This is a fair and crucial question.

The evidence for Jesus Christ can be examined in two ways: first, by looking at what sources outside the Bible say, and second, by examining the claims of the biblical documents themselves.

When scrutinized, the case for Jesus is more powerful than for any other figure of the ancient world.

1. The External Evidence: What History Confirms

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2. The Internal Evidence: What the Bible Claims

With the historical person of Jesus established, we can examine the documents that tell His story.

These sources confirm the man while rejecting the message.

These external verifiers, hostile historians, archaeology, and other religions, establish a clear foundation: Jesus Christ was not a myth. He was a real person who lived and was executed in a specific, verifiable time and place.

  • Testimony from Non-Christian Historians The great Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus (c. 56-120 A.D.), a hostile source, confirmed in his Annals that the founder of Christianity, "Christus," was executed by the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also wrote of Jesus and His followers, confirming He was a real man known for "surprising deeds" who was crucified under Pilate.

  • Testimony from Archaeology Physical evidence dug from the ground continues to verify the people and places mentioned in the Gospels. Archaeologists have discovered:

    • The Pilate Stone: A limestone block found at Caesarea Maritima bearing an inscription that explicitly names "Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea," confirming the existence of the man who ordered Jesus's crucifixion.

    • The Caiaphas Ossuary: A first-century burial box inscribed with the full name of "Joseph, son of Caiaphas," the high priest who presided over the trial of Jesus.

  • Testimony from Other Religions Even religions that deny Christ's deity are forced to acknowledge His historical existence. The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, refers to Jesus (Isa) as a real, historical person, a great prophet of God, born of a virgin, who performed miracles. Early Jewish texts like the Talmud also make hostile references to a figure named Jesus who gained a following and was executed.

Therefore, the combined evidence is overwhelming. Hostile historians, archaeology, and even other religions confirm the historical man. The document that tells His story is substantiated by eyewitness claims, fulfilled prophecy, and more manuscript evidence than any other book from antiquity. The account of Jesus Christ demands to be taken seriously..

  • It Claims to Be Eyewitness History The biblical authors insisted they were not writing fables. The Gospel of Luke begins like a formal historical account based on testimony from those who "from the beginning were eyewitnesses" (Luke 1:2, KJV). The apostle Peter was even more direct:

    “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16, KJV)

  • It Claims to Fulfill Ancient Prophecy The New Testament also proves its validity by showing how Christ’s life was the fulfillment of hundreds of specific, ancient prophecies. The account of His birth, for example, is presented as the direct fulfillment of a prophecy made 700 years earlier.

    “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel...” (Matthew 1:22-23, KJV, citing Isaiah 7:14)

  • Its Text Was Miraculously Preserved The New Testament has thousands more early manuscript copies than any other ancient document, allowing us to be certain that the text we have today is what was originally written, just as God promised:

    “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” (Isaiah 40:8, KJV)