We can’t really understand Jesus’ history until we talk about history itself.
As children we trusted our textbooks and naively believed that history was a linear account of facts collected by unbiased eyewitnesses. As we grew older, we began to understand that misperception, bias, personal agendas and propaganda had easily find their way into written history. And far from being eyewitness accounts, history is often compiled from second (or third, fourth, etc.) hand accounts that have suffered during their transmission.
Even though most of us have become skeptical of secular history, many still cling to the notion that the New Testament gospels present a factual, eyewitness account of Jesus’ life and teaching. Don’t misunderstand, we certainly feel that there’s valuable information contained in the Bible.
But we’re making a mistake if we think of the gospel accounts as factual, eyewitness histories that we can rely on to understand Jesus.
Here are a few of the many reasons why we shouldn’t think of the gospel accounts as histories:
- Jesus’ story was passed by word-of-mouth for 30-65 years before people began to write it down. It’s impossible to know how many errors and embellishments were made to the story during that time.
- The gospel accounts were written down by people who didn’t know Jesus, probably had not met any eye witnesses, and did not speak the same language as Jesus’ earliest followers.
- The gospel accounts are filled with geographical and historical inaccuracies.
- Archeology sometimes adds local color to Bible stories, but archeologists haven’t found anything that reliably supports the Bible accounts of Jesus’ life.
- The gospel accounts do not agree with each other and they contain huge, irreconcilable differences.
- Each of the gospel writers had a completely different ideas about who Jesus was and what his teachings meant. They each wrote for a different audience and had a different idea of what it meant to be a disciple.
- The gospels were not meant to be histories when they were written. They were a form of propaganda used for conversion. The writers had no idea their accounts would be made into a “sacred book.”
If we can’t rely on the Bible for historical information, what about the secular record? Forty-two historians were active during Jesus’ lifetime and the first century after his death. It should be a simple matter to find information about Jesus, but that’s not the case. Other New Testament characters are mentioned by historians, but not Jesus. If Jesus was as famous, or infamous, as the gospel accounts claim, historians would have been eager to write about him. The Romans kept detailed legal records and records from Pontius Pilate’s reign survive, but there is no mention that Jesus was either tried or executed. A few mentions of Jesus were inserted into histories by Christian copyists who were upset that Jesus hadn’t been mentioned, but these entries are easily recognized as spurious.
A man who might have been Jesus is mentioned in Jewish rabbinical writings, but the references tell of a man who was far different than the Jesus described in the Bible. This Jesus was the illegitimate son of Mary and a Roman army officer. He was accused of practicing magic he learned in Egypt and making himself equal to God. Early Christians took the information seriously enough that they refuted the claims and added the soldier’s name to Jesus’ family tree.
Pagans also had something to say about Jesus
They felt that Christians had stolen their sacred stories that told of a “dying and resurrecting godman” and applied them to Jesus. The stories 
that Christians told about Jesus were so similar to pagan myths, Christians had to deal with the problem by coming up with the theory of “diabolical mimicry.” Christians claimed that the devil had known in advance that Jesus was going to appear in the flesh. To discredit Jesus and confuse his followers, the devil created pagan myths as a deception that would lead them astray.
One more group existed that can shed light on Jesus’ story
Their writings can’t be considered accurate histories any more than the Bible gospels, but they are just as worthy of our attention. By the 2nd century CE, hundreds of Christian writings existed, and they each promoted a different view. Some of these early Christian writings were labeled gnostic. Although the writers were among some of Jesus earliest followers and their writings are as old and as valid as the gospel accounts, they tell a very different story of Jesus and his teachings. These writers understand Jesus to be a human wisdom teacher who taught them to take responsibility for their own salvation.
By the 4th century CE, a group of Christians that had allied themselves with Rome established a church and institutionalized religion. With the backing of the Roman state and military, the Roman church wiped any and all who opposed them off the face of the map. Then, a state endorsed “history” of Christianity (Histoira Ecclesiastiaca) was fabricated in an attempt to validate the church and the message they approved.
Accurate evidence that Jesus existed is virtually non-existent.
Many believe that the lack of reliable historical information proves that Jesus never existed. However, this view could be considered biased and naïve as well. Scientists refuse to consider vast amounts of anecdotal information because they have no way to prove personal experiences in rigid experimental settings. However, that doesn’t mean the evidence doesn’t exist. Many of the teachings attributed to Jesus clearly show evidence of a spiritual master who had gained understanding through a direct, personal experience of the Divine. If we want to understand the teacher who shared this wisdom, we’re all free to follow his path and access Divine wisdom for ourselves. When we do this, we’re not limited by hearsay, but share the mind of Christ.
Copyright © 2011 Lee and Steven Hager