Wayne Jackson is the author of this article. It's reprinted here from the October, 1977 edition of The Christian Courier, which was published by the East Main Street Church of Christ in Stockton, California and edited by Jackson.
E. F. Harrison was quite correct when he declared: "Some religions, both ancient and modern, require no historical basis, for they depend upon ideas rather than events. Christianity is not one of those" (A Short Life of Christ, p. 11). Christianity depends upon whether or not Jesus of Nazareth ever lived and whether the New Testament data regarding Him is reliable.
Around the middle of the 19th century Bruno Baur, a German theologian and historian concocted the notion that Jesus never lived; He was entirely mythical. Christ, he alleged, was simply a mental invention of a few 2nd century Christians who drew their concepts of their "Messiah" from Greco-Roman philosophy. Others, influenced by Baur, modified his views somewhat. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), a more recent German theologian and famous medical missionary, though acknowledging the existence of a "Jesus", nevertheless asserted in his book The Quest of the Historical Jesus (1906) that the real Jesus of history was so different from the Christ revered by Christians that the Lord Jesus of New Testament fame really could not be based upon historical fact.
The fact of the matter is, "Jesus Christ was a verifiable historical character. He was no myth! His name was Jesus and He was born in the latter half of the eighth century of the Roman era. His ancestry was Hebrew; His country Palestine. He died in Jerusalem in the administrations of governor Pontius Pilate and emperor Tiberius Caesar. These are incontrovertible facts; they are as historically certain as history can be" (Wayne Jackson, Fortify Your Faith In An Age of Doubt, p. 22). Actually, this writer knows of no reputable scholar who currently denies the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth. The historicity of Jesus can be established along several lines.
(1) Christ's existence is established by the primary documents of the New Testament record. Though some would not admit these as historical evidence, they must be admitted if one affirms anything at all regarding Jesus, for they are the only documents in existence that were penned by authors contemporary with the great Teacher. And there is absolutely no reason for denying the historical integrity of the New Testament books. All of the New Testament narratives had been completed within sixty years or so of Christ's death. Of the twenty seven books, no less than ten were penned by personal companions of the Lord and Paul, an eye witness of Christ, wrote thirteen or fourteen of the remainder.
It has been fashionable in recent decades to relegate the New Testament books to the 2nd century A.D. They were considered to be productions of unknown authors (the obvious design behind such theories being the repudiation of these documents as primary sources of historical information). It is interesting to note however, that now even the radical theologians are having to bow bloody heads to the blows of evidence. For instance, recently modernistic theologian John A. T. Robinson of England dropped a bomb in the liberal camp with the publication of his book Redating The New Testament. In this volume he argues, much to the dismay of his colleagues, that all of the New Testament books were written in the first century. Amazingly (for a liberal), he contends that the book of James was penned by a brother of the Lord within two decades of Jesus death. Paul authored all the books that bear his name and John the apostle penned the fourth gospel!
(2) The earliest non-Christian testimony to the Lord's existence is that of the Jewish historian Josephus (37-100 A.D.). In his Antiquities of the Jews the historian twice refers to Jesus. In one passage he calls Jesus the Christ, refers to His "marvelous deeds" and alludes to His death and resurrection (18.3.3). Some scholars contend that this passage is out of character with the unbelieving Josephus, hence it must have been embellished by some over-zealous scribe. Be that as it may, it is an historical reference to Jesus. In the other passage, the historian refers to the trial of James and identifies him as, "the brother of Jesus, the so-called Christ" (20.9.1).
Also, the Jewish Babylonian Talmud takes note of the Lord's existence. Put into written form in the 5th century, it is derived from materials, some of which originated in the 1st century. Its testimony to Jesus' existence is all the more valuable as it is extremely hostile. It charges that Jesus (who is called Ben Pandera) was born out of wedlock after His mother had been seduced by a Roman soldier named Pandera or Panthera. Concerning this, noted scholar Bruce Metzger declared: "The defamatory account of His birth seems to reflect a knowledge of the Christian tradition that Jesus was the Son of the virgin Mary, the Greek word for virgin, parthenos being distorted into the name Pandera" (The New Testament, Its Background, Growth and Content, p. 76). The Talmud also refers to Jesus' miracles as "magic" and records that He claimed to be God. It further mentions His execution on the eve of Passover.
(3) Three Roman historical references mention Christ. Pliny, the governor of Bithynia wrote a letter to the Roman emperor Trajan about 112 A.D. in which he asked for advice as to how he should deal with Christians who made it a practice to meet on an appointed day to sing a hymn, "to Christ as if to God" (Epist. X. 96). The Roman historian Tacitus, in his Annals (115 A.D.) refers to, "Christus, who in the reign of Tiberas as emperor was condemned to death by the procurator Pontius Pilate" (XV. 44). Writing about 120 A.D., Suetonius, a popular Roman writer declares that Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome as they, "were continually making disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus" (Vita Claudii, XXV. 4). This doubtless refers to the Jewish persecution of Christians (Acts 18:2).
(4) Finally, the impact of the Christian movement itself is eloquent testimony to the historical reality of Jesus Christ. It is absolutely inconceivable that a myth could have precipitated so powerful a movement as Christianity. The religion of Christ has made an impact at one time or another in virtually every land and among all peoples around the world. That such an influential system was initiated by a Paul Bunyan or Robin Hood character rather than a real, historical Person is totally unbelievable.
No intelligent, informed person can deny the historical existence of Jesus Christ. He did exist. Who was He? Every honest person must come to grips with this penetrating query. In an article to follow, this question will be explored.
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