Jesus Christ - an Historical Figure

The question of whether Jesus actually existed has been asked for many years. There are those who say he was not real and others who, even though agree he did exist, make up stories about him like being married to Mary Magdaleine and having children; he was not really the Messiah; he never resurrected; and that he was even a Muslim. However, ancient history, together with modern archaeology has been able to verify a lot of the events in the Gospels. For some, it may not be that important whether or not the history of Jesus can be verified or not, after all, the bible states “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). But the bible also states that we must test all things (I Thess 5:21) and to give a defense for our faith (I Peter 3:15). So when stories appear that ridicule or place our Saviour in a bad light, we must do what is necessary to find the truth and prove them wrong.

The Gospel Accounts as History

The historical accuracy of the New Testament Gospels has come under attack, not only by non-Christians but Christians as well. However, there are lots of archaeological and historical evidence that prove the Gospel accounts to be true. The Gospels themselves are not historical books, but testaments of faith, however, they do contain history in them as well. Some of the history we can gather from the Gospels are as follows:

Jesus’ mother was Mary who was a virgin conceived by the Holy Spirit. Her husband’s name was Joseph.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem while Joseph and Mary were there for the Census called by Emperor Augustus.
Jesus was a descendant of King David.
Herod the Great was ruler at the time of Jesus’ birth. He ordered all boys two years and younger to be killed as he felt his reign was threatened.
Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Egypt to safety from Herod until Herod died in 4 BC.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth in Galilee and had brothers and sisters
He took up Joseph’s trade as a carpenter.
He started his Ministry at approximately 30 years of age. He spent 40 days in the desert and was tempted by Satan who he successfully defeated.
He lived in Capernaum in Galilee
He had lots of followers, but 12 chosen ones called Apostles. It is also possible there were quite a few women followers, one of which was Mary Magdaleine.
He claimed to be the Son of God.
He performed miracles including resurrections, healing the sick and impaired, exorcisms and feeding 5000 people from 5 loaves and 2 fish.
His primary message was proclaiming the Kingdom of God.
He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot during a Passover.
He was accused of blasphemy by the Jewish leaders and sent to Pontius Pilate who found nothing wrong with him and who wanted to release him. However, the crowd insisted he be crucified.
He was crucified on a hill called Golgotha. After his death several miraculous events occurred.
He resurrected after three days and was seen first by Mary Magdeline and other women and then the Apostles.
He ascended into heaven 40 days after his resurrection.

The Gospels however, don’t tell us anything about Jesus’ life between the ages of 12 and 30, who his sisters were, what year he was born or what happened to Joseph.

Archaeological Evidence

There are lots of archaeological evidence that have proven skeptics wrong about the historical inaccuracy of the bible. Some of these include:

The discovery of a 2’ x 3’ stone in Italy with Pilate’s name on it.
That crucifixions did happen by being nailed to a cross due to the discovery of a man that was crucified in mid-first century AD. This was found by Vassilois Tzaferis in a suburb of Jerusalem called Giv’at ha-Mivtar.
That Nazareth did indeed exist despite its not being mentioned in the Old Testament by Josephus nor the Jewish Talmud. A tablet with the name “Nazareth” engraved on it was found in an excavation at Caesarea in 1962. This proves the existence of the little agricultural town.

Secular Sources that mention Jesus

Apart from the New Testament, there are a few secular sources that mention Jesus. The main source is from Flavius Josephus in his book “Jewish Antiquities”. He wrote: Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, [if it be lawful to call him a man]; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. [He was [the] Christ.] And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; [for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him]. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day." ("Jewish Antiquities", 18.3.3). Other historical sources that mention Jesus are:

Thallus
Phlegon
Pliny the Younger
Cornelius Tacitus
Suetonius
Mara Bar-Serapion

References by the Early Church Fathers

There are lots of references by the early Church Fathers that verify the Gospels. Some of them are:

Clement of Rome (could be the Clement mentioned in Philippians 21:3)
Ignatius
Justin Martyr
Aristides

Due to archaeology a lot of the Gospel accounts are proven to be accurate. New evidence due to archaeology are being uncovered on a regular basis to show that a lot of the biblical accounts in the Old as well as New Testaments are true.