Since the release of my book “The Physical Death and Resurrection – A Surgeon’s View”, I have been doing some conferences and book signing with the objective to promote it.
I have come in contact with so many people of different backgrounds. During a conference in NY, I had the pleasure of meeting a young man that was curious about Jesus. In his own words he grew up without too much exposure to any religion. But now that he is older, he is willing to be more open about it. He was interested in my book but he told me that there was no evidence of Jesus in the history of mankind.
I have to be honest with you but it is not the first time I heard that. However, in the research for my book this statement is clearly not true. History does prove the existence of the man Jesus Christ.
Let’s start by defining history: It is a narration of the events which have happened among mankind, including an account of the rise and fall of nations, as well as of other great changes which have affected the political and social condition of the human race. It is based on documents that are organized following a methodology.
Based on human history, we know that Israel became a Roman colony. We also know that Julius Cesar, Herod the Great and Pontius Pilate are key historical figure during that period of time. It is very well known that the Romans were polytheist prior to invade Israel.
An important question is; If Christ was not real then how come they became Christians in a matter of few years (historically speaking) after invading Israel.
But to set this historical question down, I would quote one of the main Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, in his book called Jewish Antiquities:
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets of God had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of the Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
In other words, a man named Jesus-Christ, was a key player during the period when Israel was a Roman colony. He is not only a figure describe in the Bible. He is also mentioned in one of the most important and complete treated of the history of Israel - Jewish Antiquities.