Have you ever considered why the Israelites preserved the writings as they did? The descendants of Abraham were responsible for preserving the scriptures that repeatedly rebuked them for their idolatrous backsliding from God. They could have altered and preserved writings more flattering of them. Many of the nations surrounding Israel often chose to embellish their history, intentionally excluding derogatory remarks or events concerning themselves.
The descendants of Abraham believed God inspired the writers and that they described the coming Messiah, who according to these Scriptures, is not only destined to save the nation of Israel, but the entire world. The Old Testament writings describe and predict the coming Messiah. The New Testament documents the fulfillment of those predictions.
Since “secular” history verifies “Biblical” history on like topics it appears, we would be wise to heed what the Bible has to say concerning subjects not addressed in secular history.
Jesus is a real person and is as historical and just as real as any of the people we read about in history books.
The Historical Jesus, Fact or Fiction?
Tacitus, (A.D. 56 to 117), was a member of the Roman provincial upper class with a formal education who held several high positions under different emperors such as Nerva and Trajan. Tacitus' works contain a wealth of information about his world, but details on his own life are scarce. His most famous work, which was also his last work, Annals, was a history of Rome written approximately A.D. 115. The Annals covered the period from the death of Augustus Caesar in the year 14 A.D. up to Nero’s death in June 68 A.D and filled at least sixteen books. In the Annals Tacitus told of a Great Fire of Rome, which occurred in A.D. 64, Nero, the Roman emperor in office at the time, was suspected by many of having ordered the city set on fire. Tacitus wrote:
”Nero fabricated scapegoats---and punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved Christians (as they were popularly called). The governor of Judea, Pontius Pilatus, had executed their originator, Christ, in Tiberius’ reign. But in spite of this temporary setback, the deadly superstition had broken afresh, not only in Judea (where the mischief had started) but also even in Rome.”Tacitus hated both Christians and Christ. He would have nothing positive to say about what he referred to as a “deadly superstition.” His testimony establishes beyond any reasonable doubt that the Christian religion not only was relevant historically, but that Christ, its originator, was a verifiable historical figure of such prominence that He even attracted the attention of the Roman emperor himself!
Suetonius, who wrote around A.D. 120, had access to the Imperial and Senatorial archives and to a collection of memoirs and public documents, and lived nearly 30 years under the Caesars. Much of his information about Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero comes from eyewitness of the events he described.
Suetonius wrote:
Luke mentioned the expulsion.“Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbance at the instigation of Chrestus, he (Claudius) expelled them from the city.”
Acts 18:2Chrestus is thought to be a misspelling of Christos, the Greek word that translates Messiah.
And he (Paul) found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. …
In (A.D.49) when Claudius issued his decree forbidding Jewish worship in Rome, Christians fell under this ban for they were still considered a Jewish sect. There had been rioting in the city over one "Chrestos" presumably provoked by a disagreement between Rome's Jews and Christians over Jesus.
Suetonius further noted:
“Punishments were also inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing a new and mischievous religious belief.”Suetonius as well as the Roman government hated the band of rebels.
Pliny the Younger was sent by the Roman emperor Trajan to govern the affairs of the region of Bithynia. From this region, Pliny wrote to the emperor concerning a problem he viewed as quite serious. He wrote:
“Having never been present at any trials of the Christians, I am unacquainted with the method and limits to be observed in either examining or punishing them. In the meanwhile, the method I have observed towards those who have been denounced to me as Christians is this: I interrogated them whether they were Christians; if they confessed it I repeated the question twice again, adding the threat of capital punishment; if they still persevered, I ordered them executed.”Pliny’s use of the term Christians corroborates it as a generally accepted term, recognized by both the Roman Empire as well as its emperor. Pliny used the term Christ to refer to the originator of the “sect.” He noted that those who professed Christianity
“Affirmed, however, 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 verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds…”Christians, with Christ as their founder, had multiplied in such a way as to draw the attention of the emperor and his magistrates by the time of Pliny’s letter to Trajan. As a result, it cannot be denied that Jesus Christ existed and was recognized by the highest officials within the Roman government as an actual historical person.
Hostile Roman witnesses who bore testimony of Jesus never depicted Jesus as the Son of God nor as the Savior of the world. They described Jesus as a man. Yet even though they missed the mark regarding the truth of Who He was, they documented that He was.
Josephus is an important Jewish witness. He was born into a Jewish upper class priestly family around A.D. 37. His education in biblical law and history was the best of his day. Josephus wrote Antiquities of the Jews between September 93 and September 94. In Antiquities, Josephus wrote:
“So he assembled the Sanhedrim of the judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James and some other companions and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned;”This well-educated, Jewish historian wrote about a man name Jesus Who actually existed in the first century.
Even if we did not have the New Testament or other Christian writings, we would be able to conclude from such non-Christian writings as Josephus, the Talmud, Pliny the Younger and others that:
- Jesus was a Jewish teacher;
- Many people believed that he performed healings and exorcisms;
- He was rejected by the Jewish leaders;
- He was crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius;
- 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 64 A. D.;
All kinds of people from the cities and countryside---men and women, slave and free---worshiped him as God by the beginning of the second century.
Another group of writers that make up a significant group of witnesses to the existence of Christ is the group of men who wrote from the end of the first century to the eighth century A.D. Their writings are Christian in their orientation, the early date of many of the writings provide evidence that Christ was a genuine historical person.
Polycarp and early Christian who lived approximately 69-155 A.D. wrote several letters, including one titled The Epistle to the Phillipians. In it he explains that Jesus “suffered even unto death,” and quotes several commandments and remarks from Jesus.
Iraneus, who lived from approximately 120-202 A.D. notes several things about Polycarp:
For I have a more vivid recollection of what occurred at that time of recent events…so that I can even describe the place where the blessed Polycarp used to sit and discourse—his going out, too and his coming in—his general mode of life and personal appearance, together with the discourse which he delivered to the people; also how he would speak of his familiar conversations with John, and with the rest of those who had seen the Lord; and how he would call their words to remembrance. Whatsoever things he had heard from them respecting the Lord, both with regard to His miracles and His teaching, Polycarp having thus received [information] from the eye witnesses of the Word of Life, would recount them all in harmony with the Scriptures.
Several other early church writers can be documented and referenced along similar lines. Origen lived from 185-253 A.D., Justin Martyr from 100-165, Tertullian from 160-215, and Clement of Alexandria from 150-215. Each of these men, and others from comparable time periods, wrote extensively about Jesus
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John provide more information about Jesus than any other sources. But can these books be considered historical evidence or are they writings whose reliability and objectivity are in question? How well do the records of these four men compare with historical documents? They do not claim to be merely history books but they do claim the historical facts they relate are accurate with no errors.
Acts 1:1-3
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, [2] until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. [3] To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
Pontius Pilate: All four gospel accounts refer to Pontius Pilate. His inquisition of Jesus at the insistence of the Jewish mob is one of the most memorable events in the life of Jesus. Three times, he explained to the mob that he found no fault with Jesus
John 19:4John 18:38
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him.
Pilate went out again and said to them, "See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him."
Wanting not to upset the mob even more than it already was Pilate ceremonially washed his hands, symbolically absolving himself of any responsibility and then gave Jesus to be scourged and crucified.John 19:6
When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him."
For most of the 2000 years since this event, the only references to Pilate were by Josephus and Tacitus. The record of his life showed he was the Roman ruler over Judea from 26-36 A.D. The records show he was a very rash and violent man.
Luke 13:1Pilate had people killed while the people were making sacrifices.
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Besides an occasional reference to Pilate in various records, there were no inscriptions or monuments that documented the life of Pontius Pilate. That is until 1961.
In 1961, Pilate moved from a figure known only from ancient literature to a figure attested to by archaeology. The Roman officials who controlled Judea during Jesus’ time, are thought to have made their headquarters in the ancient town of Caesarea as indicated by two references by Josephus to Pilate’s military and political activity in that city. Located in Caesarea was a large Roman theater that a group of Italian-sponsored archaeologists began to excavate in 1959. Two years later, in 1961, researchers found a two-foot by three-foot slab of rock that had been used “in the construction of a landing between flights of steps in a tier of seats reserved for guests of honor.” The Latin inscription on the stone proved that originally it was not meant to be used as a building block in the theater. On the stone, the researchers found what was left of an inscription bearing the name of Pontius Pilate. The entire inscription is not legible, but one researcher commented, “The name Pontius Pilate is quite unmistakable, and is of much importance as the first epigraphical documentation concerning Pontius Pilate, who governed Judea A. D. 26-36. What the complete inscription once said is not definitely known, but there is general agreement that originally the stone may have come from a temple or shrine dedicated to the Roman emperor Tiberius.” It would be difficult to find a stronger piece of evidence for the New Testament’s accuracy. Now known as “The Pilate Inscription,” this stone slab documents that Pilate was the Roman official governing Judea, and even uses his more complete name of Pontius Pilate, as found in
Luke 3:1One last example:
In the fifteenth year of
the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
Sergius Paulus the Proconsul of Cyprus
Throughout Paul’s missionary journeys. He and his fellow travelers came in contact with numerous prestigious people—including Roman rulers of the area in which Paul and his friends were preaching. If Luke had been fabricating these travels, he could have made vague references to Roman rulers without giving specific names and titles. But that is not what he did. In Acts, it seems Luke went out of his way to document specific cities, places, names and titles.
One is found in Acts 13.
Acts 13:4-7This permits a student of archaeology two areas to verify or prove false. First, did a proconsul rule the area of Cyprus and Paphos during the time of Paul’s work there? Second, was there ever a Sergius Paulus?
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. [5] When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in he synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. [6] When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus (aka Elymas). [7] He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
For many years, those who doubted Luke’s accuracy claimed the area around Cyprus would not have been ruled by a proconsul but by a propraetor.
Proconsul is a deputy or governor appointed and controlled by the Roman Senate. He was the highest ranking official on the island.
Propraetor is a elected official similar to our mayor or judge.
When Cyprus was annexed from Egypt in 58 B.C. in was considered an imperial province and would have been put under a “propraetor” not a proconsul. In 22 B.C., Augustus transferred it to the Roman Senate. Once given to the Senate, proconsuls would have ruled Cyprus, just as in the other senatorial provinces.
In addition to Cyprus becoming a senatorial province, archaeologists have found copper coins from the region that refer to other proconsuls who were not much removed from the time pf Paul. One coin called “a copper procousulare coin of Cyprus,” pictures the head of Claudius Caesar, and contains the title of Arminius Proclus Proconsul…of the Cyprians.
As impressive as Luke having accurately recorded the specific title is the fact that evidence has become known that supports that the proconsul’s name, Sergius Paulus is as accurate. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia records three ancient inscriptions that could be possible matches. First, on the north coast of Cyprus, an inscription was uncovered that mentioned Paulus, who was a proconsul. Another Latin inscription was discovered that refers to a Lucius Sergius Paulus who was “one of the curators of the Banks of the Tiber during the reign of Claudius.” Finally, a fragment of a Greek inscription from a coin discovered in northern Cyprus refers to a Quintus Sergius Paulus as proconsul during the reign of Claudius. Regardless of which of these inscriptions actually connects to Acts 13, there were at least two men name Paulus who were proconsuls in Cyprus and at least two men named Sergius Paulus were officials during Claudius’ reign. Luke’s accuracy is confirmed again.
When someone asks “Is the life of Jesus Christ a historic event?,” he or she must remember that “if we maintain that the life of Jesus is not a historical event, we have to give up ancient history and deny that there ever was such an event as the assassination of Julius Caesar”. And we will have to deny the historical reliability of the New Testament documents.
Certain facts about Jesus are supported by at least as much reliable evidence as are a number of other historical facts known to us from the ancient world that we take for granted.
Faced with overwhelming evidence that Jesus lived on this earth is a fact that cannot be denied successfully. Critics do not like having to admit it, but they cannot deny that Jesus has had a greater impact on the world than any single life before or after. Nor can they deny that Jesus died at the hands of Pontius Pilate. The simple fact of the matter is that Jesus did exist and he lived among men just as recorded in the Bible.
Early Christians welcomed a full examination of the credentials of the message that they preached.
While Paul was on trial before King Agrippa, he said to Festus:
Acts 26:26
For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.
Author, Norman Anderson, wrote:
“It is impossible to say that no one has the right to be an agnostic. But no one has the right to be an agnostic till he has thus dealt with the question, and faced this fact with an open mind. After that, he may be an agnostic—if he can.”
Acts 9:22
But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
Acts 17:3
explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ."
There are two issues,
- To understand the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament has come;
- To understand that Jesus is the Messiah.
Do you ever wonder how Paul proved Jesus was the Christ? Well, that is for another time.
We know Jesus lived. We can trust the Bible is true. We know Paul proved it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and we know Paul was able to prove Jesus was the Messiah. We need to know the Bible.
Richard Carrier wrote on his website about the resurrection that:
“No amount of argument can convince me to trust a 2000-year-old second-hand report over what I see, myself, directly, here and now, with my own eyes. … I see no one returning to life after their brain has completely died from lack of oxygen. I have had no conversations with spirits of the dead. How can what this 2000-year-old second-hand tale … command more respect than my own eyes? It cannot.”
Although such an argument at first appears to be perfectly plausible, it encounters two major difficulties. First, there are things that took place in the past that no one alive today has seen or ever will see, yet they are still accepted as fact. The origin of life on this planet provides a good example. Regardless of whether a person believes in creation or evolution, they must admit that some things happened in the past that are still not occurring today…
Second, it is true that a dead person rising from the dead would be an amazing and astonishing event. People do not normally rise from the dead in the everyday scheme of things. Yet, wasn’t the specific point the apostles and other witnesses of the resurrection were trying to get people to understand? If Jesus truly rose from the grave never to die again—thereby accomplishing something that no mortal man had ever accomplished—wouldn’t that be enough to prove He was the Son of God as he had claimed? He had predicted that He would be raised from the dead. And He was!
While we do not need faith to believe the historical facts recorded in the Bible, it is a bold leap of faith to accept the Scriptures as the inspired revelation of God. Jimmy Jividen wrote; the inspiration of the scriptures is accepted, not by proving a proposition or witnessing a paranormal event that claims to be a miracle, but from choosing to believe the testimonies of qualified witnesses. John wrote:
That is all I have to say so…………John 21:24
This is the
disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
1 John 1:1-3
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— [2] the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— [3] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
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