Even if you’re not a Christian, you may have pondered whether a man named Jesus Christ did actually live 2,000 years ago in Israel.
Whether he turned water into wine and rose from the dead is perhaps more up for debate for the atheists among us, but historians have seven pieces of evidence that suggest Jesus actually existed.
Let’s get straight into it.
1. Shroud of Turin
Some people believe that Jesus’ body was wrapped in the Shroud of Turin, an ancient holy relic, after his crucifixion.
But new evidence casts doubt over whether this was actually the case.
Brazilian graphics expert Cicero Moraes created a virtual simulation of the shroud to place over an image of a body to see whether impressions on the fabric were a match.
He argued that rather than the cloth used to shroud Jesus, it is actually a piece of Christian art.
Moraes said: “On one side are those who think it is an authentic shroud of Jesus Christ, on the other, those who think it is a forgery.
“But I am inclined towards another approach: that it is, in fact, a work of Christian art, which managed to convey its intended message very successfully.”
The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth with the image of a man, it is considered an important relic by Christians who believe it to be the burial shroud of Jesus bearing his image after the crucifixion (Marco Destefanis/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
2. Literature
It is the obvious one, we have a good idea Jesus Christ actually existed because we’ve got hundreds of passages about him in the Bible and then all the other books.
You’ve got the non-Christian authors who actually opposed Christianity, but they speak about this man called Jesus.
Speaking to the MailOnline, Dr Lawrence Mykytiuk, a specialist in Hebrew studies from Purdue University, said: “We have many very good reasons to accept the real, historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth.
“For well over 1,000 years, no one claimed that Jesus did not exist.
“Every single non-Christian source from ancient times recognizes, implicitly or explicitly, that he was a real person who really existed.”
3. A heel from a crucified man
Some scholars believe that if Jesus did actually exist, he would not have been granted a proper burial if he was an enemy of the state, and they argue that he would have been tossed into a mass grave after crucifixion.
But back in 1986 a construction crew happened upon a number of tombs in northern Jerusalem, and one had the name Jehohanan marked on it – and he had a nail in his heel, indicating he was crucified.
This supports the details of Jesus’ crucifixion, and also suggests family members could retrieve the remains of crucified criminals, as depicted in the Bible.
It doesn’t exactly prove Jesus’ existence, but it vouches for the accounts of his death as written in the Gospel.
A heel of a man who was crucified proved that even people deemed to be enemies of the state were allowed to be buried properly following their death penalties (Israel Museum)
4. Jesus referred to as a ‘God’ in an inscription
On the floor of an Israeli prison an inscription reads ‘The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial’ – and it it dates all the way back to the year 230.
It tells us that as little as 200 years later he was seen as a divine figure, the 581-square-foot mosaic was labeled ‘the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls’ by the CEO of the Museum of the Bible Carlos Campo.
5. The Church of the Apostles
Just seven years ago, in 2017, archaeologists discovered the remains of a Byzantine basilica, what would have been a large structure, in the El Araj region of Israel next to the River Jordan.
It is believed Peter, Andrew and Phillip, Jesus’ apostles, lived there.
Speaking in 2021 Professor Steven Notely told the Biblical Archaeology Society: “There are no other churches in the vicinity mentioned by Byzantine visitors to the Holy Land, and there is no reason to question that this is the [Church of the Apostles].”
6. Graffiti or ‘Alexamenos Graffito’
Yes, around 1,900 and 1,700 years ago someone graffitied a rather crude version of Jesus into a wall in a room near the Palatine Hill in Rome, Italy.
It was dubbed the Alexamenos Graffitto and it depicted a man with a donkey’s head nailed to a cross, while another man worshipped him with a message alongside it that read: “Alexamenos worships [his] god.”
Alexamenos graffito – Roman anti-Christian graffiti discovered on a wall in Palatine Hill, Rome. Greek inscription reads ‘Alexamenos worships his God’ with an image of a man worshipping a crucified, donkey headed figure (Culture Club/Bridgeman via Getty Images)
7. Jesus’ brother James
The James Ossuary, a box of remains, included the inscription: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”
Bible scholar at the Asbury Theological Seminary Dr Ben Witherington III told the MailOnline: “The likelihood of that particular combination of those three names not referring to the famous James the Just, and his father Joseph, and his brother Jesus are slim to none.
“If it were true that the crucifixion was the end of Jesus’ story, no one would be bragging about being related to him on an ossuary.”
Although the relic has been claimed to be a fake by the Israel Antiquities Authority who took Oded Golan, an Israeli businessman, to court over it.
But if it is real, then it would certainly indicate that Jesus lived.
