Chapter 3 · A real man

Jesus is not a fairy tale.

Inside that window, someone arrived. Historians of every kind (Christian, Jewish, agnostic, atheist) agree on the basics: a Jewish teacher named Jesus lived in the first century, gathered followers, and was crucified by the Romans. Bart Ehrman, an agnostic scholar who has spent his career challenging Christian beliefs, puts it flatly: “He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees.” Look how fast the written record starts:

Tap a date to see it happen.

1. About AD 30Jesus is crucified in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate.
2. About AD 50–60Paul writes letters that still survive. He had met Peter and “James, the Lord's brother” in person (Galatians 1:18–19).
3. About AD 70Mark writes the earliest Gospel, within the lifetime of people who knew Jesus.
4. About AD 93The Jewish historian Josephus mentions Jesus.
5. About AD 116The Roman historian Tacitus mentions Christus, executed by Pilate.

For comparison, the oldest surviving accounts of Alexander the Great were written about 300 years after he died, and nobody doubts he lived. For Jesus, the first letters come within about 20 years. The real question isn't whether he existed. It's who he was.