Did Jesus Even Exist?

Perhaps one of the strangest approaches ever conceived to answer the question of Jesus’ existence. Defend his existence by utilizing the work of an atheist such as Bart Ehrman.

Surprised? You shouldn’t as we have promised to be honest with you from the very beginning. Besides all that, I really liked Ehrman’s book.

Anyway, Ehrman as most good scholars does begins his book by presenting the anti-Jesus arguments:

1. View that that the first century historical record is lacking evidence of Jesus’ existence
2. View that Jesus is not a major character in the New Testament outside of the Four Gospels
3. View that the Gospels are biased, full of contradictions and are unreliable
4. View that all the Gospels are based on the story of Mark (Q Source)
5. View that it is up to those who believe in Jesus to prove He is real

Response to the Anti-Jesus Arguments

Ehrman begins by listing several Roman and Jewish references to Jesus in the early 2nd century and even Jewish sources that are worth noting:

• Pliny the Younger’s letter of 112 CE writes of the Christian community who were gathering illegal to “sing hymns to Christ as to a god”
• Tacitus in 115 CE writes and mentions the story of Christ who was executed by Pontius Pilate but whose followers infected the city of Rome during the reign of Nero
• Suetonius in 115 CE wrote a biography of Claudius (41-54 CE) and mentioned how the followers of “Chrestus” were expelled from Rome. NOTE – It should be noted that Ehrman is not real comfortable with this notation but I would argue that this fits perfectly with the changing of the Roman fellowship from being primarily Jewish to Gentile in nature and I do so in my own work Paul’s Conundrum.
• Josephus wrote about Jesus in the first century in two separate sections of the Antiquities of the Jews. One of the sections is brief and could almost be read as a footnote – “the brother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.”
• Rabbinic Sources of the Mishnah/Gemara are difficult to quantify because some of the modern versions have omitted those sections dealing with Jesus but I would encourage you to do an internet search on the Talmud, Jesus and words such as Panthera and “black magic in Egypt.” But be aware some anti-Semitic sites use these references to stir up animosity and not for good historical understanding.

But what about arguments #2-4? Is Jesus mentioned outside of the “Gospels”? Is the Bible account of Jesus’ life full of contradictions and unreliable? Can I trust anything that anyone says about Jesus or anything anymore? Here are some answers that you might like to investigate for yourself…

1. The entire “Book of Acts” tells the story of the founding of the Early Christian Church around the Roman Empire but more importantly there are some amazing speeches especially in the first few chapters that are all about the life and testimony of Jesus – Acts 2; Acts 3:12-26; 4:8-20; 7:1-60; 13:16-44; and 22:1-14
2. Paul was not the only writer of the New Testament. Peter wrote two letters that were specifically written to Jewish believers. James and Jude, two brothers of Jesus, each wrote to a group of Jewish believers. John wrote not only three letters to churches but also the book of Revelation.
3. And speaking of Paul, he wrote about the resurrection of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15 and recounted in Galatians about his personal encounter(s) with Jesus after Acts 8 (see also 2 Corinthians 12).
4. But can we trust the Gospels? Here is an excellent interview with Michael Licona which answers the question better than I could (click link).
5. What about this Mark argument that there is only one Gospel? First, the anti-Jesus crowd needs to understand the Q Source a little better. The Q Source is based on the idea that Mark wrote down everything that Peter recounted to him. However, we have to recognize that Matthew wrote his Gospel to a Jewish audience, Mark to a primarily Greek audience and Luke was the Hellenistic Jewish doctor who was seeking to be analytical about everything. While they might have collaborated together – they still sought to have their own voice.
6. Additionally, the Gospel of John is separate in many ways. Matthew, Mark and John are considered the Synoptic Gospels in that they summarized the life of Jesus; whereas, John was interested in writing about the theology of Jesus. Read John and Matthew and notice the differences for yourself.

So … what about the deniers fifth argument that it is up to believers to prove that Jesus existed? Have you ever heard of the debate approach called “Moving the Goalpost.” This is what they are doing. However, I am going to use a quotation from Bart Ehrman, to make a good point about the Jesus deniers:

The idea that Jesus did not exist is a modern notion. It has no ancient precedents. It was made up in the eighteenth century. One might as well call it a modern myth, the myth of the mythical Jesus.” (Did Jesus Exist, page 96)

I know we have thrown a ton of information at you! And so, If you would like to discuss this with us more in a more casual way, come to the CAFÉ Kehillah Discussion Board. Meanwhile — go ahead and check out the next two questions –– https://www.exploremessiah.com/proof-jesus-arose-from-the-dead/ and https://www.exploremessiah.com/jesus-claim-messiah-maybe-more/.