Fact #1: Jesus Christ Lived

 

Jesus Christ was a man of history and to deny this fact we would have to deny almost all of ancient history. The most complete and reliable historical witness to the life of Jesus Christ is found in the New Testament documents. However, there are also other references from the 1st and early 2nd centuries that mention Jesus either directly or indirectly.  

The Secular and Religious Historical Sources:

A Cornelius Tacitus- Roman historian – A.D. 116 –refers to “Christians” and “Christus” – (Christ). B Hadrian – A.D. 117-138 – refers to “Christians”. C Thallus and Phlegon – A.D. 52 – discuss the darkness that took place around the time period that the Gospel accounts relate there was darkness during Christ’s crucifixion. D Josephus – Jewish historian – A.D. 66-93 – refers to numerous individuals mentioned in the Gospels – Herod, Pilate, John the Baptist, Ananus the high priest, James the brother of Jesus, and references to Jesus Christ. E Pliny the Younger – A.D. 112 – an extensive letter in which he refers to “Christians” and “Christ”. Emperor Trajan responds to Pliny’s letter and refers to “ Christians” who refuse to worship the “gods” of the Roman culture. F Suetonius – A.D. 120 – refers to “Chrestus” (Christ). G Lucian of Samosata – A.D. 170 – refers to “Christians” and the worship of their “crucified sage” (Christ). H Mara Bar-Serapion – a Syrian Stoic philosopher – A.D. 70 – refers to Jesus as the “wise king”. I Babylonian Talmud – derived from early first century Jewish traditions – A.D. 350-500 – refers to Yeshu (Jesus) who was “hanged on the Eve of the Passover” along with other references to Jesus Christ in derogatory terms. Edwin Yamauchi – professor of history at Miami University stated the following regarding the non-New Testament sources of historical information regarding Jesus Christ:“Even if we did not have the New Testament of Christian writings, we would be able to conclude from such non-Christian writings as Josephus, the Talmud, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger that: (1) Jesus was a Jewish teacher; (2) many people believed that he performed healings and exorcisms; (3) he was rejected by the Jewish leaders; (4) he was crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius; (5) despite this shameful death, his followers, who believed that he was still alive, spread beyond Palestine so that there were multitudes of them in Rome by A.D. 64;(6) all kinds of people from the cities and countryside – men and women, slave and free – worshipped him as God by the beginning of the second century”. 4 (See the article – What will you do with Jesus Christ? for more information regarding this resources).  

The Christian Historical Sources:

The early Christian leaders (late first and early second century) provide a link back to the disciples of Christ most specifically the disciple (apostle) John. Their writings are based on second hand information and come from Christians (early Christian Church leaders and fathers) who heard and were instructed from the actual disciples of Christ (first hand eye-witnesses to the life and work of Jesus Christ).  

Early Church Fathers

A. Papias – A.D. 60-130 According to reliable church history, Papias was a student of the apostle John. He wrote books that are no longer in existence, however some of the content of these books are preserved by Eusebius (A.D.260-339) the third century church historian. His narratives provide a link to the eye-witnesses (apostle John and other early disciples) for early documentation on the person of Jesus Christ. He stated “ On any occasion when a person came (in contact with me) who had been a follower of the Elders, I would inquire about the discourses of the elders – what was said by Andrew or by Peter or by Philip or by Thomas or James or by John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples and what Aristion and the Elder John, the disciples of the Lord, say. For I did not think that I could get so much profit from the contents of books as from the utterances of a living and abiding voice”. – Eusebius, The History of the Church – 3.39 Papias clearly affirms that he sought out testimony from first and second hand sources on the life and work of Jesus Christ and that he considered this information superior to written records. Eusebius also records from Papias the following: “And the elder said this also: Mark having become the interpreter of Peter wrote down accurately everything that he remembered, without however recording in order what was either said or done by Christ….” – 3:39. Here Papias affirms the Gospel of Mark as being the account provided to Mark by the apostle Peter, who was an eyewitness of the life of Jesus Christ. (See History of the Church – Eusebius) B. Polycarp – A.D. 69-155

  Polycarp, was like Papias, a student of the apostle John. He died as a Christian martyr and during his life provided leadership for the church in Smyrna. In his letter to the Church at Philippi (A.D. 110) he stated – “Let us therefore without ceasing hold fast by our hope and by the earnest of our righteousness which is Jesus Christ who took up our sins in His own body upon the tree, who did no sin… For He gave this example to us in His own person and we believed this”. (See History of the Church – Eusebius) C. Ignatius – A.D. 1st century – 117 Ignatius was, according to church tradition, a student of Peter, Paul and John, wrote seven letters. He provides extensive information on the early church and was a second-hand witness to the person and life of Jesus Christ . Regarding Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection he stated – “But be fully persuaded concerning the birth and the passion (crucifixion events) and the resurrection which took place in the time of the governorship of Pontius Pilate… For I know and believe that He (Jesus Christ) was in the flesh even after the resurrection and when He came to Peter and his company…” – Ignatius, Magnesians 1. D. Clement of Rome – A.D. 1st century – 102 Church history affirms that Clement of Rome was a disciple of the apostles. He may have been the Clement mentioned by Paul in Philippians 4:3. He stated in his letter to the Church at Corinth – “ The apostles received the gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ…. Having therefore received a charge and having been fully assured through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Clement, Corinthians p-42 These four early Christian church fathers provide a direct link to the apostles and early eye-witnesses of the life of Jesus Christ. There are also other first and early second century Christian writers who have given us second hand information on the person of Jesus Christ. Quadratus (1st century), Irenaeus (A.D. 110-190+), Justin Martyr (A.D.100-166) along with the first century writings – The Didache (A.D 95-97) and The Epistle of Barnabas (A.D. 70-130) provide witness to the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Any argument that Jesus Christ is an invention of second, third or fourth century Christianity does not stand up to the extensive evidence of these early second-hand witness resources. Many of these leaders died as martyrs for the witness that they provided. They affirmed that the witness-based information that they provided was true. People may die for something false that they believe is true but people do not die for something they know to be false. These men died affirming that their witness was true.

Early Christian Creeds:

The following is a list of creeds that are considered by New Testament scholars to be pre-New Testament verbal sayings or snippets of information derived from not only the words of Jesus but also from eyewitness testimony of His life and ministry. Creeds, hymns and poetry were a popular method of passing on important information in the first century. This method of communication provided an easy way to memorize and retain significant stories or facts and in the early church these tools were used by Christian believers . These creeds provide the earliest information regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ. The concept of the creeds or short statements of the common faith was that they were formulated and passed on verbally within the company of believers in Christ. This was customary in both the Jewish and early Christian communities. These statements were later included into various books of the New Testament but they belonged not to just the authors of the individual New Testament books but also to earlier creedal confessions dating from A.D. 30-50.

 

Here is a list of some of these creeds that were included into texts of the New Testament:

Luke 24:34; Romans 1:3,4; 4:24,25; I Corinthians 11:23-26; 15:3-5; Philippians 2:6-11; I Timothy 3:16; 6:13; II Timothy 2:8; I Peter 3:18.Many of these short creedal statements deal with the humanity of Jesus Christ and affirm His human lineage while at the same time confirm His Divine origin. “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness (the Holy Spirit), by the resurrection from the dead”. – Romans 1:3,4.“Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead…” . – II Timothy 2:8. “I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Jesus Christ who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate…” – I Timothy 6:13. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” – I Peter 3:18.These short pre- New Testament sayings or creeds indicate the early apostolic witness regarding Jesus Christ was based on His real humanity along with the fact that He was the Divine Son of God. Some of these creedal statements may be dated to within 1-3 years of the resurrection of Christ and the establishment of the Church. Many of the most skeptical New Testament scholars acknowledge these creedal statements found in the New Testament documents to be early first hand eyewitness testimony to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  

The New Testament:

By far the most reliable witness providing information regarding Jesus Christ is found in the set of documents that we refer to as the New Testament. The four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John along with the Book of Acts form the foundational basis of the New Testament and the remainder of the books (22) give us early eyewitness information and first hand testimony regarding Jesus Christ. The amount of evidence for the 1st century authorship and first hand nature of the content of these (27) documents is indeed impressive.But the New Testament contains miracles…Because there is a substantial amount of material recorded in the New Testament that contains events that are clearly miraculous, those with a naturalistic view of history are forced to deny the historicity of these narratives because these miracles do not fit within their worldview.However, the facts of the Gospel are presented as events of history that have actually taken place in time and space. As we examine these facts, we do not presuppose that these miracles happened, but neither do we presuppose that they did not. We examine the events as they unfold in the story and then apply reasonable tests to these documents as we would any document that is historical in nature. The historical narratives recorded in the New Testament include names of rulers, cities, provinces along with cultural settings, figures of speech, roads, rivers, mountains…. all which can be either confirmed or disproved through the study of archeology and cross examining other historical references and ancient writings. Biblical scholar, Norman L. Geisler examined the Gospel of Luke and lists Luke’s references to various geographical sites. He has found that Luke accurately names and describes (32) countries, (54) cities and (9) islands without a single error. (See Geisler’s book: When Critics Ask – Victor , 1992) The New Testament documents have been confirmed over and over again to provide reliable information on natural events, people and places when examined with this type of background verification. But the New Testament also contains events that are miraculous in nature and because of this dualism provides a problem for some people. Those who struggle with miracles hold to an anti-supernatural viewpoint which affirms that we live in a closed universe with only natural causes and effects – no God and no supernatural events. This viewpoint presupposes the historical conclusion before an investigation into history is even started.

Therefore, any evidence for the occurrence of the miraculous within history is simply denied because it does not fit into the anti-supernatural mold. This philosophical bias against miracles means that we rule out miracles in advance of our historical inquiry and as a result we have limited ourselves to only one end conclusion which is the one we presupposed before we started. This is neither a scientific nor an evidence based approach and is one that we should not accept. Instead of simply denying the possibility of the miraculous, an open investigation into the events of history looks to see if miracles have actually taken place. This is the approach that we need to employ regarding the New Testament narratives.It is not the intent here to examine the case for the validity of the miraculous or to establish a case for the 1st century authorship of the New Testament documents. However, a summary listing of the accepted, conservative dating of the New Testament documents verifying the 1st century authorship of the books of the New Testament is listed here as a reference. (See the article) – “Are the New Testament Gospel Documents Reliable”? (At the end of this presentation, see the full listing of recommended books and articles dealing with this subject matter).The Gospel of Matthew – A.D. 60-70. The Gospel of Mark – A.D. 50-60. The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts – A.D. 60-65. The Gospel of John and I-III John – A.D. 80-100. Paul’s writing – A.D. 50-65. All of these narratives are based on eye witness sources and were recorded within 20 – 80 years after Christ’s resurrection. This is important because it establishes the early reliability of the testimony regarding the events of Christ’s life and ministry. No other 1st or 2nd century historical reference can approach this level of certainty.When we look at this vast array of information from the 1st and 2nd centuries, to deny the existence of the man Jesus Christ would be folly. Jesus Christ was a man of history. This is without question a statement built on solid historical facts.