IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE FOR JESUS
THE LIFE OF JESUS UP TO THE CRUXIFICION
The OT prophesied of Him as the coming Messiah with location, timing, birth, death and resurrection precisely foretold.
He was born in Bethlehem – the City of David – due to a census that required Joseph to go there, even while Mary was pregnant.
After escaping to Egypt to flee Herod’s killing of the innocent boys, He and His parents returned to Nazareth where He grew up.
His second-cousin, John the Baptist, began his ministry of repentance first and Jesus began His ministry soon thereafter.
His ministry quickly moved to the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus directly challenged the convoluted doctrine of salvation by works that had developed over the previous four hundred years.
Jesus debated the Jewish leaders about their errant doctrines and taught in northern Israel for 3 years. He used parables and miracles to reveal Himself as being One with the Father and to further explain His message.
He revealed far more about the Father, Himself and the Holy Spirit than had been revealed in the OT.
He eventually revealed Himself as the Messiah and declared Himself to be the only Way, Truth and Life to eternal salvation.
He confirmed the path to salvation by becoming the final sacrificial “Lamb who was slain.”
The week before His crucifixion, Jesus met in Bethany with Mary, Martha and Lazarus who He had recently raised from the dead. The Jewish leaders were outraged by the attention Jesus received and conspired to kill Him.
Passion Week and the Resurrection
On Palm Sunday, during the Triumphal Entry, Jesus rode into Jerusalem in peace on a donkey, exactly as prophesied. Sunday was also the day the Hebrews brought the sacrificial lamb into their homes to live with them until Passover when the lamb would be sacrificed. This week aligns precisely with Daniel’s prophecy of 483 years – from Artaxerxes’ declaration allowing the Hebrews to return to Israel to the Triumphal Entry.
Zechariah 9:9 states, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
During the week, Jesus debated with the Pharisees, cleansed the Temple, healed the sick, taught using parables, continued to predict His death and resurrection, was anointed by Mary of Bethany, was betrayed by Judas and was eventually crucified alongside two criminals. One of the criminals confessed his sins and asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus responded with this:
Luke 23:43 “Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” The Greek does not contain punctuation so it could be rendered this way. When the thief would join Jesus is much less important than the fact that his simple confession of faith was adequate for salvation.
On Resurrection Sunday morning, Jesus rose from being physically dead, exactly as He and prophecy said He would. He was seen by more than five hundred witnesses before ascending to Heaven later.
WHO JESUS CLAIMED TO BE
Jesus is the most controversial figure in all of history which is not surprising considering His claims and actions. He is either the Triune Son of God in the flesh and the Messiah as He claimed, a complete lunatic with massive personal appeal or a conman and magician of the highest level. Even today’s atheists agree that Jesus of Nazareth is an historical figure.
The evidence supporting His existence and His claim to be the Messiah is overwhelming for anyone who will rationally and humbly examine it.
He claimed to be part of the Godhead:
John 8:58 Before Abraham was, I Am.
John 10:30 I and the Father are One.
John 14:9 Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.
He claimed to be the Messiah:
Mark 14:61-62 Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Luke 4:21-21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture (Isaiah 53 regarding the prophesied Messiah) is fulfilled in your hearing.”
John 4:25-26 The (Samaritan) woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I Who speak to you am He.”
WRITTEN TESTIMONY VERIFYING JESUS
Matthew and John were with Jesus throughout His ministry. Mark was involved with Paul and Barnabas and his Gospel was strongly influenced by Peter according to many early Church fathers. Luke wrote his Gospel and the book of Acts also. He was a Greek doctor and “fellow laborer” with Paul and accompanied him on some of his missionary journeys and to Rome.
The NT has proven to be trustworthy through historical analysis. In fact, renowned former atheist and LAPD “cold case” detective J. Warner Wallace became a born-again Christian after studying the Gospels, the different perspectives of the four authors and the testimonies of witnesses. His work and ministry, Cold Case Christianity, has led many to faith in Christ.
Clement of Rome, writing in the second half of the first century in his first epistle, stated:
“For Christ is of those who are humble-minded, and not of those who exalt themselves over His flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sceptre of the majesty of God, did not come in the pomp of pride or arrogance, although He might have done so, but in a lowly condition, as the Holy Spirit had declared regarding Him. For He says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?’”
Josephus, in The Antiquities of the Jews, mentions Jesus, Pontius Pilate and Jesus’ brother James stating:
“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”
And then, “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James.”
Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor in Asia Minor, wrote in Epistles 10.96:
“They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god.”
Tacitus, regarded as the greatest Roman historian, criticized Christians in his Annals with:
“Therefore, to stop the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits and punished with the utmost cruelty a class of men loathed for their vices, whom the crowd called Christians. Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty during the reign of Tiberius by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate, and the pernicious superstition (about His resurrection), checked for a moment, broke out again not only in Judea but even in Rome.”
Evidence Supporting the new testament and the resurrection
The Pilate Dedication Stone confirms the historical existence of Pontius Pilate exactly as recorded in the NT. In 1961, this limestone block once used as a dedication stone from a nearby temple in Caesarea was discovered with an inscription that read: “Tiberieum, (Pon)tius Pilatus, (Praef)ectus Iuda(eae).”
The James Ossuary, a burial box, bears the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”
The Caiaphas Ossuary, also a burial box, is inscribed “Joseph son of Caiaphas”. Caiaphas was high priest over Jesus’ trial.
The ways the new Christians worshipped changed dramatically. Had Jesus actually stayed dead like so many “rebels” before Him – the Maccabees, multiple Zealots, etc. – there would have been no changes to how people worshipped. But these changes began after the Resurrection:
Worshipping on Sunday instead of Saturday to honor the Resurrection
Communion (Lord’s Supper) to celebrate the Last Supper and His claim to be the New Testament (Covenant)
Water baptism which represents repentance and being “born again”
The Shroud of Turin has raised new interest as AI investigation revealed undetected details. The image consists of extremely thin imprints on the fabric that could not have been produced by human means. The fabric has now been dated to the time of Christ and additional features strongly indicate that it is the burial cloth of Jesus.
Lazarus’ temporary tomb in Bethany and his final tomb in Cyprus also provide support for the New Testament record.
UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES surrounding THE RESURRECTION
OT and NT prophecies and other evidence strongly support His bodily resurrection.
The empty tomb was first discovered and reported by women, whose testimony was considered invalid in that culture. If the story had been fabricated, male witnesses would have been used instead.
The fact that He – a victim of crucifixion – was even buried in a tomb was rare plus the Jewish leaders could only claim the body was stolen if, in fact, the tomb was empty
Stealing the body didn’t match the disciples’ behavior or understanding. They did not understand what Jesus told them before the Cruxifixion, they were terrified and they would have had to overcome both Roman and Jewish guards.
The Romans would have probably tortured others to reveal where the body of Jesus was but even their own guards likely testified of the miracle of the Resurrection.
A known burial place for Jesus would have become a revered site if His body remained there but it has not.
Had He not been resurrected, His story would only be similar to other Jewish “insurrectionists” like the Maccabees or Zealots.
Transformed Lives as Evidence of the Resurrection
The boldness of Jesus’ disciples following His resurrection confirms they finally understood Him. They continued to testify about Him despite extreme persecution and the threat of death and nearly all of the apostles suffered violent deaths. Jesus’ immediate family questioned Him earlier but became devoted followers later. Two of His brothers, James and Jude, wrote books of the NT. James led the Jerusalem church and was martyred after being thrown from the Temple and then stoned.
Persecution by Jewish leaders, Romans and others continued for many years after the resurrection. Defending a false claim under such conditions would have been irrational. Martyrdom continues today among believers who are unafraid to express their faith. They are strengthened by the Holy Spirit Who Jesus promised as our Counselor.
god's provision of a perfect sacrifice
According to the plan established in Genesis 3, Jesus of Nazareth – the Messiah (Hebrew) or the Christ (Greek) – replaced the temporary animal sacrifices of the OT and became the “new testament” and “the Lamb of God who was slain.”
He satisfied the Father’s requirement for atonement in several ways:
As a ransom, paying the price to free those imprisoned by sin
As propitiation, fully satisfying the Father’s righteous demands
As reconciliation, balancing the account, as “it is finished” means the debt was paid in full
As substitution, like the Passover Lamb, because humanity cannot pay for sin through imperfect good works
Jesus did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. At the Last Supper, just hours before His crucifixion, He announced that He was establishing the New Covenant – replacing the Old Covenant of temporary forgiveness through animal blood with His permanent and final sacrifice.
Salvation was always through faith but is now made complete through Christ’s perfect sacrifice and shed blood.
Confession of faith in Jesus and testifying of Him to others are evidence of true saving faith. The partaking of water baptism and communion further publicly display that faith.
Jesus called His followers to a life of commitment and obedience when He said:
Matthew 16:24–26
“ … If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”