The Historical Jesus: Can We Trust What We Know?
30 min read
The historical evidence for Jesus of Nazareth is stronger than most people realize and weaker than some apologists claim. This lesson gives you an honest account.
"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." — 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
1. The New Testament documents are early.
Paul's letters were written within twenty-five years of the crucifixion. The creed embedded in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 — Christ died, was buried, was raised, appeared to Peter, then to the Twelve, then to five hundred — is widely recognized as a pre-Pauline formula received within three to five years of the resurrection. This is remarkably early testimony, closer to the events than any other ancient account of comparable significance.
2. Non-Christian sources corroborate the basic facts.
Tacitus (AD 116) refers to Christians who "derived their name and origin from Christ, who in the reign of Tiberius had suffered death by the sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate." A hostile Roman historian confirming: Jesus existed, was called Christ, was executed under Pilate, during Tiberius' reign. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, refers twice to Jesus. Pliny the Younger (AD 112) describes early Christians worshiping Christ "as to a god."
3. The manuscript tradition is exceptionally strong.
The New Testament is supported by over 5,800 Greek manuscripts — more than any other ancient document. Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars survives in about 250 manuscripts, the earliest copied a thousand years after the original. The textual tradition of the New Testament is not a matter of scholarly dispute. It is a matter of overwhelming documentary strength.
4. Archaeology has confirmed the historical setting.
The Pool of Bethesda John 5:2, long thought fictional, was excavated and found exactly as described — five colonnades. The Pool of Siloam John 9:7 was confirmed in 2004. Pontius Pilate was confirmed by a first-century inscription at Caesarea Maritima in 1961.
5. What the evidence establishes and what it does not.
Historical evidence establishes: Jesus existed, was crucified under Pilate, and was believed by his earliest followers to have risen from the dead. It does not on its own establish the theological claims. Those require faith — but faith not in a historical vacuum.
Expecting historical evidence to do the work of faith, or dismissing evidence as irrelevant to faith. Historical evidence removes intellectual obstacles. Faith is the personal response that follows.
Read Luke 1:1-4. What does Luke claim about his method of investigation? What kind of document is he presenting?
Submit your journal reflection and your paragraph on Luke 1:1-4.
A: The creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, received within three to five years of the crucifixion.
A: Yes. Tacitus, Josephus, and Pliny the Younger all refer to Jesus or early Christians in ways that corroborate core historical facts.
A: His existence, ministry in Galilee, crucifixion under Pilate, and the early belief in his resurrection.
Lord, thank you that my faith is not built on ignorance. Give me the courage to investigate honestly. Amen.