Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus? For Christians, He is much more than a religious teacher. Jesus is the center of Christianity the One Christians believe is the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Savior of the world. But before asking what you believe about Jesus, it is worth asking a more basic question: Did Jesus actually exist?

The answer from history is yes. Jesus of Nazareth was a real first century Jewish man who lived in the land of Judea, gathered followers, taught publicly, and was executed by crucifixion under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. His existence is not based only on the Bible. Ancient writers who were not Christians also referred to Jesus and the movement that formed around Him.

The Roman historian Tacitus, writing in the early second century, referred to Christus and stated that he suffered execution during the reign of Emperor Tiberius under Pontius Pilate. Tacitus was certainly not writing as a Christian admirer of Jesus; in fact, he described Christianity negatively.

The Jewish historian Josephus, writing near the end of the first century, also referred to Jesus. One passage identifies James as “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.” Modern scholarship generally considers this reference authentic.

We also have Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor who wrote to Emperor Trajan around AD 111–113 about Christians. He described Christians gathering and worshiping Christ, showing how quickly devotion to Jesus had spread throughout the Roman Empire.

But what about the miracles?

This is where history and faith begin to overlap. The Gospel accounts describe Jesus healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, casting out demons, calming storms, raising the dead, and performing other miracles. We cannot scientifically reproduce a first-century miracle in a laboratory, so historians cannot prove a miracle in the same way they can prove that a Roman governor existed. But there is historical evidence that Jesus was widely known as a miracle worker.

Interestingly, even Josephus—who was not a Christian—describes Jesus as a man associated with “startling deeds.” His account is debated in some details, but modern scholarship recognizes that ancient sources connected Jesus with extraordinary acts and that His followers believed He had performed miracles.

Then comes the most important question: What happened after Jesus was crucified?

His followers claimed that He rose from the dead. They did not simply say that Jesus' teachings continued after His death. They proclaimed that the man who had been crucified was alive again and that they had encountered Him. This resurrection claim became the foundation of the Christian movement.

History can establish that Jesus existed, that He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and that His followers very early proclaimed Him as risen from the dead. The testimony of Peter, James, the apostles, Paul, and the reported group of more than five hundred forms part of the historical evidence that the resurrection belief was not a legend that appeared centuries later, but a conviction proclaimed by the earliest followers of Jesus.

So, who is Jesus?

You can dismiss Him. You can study Him. You can question Him. You can believe He was only a teacher. But Jesus is not easily explained away as a fictional character who never existed. The historical evidence points to a real man whose life, death, and followers changed the course of history.

And perhaps the most important question is not simply “Who was Jesus?”

It is:

“Who is Jesus to you?”

If He really is who He claimed to be—the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Savior—then seeking Him is more than learning about history.

It could be the beginning of discovering the One who said:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
— John 14:6