Jesus as a Historical Figure

Jesus of Nazareth was a real person that lived in Israel during the time of its Roman occupation. He was not born of men, but among men – hence his Name, “God with us.” He was born to Joseph and Mary. This Mary (Miriam) had the honor of being chosen to carry the Savior of mankind in her womb, and it is her DNA that shaped what the earthly Jesus looked like. He was not born of Joseph, as he was a type of “step-father” to the young Yeshua. Instead, it is recorded in the Bible that Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, which is why she is known by many as the Virgin Mary (of course, she didn’t stay a virgin, as she had other kids with Joseph, after all).

Many now don’t believe that He actually ever existed. I had an atheist coworker and friend tell me that there was no evidence of Jesus even existing, and that the Romans were known to document everything. They should have had massive amounts of writings concerning this person that was performing miracles, shouldn’t they? Well, let’s put this to the test. I’ve heard that there is more evidence for the historical Jesus than there was for Caesar Augustus, the adopted son of Julius Caesar! Let’s take a page from Sean McDowell’s website:

The Historical Evidence for Jesus vs. Tiberius Caesar
SeanMcDowell.org 
 
“How does the historical evidence for Jesus compare with other prominent figures
of his day?” This is one of the most common questions I get from believers and
skeptics alike. It is a fair question. One of the best responses I have found is
to compare the sources for Jesus with the sources for Tiberius Caesar, the Roman
emperor from AD 14-37.
As the Roman emperor, Tiberius would have been the most powerful man alive during
the life and ministry of Jesus. While some coins have been found from the time of
his reign, the primary way we know about Tiberius is through written accounts,
some of which appear long after his death.
 
The Historical Evidence for Tiberius 
 
In Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament, A.N. Sherwin White summarizes
the historical evidence for Tiberius
 
“The story of [his] reign is known from four sources, the Annals of Tacitus and
the biography of Suetonius, written some eighty or ninety years later, the brief
contemporary record of Velleius Paterculus, and the third-century of Cassius Dio.
These disagree amongst themselves in the wildest possible fashion, both in major
matters of political action or motive and in specific details of minor events…But
this does not prevent the belief that the material of Tacitus can be used to write
a history of Tiberius” (p. 187-188).
 
While there are a few other sources not mentioned by White (including Biblical
sources), most scholars believe we have sufficient documentation of his life. And
this is exactly what we would expect for a person of his influence and stature.
Yet how does this compare to the sources for Jesus? 
Remember, unlike Tiberius, Jesus had no political position, military power, or
governmental authority. He was an itinerant preacher who was largely rejected by
his own people. His public ministry was 2-3 years long and he only traveled within
Judea. Any historical comparison of Tiberius and Jesus must take into account the
length and nature of their ministries.
 
The Historical Evidence for Jesus 
 
In comparison with Tiberius, what historical evidence do we have for Jesus?
Simply put, we have four historical biographies (Gospels) written in the first
century when there would still would have been eyewitnesses around to confirm or
reject the claims. We also have the letters of Paul, seven that are accepted by
critical scholars, which date from 20-30 years after Jesus’ death. There are also
short creeds embedded within Paul’s letters, such as 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, which
likely dates within 5 years of Jesus’ death. And we also have the other NT books,
early church fathers, and secular sources such as Mara Bar-Serapion, Josephus,
Tacitus, Suetonius, and so on.
 
Given the breadth of evidence for Jesus, Justin Bass offers the following
perspective in his recent book The Bedrock of Christianity:
 
“Tiberius was the most powerful man in the world of his day. Jesus was one of the
poorest, belonging to the peasant class as a Jewish carpenter. He even died the
most shameful death, a slave’s death, on a cross during Tiberius’ reign. Yet we
have far more reliable written sources and closer to the time of Jesus’ actual
life and death than this Caesar of Rome."[1] 
 
Considering what might be expected (given the nature of their lives and positions),
the historical evidence for Jesus is remarkable when compared to Tiberius Caesar…
It may be an overstatement to say the evidence for Jesus far surpasses that for
Tiberius. But if we consider what would be expected, given both the length of
their “rule” and the nature of their public ministries, the evidence for Jesus is
remarkable when compared with the most powerful person of his day.
 
(Source: https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/the-historical-evidence-for-jesus-is-
greater-than-for-caesar)

 

It must also be noted that Jesus actually died (i.e., he stopped existing) for three whole days! Then, He was roused from the dead by the Father. Some in the time of the apostles, probably influenced by the Gnostic heretics, said that Jesus only came in spiritual form, and so there was no such thing as a resurrection from the dead. Paul refutes this in 1Cor 15:12,

“Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some
among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no
resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has
not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover
we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God
that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if
Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have
hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied” (NASB).