Christmas... Make It Make SenseSample
Did Jesus Really Exist?
Christians believe that God became human. Another word you may have heard once or twice before is ‘incarnation,’ which means ‘taking on flesh.’ Christians believe Jesus was born in the flesh. At Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus on earth, born of the Virgin Mary.
The Christian belief around incarnation stands on three pillars. When these three pillars are combined, it helps to explain why Christians talk about Jesus being “God in human form.” It is a very important concept that the Bible makes clear is critical to our salvation as humanity… a mind melter!!
Let’s take a few days to dive deeper into the three pillars and today, let’s talk about the first.
Have you ever had somebody completely disregard Jesus’ existence? How did that make you feel? Or have you ever personally found it hard to believe that Jesus genuinely existed 2,000 years ago? Well, we’ve got some good news for you…
Jesus existed.
According to Christian and atheist scholars, the evidence that Jesus was a real man born and lived in modern-day Israel over 2,000 years ago is incredibly strong.
The New Testament tells us who Jesus was, what he did, and why. Other writings from the same era, by people who weren’t Christians, also talk about a man named Jesus.
Roman and Jewish historians such as Josephus and Tacitus refer to Jesus in their writings, providing evidence that he was real.
Putting faith in Jesus is less about believing whether he was real and more about deciding whether to believe his claims (such as the promised Messiah) and, ultimately, whether he rose again from the dead.
Does it encourage you to know that even atheist scholars believe Jesus existed?
How does it make you feel knowing that the evidence for Jesus’ existence is so strong?
Scripture
About this Plan
We will unpack some Christian/Christmassy words to help us remember the meaning of Christmas and the Christian message.
More