Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that Jesus was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve. Then Christ appeared to over 500 brothers and sisters at once. Then Jesus appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (1 Cor 15:1-8)
This post is adapted and expanded from www.alisachildersblog.com/blog/10-historical-facts-about-jesus-from-non-christian-sources. Alisa Childers is an American author and singer. She is a member of the all-female Christian music group ZOEgirl. I used this article in response to questions at Jester III Prison and at Belhaven University in New Testament Survey. I’ve also used it in other classes and with individuals. Maybe it will help you in evangelism and in defending the Christian faith.
Jesus Really Lived
“Jesus really existed, and He really was crucified, just as Julius Caesar really existed and was assassinated. We can, in fact, know as much about Jesus as we can about any figure in the ancient world.” (Marcus Borg, Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University, in The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions)
Christians believe in Christ the Lord as the Son of God and the Savior of sinners, and we receive and depend upon Him alone for our salvation as He is offered in the Scriptures. We believe that the Bible provides an accurate historical record of Christ’s life and ministry. To know who Jesus is, we must turn to the Scriptures, starting with the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Christ is also the central figure of the entire Bible.
As a bonus, Jesus is mentioned as a historical person by non-Christian sources within 150 years of His life. These are not the basis of our faith, but they confirm and corroborate some of the Bible’s teachings. These sources confirm things about Jesus that agree with the Scriptures. I have modernized language and shortened quotations.
Fact #1. Christ was wise and righteous according to the Jewish historian Josephus (37-100 AD). In Antiquities, he reports: “At this time, there was a wise man named Jesus. His conduct was good, and He was known to be virtuous.”1
Fact #2. Jesus’ half-brother was James. In recounting James’ stoning, Josephus records: “The Sanhedrin of judges assembled and brought before them the brother of Jesus Christ, whose name was James, and others. When they were accused of breaking God’s law, they were stoned.”2
Fact #3. Christ performed miracles. Celsus was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and a fierce opponent of Christianity. Trying to explain away Jesus’ miracles, Celsus affirms that they really happened: “Jesus, on account of His poverty, went to Egypt. There He acquired certain powers… He returned home possessing powers, and on the strength of them gave Himself out to be a god.”3
Fact #4. Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Cornelius Tacitus (56-120 AD) served as a senator under Emperor Vespasian. He wrote a history of the Roman Empire and noted: “Christus suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of Pontius Pilatus.”4 Josephus confirmed: “Pilate condemned Jesus to be crucified and to die.”5
The Apostles Matthew and John were eyewitnesses to Christ’s life and ministry. The Apostle Peter probably provided John Mark with much of his material. Luke gathered details from a number of eyewitness accounts, probably with the input of the Apostle Paul, who was instructed by the resurrected Christ (Galatians 1:11-12).
Fact #5. Christ’s crucifixion was accompanied by darkness and an earthquake. This fact was attested to by the historian Thallus (5-60 AD), who was alive at the same time as Jesus. Thallus’ writings were lost, but he was cited by Julius Africanus (160-240 AD). Africanus repeated what happened during Jesus’ crucifixion: “On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness. And the rocks erupted from an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down.”6
Fact #6. Christ had many Jewish and Gentile followers. Josephus wrote: “Many people from among the Jews and the other nations became Jesus’ disciples. Pilate condemned Him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become His disciples did not abandon following Jesus.”7
Fact #7. Christ lived under the reign of Tiberius Caesar (42 BC-37 AD). 2nd-century historian Phlegon of Tralles records that, under Tiberius, at the full moon, there was a solar eclipse from the sixth hour to the ninth.8
A 2011 study published in the International Geology Review examined Dead Sea sediment and found evidence of a real earthquake that occurred sometime between 26 AD and 36 AD. This matches the exact timeframe of the crucifixion of Christ. (catholiconline.news/bible/biblical-earthquake-at-jesus-crucifixion-backed-by-scientific-findings/, Feb 26, 2026)
Fact #8. Jesus’ disciples observed that He physically rose from the dead in His same body. Josephus recorded: “[Christ’s disciples] reported that He had appeared to them three days after His crucifixion. And that He was alive.”9
Fact #9A. After Christ’s resurrection, His disciples believed He was God and met regularly to worship Him. Pliny the Younger (61-113 AD) was a judge in Rome. In a letter to Emperor Trajan he wrote: “[Christians] were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds, never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, and never to falsify their word….” 10
Fact #9B. Lucian of Samosata (125-180 AD) was a 2nd-century Greek satirist. He mocked Christians, but affirmed certain historical details: “The Christians worship a man (Jesus) to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel ideas, and was crucified on that account… Their original lawgiver taught that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted. They deny the gods of Greece and worship the crucified sage (Christ), and live according to His laws.”11
After His resurrection, Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matt 28:18-20)
Fact #10. Jesus’ disciples were willing to suffer and die for their beliefs. The persecution of early Christians was recorded by Suetonius (69-122 AD), an official secretary of Emperor Hadrian. Suetonious documented that Christians were ejected from Rome in AD 49: “Because the Jews at Rome caused constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (Christ), Claudius expelled them from Rome.”12 “Nero inflicted punishment on the Christians, a sect given to a new and mischievous religious belief.”13 Tacitus also confirmed Nero’s persecution of early Christians: “Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace.”14
Conclusion
From non-Christian and even anti-Christian sources, there is confirming evidence that Jesus Christ existed, was crucified, was resurrected from the dead, and His many followers were willing to suffer and die for their allegiance to the Lord. The next time someone claims that there is no evidence for Christ outside the Bible, consider sharing these citations with them! Better yet, study the Scriptures with unbelievers and beg God the Holy Spirit to take away their unbelief!
The Apostle John wrote: Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30-31)
Notes: 1 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 18.3.3 (There are other versions of this quote in antiquity that are believed to have been altered. The quote Childers cites is the one most scholars agree is authentic. 2 Josephus, 20.9.1. 3 Origen, Contra Celsum, 1.28. 4 Tacitus, Annals, 15.44. 5 Josephus, 18.3.3. 6 Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, eds. Roberts and Donaldson, vol. 9, 188. (Cited in J. Warner Wallace, Cold Case Christianity). 7 Josephus, 18.3.3. 8 Ante-Nicene Christian Library, vol. 9, 188. 9 Josephus, 18.3.3. 10 Pliny the Younger, 10.96. 11 Lucian, The Death of Peregrine, 11-13. 12 C. Suetonius Tranquillus, Divus Claudius, 25.4. 13 Suetonius, The 12 Caesars, Nero Claudius Caesar, XVI. 14 Tacitus, Annals, 15.44.