Did Jesus really exist? | DW Documentary

Even for those who don't believe, Jesus is omnipresent in Western culture. For more than 2.3 billion Christians, He is the son of God, the crucified and resurrected Messiah. For Christians, Jesus brings salvation to humanity. It marks the starting point of the Gregorian calendar and is the foundation of the Christian religion. For more than 2,000 years, what Christians believe about Him has been shaped by the creeds of the Church. Jesus was a charismatic man, whose disciples, inspired by his messages, turned his teachings into a religion. It is dangerous to ask too many questions about Jesus. That means doubting Him.

It was not until the 18th century and the Age of Enlightenment that the question of the story of Jesus was truly explored. Outside of religious discourse, who

really

is Jesus? Is he

really

alive? Was he born on December 25 according to tradition? This “historical quest for Jesus” is, in some ways, endless. People are fascinated by the question. This is very interesting... Believers turn to the Gospels, the ancient accounts of the life of Jesus in the Bible, for answers. The Gospel gives "nutrition" to Western culture: it is reflected in literature, art, cathedrals, paintings, statues... Everything is very important.

But what historical credibility can we give to these texts, written several decades after the death of Jesus? Can we believe what they say about his

exist

ence? These are texts that compete with each other. Should we question the authenticity of Israel's holy sites as described in these stories? Where was Jesus born? Where can we find his grave? Several people go each year to the Basilica of the Nativity and the Church of the Empty Tomb, but there is no evidence identifying these sites with those of the Gospels. Could other sites recently discovered by archaeologists replace earlier finds? And can these discoveries increase our knowledge of the life of Jesus?

So, of course, it is very important that the tomb has Jesus' close family in one tomb. It is clear that, like any other first century Jew in general, Jesus walked these steps. Today, by examining the historical evidence in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, and applying the latest science, can historians finally unravel the mystery surrounding the life of Jesus? Beyond the teachings of the Christian faith, believers, non-believers, and historians face the same age-old enigma: did Jesus really

exist

? JESUS: What is the true story of the Messiah? For approximately half of humanity, the existence of Jesus is beyond doubt.

He is at the center of the Christian message; Islam also recognizes the existence of it. He is the central figure of the four gospels that appear in the New Testament, the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus is a paradox. He is one of the most famous figures in the world and has been depicted, drawn, sculpted and painted many times. The Bible is the most distributed and translated book in the world. However, we know little about Him. For centuries, the question of his historical existence did not even arise in Western Europe. The church's confession of faith is considered absolute truth.

For a long time it was dangerous to ask too many questions about Jesus and demand proof of his historical existence. To do so is to doubt God, and in a country that adheres to Christianity, such questions are considered bad. Only in the 18th century and with the rise of critical thinking was the question of the history of Jesus' existence finally debated to some extent. Did the person at the center of the Christian message, described in the Bible, ever live? WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE LIFE OF JESUS? For early proponents of the Christ myth theory, the answer was: never.

According to the Christ myth theory, Jesus Christ does not exist, he is just a myth. His argument is that the divine pattern – God in heaven, descended to Earth, born of a virgin – is like the mythological typology we know in mystery religions and other Greco-Roman religions. A man walked on water, turned water into wine, healed anyone who came near him, and many people did it. He looks more like a comic book superhero than a historical figure. One of the first arguments put forward by defenders of the Christ myth is the lack of direct testimonies about the life of Jesus written during his life.

Doesn't this deserve to be covered or mentioned by contemporary sources? Advances in historical research, along with the rise of archeology in the 19th century, highlighted two important factors. The oldest copies of the Gospels that we know of date back to the 4th century. The Gospel was discovered by chance two hundred years ago, in the Monastery of Saint Catherine in Egypt. It contains the oldest known Christian biblical manuscript: the Codex Sinaiticus. This is an original leaf from the Sinaiticus codex from the early 4th century, written in Greek during the reign of Emperor Constantine himself. The Codex Sinaiticus is said to be the oldest Bible in the world.

This is a very important text for people who study the Bible. The four Gospels of the New Testament constitute the official message adopted by the Church. These gospels are also known as canonical gospels. There are four gospels. Unfortunately we do not have texts written by the apostles themselves. We want to be as close as possible to the texts they wrote, and that is the meaning of the Codex Sinaiticus. However, some historians consider the selection of the four gospels recognized by the Church to be arbitrary. Because according to them there are still dozens of other unofficial Bibles.

It is known as the Apocryphal New Testament. The apocryphal gospels, excluded from the Church canon, are later texts from the period between the 2nd and 4th centuries that generally derive from Christian sources but have a slightly fantastic air. There is the Gospel of Peter, there is the Gospel of James, there is the Gospel of Thomas; There is very important information that is not in the canonical gospels. It is interesting to compare them. Very little agreement can be found between the individual texts. We can infer probabilities or estimate areas of possibility, but very little can be stated with any degree of certainty.

In addition to religious records, there is an unusual third source: ancient historians such as Tacitus, Suetonius, and, most importantly, Josephus. Flavius ​​Josephus was a Jewish historian who collaborated with the Romans. In his writings, addressed to the Roman population, he tells us that Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilate under the leadership of Tiberius. As with copies of the Gospels, historians face the problem that the extant texts of Josephus are actually copies made by Christians, who may have taken the opportunity to strengthen Jesus' messianic credentials. The references to Jesus, however, seem wholly or partially falsified. For example, if it starts with "At that moment a man appeared," there is no problem with that.

And then he added: "If it's legal to call him a man." Well, maybe that sounds Christian. Let us remember that copies of Josephus were preserved by Christians in the Middle Ages and transmitted from generation to generation. We do not have ancient copies of Josephus from the 1st and 2nd centuries. So whether it is a solid source or not is questionable. During the 20th century, the number of supporters of the Christ myth theory decreased. The lack of texts that provide direct testimony about Jesus can be easily explained. In a culture where very few people knew how to write, information was passed on by word of mouth.

Furthermore, an exhaustive analysis of the Gospels dates the writing of the texts to the period between 65 and 110 AD. When you open the New Testament, you immediately read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We believe they all date back to the first century. This was the case for the first 70 years after Jesus' death. However, historians almost universally doubt the authenticity of these names. So the Gospels are a collection of oral accounts, written shortly after Jesus' death. The fact that they were written down shows the importance of this new religion. Their goal is to spread the “good news.” It became a tool to convert people to Christianity and cannot be considered a historical record.

The gospels are theological treatises. It is a theological presentation. It is almost like a sermon and is written to make you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who rose from the dead, etc. There are no modern standards or even modern history. We have to accept it all and see what we can examine and that is the job of historians. That is why we need to analyze everything that science tells us historically about the life of Jesus, starting with his birth. WAS JESUS ​​REALLY BORN IN THE YEAR ZERO? Was he born on December 25, around the first year?

Are we now in 2024? These questions seem obvious, but… every year, the Catholic and Protestant churches celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. In the Christian tradition, the birth of Jesus is the arrival of the Son of God. So this is an important event that is fundamental to the history of humanity. Whenever we think about the birth of Jesus, the Christmas story, what comes to mind for most people is the famous manger painting, Jesus in a small crib. There are usually cows and animals around, Mary looks at Jesus and Joseph with love. December 25 is never mentioned in the Bible.

What is even more surprising is that the references to these events vary and even contradict each other. Neither Mark nor John speak of the birth of Jesus. Only the gospels of Matthew and Luke contain what are known as infancy narratives. Matthew talks about the star that guided the Magi and says that Jesus was born under Herod the Great. Meanwhile, Luke speaks of the census carried out by a Roman envoy in Syria named Quirinus, and also of the presence of shepherds and sheep in the fields. What can we conclude from this information? The presence of sheep and shepherds in the hills, for example, is surprising in the middle of winter, even in the temperate regions of the Middle East.

Going to pasture in spring or late summer seems more reasonable. So why commemorate the birth of Jesus on December 25? There is a one in 365 chance that Jesus was born on that date. It is well known that December 25 is when the winter solstice is celebrated. Christianity knew very well how to establish days celebrated in great pagan ceremonies. What people don't realize is... that this date was celebrated long before Jesus was born. It's called Saturnalia. This has nothing to do with Jesus, he was universally celebrated by the Romans and Greeks. We don't know December 25 as a date until 200 or 300 years after the time of Jesus, when the festival was very popular in Roman culture, and also in pagan culture.

According to this hypothesis, it is likely that Jesus was not born on December 25. It was not until the year 354 that the date appeared for the first time. Constantine, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, reset the calendar based on the birth of Christ. He took advantage of the great pagan festivals to better introduce Christianity into the practice of society. Although the choice of Jesus' birthday may have been opportunistic, can the year be inferred from the Gospels? In the Gregorian calendar, years are counted from the birth of Jesus, which should be the actual year zero. But what does the Bible say?

Matthew speaks of a birth under Herod the Great. Matthew speaks of Herod the Great, who we know probably died in 4 BC. Some say 2 BC, but certainly not 1 AD. In Luke, this date is not the date used as a starting point, but rather the date of Quirinus's census, believed to date to AD 6. If Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod, that would be more than four years before the official date; If he was born at the time of the Roman governor's census, then it was more than six years later. To determine the year, scientists looked at another fact mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew: the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem.

The Star of Bethlehem, the Star of David, appeared in the sky and led the Magi to find and worship Jesus. It was a prophetic proclamation. Did an extraordinary celestial event that occurred two thousand years ago in the skies of Bethlehem guide the Magi from the East? According to scientists, the appearance of this mysterious star may have its own explanation. In the Gospel of Matthew it is said that a star appeared over Bethlehem that represented something very bright. This has led to many hypotheses, involving exploding stars, novae, supernovae, stars at the end of their lives, or even passing comets.

However, it is most likely that a planetary conjunction will occur, which in this case occurs between Jupiter and Saturn. The two will be watched very closely at that time. Thanks to modern computers, astronomers can recreate the position of celestial bodies in the night sky at any time for several thousand years. On the evening of December 24, 2021, the planet Jupiter was clearly visible over Bethlehem. If we go back to December of year zero practically, nothing special emerged. But back in the year 7 BC, Saturn and Jupiter came closer when they entered the constellationJesus frees a man possessed by a demon.

Here, Jesus heals a man whose hand is paralyzed. Here Jesus offers the Eucharistic sermon recounted in John Chapter 6. This synagogue was the central place of teaching in Capernaum. And Capernaum is the central place of teaching in the story of the Gospel. This is a treasure! Whether it is the synagogue or Peter's house, the correlation between the remains and the biblical record is striking. All of these places, all of this research, point to the existence, in the first century era, of a person named Jesus. No doubt. Surrounded by his disciples, Jesus' message spread throughout Galilee. Just 35 kilometers west of Capernaum, there is a small town called Cana, where the first miracle recounted by the apostles is said to have occurred.

At the wedding at Cana, Mary told Jesus that the guests had run out of wine. Having no heart for those who begged for help, Jesus asked the servants to fill stone vessels with water. And suddenly a miracle happened. When the liquid was spilled from the container, the contents were delicious wine. Now Kana is called Kfar Kanna. At the supposed site of the miracle there was a small Franciscan church. Every year, thousands of pilgrims from all over the world flock there to celebrate this legendary wedding feast. Despite the sincerity of the believers' zeal, some historians explain this miracle by remembering the way wine was made at that time.

Unfiltered wine leaves a thick sediment at the bottom of the container. When diluted with water, the mixture changes color and tastes like wine and can be drunk again. The miracles of Jesus do not always have to be studied empirically, we must also see their significance and significance in the context of biblical tradition. This transformation of water into wine is not just an exaggerated miracle. This has deep theological significance. He announced his public ministry and said that God's grace abounds. This predicts a heavenly banquet. The miracle of transforming water into wine presented in the Gospel according to John is the first sign that Jesus gave for the benefit of his disciples.

Jesus performed many miracles according to the gospels. There was feeding of many people, healing of the lame, healing of some blind. One of these supernatural healings is said to have occurred in Jerusalem. The healing of the blind took place at the pool of Siloam. Jesus put saliva and mud in the man's eyes and told him, "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam. You are healthy." We see that Juan was an eyewitness. He lived in Jerusalem, he knew the place very well and described a pond frequented by pilgrims. All details are correct. According to the Bible, the pool of Siloam was an area of ​​water where two thousand years ago pilgrims gathered to purify themselves before going to pray at the temple.

For a long time, historians could not find any trace of the place and doubted its existence. Some think that the event must have occurred along the canal that brought water to the city, but its construction occurred after the life of Jesus. Then, in 2004, beneath the temple in Jerusalem, archaeologists made an extraordinary discovery. We were sitting at the Pool of Siloam on the south side of the City of David, where small miracles are sometimes found. What we see here is just the north side of this pool. We know from excavations that this pool extended about 50 meters to the east, meaning it was a very large pool.

This agrees perfectly with the literary sources of the Gospels, which state that Jesus came here from Galilee on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The discovery of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem is one of the most important discoveries of the last two decades. When archaeological finds coincide with evangelical texts, the historical character of Jesus is strengthened. Also in Jerusalem, just a few hundred meters away, is the place where the last hours of Jesus' existence on earth were revealed. For two millennia, there has been one place that has been the subject of discussion: the site of the crucifixion and tomb of Jesus.

WHERE DID JESUS ​​REALLY DIE? Once again there is a clash of hypotheses. As with the birth of Jesus, the official place of Jesus' death was determined by Helen of Constantinople in the 4th century, during the reign of Constantine. Later, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built on the site. WHERE DID JESUS ​​REALLY DIE? HYPOTHESIS 1: THE HOLY TOMB The Holy Sepulcher has always been an important place for Christianity. It captures all the mysteries, for example the death and resurrection of Jesus. According to the Church, Jesus' body was anointed with spices, wrapped in a shroud and then buried here.

Two days later, on Easter Day, he was resurrected. Every year, many pilgrims come here to show their faith and give thanks to Jesus. But how can we be sure that Jesus' body was really placed here? Regarding this question, science has not been able to answer for a long time. It is very difficult to date a rock because carbon-14 dating cannot be used. Examining how the stone was cut is one way to determine its date. It was not until October 2016, during extensive restoration work, that the tombs of the Holy Sepulcher were reopened for the first time in 200 years.

Scientific analyzes of the material and its structure definitively concluded that there were no remains older than 1700 years. In Jerusalem, no place is more faithful to what the Gospels tell us than here. So while it is not proof, it does lend authenticity to the claim. We now know that the foundations date back to the 4th century, so regarding the claim that the tomb is Christ's, given the lack of evidence, we need to find Jesus' DNA. What if Jesus' body had not been placed there? What if Helena is wrong? Other sites turned out to be very likely, as they matched the biblical text and historical possibilities.

WHERE DID JESUS ​​REALLY DIE? HYPOTHESIS 2: GORDON'S CALVARY In Jerusalem there was an alternative place for the crucifixion, different from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Gordon's Calvary (Golgotha), to me, is much more probable and plausible. This site is outside the city but close to the city, where everyone can see the crucified man, as described in the Gospel of John. Gordon's Calvary is a tomb located in a park outside the old town, just 600 meters from the official Holy Sepulcher. Discovered in 1867, it reopened research into Jesus' tomb, at least among conservative Protestants. We are in front of the Tomb of the Resurrection, the tomb of the resurrected Jesus.

Why is that? Because this is consistent with the Bible, which tells the story in great detail. They described Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, and said that next to it there was a garden where there was a tomb that had never been used. The Scriptures describe a garden next to the site of the crucifixion. A large underground pit discovered in 1890 next to Gordon's Calvary suggests that there may have been a large garden here. Its location outside the city also fits the text. Finally, three crosses could fit here, or even more, which does not happen at the site of the Holy Sepulchre.

However, archaeological analysis does not support Gordon's Calvary theory. The problem is that the tomb is an Iron Age tomb. What is the Iron Age? 800 BC - 700 BC... and the tomb of Jesus in it was a new tomb that no one had ever entered. I think historically his grave was not there. The inconsistent dating of Calvary Gordon and the lack of archaeological evidence before the 4th century to support a burial in the Holy Sepulchre: investigations reached a dead end. Then, in 1980, an extraordinary archaeological discovery surprised: WHERE DID HE REALLY DIE? HYPOTHESIS 3: TALPIOT TOMB A 1st century tomb was discovered in the Talpiot district, about two kilometers south of the border with the Old City.

It contained an ossuary or box containing human bones. Under this concrete slab is a stone door, an arch, and inside the arch is a tomb where 10 ossuaries were found. What makes this tomb unique are the names written on 6 of the 10 ossuaries. These names are Mary, Jesus, son of Joseph, Joseph, Mariamene Mara, Matthew and Judah, son of Yeshua. These names are identical to the names of the immediate family of Jesus of Nazareth. Does this ossuary contain the bones of Jesus of Nazareth and members of his family? The age of the tomb, along with its appropriate name, caused quite a stir in the scientific community.

What impressed us (I mean the researchers, in 2000 we started studying it) was the collection of names. That is a very important point because it is what makes this collection of names important and unique. It is a collection of these names together in the same tomb. Not in different tombs scattered all over the place, but in a group, a group of names, the immediate members of Jesus' family were there. To truly understand the names of this Talpiot Tomb, what you have to understand are the statistics. Let's say there is a stadium that seats 50,000 people and we say, "Everyone named Jesus, please stand." So 5% of the 50,000 will remain.

Then ask: “How many of you have a mother named Mary?” Maybe about half feel. Then we say: "How many of you have a brother named James?" You will make almost everyone sit down. You know why? James is a very rare name, less than 1%. So if that doesn't work, "Does anyone have a brother named Yose, not Yosef, not Yosee, but Yose spelled with a Y? Anyone?" The same person will remain standing, that is, Jesus. This is a theory that has divided the scientific community. An ossuary is preserved in the crypt of the French Biblical and Archaeological School in Jerusalem, dating from the same period as the one found in the tomb of Talpiot.

The Jerusalem ossuaries have been studied, 1,200 have been inventoried and there are perhaps 200 or 300 names engraved. The names are very repetitive for the simple reason that it was an ancient Semitic tradition to give a name to a child in his family. Of the 53 ossuaries placed in this room, several names usually appear, such as Salomé, Eleazar... or Ikano. There are other common names, but here there is only one Jesus. But since there are at least 7 or 8 names in Jerusalem in total, we know that it is a common name. It is not clear why this tomb belonged to Jesus.

These combinations are very possible without being associated with Jesus. The right names certainly make people curious. But inscription experts are more careful, they say that there are several possible interpretations, depending on the shape of the letter, etc. Therefore, the final result is very doubtful. The story is good, like a fairy tale, but there is no historical coherence to rely on. WHERE DID JESUS ​​REALLY DIE? HYPOTHESIS 4: THE COMMON GRAVE The final hypothesis may be "less scathing": after the crucifixion, the Romans simply dumped Jesus' body, as they did with the bodies of other executed people. Most likely, after Jesus was taken down from the cross, he ended up in a mass grave.

Because that is the worst kind of torture. When Spartacus and his slaves rebelled against Rome, they were crucified. So do society's worst criminals. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the Romans would have allowed Jesus' friends to take his body after his death. Furthermore, no one questioned the way he died. The death of Jesus and the description of him in the Gospels is one of the most convincing evidence of his historical existence. If Jesus was a made-up character created by someone to establish a new religion, then he would not have died that way. He would be stoned to death accused of blasphemy.

There is no text that says he was stoned. He was crucified. At least the four gospels agree on that. Today, historians are almost unanimous in this: the existence of the historical Jesus is beyond doubt. His crucifixion makes too much sense. And no historical text questions the existence of Jesus. For a revolutionary figure like that, if there was even the slightest doubt, it would happen. Archaeological discoveries combined with in-depth study of ancient texts give us a better understanding of the environment in which Jesus grew up, providing the most plausible interpretation of the events that occurred over two thousand years ago.

What we call the “historical quest for Jesus” is, in some ways, endless. Our culture, our civilization, has been so nourished by the stories that emerge from the Bible and the figure of Jesus, that we feel it is important to question these things ourselves and push back the limits of our ignorance. Of course, the existence of Jesus raises questions. We must also develop our own perspective on this figure. He was not just a wise man, he was something completely different. For Christians, he is the incarnation of God on Earth. So he is really unique. For Christians, the existence of Jesus is clear.

But historians also agree that the historical existence of a man named Jesus – a descendant of the lineage of King David, a reformer of Judaism who wanted to restore God's sovereignty over Israel – is now difficult to question. .