What are the arguments for historicity of Jesus?

Answer 1

The arguments for the historicity of Jesus are to be found in The Bible because there is no extra-biblical evidence from any non-Christian writer who was alive at the time attributed to Jesus.

Philo of Alexandria did not mention Jesus. No Roman authority of the time, and no Roman historian ever mentioned him. A disputed reference to Jesus is attributed the Jewish historian, Josephus. However Josephus wrote over half a century later and the text attributed to him does not acknowledge that he existed, merely that there were those who believed that he had existed.

There is no archaeological evidence to support the existence of Jesus. The one possible clue was an ossuary with the inscription, "James, the son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus," allegedly found in Egypt and potentially providing circumstantial evidence for Jesus. One limitation on its value as evidence would be that Jesus, James and Joseph were all particularly common first century names, another is that the text was not clear as to whether James was the brother of Jesus or whether Joseph was. However, a committee appointed by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) declared the inscription to be a forgery. The ossuary was indeed ancient, but the inscription was added in modern times.

The primary evidence in the Bible is the Gospel According to St Mark, believed by scholars to have been written by an anonymous author around 70 CE and attributed to Mark during the second century. The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John are widely considered to have used Mark's Gospel as their primary source, and are therefore not really independent accounts.

Answer:

No historian ever came up with the exact date of birth and death of Jesus. Some people even deny and say Jesus did not even exist. They believe that he was a mythological figure.

Jesus was a part of God's redemptive plan for the humankind. Prophet Isaiah and several others had predicted that a messiah would be born. Yet, surprising, but true none knew when he was born.

The story of nativity was woven around him to add magic to mystery. However, God did give a sign to let the posterity know exactly when Jesus was born. The sign was appearance of star in Bethlehem. The passage at Matthew 2:1-2 reads, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he the one born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."

Astronomers for centuries have debated over the existence of such a dazzling object. Some attribute it to pairing of Jupiter and Saturn. Others say it was due to pairing of Venus and Jupiter.

There is a probability that the Star of Bethlehem wise men saw was Halley's Comet. They probably knew about its regular reappearance as it was first seen in 240 BC. Before we assume this let us, check whether the recorded date of its first sighting is correct. The periods between Halley's Comet's approaches to the earth usually vary from 75 to 79 years because the gravitational force of other planets changes the comet's orbit slightly. Last, it had appeared in the year 1986, so it will appear next somewhere around 2061-2067. Since Halley's Comet appears at this interval, thus the year of its sighting around Jesus' birth ought to be 33-39 BC. The new era began with death of Jesus Christ. If we take 1 A.D. as the year Lord died, 33 BC was the year Jesus was born. Jesus died at the age of 33.

Another question that remains to be settled is whether three men found Jesus in the manger or his parents found him in the temple while he was already 12 year old. Authors of the Gospel say that Mary had few other children as well. There are more accounts to show that Jesus always denied that Mary was his mother.

Therefore, there is an evidence to show that neither Joseph nor May, both were not Jesus' biological parents. Maybe Jesus real parents left him on the temple steps at the time Herod wrecked mayhem and went on a killing spree massacring two-year-old children. Thereafter, temple priests raised him, and Joseph and Mary came to claim him later.

Answer 2

Because of the gospel accounts and the beliefs of so many, historians believe Jesus of Nazareth probably existed as a historical person, although scholars debate whether he performed miracles.

John Ashton ('History and Theology in New Testament Studies', The Nature of New Testament Theology,edited by Rowland and Tuckett) says that historians (and others) continue to argue with one another whether Jesus was really a homespun Cynic philosopher, a social reformer or an eschatological preacher deeply sympathetic to the Pharasaic culture all around him. They say that not only Jesus’ miracles but also the amazing religious experiences attributed to him in the Gospels, his baptism and transfiguration, are generally dismissed as legendary.