Jesus in History: What Ancient Sources Say About His Life and Death

The central figure in Christianity is Jesus Christ. He is claimed to be God Himself, who entered the world as a man. The claim of Christianity is that he was miraculously born of a virgin and as he grew up did the most remarkable miracles: the blind were given their sight, men who had never been able to walk all of a sudden were healed and able even to carry their bed home. There are even accounts of people who had died who Jesus brought back to life. After 33 years he was then taken and put to death by roman soldiers, but Christianity claims that he rose from the dead after 3 days and has now gone back to heaven as a man who will one day return to this earth.

These claims are nothing short of extraordinary. They go well beyond anything that we have witnessed in our own lives, and the most important question we have to ask is: is it true?

What evidence do we have to suggest that Jesus was actually a real person? Let's dig in!

Overview

The evidence for Jesus existence is actually very compelling. We can break it down into several sections.

• Eyewitness accounts:

  • These accounts are from people who claim to have witnessed Jesus' life and whose accounts have been preserved for us in the Bible. With 4 gospels describing his life, and other epistles (letters) which include eyewitness accounts.

• Early Christians:

  • Early Christians have followed Jesus and written about Him. Whilst not directly eyewitnesses, they indicate to us what the early Christians thought about Him.

• Jewish writings:

  • Josephus was a historian arround the same time as Jesus, mentioning him in his writings, These are significant as they show us the jewish position on Jesus from those who were not beleivers.

• Roman writings:

  • There are several roman writers mention Jesus and his followers, the roman empire was in full swing at this time, and so it is significant that the events in Israel caught their attention, and even tho they did not beleive in Him they wrote about Him.

• Greek writings:

  • We also have greek writings from writers who were not christians. At a time where lots of greeks were interested in philosophy and new ideas, they noticed Jesus.

This gives us quite a diverse group of people that have written something about Jesus. Let's go through these and learn what they have to say about him.

Eyewitness accounts

One of the best places to start when looking at evidence for the historical Jesus is the four Gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are written accounts of Jesus’ life, teaching, miracles, death, and resurrection. They give us a window into what people at the time saw and experienced.

Each Gospel comes from someone either very close to Jesus or someone who carefully gathered information directly from eyewitnesses.

• Matthew was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. Before meeting Jesus, he worked as a tax collector. His Gospel includes many of Jesus’ teachings and parables, and was likely written with a Jewish audience in mind, showing how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies.

• Mark wasn’t one of the twelve disciples, but he was a close companion of Peter. Most scholars believe Mark’s Gospel is based on Peter’s own firsthand memories of Jesus.

• Luke was a doctor and a careful historian. He wasn’t an eyewitness himself, but he interviewed many people who were. He starts his Gospel by saying that he had “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” so that readers “may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3–4). He also wrote the book of Acts, which follows the early Christian movement after Jesus’ ascension.

• John, often called “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” gives us a deeply personal account. He focuses less on what Jesus did day-to-day and more on who Jesus is. John includes long conversations Jesus had with people and ends his Gospel saying, “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31).

How early were they written?

Most scholars date the Gospels to within 30–60 years of Jesus’ death. That’s incredibly early because they were written during the lifetime of the eyewitnesses. People who saw the events could still speak up if something wasn’t true.

Are they reliable?

The Gospels don’t read like legends or fairy tales. They include real historical places (like Nazareth, Jerusalem, and Capernaum), rulers (like Herod and Pontius Pilate), and customs from first-century Jewish life. These have all been verified as matching up with the timeline in the Bible.

Why do we have four?

Each Gospel offers a slightly different perspective — a bit like having four witnesses describe the same event. They might highlight different parts or use different wording, but together they give the full picture. And they all agree on the events in Jesus life: his teaching, miracles, death on a cross, and his resurrection from the dead.

Peter

Peter was a follower of Jesus, originally he was a fisherman until he encountered Jesus. Jesus asked Peter to follow him and from then on he became one of Jesus' closest disciples, he was present at nearly all the events we read of about Jesus. After Jesus died Peter became disheartened and went back to his fishing. But when he realised Jesus had risen from the dead, he became once more a firm follower in Jesus. In the end Peter was so convinced of what he had seen and heard that he gave his life for it.

Peter wrote in one of his letters:

Early Christians

Even after Jesus left, his followers kept writing. Letters (called epistles) from people like Paul and James give us insight into how convinced they were of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

Paul in particular started out as someone opposed to Christianity. But after an encounter with Jesus, he completely changed and began spreading the message himself.

“He appeared to me also,” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, where he lists many witnesses of the resurrection.

Jewish Writings

One of the most important non-Christian sources we have about Jesus comes from a Jewish historian named Josephus, who lived in the first century. He wasn’t a follower of Jesus, but he did write about Him in a historical work called Antiquities of the Jews, written around AD 93.

In one well-known passage, Josephus refers to Jesus as a wise teacher who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and had followers who claimed He rose from the dead. Most scholars agree that while later copyists may have added some phrases, the core of the passage is authentic and shows that Jesus was known and talked about not long after His death.

Josephus also makes a second reference to James, calling him “the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ.” This shows that even from a Jewish historian’s perspective, Jesus was a known figure, and His family and followers were making a public impact.

While Josephus wasn't a Christian himself, his writings confirm some key facts: Jesus lived, was crucified, and had devoted followers. That’s a valuable piece of historical evidence from someone outside the Christian faith.

Roman Writings

The Romans weren’t Christians, and many weren’t friendly toward them. So when Roman officials wrote about Jesus or His followers, it gives us helpful historical confirmation from an outside point of view.

Pliny the Younger

Pliny was a Roman governor writing to Emperor Trajan around AD 112. In one of his letters, he asks how to deal with Christians in his province. He describes them as people who met regularly, sang hymns to Christ “as to a god,” and promised to live morally. While Pliny wasn’t writing about Jesus directly, his letter shows that Christianity had spread widely within just a few decades, and that Jesus was already being worshipped as divine.

Tacitus

Tacitus was a respected Roman historian. Writing around AD 116, he refers to Jesus’ execution under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. He also mentions how the movement had spread to Rome and how Christians were being persecuted for their beliefs. Tacitus clearly didn’t like Christians, which makes his confirmation of Jesus’ crucifixion even more valuable as he had no reason to make it up.

Greek Writings

Greek thinkers and writers also mentioned Jesus or the early Christians in their work. These sources are helpful because they come from outside the Christian community and give us another angle on how Jesus and His followers were seen in the ancient world.

Thallus

Thallus was an early historian who wrote around AD 50s–60s, making him one of the earliest non-Christian writers to mention events linked to Jesus. His original writings are lost, but later authors (like Julius Africanus) quote him. Thallus tried to explain the darkness that happened during Jesus’ crucifixion as a natural eclipse. While he clearly didn’t believe the Christian explanation, the fact that he mentioned the event at all supports the idea that something unusual happened when Jesus died, and that people were still talking about it decades later.

Lucian of Samosata

Lucian was a Greek satirist writing in the second century. He mocked Christians for worshipping a man who had been crucified and for living with a strong sense of brotherhood and generosity. While his tone is sarcastic, Lucian confirms several facts: that Jesus was real, that He died by crucifixion, and that His followers believed in Him deeply, even to the point of sacrificing comfort or status.

Celsus

Celsus was a Greek philosopher who wrote one of the first major attacks on Christianity around AD 175. He didn’t deny that Jesus lived, he just argued against who Christians claimed He was. Celsus said Jesus did miracles, but tried to explain them away as sorcery or trickery. Ironically, by trying to discredit Jesus, Celsus ends up confirming several things: that Jesus was known as a miracle worker, had a large following, and was a central figure in a fast-growing faith.

So What Can We Conclude?

When we take a step back and look at the evidence from all these different sources a consistent picture begins to form.

We see that Jesus really lived, in a specific time and place, under Roman rule. He was known as a wise teacher, He performed miracles that even His enemies didn’t try to deny, and He was crucified under Pontius Pilate: something confirmed by both Christian and non-Christian sources. His followers, who had once been afraid and in hiding, began boldly spreading the message that He had risen from the dead. Many of them went on to suffer and even die for that belief.

The diversity of sources, some friendly, some neutral, and some openly hostile, makes it hard to argue that Jesus was just a myth or a legend. Too many people from different backgrounds wrote about Him, too early after the events, with too much agreement on the basic facts.

So what does all this mean? It means that Jesus wasn’t just a religious idea or a symbol. He was a real person. He died, just as the Bible says. But the historical record also strongly supports what His earliest followers claimed with joy and courage: that He rose from the dead. And if that’s true then it changes everything.

We believe that these things really are true. If you would like to know more about Jesus and how you can enter into a relationship with him, please get in touch, we would love to help you.