How do we know that George Washington actually existed? Well, we read about him in the history books, we see his picture on the one dollar bill, monuments and statues can be found all throughout our country, and even my old high school, George Washington High School, is named after him. Based on all of these factors we can be certain that even though he lived 200 years ago, he was a very real person.
Some may say that 200 years ago is one thing but how can we believe that Jesus actually existed when He is said to have lived 2,000 years ago? That’s a good question. But, I believe, we can be even more confident He actually existed than even George Washington. Let me explain. In addition to history, we have two other reasons: His teachings and the transformed lives He has been responsible for.
History
Christian apologist, Josh McDowell, gives us a good overview as to why we should definitely believe that Jesus was an actual person when he shared: “If one believes in the existence of Socrates, Alexander the Great, or Julius Caesar, then one should definitely believe in Christ’s existence. If historicity is established by written records in multiple copies that date originally from near contemporaneous sources, there is far more historical evidence for Christ’s existence than for any of theirs. The historicity of Christ is attested not only by Christians but also by Greek, Roman, and Jewish Sources.”1
In addition, Charlie Campbell adds the following insight: “Jesus is mentioned by more than 30 sources outside the New Testament within 150 years of His life, including the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius, Flavius Josephus, and the Jewish Talmud….the claim that Jesus was just made up falters on every ground.”2
Even, H. G. Wells, who was not a Christian, stated the following: “I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”3
If one approaches history with an open mind then we must realize that to not accept that Jesus Christ actually existed goes against all of the established principles on which we believe in past events. So, history tells us that Jesus was an actual person.
His Teachings
Another reason why people should have no doubt that Jesus actually existed is His incredible teachings. One reason I believe that not only did Jesus exist as a man but that He was also God is that nobody could invent a person whose teachings transcend time and culture. Jesus taught the highest ethics known to man, dispensed wisdom greater than Solomon, and taught all of us how to lead the most wonderful, joyful, and healthiest of lives.
The American psychiatrist, J. T. Fisher, shares just a small portion of how the teachings of Christ are without parallel:
“If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene, if you were to combine them and refine them and cleave out the excess verbiage, if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and an incomplete summary of the Sermon on the Mount. And it would suffer immeasurably through comparison. For nearly two thousand years the Christian world has been holding in its hands the complete answer to its restless and fruitless yearning. Here rests the blueprint for successful human life, with optimum mental health and contentment.”4
Man, by himself, could never have come up with the teachings that Jesus taught. But yet we have His distilled wisdom given to us in the Bible. All of this argues for the existence of a truly unique person – Jesus.
Transformed Lives
Josh McDowell rightly states: “Wherever Jesus has been proclaimed, we see lives change for the good, nations change for the better, thieves become honest, alcoholics become sober, hateful individuals become channels of love, unjust persons embrace justice.”5
Down through the centuries millions of people have been totally transformed once they have given their lives over to Jesus. Some may say that if we believe in something strong enough then we can change our behavior. While this may be partially true only a belief in Christ can not only change our outward actions but our inward thoughts, motives, and feelings. I like to say that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) can reform an alcoholic, but only Jesus Christ can transform the alcoholic. Sadly, many in AA get rid of the alcohol but become chain smokers. Only Jesus Christ can break all addictions.
The reason is simple yet profound. We are not just believing in some nice teachings but in the actual person of Jesus. And when we do this something amazing happens. Christ comes to live inside of us and the very Holy Spirit of God gives us a new heart and a new capacity to live a transformed life. This is not possible unless Jesus actually existed. To me the transformed life is one of the greatest proofs that Jesus actually lived 2,000 years ago and now lives in the hearts of all believers.
Thus, the records of history, the teachings of Christ, and the transformed lives He is responsible for give us very convincing evidence that Jesus is no mere myth but a very real personage of history.
I like the way the non-believer, Albert Einstein, referred to Jesus: “As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene…No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”6
1 Column: Mathew Vroman: Jesus did exist (7/8/21) | Standard Democrat (standard-democrat.com)
2 Column: Mathew Vroman: Jesus did exist (7/8/21) | Standard Democrat (standard-democrat.com)
3 One Solitary Life | Almost Chosen People (wordpress.com)
4 J. T. Fisher and L. S. Hawley, A Few Buttons Missing. (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1951).
5 15 Josh McDowell Quotes | ChristianQuotes.info
6 The luminous figure of the Nazarene | God does not believe in atheists (wordpress.com)