faith to choices in your life to do the good works He laid out for you.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-11)

You get there by following Jesus, getting to know Him, transforming how you think and act to align with His will, denying your selfish agendas, Inviting Him to live inside you, and living a life focused on flowing value to others. When you do that, you act on solid beliefs in faith, your “works” demonstrate your faith and naturally bring glory to the kingdom. You know Him, He knows you, and You have brought heaven to earth.

Understanding the Gospel message is the foundation… the rock on which all is built.

Just my two cents

Hope this is helpful

Happy to discuss any and all

Was Jesus Real