Has a lot of you researched about historical evidence of Jesus? Discuss!

[thelord's_pearl]

I was wondering about this, what others have to say about this! Thanks! Not necessarily ''evidence'' but the history of Jesus that can point to evidence. Thanks

 

[Lambano]

I've read a few books. Ian Wilson's Jesus: The Evidence; John Meier's A Marginal Jew (Part 1) (I couldn't bring myself to go looking for parts 2-4 in the days before Amazon); Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands a Verdict. At one time I found such things interesting. I kinda still do.

I'm curious as to why you're asking.

 

[thelord's_pearl]

I've read a few books. Ian Wilson's Jesus: The Evidence; John Meier's A Marginal Jew (Part 1) (I couldn't bring myself to go looking for parts 2-4 in the days before Amazon); Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands a Verdict. At one time I found such things interesting. I kinda still do.

I'm curious as to why you're asking.

oh, I just haven't gone as far as looking into the historical evidence of Jesus. That would be interesting so I decided since i haven't yet, maybe i can get info on what others have already done it that and that would surely do something in terms of understanding and confirming in my faith!

 

[Randy Kluth]

Josh McDowell has a lot of material on this, and there are certainly others. McDowell simply catalogues of lot of what has been written about it over the years.

My own sense of Jesus' historical reality is based on common sense. Jesus isn't exactly a mythical, legendary figure. He had 12 major disciples who spearheaded the effort to start the Church throughout the Roman Empire and elsewhere.

Christianity didn't begin out of nothing, just like heaven and earth did not come into existence out of nothing. A Creator had to create it. There had to be a Jesus.

Beyond this, the Gospel accounts of what Jesus said is nothing short of amazing. He synthesizes all of the truths of the Law into moral teachings that reflected on himself as divine, and others as sinners in need of his redemption. Nothing about what he said rings false or hollow. Everyone who follows him, even today, in some way sounds like him.

 

[Bob Estey]

I was wondering about this, what others have to say about this! Thanks! Not necessarily ''evidence'' but the history of Jesus that can point to evidence. Thanks

The Bible is evidence - four people wrote accounts of his life, and others spoke of him.

 

[Wrangler]

I read a book 30 years ago called The Quest For The Historical Jesus.

 

[gordon7]

Evidence. ( FAITH)



John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Colossians 2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

 

[Prycejosh1987]

There are extra biblical sources that point to Jesus. I forgot most of it, but i did my research. The small tombs of people famous in the bible are in Israel. There are artifacts. The shroud of Turin speaks most to me because its hard not impossible but hard to prove it is a fake. Italy has a cathedral which has the actual, tomb of Jesus. But Israel claims the same thing. I go by what the bible says because at the end of the day. Only that counts. Anything can be doubted, faith comes from personal connection to Gods word.

 

[Jericho]

Cornelius Tacitus (about 56 AD – 120 AD) doesn't mention Jesus by name, but he does allude to him:

"But not all the relief that could come from man, not all the bounties that the prince could bestow, nor all the atonements which could be presented to the gods, availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus [Christ], the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.

Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus (37/38 AD – 100 AD) mentions Jesus by name:

Antiquities 20.9.1 But the younger Ananus who, as we said, received the high priesthood, was of a bold disposition and exceptionally daring; he followed the party of the Sadducees, who are severe in judgment above all the Jews, as we have already shown. As therefore Ananus was of such a disposition, he thought he had now a good opportunity, as Festus was now dead, and Albinus was still on the road; so he assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, whose name was James, together with some others, and having accused them as law-breakers, he delivered them over to be stoned.

Antiquities 18.3.3 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 among 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.

Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240) writing on the works of Samaritan historian Thallus (birth and death not known but he lived sometime in the 1st century. Most of Thallus' writings no longer exist, but he was mentioned by other writers. It is perhaps the earliest non-Biblical reference to Jesus:

"'Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun - unreasonably, as it seems to me' (unreasonably, of course, because a solar eclipse could not take place at the time of the full moon, and it was at the season of the Paschal full moon that Christ died)."

Pliny the Younger (61AD – 113 AD) was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny wrote of his persecution of Christians:

They affirmed, however, that the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verse a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves to a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft, adultery, never to falsify their word, not to deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up."

Suetonius (69 AD – sometime after 122 AD), a Roman Historian and annalist under Hadrian around 120 AD, wrote:

"As the Jews were making constant disturbance at the instigation of Chrestus [Christ], he expelled them from Rome".

Mara bar Serapion was a philosopher from Syria. Mara wrote a letter to his son Serapion where he says:

What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that their Kingdom was abolished... Nor did the wise King die for good; He lived on in the teaching which He had given."

Jesus wasn't mentioned by name, but he does allude to him as the "wise King". The gospels themselves represent historical evidence of Jesus, written by four different eyewitnesses. The Talmud, while denying Jesus was the Messiah, does affirm his existence:

"On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu [Jesus] (of Nazareth) … he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover"

It's been said there's more evidence for the existence of Jesus than Alexander the Great. All the stuff written about Alexander was writen several centuries after his death (the earliest known source is 150 to 200 years after Alexander's death). But there were contemporaries ( living at the same time) who wrote about Jesus.