Can you prove that Jesus actually existed?

Can you prove that Jesus actually existed?

The Question
It has recently become popular among atheists and skeptics to bring into question the very existence of Jesus. Can we really be confident that there actually was a historical person in the 1st century that corresponds to the character Christians claim as their forgiver and leader? Or is Jesus just another legend that developed over time without any real basis in reality?

The Answer
Before we begin to provide evidence of Jesus as a historical figure, we should stop and ask ourselves what kinds and what degrees of evidence we should expect to find for a 1st century character like Jesus.

It would be easy to over-estimate Jesus’ fame amongst his contemporaries. In fact, his public ministry lasted less than 4 years. During this time, his travels only extended about 120 miles north to south and about 30 miles east to west. There were no TV interviews, podcasts to download from the internet, and he never self-published a book.

In a sense, then, we should be quite surprised to find any evidence of a 1st century Jewish teacher who died in the beginning years of his ministry. But in another sense, if Jesus really was God in the flesh, did miracles, and rose from the dead, one would think he would leave behind a historical trail!
Indeed, Jesus left a large literary legacy. The problem is that most atheists and skeptics deny that the bulk of these documents are admissible as evidence on the grounds that they were written by believers (for example, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John).

But we should question this automatic dismissal of the Gospels. Indeed, believers wrote them, but these believers were also Jesus’ contemporaries and, in many cases, eyewitnesses to the events of his ministry. Very few ancient figures have as much written of them by contemporaries as Jesus.

Even if we dismiss the Gospel records, though, we are not left without evidence of Jesus’ existence. As a matter of fact, we have confirmation of Jesus’ life from 2 major Roman historians (Tacitus and Suetonius) and 1 major Jewish historian (Josephus) from the late 1st century.

Truth be told, even if we only accepted antagonistic sources like those mentioned above, we would still know the following pieces of information about Jesus:

1) Jesus was a 1st century figure
2) Jesus taught in Palestine
3) He performed extraordinary works
4) He was sentenced to death
5) Some claimed he rose from the dead

Thus, when we speak of Jesus as a historical figure, we are on solid ground. To question his existence is valid, but the investigation yields clear results. His historicity is beyond reasonable doubt.