Regardless of personal beliefs, one might have wondered if Jesus Christ truly walked the earth about 2,000 years ago in Israel. While his miraculous acts, like turning water into wine or rising from the dead, remain debatable, there is historical evidence suggesting his existence.
Let’s explore this further.
Some theorize that after Jesus’ crucifixion, his body was covered with the Shroud of Turin, a revered relic. However, new findings challenge this belief.
Cicero Moraes, a Brazilian graphics expert, conducted a virtual simulation of the shroud to compare it with an image of a body, checking for a match between the fabric’s impressions.
Moraes posited that the cloth may not be the authentic shroud but rather a piece of Christian art. He explained: “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.”
One of the most direct sources speaking to Jesus’ existence is the Bible, which contains numerous passages about him. Additionally, non-Christian authors who were critical of Christianity reference Jesus.
Dr. Lawrence Mykytiuk, a Hebrew studies expert from Purdue University, shared with MailOnline: “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.”
Some academics suggest that if Jesus were seen as a state enemy, he may not have received a proper burial, possibly being placed in a mass grave post-crucifixion. However, in 1986, tombs found in northern Jerusalem included one labeled Jehohanan, with a nail in his heel, indicating crucifixion.
This discovery supports details of Jesus’ crucifixion and suggests that family members could claim the bodies of crucified individuals, as suggested in biblical accounts. Although it doesn’t confirm Jesus’ existence, it lends credence to the biblical narrative of his death.
An inscription found on an Israeli prison floor reads, “The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial,” dating back to 230 A.D. This suggests that within 200 years of Jesus’ time, he was revered as a divine figure. Carlos Campo, CEO of the Museum of the Bible, called this 581-square-foot mosaic “the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
In 2017, archaeologists unearthed a Byzantine basilica in the El Araj region of Israel, near the River Jordan, believed to be where apostles Peter, Andrew, and Phillip lived.
Professor Steven Notely, in conversation with the Biblical Archaeology Society in 2021, remarked: “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].”
Around 1,900 to 1,700 years ago, a depiction of Jesus was graffitied onto a wall near Palatine Hill in Rome, Italy. Known as the Alexamenos Graffitto, it illustrates a man with a donkey’s head on a cross, and another man worshipping him, accompanied by the inscription: “Alexamenos worships [his] god.”
The James Ossuary, a box containing human remains, bears the inscription: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” Dr. Ben Witherington III, a Bible scholar at Asbury Theological Seminary, told 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.”
Though the Israel Antiquities Authority has labeled the relic a fake and pursued legal action against Israeli businessman Oded Golan, if genuine, it would offer strong evidence for Jesus’ existence.