You may not like the answer, but it is - NO! There is no direct empirical evidence (i.e., primary or reliable secondary sources) or absolute proof that Jesus existed. Unfortunately, to the chagrin of atheists and agnostics, there is no audio or video evidence of any person alive today who was there to see if Jesus existed, just as that same type of evidence doesn't exist for any historical figure throughout modern history.
The question concerning the existence of Jesus didn't start until a few hundred years after His death. There is existing document support that proves twenty to forty years after the time Jesus was said to have lived and died, a large following of people reportedly believed that He existed, as well as secular writers within 60 to 120 years after His death. It must be noted that ancient societies were mostly illiterate, and keeping historical records wasn't as important as it is today. It is also essential to recognize that in AD 70, the Romans invaded and destroyed Jerusalem and most of Israel, slaughtering its inhabitants, some of which could have been eyewitnesses of Jesus, and burning entire cities to the ground, which could have destroyed much evidence of Jesus' existence.
Some skeptics say that the titles "Christ" and "Christian" and even the name "Jesus Christ" did not appear before the Fourth Century, and any claim that the name "Jesus" was used before the Fourth Century is, at best spurious and specious.
The facts are that the earliest texts of the Bible never spelled out 'Jesus Christ' and used abbreviations, like 'I's X's, or 'Ise.' Jesus' name was not 'Jesus Christ.' The word 'Christ' (Gk: 'Christos') refers to His position, and the name 'Jesus' was widespread and is a transliteration of the Hebrew word 'Yehoshua' and the Greek word 'Iésous,' which means 'anointed one/Lord" in Hebrew.
Other than it is used two times in the New Testament by non-believers and once by a Believer, the term Christian/Christianity (Gk: 'Christianos') means "follower of Christ" and was first recorded in AD 100 by Ignatius of the Church of Antioch, which was founded between AD 35-50. The term originally came from non-believers/heathens who used it as a derogatory term (i.e., chrestians) to refer to the group of people who followed the Apostle's teaching about Jesus they were persecuting. The letter 'e' was changed to an 'i' around AD 300 to separate it from some of the pagan religions around at the time. The persecution didn't end until around AD 340 to 350.
Christianity has been accused of being a personality cult, but it is hard to start one and sustain it on someone who didn't exist, nor can people explain the sudden emergence of Christianity at that point in history Jesus was said to have risen from the dead.
THE HISTORICITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The religion of Christianity is the most significant evidence Jesus existed. The most reliable ancient document is the Bible, specifically the New Testament, which includes numerous biographical and eyewitness testimonial accounts of the life of Jesus in the form of detailed letters to the early churches, which represent extemporaneous evidence. Jesus was also known as a historical person by non-Christian writers eighty to one hundred years after His death.
The Bible today is the same as what was initially written. It has been translated many times in a one-step process from the original languages into multiple languages throughout history. However, it has never been rewritten.
The New Testament was written between AD 40-100, and there are approximately 5,700 copies of the Greek manuscripts made very close to the time of the originals, with most being 200 to 300 years later and some less than 100 years later. The Scribes who copied the original manuscripts were meticulous and made sure it perfectly matched. The writings of the New Testament are preserved better than any other ancient manuscript. All of them agree with each other with 99.5% accuracy.
Originals or autographs aren't needed because we can construct the whole Bible through different potteries and lectionaries, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, which contained the text of the Old Testament that was 1000 years older than the previous one, with just a few negligible discrepancies. The .5% variation would include textual misspellings or minor word alterations. There are also over 19,000 copies in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic languages, bringing the total supporting New Testament manuscript purity to over 24,000 copies, which is more than any other writing in history that authenticates the historical presence of Jesus. He is mentioned many times in legal documents from that century. His birth and death are both documented and mentioned by Jewish and Roman Historians decades later.
In comparison, there are only 10 manuscripts of Caesar's Gallic War and 251 copies of the works of Julius Caesar, the earliest of which is from 950 years after it was written. There are only 109 copies of the Historian Herodotus writings, with the earliest from 1,400 years after he wrote it, yet so-called 'scholars' don't doubt their credibility, veracity, or accuracy.
Skeptics, critics, and god-haters adjust their level of evidence and opinioned theories based on their previous confirmation bias that are based on modern perceptions, not on ancient, historical, and philological evidence and context, and then try to place the burden of proof on the other party. Scholars who focus on the structure, historical development, and relationships of a language are known as Philologists. Along with Historians, they can gather all the existing texts and use principles of philology and textual criticism to arrive at the probability of the origins, authenticity, and content of a text, then decide if the evidence is an accurate representation of history. Theories depend upon the fair evaluation of evidence, which can be misconstrued or disregarded by bias, which is why the best principles of philology and textual criticism must be used to list all relevant data in the equation or deduction. Many who argue against the historicity of Jesus have never actually studied history but are only repeating what they've read in Atheist Blogs and Forums.
Bias is not enough to rule out the historical significance of the early Christian writing. Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence, but neither legitimate textual Scholars nor Historians can provide the type of evidence that scientists can present by observation or experimentation concerning scientific laws that can be observed.
Scholars who focus on the structure, historical development, and relationships of a language are known as Philologists. Along with Historians, they can gather all the existing texts and use principles of philology and textual criticism to arrive at the probability of the origins, authenticity, and content of a text, then decide if the evidence is an accurate representation of history. The New Testament also contains bias, but there are historical documents with references that a majority of secular and religious scholars accept and find to be evidentiary to the historicity of Jesus.
There is also an abundance of corroborating archaeological evidence that substantiates the people and places mentioned in the New Testament. Historians from the three most essential societies, Roman, Jewish, and Christian, of the first century confirm He lived. There are no Roman or Jewish historical records that refute what the NT says, but some state that He was a heretic of the Jewish faith.
There is a group of historians on the lunatic fringe of modern atheism who believe Jesus is a myth and that a small handful of people invented Him, so their ramblings should not be taken seriously as a view of history. No sane person would doubt that Jesus was the founder of Christianity to whom billions of people throughout history have surrendered their lives. It seems intellectually dishonest to believe that the vast majority of New Testament historians, Christian, Jewish, and other religious leaders are mistaken in their foundational convictions about the origins of Christianity when they all agree that a historical person named Jesus, who attracted followers and was crucified under Pontius Pilate in the thirties of the first century, is somehow integral to explaining how Christianity got started as a sect within Judaism. It is incredibly improbable that Christianity would have spread as fast as it did without a guiding force, such as a group of followers with written documents.
However, there are abundant documents that tell of His existence and indirectly prove it, which are long-established, widespread, and beyond a reasonable doubt. Existing documents support the conclusion that Jesus was known as a historical person by Christian writers within 20 years of His death and by non-Christian writers 60 to 120 years after His death. Contrary to the ravings of skeptics and god-haters, the evidence that the New Testament is an accurate and trustworthy historical document is overwhelming.
A vast majority of modern mainstream textual scholars and classical historians of antiquity, comprised of both believers and non-believers, who have investigated the history of the Christian movement using standard historical criteria and have aided in reconstructing His life, find that the historicity of Jesus is effectively certain and consider His baptism and crucifixion to be sure as well. However, Scholars differ in their beliefs about the teachings of Jesus and the accurate details of His life that have been described in the Gospels. Within the last 150+ years, archaeologists have discovered thousands of ancient biblical manuscripts. There is no evidence of the content changing over time.
Jesus was mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians, as well as by dozens of Christian writers within a few decades of His death. There are numerous historical documents produced by Christian, Jewish, and Roman writers, which leave little objective, reasonable, and logical doubt that Jesus lived and died. No ancient person, pagan or Jew, ever seriously argued that Jesus did not exist and considered Him as an entirely historical person.
It is a universal practice for ancient writings to be copied many centuries later. From the beginning of Christianity, there have been those who questioned the divine birth, ministry, and death of Jesus, claimed that His birth was illegitimate, He performed miracles by evil magic, encouraged apostasy, and was justly executed for His sins, but they do not deny His existence.
As the universal Church grew over the years beyond the Greek-speaking lands, it became apparent that there was a significant need to translate the Scriptures into many languages. There were also different cults and factions arising that had their holy book(s) or additions to the existing books of the Bible, which made it essential to agree on a definitive list called a Canon.
EARLY HISTORICALLY VERIFIED CHRISTIAN WRITINGS
The birth of Jesus divided time, which is why we have the standardized Julian and Gregorian Calendars, which were first proposed in the year AD 525 by Dionysius Exiguus, a Christian monk. BC stands for before Christ, and AD stands for Anno Domini (in the year of the Lord).
In the early 1700s, the letters CE, which stands for the common or current era, and BCE stands for before the common era, were introduced for the sake of religious neutrality as well as that the BC/AD system is objectively inaccurate because the historical birth of Jesus was somewhere between 6 and 3 BC/BCE.
BC should appear after the numerical year, while AD should appear before it (ex: 1100 BC, AD 1066).
BCE and CE should both appear after the numerical year (Ex 1100 BCE, 1066 CE). A period may be used after each letter (e.g., 1100 BC, AD 1066, 1100 BCE, 1066 CE).
The facts are that there is both non-Christian and Christian historical evidence that Jesus existed. Numerous secular authors mention Him within 150 years of His life. There are no archeological findings that disprove the New Testament. Still, there is corroborating evidence that Jesus did exist, even though the purpose of archeology is to uncover the past and not to prove something.
The New Testament is a collected body of work that was first canonized in AD 170 within the Muratorian Canon (MC), which included 22 of the 27 books of the NT except Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and 3 John, which is over 80% of the NT. That is considered comprehensive and deemed authoritative by early Christians because the books presented a unified doctrinal core message on the person of Jesus the Christ and His atoning work on the Cross. It omitted several epistles because they were not accepted into the NT until later. This demonstrates that the early church fathers practiced discernment and didn’t accept any book or letter that claimed to be associated with an Apostle without scrutiny. The existence of the MC demonstrates that, well before the 27-book NT canon was officially recognized the early Christians had previous access to documents carrying apostolic authority. It was from those books and letters that the early Christians solidified their central beliefs about the person and atoning work of Jesus.
Both the OT and the entire NT could be reconstructed from the writings of the early Church Fathers such as Clement of Rome, who wrote a letter to the Church at Corinth in AD 95 that contained numerous OT Scriptures as well as the writings of the Apostles Jesus had hand-picked, that were considered as sacred Scripture.
The NT Scriptures (27) were compiled into one book in AD 144 by Marcion of Sinope (AD 85-160), the son of the Bishop of Pontus.
- AD 95 - Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight NT books.
- AD 108 - Polycarp, a disciple of John the Apostle, acknowledged 15 books.
- AD 115 - Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about seven books.
- AD 130-202 - Irenaeus quoted from 24 books over 1,800 times.
- AD 150 - Justin Martyr wrote a letter known as his first Apology to the Roman Emperor in which he
described what happened during a typical Sunday church service. He wrote that the Scriptures of the OT (the writings of the Prophets) and the writings of the NT were read out loud, and then a message (discourse) was preached, songs were sung, and people prayed together. Then, an offering was made, part of which was used to help those who were sick, as well as widows and orphans and all those who were in need (First Apology, 67).
- AD 170-235 - Hippolytus recognized 22 books.
- AD 185-254 - Origen Adamantius, a theologian and scholar, made over 18,000 references to the books in the NT.
There are numerous smaller fragments, such as the Rylands Papyrus (P52) dated to AD 125, that attest to the fact that earlier attempts were made to write down the sayings and actions of Jesus. A complete authorized list of books was not necessary for the majority of Christians because the whole church universally recognized and used the same list of books since the first century after Christ.
NON-CHRISTIAN HISTORICALLY VERIFIED EVIDENCE
Thallus (AD 55)
Thallus was a Greek Historian and non-Christian who mentioned Jesus. He wrote a three-volume history of the Mediterranean world from before the Trojan War to about AD 50, which predates most of the Gospel writings. Thallus thought it was necessary to counter the argument of Christians about the death of Jesus and provided hostile details about the Crucifixion of Jesus and wrote off the darkness that fell over the land at the time of His death as merely an eclipse and not a supernatural miracle. What can be gleaned from these writings is that what led to the Crucifixion of Jesus was known and discussed in Rome in the middle of the first century.
Thallus was quoted by Julius Africanus in a discussion of the darkness that followed the Crucifixion of Christ (see Luke 23:44-46). In trying to explain away the events of the day of the Crucifixion, he said,
"On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun." (Chronography, 18:1)
Sextus Julius Africanus (AD 160–240)
Africanus also discussed the darkness that accompanied the Crucifixion of Jesus (Matthew 27:45). Julius stated that Thallus was mistaken in his understanding of the reason for the darkness in a discussion that included the Crucifixion of Jesus and objected to the report of the eclipse of the sun because it cannot occur during a full moon, as was the case when Jesus died at Passover time.
Both the actual writings of Thallus and Africanus have been lost, but Africanus is quoted by Georgius Syncellus, a Byzantine, in his Chronicle, which was written about AD 800.
Mara Bar Serapion (Circa AD 73)
Mara Bar Serapion was a Syrian writer and philosopher who provided one of the earliest non-Jewish, non-Christian references to Jesus. The Romans destroyed the City where Sarapion lived and was taken captive. While captive, He wrote a letter to his son, also called Serapion, inspiring him to pursue wisdom and pointing out that those who persecute wise men are overtaken by misfortune. In it, he gives the examples of Socrates, Pythagoras, and the "wise Jewish king" who Roman soldiers called the "King of the Jews" (Matthew 27:27-29; Luke 23:3; John 19:19), and some Jews as well (Mark 15:12). He wrote,
"What benefit did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as judgment for their crime. Or, the people of Samos for burning Pythagoras? In one moment their country was covered with sand. Or the Jews by murdering their wise king?…After that their kingdom was abolished. God rightly avenged these men…The wise king…Lived on in the teachings he enacted."
Phlegon of Tralles (Circa AD 80–180)
Phlegon was a first-century Greek historian who wrote a book of history around the middle of the second century. He said that people thought Jesus had accurately predicted the future, had been crucified during the days of Tiberius Caesar, rose from the grave, and showed people His nail-pierced hands. The writings of Phlegon were referenced by Julius Africanus, who commented on his documentation of the darkness that came over the Earth at the time of the Crucifixion, but that a solar eclipse during the reign of Tiberius Caesar was impossible because there was a full moon that occurred during Passover. Phlegon was also referred to by Origen in 'Contra Celsum' in his mention of an eclipse and in his lack of knowledge about any (similar) eclipse in previous times.
Celsus (Circa AD 176)
Celsus was a Greek Platonist philosopher in the second century who wrote a paper called 'The True Doctrine (AKA The True Word, The True Discourse') that criticized Judaism and Christianity. His work remains primarily through quotations in Origen's rebuttal 'Against Celsus,' written 75 years later. Origen summarizes Celsus's arguments against Christianity by noting that he had used a literary device of imagining a Jew talking with Jesus. Celcius wrote that Jesus was born of a poor virgin, who he claimed Joseph drove away because of adultery, and he considered Jesus to be a magician who was known to have performed miracles and claimed to be divine (Matthew 1:19).
His work, "The True Word," has not survived, but it is quoted and paraphrased in defense of Christianity written by Origen Adamantius of Alexandria (c. 184 - c. 253), "Against Celsus" (c. 248 AD). Origen was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises on multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis, hermeneutics, homiletics, and spirituality.
Flavius Josephus (Circa AD 26–103)
Josephus was the son of a priest and grew up as a Noble in first-century Palestine. He considered himself a devout Jew and celebrated Judaism in his writings. In the early days of the first Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-70 AD), he joined the Jewish anti-Roman resistance movement and was in charge of the Jotapata fortress in Galilee. He refused to surrender until his life was guaranteed. Josephus gave a prophecy that Vespasian, who was his family benefactor, would become emperor, which caused him to be granted Roman citizenship and take the name Flavius. He was then commissioned to write a history of the Jewish people around AD 93. He wrote two collations of many historical books called the 'History of the Jewish War' (against Rome) and 'Antiquities of the Jews,' commonly referred to as the 'Testimonium Flavianum,' that were strongly at variance with rabbinic views and written in Greek for educated people. Josephus attempted appealing to aristocrats in the Roman world, and present Judaism to be a religion that should be admired for its moral and philosophical depth.
In his writings, Josephus provides authentic references to Jesus, which are consistent with the New Testament. He mentioned John the Baptist and the fact that Herod had him executed. He also wrote about James, the brother of Jesus, and confirmed that the High Priest Annas tried Jesus before His Crucifixion.
The shortest reference to Jesus (in Book 20) was incidental in identifying Jesus' brother, James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem. In the temporary absence of a Roman governor between Festus's death and Governor Albinus's arrival in 62 AD, the high priest Ananus ordered the execution of James. Josephus described it:
"Being therefore this kind of person [i.e., a heartless Sadducee], Ananus, thinking that he had a favorable opportunity because Festus had died and Albinus was still on his way, called a meeting [literally, "Sanhedrin"] of judges and brought into it the brother of Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah … James by name, and some others. He made the accusation that they had transgressed the law, and he handed them over to be stoned."
There are very few Scholars who have ever doubted the authenticity of this short account. On the contrary, the majority accepts it as genuine. The longest passage in Josephus's Jewish Antiquities (Book 18) that refers to Jesus is known as the "Testimonium Flavianum," which says:
"Around this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, [added - if indeed one ought to call him a man]. For he was one who did surprising deeds and a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was called [added - was] the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who in the first place came to love him did not give up their affection for him, for on the third day, he appeared to them restored to life. The prophets of God had prophesied this and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of Christians, so called after him, have still to this day not died out."
All surviving Greek manuscripts of the "Testimonium Flavianum" contain the same version of this passage, with no significant differences. The vast majority of Scholars believe that it is based on an original report by Josephus that was modified by others, probably Christian scribes, and is not reliable. However, after removing the modifications, the remaining text appears to be pure Josephus.
From these references, it can be justifiably surmised that Josephus accepted the existence of Jesus, who was 'called Christ,' whose conduct was reasonable and acknowledged Pilate crucified Jesus, and that many people became disciples who reported that He was alive and had appeared to them.
Most Jews viewed Josephus as a despicable traitor because Titus, the son of Vespasian, led the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem and burn the Temple in 70 AD, stealing its contents as spoils of war. The Romans were considered the worst enemies of the Jewish people. It was after Titus succeeded his father as Emperor that Josephus accepted the son's imperial support, just as he had done with Titus's brother and successor, Domitian.
Cornelious Tacitus (AD 56–117)
Tacitus, or more formally, Caius/Gaius (or Publius), was a historian and a senator for the Roman Empire in AD 112. He was a Roman senator, proconsul of Asia, orator, ethnographer, and arguably the best of Roman historians. His two major works are the 'Annals,' which covered AD 14-68, and the 'Histories,' which covered AD 69-96. Many portions of them have survived. In his 'Annals,' Tacticus included a biography of Nero and wrote that "Christus, the founder of the name [Christian], had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilatus" (Annals, XV, 44). He called the religion of the Christians a destructive superstition. He wrote about the suspicions Nero had that Christians were responsible for the Great Fire of Rome and that they believed the superstition that Jesus had risen from the dead. Nero tried to deflect the blame for the fire that destroyed Rome.
Tacticus also mentioned Christians, whom he despised, in 'Annals:'
"Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite punishments on a class hated for their disgraceful acts, called Christians by the populace. Christ, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty (i.e., Crucifixion) during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil but even in Rome, 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.
Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus_on_Christ)
The writings of Josephus and Tacitus corroborate or confirm the following statements about Jesus that are found in the New Testament:
1. He existed as a man.
2. His name was Jesus.
3. He was called Christos in Greek, a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, both of which mean "anointed" or "(the) anointed one."
4. He had a brother named James.
5. He won over both Jews and Greek Gentiles of the Hellenistic culture, and His followers continued to grow after His death.
6. Jewish leaders of the day expressed unfavorable opinions about Him.
7. Pilate made the decision that He should be executed.
8. His execution was explicitly by Crucifixion.
9. He was executed during the governorship of Pontius Pilot over Judea (26-36 AD) and the reign of Tiberius.
10. The Christian movement began in Judea and spread as far as Rome and continued into the beginning of the 2nd century because many of His followers did not abandon their belief in Him even after His Crucifixion.
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (Pliny the Younger) (Circa AD 61/63–113)
Pliny the Younger was the Governor of Bithynia (Turkey) in Asia Minor. In AD 112, he wrote for Emperor Trajan (Letters 10:96) asking for advice on what he considered the most appropriate way to conduct legal proceedings against a great multitude of every age, class, and sex that stood accused of being Christians and how to deal with their "pig-headed obstinacy" and contagious superstition.
Pliny explained that he had tried to force them to curse Jesus and recant, but they would not, so he killed many men, women, boys, and girls, which made him wonder if he should continue executing them and asked for advice about the best way to conduct legal proceedings against them because there was a great multitude of every age, social standing, and sex. He explained:
"Those who . . . repeated after me an invocation to the [pagan] gods, and offered adoration, with wine and frankincense, to your image . . . and who finally cursed Christ ... , I thought it proper to discharge" (Pliny Letters, Book X, XCVI).
At one point in his letter, Pliny relates some of the information he has learned about these Christians:
"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 any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food – but food of an ordinary and innocent kind."
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (Circa 69 BC–AD 130)
Suetonius was a Roman historian and chief secretary to the Roman Emperor Hadrian (76 BC–AD 138). He wrote that there was a man named Chrestus/Chrestos (i.e., Christ) who lived during the first century (Annals 15.44). He was a friend of Pliny the Younger and served under him for some time. His most important work was a set of biographies on the lives of twelve Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar to Domitian. He made two references to Jesus in his writing about the life of Claudius and the 'De vita Caesarum' (Lives of Caesars). He confirmed that Christians were present in Rome and that Claudius expelled them because they were constantly causing disturbances at the time Priscilla and Aquila departed from Rome around AD 49.
Lucian of Samosata (Circa AD 115-180)
Lucian was a second-century Greek writer and an antagonist satirist of Christianity who said he was born in Samosata, which was the former kingdom of Commagene that was absorbed by the Roman Empire and made part of Syria. He referred to Jesus in his work, 'The Death of Peregrine' (Circa after AD 165). Lucian mocked Christians for their ignorance and credulity for worshipping Jesus, who introduced new teachings, including the unity of all Christians, the importance of conversion, and the denial of other gods, which led to His Crucifixion. He mockingly said that from the moment they became a Christian, a person began living according to the laws of Jesus. They had contempt for death and renounced material goods, believing they were immortal.
His writings are full of ridicule and contempt for Christians and their "crucified sophist" (One skilled in elaborate and devious argumentation. Christians were despised by Lucian for worshiping someone thought to be a criminal worthy of death and especially despised "the man who was crucified."
The Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud and Tosefta (Aramaic for 'supplement,' or 'addition,' was a collection of oral traditions related to Jewish oral law) are rabbinic commentaries on the Old Testament and contain references to Yeshu (Jesus). The Babylonian Talmud is the most cited evidence for the Jesus of the New Testament, which was compiled between AD 70 and 200 and confirmed that Jesus was crucified on the eve of Passover. There were accusations against Him of practicing sorcery and encouraging Jewish apostasy (Sanhedrin 43a). The Jewish Talmud confirms the time, reason, and mode of the execution of Jesus, which is often referred to as 'hanging' to describe the Crucifixion (see Deuteronomy 21:23).
There are a few explicit, slanderous comments about Jesus in the Talmud, which makes it likely they are historically reliable. The most significant reference to Jesus from this period states:
"On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged (a synonym for crucified). For forty days before the execution took place, a herald ... cried, "He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy." [The Babylonian Talmud, transl. By I. Epstein (London: Soncino, 1935), vol. III, Sanhedrin 43a, 281, cited in Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 203].
CONCLUSION
Most legitimate and honest historians will agree that there is concrete evidence a man named Jesus, who performed incredible acts, had a large following, claimed to be the son of God, and was crucified, did, in fact, exist.
The bottom line is that overwhelming evidence exists for the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, both in secular and biblical history. There were tens of thousands of Christians in the first century AD, including the Apostles, and countless people throughout the last 2,000 years who willingly gave their lives as martyrs for Jesus when all they had to do was deny Him. People will die for what they believe to be accurate, but no one will die for what they know to be a lie.
The question that remains today - “Are you a believer in Jesus or a receiver?” A believer is like most historians. A receiver is a person who repents of their sins and asks the historical Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, becoming Born Again.
