Evidence Jesus Did Exist

Ephesians 4:13,14,15

Early Historians/Writers

1. Josephus was the single most prominent first century Jewish historian. While not a Christian himself, a small but important piece of his writings were about Jesus.

2. Thallus was a first century Greek historian. Only a few tidbits of his writings exist. One of them is "on the whole world there pressed a fearful darkness, and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down", which sounds eerily like Matthew 27:45, Luke 23:44,45. He attributes this to an eclipse.

3. Another very early reference about Jesus by a non-Christian was Mara_Bar-Serapion who wrote this letter to his son around 40 years after Jesus was crucified. He encourages his son to pursue wisdom from both Jesus and Socrates.

4. Roman Senator and Historian Cornelius Tacitus (55-120 A.D.) briefly mentions Jesus and the Christian movement in his work "The Annals". The translation is here. This is the only secular document discovered so far that mentions Pontius Pilate.

5. Pliny the Younger (61-112 A.D.) wrote hundreds of letter to a multitude of people. One letter to Emperor Trajan made fun of Christians and their willingness to die for Christ who he considered a myth. Here is a a sample letter.

6. Suetonius (69 (75)-130 A.D.) Court official under Hadrian and historian referred to Jesus in his work Twelve Caesars translated here.

7. Phlegon (2nd century A.D.) wrote "The Chronicles". This document is lost, but a little piece of his writings are preserved by Julius Africanus. Like Thallus, he also talks about the "darkness" and also associates it with a solar eclipse. Sixth century writer Philopon also quotes Phlegon.

8. Polycarp (70 - 156 A.D.) wrote "The letter to the Philippians (translation to English here.He was a disciple of John and willingly gave his life for his faith.

9. Celsus (185-254 AD) argued against the divinity of Christ in his book The True Word. However, he never even suggested Jesus did not exist.

10. Lucian of Samosata (185-254 AD) 125 - 180(A.D.) was an Assyrian rhetorician and satirist. He ridiculed Christians in his writings, but in doing so he confirmed Jesus was crucified and was the founder of Christianity. However, he never even suggested Jesus did not exist.

11. Hegesippus (110-180 AD) was a Jew who did extensive personal research including extensive travel to Rome and Corinth before he finally converted to Christianity. His writings are here and reflect the belief of people he personally talked to rather than the scripture.

12. Origen (185-254 AD) and Tertullian are examples of prolific early Christian writers.

13. The Babylonian Talmud does not accept the divinity of Jesus, however it clearly states that Jesus (Yeshu) died at Passover. It also said that Jesus performed miracles, but dismissed it as sorcery.

Was there an eclipse?

Both Thallus and Phlegon above claim there was an eclipse when Jesus was crucified. Was there? According to NASA's eclipse map from 21 to 40 AD, there was no eclipse visible in Israel when Jesus died.