Jesus: Fact or Fiction?

In 2022, several religious organizations based in the United Kingdom reported on a survey that queried Britons from a wide variety of religious beliefs and backgrounds. Its findings were telling: Nearly half of the UK population was unsure about whether Jesus of Nazareth was a real person, with 28 percent considering him “a mythical or fictional character” (“Talking Jesus Report 2022,” TalkingJesus.org).

Are they right to be skeptical? Did such a Man ever walk the earth?

In answering this question, we’ll examine sources to see if they corroborate the details described in the Bible. Then, having established that the Bible is a reliable source on the subject, we can further examine what it has to say.

So, what extrabiblical evidence exists that Jesus was real?

Historical Evidence of Jesus

First and Second Century Sources

Apart from Scripture, two early documents give us strong supporting evidence. The first comes from the writings of an individual regarded as one of Rome’s greatest historians—Tacitus, whose last work, Annals, was written around AD 116–117. Robert Van Voorst, in his 2000 work Jesus Outside the New Testament, translates a portion of Tacitus’ text written about the Great Fire of Rome: “Nero substituted as culprits and punished in the most unusual ways those hated for their shameful acts… whom the crowd called ‘Chrestians.’ The founder of this name, Christ, had been executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate…. Suppressed for a time, the deadly superstition erupted again not only in Judea, the origin of this evil, but also in the city [Rome]” (pp. 42–43).

Writing approximately 85 years after Christ’s death, Tacitus was not a Christian, and his mention of Christ was not in any way an effort to legitimize a mythical figure. There is no reason to doubt that Tacitus saw Jesus as a literal figure who had been crucified. Had this been an invention or the result of rumor, there would have been ample dissenting voices at the time.

Writing at an even earlier date, around AD 93, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also speaks of Jesus as a person whose existence is beyond doubt. Dr. Simon Gatherkol of the University of Cambridge describes Josephus’ two references to Jesus: “One of these is controversial because it is thought to be corrupted by Christian scribes (probably turning Josephus’s negative account into a more positive one), but the other is not suspicious—a reference to James, the brother of ‘Jesus, the so-called Christ’” (“What is the historical evidence that Jesus Christ lived and died?,” The Guardian, April 14, 2017). Referring to Christ in non-believing language fits with the way a first-century Jewish historian would view Jesus: as a real person whose Messianic claims were not accepted by everyone.

What about today’s scholars? Are they convinced that Jesus was real?

Scholarly Consensus About the Evidence of Jesus

Live Science and National Geographic are well-respected sources that no one would accuse of having mixed loyalties—they are not, nor do they claim to be, Christian publications. Yet an article published by Live Science made a strong statement: “Most theological historians, Christian and non-Christian alike, believe that Jesus really did walk the Earth” (“Proof of Jesus Christ? 7 Pieces of Evidence Debated,” July 8, 2013).

The statement made in National Geographic is even stronger: “‘I don’t know any mainstream scholar who doubts the historicity of Jesus,’ said Eric Myers, an archaeologist and Emeritus Professor of Judaic Studies and Archaeology at Duke University. ‘The details have been debated for centuries, but no one who is serious doubts that he’s a historical figure’” (“What Archaeology Is Telling Us About the Real Jesus,” December 2017).

Jesus was real. But Christianity does not base itself simply on the fact that Jesus once existed. It is founded upon the teaching that He was the Son of God, who rose from the dead.

Proofs Jesus Rose from the Dead

Writing to the congregation at Corinth, the Apostle Paul emphasizes Jesus’ resurrection as Christianity’s defining doctrine: “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God…. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile” (1 Corinthians 15:14–17). The Bible makes the stakes very clear.

Let’s examine three proofs that Christ rose from the dead. In doing so, we’ll look at some of the smaller details of the biblical account of His resurrection, asking if they would be easy to prove wrong if this were an act of deception on the part of the Apostles.

The Empty Tomb

The first proof that Christ rose from the dead is that His tomb was empty. Matthew’s gospel records an interesting detail concerning how Christ’s enemies reacted to the possibility of His resurrection: “When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, ‘Tell them, “His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.”’… So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day” (Matthew 28:12–15).

Matthew’s gospel would have been available to those living in Jerusalem. His claim is not only that the tomb was empty, but that different theories were still floating around as to why it was empty. If this saying were not well known at the time, the original readers of Matthew’s gospel would have immediately rejected it. While they may have debated the cause of the empty tomb, there is no doubt that the tomb where Christ’s body was laid was found empty three days later.

Hundreds of Eyewitnesses of the Risen Christ

The second proof that Christ rose from the dead is that there were hundreds of eyewitnesses. Paul wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians within 25 years of Christ’s death. Corinth was a trading hub that had strong connections to other cities around the Mediterranean—travel between Jerusalem and Corinth would have been routine. When Paul wrote his epistle, people who had been in Jerusalem at the time of Christ’s death were still available to verify the story.

Paul tells us 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…. 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” (1 Corinthians 15:3–6). Put plainly, Paul told his audience that at least 251 eyewitnesses remained who had seen Christ alive after His crucifixion. Had this been a lie, it would have been easy for his readers to reject it—yet they did not.

Some have tried to reason that, after 25 years, the memories of these witnesses were faulty. But what would we find if we canvassed eyewitnesses of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001? Some of the smaller details could become vague in their minds, but the fundamental truth of the attacks would remain consistent—none of the eyewitnesses would claim that the towers never fell. With more than 250 people claiming to have seen someone who had just been crucified walking around days later, you’ll need a better reason than “memories are tricky” to wish them away.

The Apostles’ Convictions

Others claim that all the so-called witnesses were in on the hoax—that the death of Christ prompted them to come up with a grand deception to get the attention of the masses. But a third striking piece of evidence is that the eyewitnesses were willing to die for this belief. If Christ didn’t rise from the dead, there’s no proof of the resurrection—thus, the concept of an afterlife would not have been motivation for deception—yet history tells us that almost all the Apostles died as martyrs for what they believed. They claimed to have spent a significant amount of time with the resurrected Christ. How would they all remain so steadfast, knowing their story was a sham? Such an idea does not withstand scrutiny.

There are many other proofs that we could point to, but even based on just these three we can be confident that Christ was resurrected. Not only was Jesus real—He is real.

Belief Is Not Enough

But do these facts change anything about our day-to-day lives? Accepting that Jesus played a significant role in the history of mankind is one thing—living as though His claims and His promises are true is another.

What does it mean to believe in Him? Is just believing that He exists enough? Not according to the epistle of James: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble” (James 2:19).

Even the demons believe He exists—but that’s not exactly counted as a point in their favor. So, what is their belief lacking? They simply do not follow what He teaches. James uses the example of Abraham to paint a picture of what real, sincere belief looks like: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (James 2:21–23).

Now, Scripture makes it very clear that we cannot earn our way to salvation. There is nothing you and I can do to overcome the penalty of our past sins. Forgiveness and redemption come only through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.

However, Abraham’s example shows that true belief results in action. If we say that we believe God inspired the Bible, but we then discard what it says, can we truly say that we believe Him? Christ warned that there would be those who, while professing His name, fall short of truly believing in Him. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,” He said, “but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

Jesus is very clear: It is not enough that we state our belief in Him.

Following Jesus Christ

While most would on the surface agree that we ought to follow Christ’s example, many believe that He kept God’s law so we would no longer need to. The Apostle John addressed this error plainly: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:4–6).

Christ expects us to follow in His footsteps, adhering to the same commandments He lived by and held dear. To truly believe in Him is to recognize that He knows right from wrong better than we do—and that we must look to His example to know how to conduct our lives. You can find out more about how to live as the real Jesus lived by requesting our free resource The Ten Commandments, or by reading it online right here at TomorrowsWorld.org.