Are you interested in researching the historicity of Jesus’ crucifixion using sources outside the New Testament?
While the eyewitness accounts within the New Testament documents are reliable and sufficient, there is an abundance of evidence outside of the Bible which testifies to the reality of Jesus‘s crucifixion in Rome around AD 30 or 33. Consider these three ancient, non-Christian writers who provide historical testimony concerning Jesus and His crucifixion:
- Josephus (c. A.D. 93–94)
- Tacitus (c. A.D. 116)
- Lucian of Samosata (c. A.D. 165–170)
Friends, even Bart Ehrman, an agnostic atheist and New Testament scholar, acknowledges:
“The crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans is one of the most secure facts we have about his life.”
— Bart Ehrman, Why Was Jesus Killed? (2012)
Yet the historical reality of Jesus’ crucifixion is only part of the story. Scripture reveals WHY His death matters and proclaims the glorious truth of His resurrection:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:3–4
“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” — 1 John 4:9-10
