The historical evidence is in overwhelming support of Jesus of Nazareth being a real person who lived in Palestine during the first century. He was not just a mythological character in a story. He was a real man. We know when and where He was born and the circumstances surrounding His birth. He had a multitude of followers and witnesses in His time on earth. He had a tangible impact on the established religion and on the established empire of his own generation. All these facts are confirmed by many independent writings from the time. Most significant of all— Christianity itself hinges on the question, “Was Jesus a real, historical person?” Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh. Christians for thousands of years, all over the globe have based their faith on the fact that Jesus must have been a real, historical person.
Of course, there have been many critics who have tried to claim that Christianity is counterfeit. Especially in the past 150 years, people have sought to discredit Christianity by challenging the historical existence of Jesus. These efforts are always unfair and inconsistent. The reason is because they dismiss significant evidences, and they raise the standard of proof higher than any other ancient figure. However, Christian scholars like Gary Habermas have shown that the historical evidence for Jesus is greater than other major historical figures, such as the Roman Caesar Tiberius or the Greek conqueror Alexander the Great.[1] Nowadays, even prominent scholars who are not Christians will insist that Jesus was a real, historical person. Historian Bart Ehrman, for example says, "[This is] not even an issue… Despite the enormous range of opinion, there are several points on which virtually all scholars of antiquity agree. Jesus was a Jewish man, known to be a preacher and teacher, who was crucified (a Roman form of execution) in Jerusalem during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea."[2] Of course, all these points of which scholars agree can also be verified by the Bible.[3]
We can be so confident that Jesus was a real, historical person because his life and impact was chronicled by historical writers during His time on earth and immediately after. Christians and non-Christians alike made reference to Jesus and His life. In the New Testament of the Bible alone, we have 8 different writers who testified about Him. In these writings, they also speak about the multitude of witnesses who walked and talked with Jesus (i.e., Luke 5:15; 1 Corinthians 15:6). In addition to those witnesses, many other Christian writers and philosophers who immediately followed made historical references to Him (i.e., Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Clement, Quadratus, etc.). Many of these men were not just evangelists promoting a new religion, but they were apologists who were logically defending the teachings of Jesus against skeptics of their day. There were even non-Christian historians, no friends of Christianity, who nonetheless cited Jesus' life and impact (i.e. Josephus and Tacitus). The sheer number of witnesses proves that Jesus was a real, historical person. In most criminal justice systems throughout the world, only one marginal witness is required to tip the scales toward the certainty of a fact. In this case, we have dozens of writers witnessing to His life, as opposed to only a scant few who dispute it. Most reasonable minds would make the obvious conclusion that Jesus was a real, historical person.
The implications of establishing the historicity of Jesus are important. If he was not real, then Christianity loses its credibility as a religion. However, if he truly walked this earth and has had such a real, positive impact on millions of lives throughout the world, then we next need to ask, "Was His teaching real?" If His teaching was real, what do you think that means for you and your life today?
[1]. Gary Habermas, "The Resurrection Argument That Changed a Generation of Scholars," The Veritas Forum, May 15, 2017, 29:57, https://youtu.be/nMGLPR5X8MM. [2]. Bart Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth (New York: HarperCollins, 2012), 12. [3]. Tiberius is not explicitly named in the Bible, but the dating can easily be found to coincide.