Was Jesus Real?

Despite the fact that the existence of Jesus as a historical figure is probably the least disputed aspect of Christianity, the idea that he is nothing more than a fictional character has begun to gain popularity— in spite of the combined historical and cultural evidence of the last 2,000 years.

 
    We know from history that Christianity spread quickly during the first century AD. Contrary to popular opinion, however, Christianity was not spread through conquest. The early Christians did not “chase out” the other religions. In fact, quite the opposite was true. Christians were the ones being chased out by the other religions! Christianity was hated for the first 400 years of its existence, and was persecuted off and on, first by the Jews and then later by the Pagan cultures of the Roman Empire. All but one of Jesus' Apostles were executed, and the last one—John—died in exile on the Island of Patmos. The Apostle Paul put it this way:

 “Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment.”
~ 1 Corinthians 4:10-13 New Living Translation (NLT)

    These were the founders of the faith. You would think that if a group of Jewish peasants in the first century were to create a religion, they would do so to gain wealth and fame in order to better their social standing in this life. However, the birth of Christianity seems to have had the opposite effect on their lives—at least from a human stand point. They were tortured, imprisoned, and ultimately executed, all because they claimed to have witnessed the miraculous. Yet they never once denied their claim. Nor did they contradict it.
    It's hard enough for two people to keep their story straight when they’ve been caught in a lie. So the fact that all of Jesus' remaining disciples never contradicted their story—even under duress—lends indisputable credence to their testimony.
    I cover this in greater detail in my article Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?, but my underlying point here is the fact that all of the Apostles, along with countless others, were willing to die for the Message of Christ.
    In addition to this evidence for Christ’s existence, we also have the timetable surrounding the authorship of the New Testament. The entire volume, all 27 books, was written within a span of approximately 70 years. The first book—the book of James—was written within 10-20 years of Jesus' life, and was followed first by Paul’s letters to the Churches, and then latter by the Gospel accounts. The Gospel of Luke as well as the book of Acts were both written by a Greek physician before the year 70 AD, and were compiled as part of an investigation into the validity of Christianity as stated in the first part of the Gospel:

“Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.”

~ Luke 1:1-4 New Living Translation (NLT)

    Not only were these books written in quick succession, they were distributed among the very people, in the very towns where the events were said to have taken place.
    Contrary to popular opinion, the Church did not begin in Rome. It began in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Christ’s death in 30 AD. (Acts 2) This means that the 3,000 people who became Christians that day would have undoubtedly seen Christ’s crucifixion first hand, or would have at least heard of him. Furthermore, the Christian religion spread like wildfire throughout the region. Which begs the question: How could a religion based on a fictional character, claiming that said fictional character performed miracles for three consecutive years in the region of Judea, originate in the heart of Judea where virtually anyone could discredit the story?
    Let me put it this way: Suppose a group of men came to your home town today and began telling everyone of a man you’d never heard of, claiming that he had lived in and around your town for three years, feeding thousands of people, healing the sick and raising the dead. Now imagine they tell you that this same man was arrested, tried, and publicly executed on Main Street, only to come back to life three days later. Would you believe them if you hadn't witnessed these events for yourself? Of course not! No one would. Why? Because everyone, including yourself, would know that they were lying. Yet this is exactly what happened with the early Church. The Apostles went from village to village, telling people about Jesus and the people believed. Why? Because they knew they were telling the truth; they had heard the stories before and many of them had seen Jesus with their own eyes!
    Remember, the entire New Testament was written in one generation. There were witnesses. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-9 the Apostle Paul directs people with doubts to ask the people who were there. Why? Because they had seen Jesus in person after his resurrection.

    In addition to the Bible, there are dozens of extra biblical writings that support the existence of Christ and the miraculous events surrounding his life. Some of the more notable works are those by Josephus and Pliny the Younger. But other sources include Lucian, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Tacitus, Sueteonius, Aristides, Galenus, and Lampridius.

    The cumulative historical evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ is overwhelming. The Church began in the very same towns were Jesus lived during his three year ministry. It spread quickly, despite 400 years of persecution, and ultimately changed the course of human history forever.