The Historical Jesus

While the crucifixion was in progress, ⁽⁹²⁾ Jesus’ executioners gambled for his garments (Acts of Pilate; Justin). ⁽⁹³⁾ Mara Bar-Serapion asserted that Jesus was executed unjustly and that, as a result, the Jews were judged by God. ⁽⁹⁴⁾ The creed in 1 Peter 3:18 also notes the contrast of a righteous person dying for sinners. ⁽⁹⁵⁾ It is reported that darkness covered the land during the crucifixion (Thallus, Phlegon), ⁽⁹⁶⁾ followed by earthquakes (Phlegon). ⁽⁹⁷⁾ Jesus was on the cross until evening, ⁽⁹⁸⁾ after which his body was removed and he was buried (Justin; creeds: 1 Cor. 15:4; Acts 13:29).

The man buried in the Shroud of Turin was also buried ⁽⁹⁹⁾ hastily, ⁽¹⁰⁰⁾ individually, and ⁽¹⁰¹⁾ in fine linen, all of which are uncommon procedures for a victim of crucifixion. Furthermore, ⁽¹⁰²⁾ Jewish burial procedure sometimes involved sealing the tomb (Nazareth Decree). Even though it may not directly concern Jesus, grave robbing was punishable by death in Palestine (Nazareth Decree).

The Resurrection of Jesus

⁽¹⁰³⁾ During this time Jesus’ friends left and denied him (Justin), experiencing despair at his death. ⁽¹⁰⁴⁾ Then, three days after Jesus’ death, the tomb in which he was buried was found empty (Justin; creeds: Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4, implied; cf. Toledoth Jesu). ⁽¹⁰⁵⁾ The Jews claimed that the disciples stole the body and proclaimed him risen (Toledoth Jesu; Justin), but such a view fails to explain the known facts.³

Numerous sources assert ⁽¹⁰⁶⁾ that Jesus was raised from the dead (creeds: Luke 24:34; Acts 2:24, 31-32; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30-37; 2 Tim. 2:8; Clement; Ignatius; Justin; Gospel of Truth; Gospel of Thomas; Treatise on Resurrection). Strong evidence for the resurrection appearances comes from the ⁽¹⁰⁷⁾ early reports of this event, probably dating from the AD 30s, and from the eyewitnesses themselves, who reported having seen the risen Jesus personally (creeds: 1 Cor. 15:3ff.; Luke 24:34; Acts 2:32; 3:15; 5:30-32; 10:39-42; 13:28-31).

More specifically, reports indicated ⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ that Jesus appeared to Peter (creeds: 1 Cor. 15:5; Luke 24:34) and ^(109-110) to the other disciples on more than one occasion (creeds: 1 Cor. 15:5, 7; Acts 10:39-42; 13:28-31; cf. Josephus; Ignatius; Justin), ⁽¹¹¹⁾as well as to over 500 people at once (creed: 1 Cor. 15:6). ⁽¹¹²⁾ Jesus invited them to touch his resurrected body (Phlegon), which they did (Ignatius), ⁽¹¹³⁾ and he even ate and drank in their presence (creed: Acts 10:41; Ignatius). During this time, Jesus also taught his disciples ⁽¹¹⁴⁾ concerning the Old Testament prophecy that he had fulfilled (Justin) and ⁽¹¹⁵⁾ told them to preach the gospel (creed: Acts 10:42). But Jesus did not appear only to believers. For instance, he was seen by two of the best known skeptics in the early church — ⁽¹¹⁶⁾ James, the brother of Jesus (creed: 1 Cor. 15:7) and ⁽¹¹⁷⁾ Paul (creed: 1 Cor. 15:8).

If Jesus is the man buried in the Shroud of Turin and the cloth is not a fake, there are additional evidences here for his resurrection from the dead. ⁽¹¹⁸⁾ There is no decomposition on the shroud, indicating a hasty departure of the body. But further, ⁽¹¹⁹⁾ the body buried in the cloth was apparently not unwrapped, while ⁽¹²⁰⁾ the most probable cause for the image on the shroud is a scorch from a dead body.

It is asserted that after Jesus’ resurrection and his subsequent brief ministry on earth, ⁽¹²¹⁾ he ascended to heaven (creeds: 1 Tim. 3:16; Phil. 2:6f.; Justin; cf. Quadratus) and ⁽¹²²⁾ was exalted (creeds: Acts 2:33; 5:31; 13:21; Apocryphon of John; Gospel of Thomas).

The Earliest Church

As a result of these events, ⁽¹²³⁾ Jesus’ disciples were transformed from persons who were afraid to be associated with him just a short time before to strong witnesses whose lives were changed (Tacitus; Suetonius; Mara Bar-Serapion; Josephus; Clement; cf. Pliny; cf. creed: 1 Tim. 3:16). ⁽¹²⁴⁾ The gospel became the center of early Christian preaching (creed: 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Clement) and ⁽¹²⁵⁾ salvation was taught through Jesus Christ (creeds: Acts 2:38-39; 3:19-23; 4:11-12; 5:32; 10:42-43; 13:26; 38-41).

⁽¹²⁶⁾ The resurrection of Jesus was the validation of his claims and showed that Jesus was approved by God as an accredited spokesman (creeds: Acts 2:22-24, 36; 3:13-15; 10:42; 13:32-33; Rom. 1:3-4; 10:9-10; Clement; Ignatius). ⁽¹²⁷⁾ Early Christian preaching took place in Jerusalem, where Jesus had been crucified shortly before. ⁽¹²⁸⁾ The church began and grew, ⁽¹²⁹⁾ with Sunday as the primary day of worship (cf. Pliny; Barnabas).

Evaluation of Sources

The Life of Jesus

We have examined a total of 45 ancient sources for the life of Jesus, which include 19 early creedal, four archaeological, 17 non-Christian, and five non-New Testament Christian sources. From this data we have enumerated 129 reported facts concerning the life, person, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus, plus the disciples’ earliest message. This is not to say that all of these sources are of the same quality (for a variety of reasons). But these facts (and those mentioned below) are spread out across all of the categories and types of writers and are rather evenly balanced.

There can be little doubt that this is a substantial amount of pre- and non-New Testament material for Jesus’ existence and for numerous facts about his life. In light of these reports we can better understand how groundless the speculations are that deny his existence or that postulate only a minimal amount of facts concerning him. Much of ancient history is based on many fewer sources that are much later than the events that they record, as we have seen. While some believe that we know almost nothing about Jesus from ancient, non-New Testament sources, this is plainly not the case. Not only are there many such sources, but Jesus is one of the persons of ancient history concerning whom we have a significant amount of quality data. His is one of the most mentioned and most substantiated lives in ancient times.

The Person of Jesus