Did Jesus really exist?

4.    THE BIG PICTURE

After absorbing the results of my research and lengthy Christian related experiences, it certainly ‘appeared’ to me that: Jesus WAS God; Jesus DID live and die as a human being.

AND, as a long-term Christian myself, it isn’t hard to believe that Jesus still is real (i.e. God in the ‘person of Jesus’). Yes, we can find that the Bible does have credibility.

Firstly, I’m pretty sure we CAN accept most ancient written evidence, from historians of the time, that HAS made it into the 21st century. That is, evidence that seems to demonstrate to us that Jesus WAS the ‘real deal’ within recorded history.

And you know, Jesus really WAS a ‘game changer’ even when we check out the basics. The Bible term, “grace” actually sums it up. It is ‘so far out there’ when compared to other religions. But more on that later under Heading 6.

And modern day ‘real life’ evidence about Jesus IS certainly available to us, when we DO put Bible-based Christianity into practice within ‘the Church‘ (“The Body of Christ”). I get to that under Heading 7 below!

Let’s look at the details about those records then. How does the written evidence shape up?

4.1    Historical records

Within accepted ‘worldwide standards’ (that are used to analyse documents from ancient times) we HAVE been given acceptable evidence of Jesus from non-religious sources.

This applies particularly to the records of ancient scholars Josephus and Tacticus. They made it reasonably clear that Jesus DID live ‘within history’ and indeed died in the way that the Christian Bible explains it. And details of many non-Christian events, involving well known human beings from similar times to the ‘human’ Jesus, are accepted in history from evidence with less credibility.

There are indeed many parallels between ‘Christian’ and ‘historical’ records. And there is a lack of any meaningful conflict between them as well. Look, that IS significant when you DO look at the facts.

4.2    Christian records

Please do not forget the documented prophesies in the Old Testament about the coming Christ who would be God in human form. These were definitely written hundreds of years before the actual birth of Jesus. Relevant scriptures from the Old Testament are offered in article, “Jesus as God” under the “Christianity Explained” section of this website.

And the New Testament is indeed a VERY complex collection of writings. The different writing styles, evident within it, make it very clear that quite a number of authors were involved with its documents. When studied, it is also clear that these writings are interwoven and do support each other. The consistency of essential ‘themes’ is again beyond question.

Again, yes it all really does impress me! So now, let’s get into the details …

5.    SHOULD WE BELIEVE JESUS’ FOLLOWERS?

Without doubt though, the ‘most difficult bit for beginners’ is to accept the truth of Jesus’ divinity, i.e. ‘Jesus as God‘! As I have stated,  in the ‘Historical Records‘ link, historians of that time documented that it was a ‘belief held within early Christianity’. And of course the New Testament INSISTS upon it. Yes, and even the Old Testament explained it WAS ‘to be the case’ hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth.

BUT, it is NOT easy for the ‘modern mind’ to accept this stuff at all.

Let’s look into the details then …

5.1    Jesus’ close followers

Firstly, we need to ask ourselves why on earth would the Apostles ‘proclaim’ that Jesus WAS the risen Lord God? That is following Jesus’ death and resurrection. AND, when they knew they ‘risked life and limb’ by doing so!

Yes, we know that many of the Apostles did ‘historically’ lose their lives as a result. Why WOULD they have been so adamant about it, to even accepting their own deaths over it, if they had not seen it for themselves? Yes, that is such a ‘very good point’!

5.2    Jesus’ brother

We also know that it was not easy for James (the brother of Jesus) to believe that his own brother really WAS the risen, divine Messiah, i.e. the ‘anointed one’ (the Christ). Christian sources state that the resurrected Jesus had to prove it to James personally after his resurrection to life after crucifixion.

And from Josephus’ writing, we know that James went on to be condemned to death for his ‘witnessing’ about Jesus as such. Again James died, because he dared to testify that ‘his brother WAS God’.

5.3    St Paul

St Paul also endured incredible suffering, as well as eventual execution, for exactly the same reason. I would say that Paul’s letters (written by him, through his determination, in the face of severe hardship) provide us with a solid step towards understanding the ‘real’ Jesus.

It is evident that Paul genuinely believed himself to be in communion with the living Lord (i.e. in spiritual form) and was ready to do WHATEVER he was called to do. And NO MATTER what the cost!

6.    THAT ‘GAME CHANGER’ CONCEPT

The ‘concept’ of God the Father (i.e. similar in character to the Jewish “Yahweh” and Muslim “Allah”) is acceptable within the three monotheist religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

BUT, as highlighted earlier under Heading 4, when the concept of Jesus is fully understood a HUGE ‘enrichment‘ happens. The term “grace” sits at its heart. And yes, that’s all about God’s love for each of us. This plain little word, “grace”, relates to a God who WAS willing to become ‘human’ and suffer a drawn-out agonising death just for us!

As a result of Jesus’ actions, we Christians received a new covenant/ contract. Yes, that covenant offers us eternal life. That is IF each of us are ready to ACCEPT that Jesus was, and still is, God AND he painfully sacrificed his human life to pay for our sins. TO SAVE US. So yes, the Bible explains if we accept that, then we are all set to enjoy eternal life. We are truly saved from the cost of our sins!

The end result of accepted Christian writings offers us a genuine ‘religion of love’: God’s love for us, our love of God and love of our fellow humans. Indeed, if only the ‘darkness’ in this world COULD understand the ‘light’ that shines within it. [see John 1:5] What an ideal world we WOULD have! For a better understanding of Christianity itself, its ‘rules’ of love AND the term “grace”, please read the article “Christianity explained simply”.

[AND a big thanks to Jon Tyson and Unsplash for the ‘meaningful’ image above)

7.    WE CAN EXPERIENCE ‘EVIDENCE’ NOW

For myself though, as with most Christians, it ultimately comes down to proving Christianity’s basis for ourselves, i.e. by putting Bible-based Christianity into practice within ‘the Church‘ and ‘our lives‘. Without doubt, I can write that our ‘lives are transformed‘ as a result.

And of course, as a result, we come to fully understand those incredible supportive scriptural threads or themes that run through the whole Bible. If ‘old analytical me’ could do so … well!

Now, many Christians state that they can recognise God’s presence in just about any church service they attend. For example, they may report a sense of peace that may last for hours after leaving church. And yes, I have noticed ‘that gentle one’ myself. That does add a bit more credibility towards Christianity for us of course.

Ok … BUT … here is an interesting question from ‘left field’: why ARE genuine ‘spiritual events‘ occurring NOW in church services within the so-called, “Pentecostal/ Charismatic movement”? And, ‘mark my words’, they really are! These events were common within the early Christian Church. The Church itself was created soon after Jesus’ death and resurrection, as described in the Bible. God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, powerfully demonstrated his presence to a gathering of Jesus’ disciples on the Day of Pentecost (the day the Church WAS created).

YES, it was made very clear to those disciples and a crowd of bystanders, on that sacred day, that God in the ‘person of Jesus’ had died an agonising yet powerfully purposeful death for us all. Again yes, the Christian Church was unleashed as God had long planned, on that day. And God in the person of the Holy Spirit, from that time, demonstrated his empowering presence through ‘spiritual deeds’ whenever he deemed it was needed during those days of the early Church.

8.    WHY HAS IT BEEN RE-LAUNCHED?

NOW God also knew that the ‘longevity’ of his Church WOULD be threatened from the 20th Century onwards … as indeed it has been. His ‘long planned’ answer certainly included the empowerment of the Pentecostal/ Charismatic movement.

Look, there are so many ‘believers’ who actually ask WHY indeed DOES the Spirit of God, ‘manifest’ himself so obviously during these services in the movement? Well, I consider that the Holy Spirit WAS ready in the early 20th Century, and STILL is ready these days, to ‘engage’ with members of the movement as and when he sees fit. That is IF they are open to it of course. I firmly believe that above all else he is ‘edifying’ his Church AND the Bible: building them up! He is demonstrating to us that it IS ‘his will‘ for us to ‘show up‘ there, as members of the “Body of Christ” (which is an alternative title for the world-wide Christian Church).

YES, I believe God in the person of Jesus, did indeed live and die for us frail little human beings! Our loving God wants everyone of us to enter that never-ending loving relationship with him, offered to us through his human death as the ‘person of Jesus’. And I believe the movement itself IS evidence of that fact! Again YES, “Jesus is STILL the real deal”.

9.    CONCLUSION

But having said all this, as a one-time ‘hardened’ unbeliever myself, I am NOT surprised by the doubts of others who are yet to trial Christian knowledge or experiences for themselves.

All I can say in closing is please look into Christian faith with an open mind. If a questioning mind like my own can be TOTALLY satisfied, then I am ‘pretty well’ sure that anyone’s can be. (To read about the who’s, how’s and why’s of this website please click here.)

AND if you would simply like to know “How to believe in God” then just click that link to begin your own journey of faith!