Most people have heard of the name of Jesus Christ, whether it be used as a name of praise or used as a term of blasphemy. The question we are tackling today is did Jesus Christ really exist, or is He a product of a legend? And if He did exist, is the resurrection a story or a fact?
Let us first consider secular or non-Christian sources for evidence of Jesus’ existence. Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman historian who lived between 55-120 AD. When he wrote his account of Nero’s reign he mentions the death of Jesus. Thallus, within his writing of the history of the Mediterranean world in AD 52, wrote concerning the inexplicable darkness that occurred when Jesus was crucified. In AD 70, a Syrian named Mara Bar-Serapion wrote a letter to his son while imprisoned. He mentions Jesus as the wise king of the Jews whom the Jews executed. He considered Jesus to be a teacher, thus inferring that he knew that Jesus had existed. Josephus, Jewish historian and a Pharisee, wrote a history of his people up until 66 AD. His works are called the Jewish Antiquities. He mentions Jesus twice, where he calls Jesus a “wise man”, a “doer of wonderful works.” He writes further that, and I quote, “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” (Jewish Antiquities 18, 3, 3).
As most of our information concerning the life of Jesus is contained within the New Testament gospels we first have to briefly examine the reliability of the four gospels. Josephus’ writings include accounts of New Testament people like the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, King Herod, John the Baptist and the brother of Jesus named James, and Jesus Himself. There is archaeological evidence concerning the existence of Pilate and of Caiphas. These are people who played a prominent role in Jesus’ life, and thus add to the validity of the gospel accounts. William Craig gives five reasons why we may assume that the gospels are a reliable source of information. Firstly, the recording of events between the time they occurred and the time they were recorded was too short to allow for a legend to develop. Secondly, the gospel accounts include historical men and historical placed. Thirdly, traditionally speaking the practice of memorizing and retaining oral accounts and teachings during the period of the first century was a highly skilled process. This gives us confidence to accept the gospel accounts as reliable. Fourthly, as the gospel were written soon after the life and death of Jesus and included eye-witness accounts, if any errors or embellishments were added the witnesses would have corrected this. Lastly, William Craig writes that the “gospel writers have a proven track record of historical reliability” (1998:16-26 ). Luke writes as a historian, and I quote his own words from the book of Luke, chapter one verse one to four:
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which
have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those
who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed
good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write
an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the
truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.
Thus if we accept the fact that Jesus existed, then we have to examine further the fact that it is claimed that He was a man who not only taught wisely but also performed miracles. The greatest miracle of supernatural event is the claim that He was crucified, did die, was buried and rose from the dead on the first day of the Jewish week. Let us consider the event of the empty tomb – was it really empty? Was the body stolen and hidden away? Jesus was accused of blasphemy by the Jewish high court and was condemned by the Roman court for treason. After His death on the cross, His body was removed and taken to the tomb of a wealthy man, Joseph of Arimathea. A large stone was placed in front of the tomb, and at the request of Jewish officials, a Roman guard was placed at the entrance of the tomb to ensure that the body was not stolen, as the Jews had heard Jesus speak of rising from the dead. Note that a Roman guard consisted of 4 to 16 men who took turns to stay awake and to sleep every four hours. The gospel of Matthew records that a seal was set on the stone in order to protect it from grave robbers. This was also an act authenticating that the body was actually placed into the tomb. Yet on the morning of the first day of the week Jewish women travelled to the tomb with the intent to anoint the body with oil, only to discover that the stone had been removed and the body was not there. When Jesus’ followers began to preach that Jesus was risen from the dead, the Jews never denied that the tomb was not empty. Instead they claimed that Jesus’ followers had stolen the body. They were never able to produce a body. No wonder, for in the gospel of Luke and John we read that Peter saw the linen cloths in which the body had been wrapped, and they were lying by themselves. Luke writes, “he (that is Peter) went away, wondering to himself what had happened” (NIV Luke 24:12).
Let us move on to the claim that over five hundred witnesses saw Jesus alive after His death. These witnesses were found in different places at different times, and who responded with different emotions, which aids to disprove the hallucination theory. For example, Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, refused to believe the fact until he saw Jesus for himself. He then reacted with shock and remorse and worship. The disciples in general were actually frightened after his death, and hid away in an upper room in the city of Jerusalem. Upon Jesus appearing to them they were, according to Luke’s account, terrified and frightened and supposed they had seen a spirit! Luke writes further that for a while they still did not believe until Jesus actually ate with them. Mary Magdalene’s response was to immediately inform the disciples of whom she had seen whilst crying in the garden outside the empty tomb. Jesus appeared to two travellers on a road to Emmaus.
Some critics argue that Jesus’ appearance is but a story to deceive people. But consider the following. A woman’s testimony was not considered reliable in those times yet it was recorded. Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee of Pharisees, was incredibly hostile towards the name of Jesus Christ, to the point that he was known to persecute followers of Jesus. Yet he claimed that Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. This was a life changing experience for him. He spent the rest of his life bearing witness to the fact that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. The fact that people changed after seeing Jesus alive after His death is, in my opinion, the strongest evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Peter, a disciple of Jesus, eventually died being crucified upside down. Paul was killed for his belief in Jesus, and James, Jesus’ brother, was stoned to death. If you read the accounts of the sufferings of the early believers during the reign of Nero, you have to come to the conclusion that they had reason to believe in the person of Jesus Christ. No one would choose to be hung on a cross, to be painted with tar and to be set alight for belief in a myth or a lie.
Thus I encourage you to read the gospels of the New Testament for yourselves as historical documentation, and then decide for yourselves whether Jesus was a mad man, a con artist, or truly whom He claimed to be – the Son of God.
Resources
http://www.bethinking.org/resources/explaining-away-jesus-resurrection-the-recent-revival-of-hallucination-theories.htm
Craig W L 1998. Rediscovering the Historical Jesus: The Evidence for Jesus. Faith and Mission 15: 16-26. Online article: http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/rediscover2.html
Craig W. L. 1985. The Historicity of the Empty Tomb of Jesus. New Testament Studies 31:39-67. Online article: http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/tomb2.html
Hannam n.d. Refuting the myth that Jesus never existed. Online article: http://www.bede.org.uk/jesusmyth.htm, 2012-08-08
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