Textual Evidence for Jesus
The Christian Bible reflects a reliable and remarkable history—truly it does; it is a historian’s gem. The New Testament itself is replicated via thousands upon thousands of lectionaries (early church-service material containing scripture quotations). Both New and Old Testaments provide more textual evidence than any other trustworthy ancient document.
It is unfortunate when the media questions the reliability of the Christian Bible. Remarkably, there exists a tremendous amount of data supporting the substantiation that early copies of scripture assuredly mimic the autographs. Yet, the arid, cracked earth of a secular environment often leaves slivers of doubt beneath the feet of some Christians. The Christian faith is questioned, and the inspired Bible ridiculed, even by those calling themselves Christians. “There are no original documents,” they declare, their bone-dry voice rote-raspy and minus academic fair-mindedness.
Rarely, if ever, do those attacking the veracity of the Christian Bible use the same weighting system to secular documents that most anyone takes as fact. Look at Table 1. Earliest Copy.
When you compare ancient documents to The New Testament, your Bible has far more textural evidence (No. of Copies) than other ancient writings and its earliest copies were created incredibly close to the original’s date (Time Span).
Table 1 - Earliest Copy
Author When Written Earliest Copy Time Span No. of Copies
-------- --------------- --------------- ----------- --------------
Aristotle 384-322 B.C. 1100 A.D. 1,400 yrs 49
Caesar 100-44 B.C. 900 A.D. 1,000 yrs 10
Plato 427-347 B.C. 900 A.D. 1,200 yrs 7
New 40-100 A.D. 125 A.D. 25 yrs 24,000
Testament
*adapted from charts in Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, 1979, (pp. 42-43).
Table 1 presents but a snapshot, but scholars agree that there are more New Testament manuscripts copied meticulously than any other secular classic from antiquity.
Scholars also agree that among the thousands of early Christian manuscripts, there exist approximately 150,000 variants (a copier added or deleted something); however, nearly 99% of these variants reflect no significant alteration to the point being made.
You may also hear no textual evidence for Jesus’ life exists outside the Christian Bible. Of course, that’s not true. Critical scholars universally accept Josephus’ reference to the existence of Jesus. Cornelius Tacitus writes to the death of Jesus at the hands of Pontius Pilatus. Pliny the Younger, a lawyer, writes to Roman Emperor Trajan, seeking advice on how to handle those who worship Christ as God. In the Babylonian Talmud, it writes to Jesus and His crucifixion. Lucian of Samosato wrote contemptuously about the people who worshipped the crucified Jesus.
Just something to think about for the next time someone tells you that your Bible scripture can’t be trusted. If it can’t be trusted, make sure you tell your accuser that (s)he must question historical knowledge regarding Caesar, Plato, Aristotle, and many more historical figures.
Early Christian Writings. Lucian of Samosato. Retrieved from
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/lucian.html
McDowell, J. (1979). Evidence that demands a verdict. (2nd
Edition). San Bernardino, CA: HERE’S LIFE PUBLISHING, INC.
Pliny (2017). Classical literature. Retrieved from
http://www.ancient-literature.com/rome_pliny_epistulae_
X96.html
Tacitus, C. (2017). Annuals. In A.J. Church & W. J. Brodribb
(Translators). Retrieved from
http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.html
Whiston, W. (1901). Josephus complete works. (3rd Edition).
Grand Rapids, MI: Kraegel.