T
he historical evidence for Jesus is long-established. Within decades of His life He is mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians, as well as by many Christian writings. Compare that with, for example, King Arthur, who “maybe” lived around 500 A.D. The sources for events of that time do not even mention Arthur. He is first referred to only 300 or 400 years later. The evidence for Jesus is not “folklore.”
The Christian writings are evidence that is early and detailed. The first writings are by the Apostle Paul, and scholars agree that these were written within 25 years of Jesus’ death. The detailed biographical accounts of Jesus in the Gospels date from around 40 years after He died. These all appeared within the lifetimes of numerous eyewitnesses and provide descriptions that agree with the culture and geography of first-century Palestine.
The first non-Christian author to mention Jesus is the Jewish historian Josephus, who wrote a history of Judaism around 93 A.D. He has two references to Jesus. One of these is controversial because it is thought to be edited by Christian scribes, but the other is not suspicious — a reference to James, the brother of “Jesus, the so-called Christ.”
About 20 years later we have the significant Roman high officials, Pliny and Tacitus, who ruled at the beginning of the second century A.D. Their reports fit with the time frame of the Gospels and we learn that Jesus was executed while Pontius Pilate was the governor and that the Christians worshipped Christ as “a god.”
These abundant and significant historical references by various writers leave us with little reasonable doubt that Jesus lived and died. But another important consideration is to realize Jesus died and LIVES.
The Bible says that because He lives, “He is able also to save them to the uttermost [completely] that come unto God by Him” (Hebrews 7:2525Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)). He knows your situation, your sins and your attempts to break free. Only God is able to save you, to change your life. And He does this from the inside out. He can cleanse your heart, bring forgiveness to your soul, and a song to your mouth.
History has a lot to say about Jesus Christ. God has even more. Find out about both perspectives in Pontius Pilate’s Dilemma as you continue your search for truth.