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“DID JESUS REALLY WALK THE EARTH?”

Melvin L. Otey

I recently read an article entitled “Jesus Christ” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. It was predictably lengthy and wide-ranging, but one of its more interesting aspects was the discussion of proofs regarding Jesus' existence. Skeptics, particularly atheists and ethical relativists, have questioned whether He was a real person and often claim that He is nothing more than a mythological figure.   

In an effort to discredit Christianity, many have tried to compare various aspects of Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection to other religious traditions.   For example, some compare His birth to traditions attached to Buddha , Krishna and Mithras.  His miracles have been compared to the works of Hellenistic “divine men,” and His death and resurrection are compared to the ancient Egyptian myths about Attis, Adonis, Osiris and Mythra. Of course, the Bible bears highly credible witness regarding the person and works of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:3-8; 2 Pet. 1:16 ; 1 John 1:1-3).  However, because of ongoing skepticism from critics, it is important to note that there is independent and trustworthy evidence of His existence even from sources hostile to Christianity.

The article first refers to select Roman works. As the secular authority in power when Jesus walked the earth, Roman citizens were uniquely positioned to comment on His existence and the facts surrounding His life. For example, the historian Tacitus wrote that Christ had been put to death as a punishment during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of Pontius Pilate.  This is the exact historical setting that Luke records in his account of the gospel (Luke 3:1) and confirms the accuracy of the political background of the gospel.

I found the article's reference to ancient Jewish sources most compelling. Obviously, Jews had no incentive to say anything that would support or endorse the early Christian movement, which would have been viewed as heretical. Yet, Jewish writings, both religious and secular, affirm Jesus' existence.

The rabbinic writings in the Talmud, there are statements confirming that Jesus' name was Yeshua of Nazareth, that He practiced “sorcery” (i.e., performed miracles), expounded scriptures in the same manner as the Pharisees, and that he was hanged (crucified) as a false teacher on the eve of the Passover .  Likewise, the Jewish historian Josephus described Jesus as “a wise man,” “a doer of marvellous deeds,” “a teacher of men who receive the truth with pleasure,” and “the Christ” while affirming that He was sentenced to the cross by Pilate upon the indictment of principal men among the Jews. 

Whether people are prepared to accept the Bible's testimony regarding Jesus or not, there are too many secular, independent, and even hostile references to deny His existence in first century Palestine . Of course, by denying that Jesus ever walked the earth, people are striking at the very foundation of Christianity and attempting to undermine faith in the Bible as the authoritative word of God. Yet, the world has given us assurance that Jesus really did exist. He did perform miracles and He was crucified as the Bible says. The Bible is right; Jesus is the Son of God. Even if one does not accept the Bible's authority for his or her life, it is dishonest to deny that Jesus actually walked the earth light of the evidence.

Copyright 2007, Georgia Avenue Church of Christ , Washington , DC

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TV in the Corner
by Steve Higginbotham
November 30, 2007


I once had a man tell me that his television is situated in the corner of his living room like in most homes; however, there is one noticeable difference with his TV and the TV in most homes. You see, his TV is turned around backwards, facing the corner of his living room.

He said that this arrangement invariably leads to a myriad of questions from those who visit his home. "Is your TV not working?" "Have you been working on your TV?" "Been rearranging your furniture and need some help with your TV?"

To all these questions, he simply replies. "No, the TV is working fine. However, we have standards of conduct and speech in this home and if my children were to talk and act the way this TV does, we'd stand them in the corner, so why shouldn't we do the same with the TV?"

Well now, you might think this is an extreme, and you may be able to think of better ways to deal with some of the negative things seen and heard on television, and you may be right. But I'll say this for the man: I like his way of dealing with the ungodly influences of television better than most people's way of not dealing with it. What do you think?

Copyright 2007, South Green Street Church of Christ, Glasgow , Kentucky