*Everyone has an opinion about Jesus. But how do we even know about him in the first place? How do the ancient records about Jesus compare to what we know about other ancient people?*
(If this is your first time reading something here
*Everyone has an opinion about Jesus. But how do we even know about him in the first place? How do the ancient records about Jesus compare to what we know about other ancient people?*
(If this is your first time reading something here, please first read a short explanation about the purpose of this blog.)
It seems everyone has an opinion about Jesus. Some say he was a wise, moral teacher; some say he was a myth; some says he was God incarnate. Yet people also agree on what Jesus ain’t. For example, whether a historical person or a myth, no one believes Jesus was a warlord. So, how do we know that?
We learn about specific people in the past by documentation, by records that attest to that person’s life, and sometimes other archeological evidence. Obviously, the farther back in history we go, the more difficult it is to prove the existence of a particular person, even someone as famous and powerful as a king or emperor, let alone a poor rabbi from the backwaters of the Roman empire.
So, why is it so hard to conclusively prove the existence of a person from ancient times, even someone as famous and influential as Alexander the Great or Caesar Augustus? First, empirical science is little help; even if we have the assumed body of the ancient person, it’s not like there is a DNA database we can reference.
Further, there are two types of science: empirical and forensic. Empirical science is used to study present, repeatable events. These events can be replicated in studies and witnessed through our senses. Empirical science doesn’t help us with historical events because those events cannot be repeated. For instance, we can’t use empirical science to prove the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the other hand, forensic science is used to study past, unrepeatable events. With forensic science, one must look at evidence and use logic to draw conclusions. Forensic science is used in archaeology, forensic criminal investigations, cryptology (the study of codes), and even SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
In proving the existence of a historical figure, it all comes down to documentation – historical records. Alexander the Great and Caesar Augustus lived before the invention of the printing press and the modern information age. Ancient manuscripts were written on papyrus, made from plant reeds, which lasted only about 10 years before falling apart. Later, ancient manuscripts were written on parchment or vellum, both made from animal skins, which lasted longer than papyrus but were still fragile.
Finally, the shortage of ancient manuscripts can be partially blamed on the many conflicts and wars of ancient times. The ancient library of Alexandria, Egypt was renowned for its collection of manuscripts and their destruction during several conflicts. Because of the lack of modern means of copying and saving information, many ancient manuscripts have been sadly lost to us forever.
Now, when we turn to the New Testament, the ancient records about Jesus, we find the individual “books” that compose the New Testament have survived considerably well compared to other ancient manuscripts.
To start, let’s compare the sources for our information about Jesus to sources for two other famous ancient people: Alexander the Great and Caesar Augustus. Interestingly, no one raises questions about whether Alexander the Great or Caesar Augustus existed like they do about Jesus, but – as we’ll see – the sources for our information about Jesus compare extremely well against the sources for these two other famous men from antiquity.
Furthermore, Alexander the Great and Caesar Augustus were rulers and conquerors of great empires — the most powerful, famous men of their time period — the exact type of persons ancient historians wrote about. The fact that we know anything today about a rabbi from Nazareth is incredible.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
We have 2 sources for our information about Alexander the Great. Both of these sources were written about 400 years after Alexander the Great lived.
We have 5 sources that give us the information we know about Caesar Augustus. One is a funeral writing, written at his death. One was written 50-100 years after his death. The last three were written 100-200 years after his death.
JESUS OF NAZARETH
For Jesus, we have 4 sources — the four Gospels found in the New Testament, each individually investigated, each containing both complimentary and unique information. The 4 Gospels were written 25-60 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, which means within the lifetime of those who knew Jesus and witnessed his ministry. (Jesus was crucified in about AD 30-33, and all of the Gospels were written before AD 100.) Two of the Gospels – Matthew and John – were written by Jesus’ actual apostles, where the other two – Mark and Luke – were written by disciples of Jesus’ apostles, Paul and Peter. This means the 4 sources we have for knowing about Jesus’ life come from eyewitnesses.
Further, we also have Paul’s letters, which are collected in the New Testament, which attest to Jesus’ ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and deity, all of which historians agree were written before the four Gospels.
Historians also agree that Paul recorded 