The Historical Christ

Over the years, several people have asked me, “How do I prove to a non-believer that Jesus really existed, historically?” There is more documented evidence that Jesus is a historical personage than any other person in history. If there existed a Julius Caesar, Plato, or Alexander the Great, there must of necessary consequence have existed a man called Jesus (see Josephus – Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, Chapter 3, paragraph 3).

The evidence given in the New Testament that Christ was raised from the dead is based on solid, historical facts, i.e. the empty tomb – “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:1-3 ESV).

In addition, the inspired writer Paul, documents the many eyewitnesses which saw Christ after His resurrection when he states:

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen of Cephas, then by the twelve. After that, He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (I Corinthians 15:3-8; cf. 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1-3).

With this overwhelming biblical evidence in mind, the following additional studies are provided:

• The Historical Christ — Fact or Fiction?
• The Historicity of Jesus Christ

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets