Jesus

===Sources===
{{Main|Sources for the historicity of Jesus}}
{{See also|Josephus on Jesus|Tacitus on Christ}}
[[File:WorksJosephus1640TP.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A 1640 edition of the works of Josephus, a 1st-century [[Roman Jews|Roman-Jewish]] historian who referred to Jesus{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=431–36}}]]

New Testament scholars face a formidable challenge when they analyse the canonical Gospels.{{sfn|Harris|1985|p=263}} The Gospels are not biographies in the modern sense, and the authors explain Jesus' theological significance and recount his public ministry while omitting many details of his life.{{sfn|Harris|1985|p=263}}

The reports of supernatural events associated with Jesus' death and resurrection make the challenge even more difficult.{{sfn|Harris|1985|p=263}}
Scholars regard the Gospels as compromised sources of information because the writers were trying to glorify Jesus.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=3}}
Even so, the sources for Jesus' life are better than sources scholars have for the life of [[Alexander the Great]].{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=3}}

Scholars use a number of criteria, such as the [[criterion of multiple attestation|criterion of independent attestation]], the [[Biblical criticism#Coherence|criterion of coherence]], and the [[criterion of discontinuity]] to judge the historicity of events.{{sfn|Rausch|2003|pp=36–37}} The historicity of an event also depends on the reliability of the source; indeed, the Gospels are not independent nor consistent records of Jesus' life. Mark, which is most likely the earliest written gospel, has been considered for many decades the most historically accurate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Paul N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC&pg=PA291 |title=John, Jesus, and History |last2=Just |first2=Felix |last3=Thatcher |first3=Tom |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58983-293-0 |volume=2 |page=291 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910170334/https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC&pg=PA291 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> John, the latest written gospel, differs considerably from the Synoptic Gospels, and thus is generally considered less reliable, although more and more scholars now also recognize that it may contain a core of older material as historically valuable as the Synoptic tradition or even more so.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Paul N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC&pg=PA291 |title=John, Jesus, and History |last2=Just |first2=Felix |last3=Thatcher |first3=Tom |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58983-293-0 |volume=2 |page=292 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910170334/https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC&pg=PA291 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Some scholars (most notably the [[Jesus Seminar]]) believe that the non-canonical [[Gospel of Thomas]] might be an independent witness to many of Jesus' parables and aphorisms. For example, Thomas confirms that Jesus blessed the poor and that this saying circulated independently before being combined with similar sayings in the [[Q source]].{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|pp=471–532}} However, the majority of scholars are sceptical about this text and believe it should be dated to the 2nd century AD.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Casey|first=Maurice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXK0auknD0YC|title=Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching|date=30 December 2010|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-567-64517-3|language=en|access-date=18 May 2021|archive-date=9 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309232056/https://books.google.com/books?id=lXK0auknD0YC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ehrman|first=Bart D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpoNAQAAMAAJ|title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings|date=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-508481-8|language=en|access-date=1 May 2018|archive-date=9 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309231638/https://books.google.com/books?id=xpoNAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other select non-canonical Christian texts may also have value for historical Jesus research.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=17–62}}

Early non-Christian sources that attest to the historical existence of Jesus include the works of the historians [[Josephus]] and [[Tacitus]].{{efn|Tuckett writes: "All this does at least render highly implausible any far-fetched theories that even Jesus' very existence was a Christian invention. The fact that Jesus existed, that he was crucified under Pontius Pilate (for whatever reason) and that he had a band of followers who continued to support his cause, seems to be part of the bedrock of historical tradition. If nothing else, the non-Christian evidence can provide us with certainty on that score."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|editor-last=Bockmuehl |editor-first= Markus N.A. |title=Sources and methods |first=Christopher |last=Tuckett |year=2001|encyclopedia= Cambridge Companion to Jesus|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-79678-1|pages=123–24}}</ref>}}{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=431–36}}{{sfn|Van Voorst|2000|pp=39–53}} Josephus scholar [[Louis Feldman]] has stated that "few have doubted the genuineness" of Josephus's reference to Jesus in [[s:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XX#Chapter 9|book 20]] of the ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', and it is disputed only by a small number of scholars.{{sfn|Van Voorst|2000| p= 83}}<ref>{{cite book|last= Maier|first= Paul L.|year= 1995|title= Josephus, the essential works: a condensation of Jewish antiquities and The Jewish war|isbn= 978-0-8254-3260-6|page= 285|publisher= Kregel Academic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c2Tu1Yp3n0EC&pg=PA285|access-date= 14 August 2015|archive-date= 7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907111405/https://books.google.com/books?id=c2Tu1Yp3n0EC&pg=PA285|url-status= live}}</ref> Tacitus referred to Christ and his execution by Pilate in [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 15#44|book 15]] of his work ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]''. Scholars generally consider Tacitus's reference to the execution of Jesus to be both authentic and of historical value as an independent Roman source.<ref>{{cite book|title=Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies|first=Craig A.|last=Evans|year=2001|isbn=978-0-391-04118-9|page=42|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRcQ2bkLxc8C&pg=PA42|publisher=Brill|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=10 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910175221/https://books.google.com/books?id=DRcQ2bkLxc8C&pg=PA42|url-status=live}}</ref>

Non-Christian sources are valuable in two ways. First, they show that even neutral or hostile parties never show any doubt that Jesus actually existed. Second, they present a rough picture of Jesus that is compatible with that found in the Christian sources: that Jesus was a teacher, had a reputation as a miracle worker, had a brother James, and died a violent death.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998}}

Archaeology helps scholars better understand Jesus' social world.{{sfn|Reed|2002|p=18}} Recent archaeological work, for example, indicates that [[Capernaum]], a city important in Jesus' ministry, was poor and small, without even a [[Forum (Roman)|forum]] or an [[agora]].<ref name="Gowler">{{cite book |title=What are they saying about the historical Jesus?|first=David B. |last=Gowler |year=2007| isbn= 978-0-8091-4445-7|publisher=Paulist Press| page= 102}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Jesus and archaeology |editor-first=James H. |editor-last=Charlesworth |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8028-4880-2 |page=127 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoIS7VApH6cC&pg=PA127 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |title=Archived copy |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907182047/https://books.google.com/books?id=QoIS7VApH6cC&pg=PA127 |url-status=live }}</ref> This archaeological discovery resonates well with the scholarly view that Jesus advocated reciprocal sharing among the destitute in that area of Galilee.<ref name="Gowler" />