Several years ago, the Supreme Court of India was called upon to decide, whether Adam’s Bridge (also called Ram Setu) in the Palk Straits, is natural formations or the remnants of the purported bridge that Hanuman built to rescue Sita from Lanka. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) stated that there is no evidence that even Ram existed and thus created a furore. What the ASI had meant was that, there was no evidence outside the Ramayana to corroborate its narrative.
As I left Church after midnight mass on Christmas day, I was left wondering whether the same thing could be said about the existence of Jesus. And this is what I found.
According to the Bible, Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod the Great to Joseph and Mary (Mathew 2 : 1). His preaching which began after he was baptized by John the Baptist was considered heretical by the Jews who saw a threat in him and conspired to get him killed. Accordingly, Jesus was arrested, on the accusation of inciting the people against the emperor in Rome. At this time Herod Antipas was the Tetrarch of the Jews. After his arrest he was taken for trial before Pontius Pilate the Roman Prefect of Judaea where Caiaphas the High Priest of the Jews acted as the virtual prosecutor.
Since Jesus is placed with other persons, it would be fair to conclude that Jesus lived, if there is evidence of his contemporaries outside the Bible.
Pontius Pilate: He was the Roman Prefect of Judaea from AD 26 – 36, appointed by Emperor Tiberius. The “Pilate Stone” found at Ceasarea Maritima in 1961 bears the inscription “Pontius Pilate Prefect of the Roman Province of Judaea”. Besides Philo of Alexandria (25 BC to AD 50) writes about Pilate : “When Pilate who was a man of inflexible stubborn and cruel disposition obstinately refused…….. Flavius Josephus writing in Jewish Antiquities AD 93: “Now Pilate the prefect of Judaea when he brought his army from Ceasarea…………”. So Pontius Pilate existed.
Caiaphas: Flavius Josephus in his Jewish Antiquities names all the Jewish High Priests in the First Century and Caiaphas figures among them.
Herod Antipas: The undisputed Roman historical records show that Herod Antipas was appointed as Tetrarch of Judaea by Emperor Augustus in 4 BC. Full details of Herod Antipas including his marriage to Phasaelis, divorce and marriage to Herodias are well documented by Josephus.
John the Baptist: An account of John the Baptist is found in all extant manuscripts of the Antiquities of the Jews (book 18, chapter 5, 2) by Flavius Josephus (37–100). “………..Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late.”
About ten years ago, on a visit to the Holy land, I found practically every place connected with Jesus such as Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jericho, Magdalene, Calvary, Sea of Galilee, River Jordan and others exist and with the same names, some with slightly different spellings.
The Bible does not provide the exact date or year of the birth of Jesus but by tradition, the birth is celebrated on 25th December and the year of the birth is taken as the first year ‘Anno Domini’. Amongst scholars the accepted position on the birth of Jesus is as follows:
According to Mathew (2 : 1) Jesus was born during the days of King Herod the Great which means he was born before 4 BC, the year in which Herod died. Luke (2 : 1-2) notes several other facts to ponder: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” We know that Caesar Augustus reigned from 27 B.C. to A.D. 14.
Luke mentions another detail concerning our timeline: “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23). He began his ministry during the time John the Baptist ministered in the wilderness and John’s ministry started: “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip Tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas” Luke (3 : 1-2).
The only time period that fits all of these facts is A.D. 27-29. If Jesus was “about thirty years of age” by A.D. 27, a birth sometime between 6 and 4 B.C. would fit the chronology. More specifically, Jesus would have been approximately 32 years old at the time He began His ministry (still “about thirty years of age”).
Thus co-relating the biblical texts with accepted history, the existence of the principal characters in the life of Jesus is established. The date of birth though not in AD 1 can be established to be any time between AD 6 to AD 4.
Midnight mass and we are in the “Happy New Year” mode. For Christians, it is 2016 Anno Domini (AD), for others it is 2016 Common Era (CE). And this is an acknowledgement of the fact that the era beginning with the birth of Jesus is common to all. The teachings of Jesus have had a profound effect in shaping the world as it exists today. He is certainly the most influential person, ever to have lived.
The other aspects of Jesus and his divinity is a matter of Theology, Philosophy, Metaphysics and above all faith into which aspects I am not competent enough to delve in. I merely hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and my expertise in that subject begins and ends with “cogito ergo sum”! A Happy New Year (AD or CE) to All!
(Radharao F.Gracias is a senior Trial Court Advocate, a former Independent MLA, a political activist, with a reputation for oratory and interests in history and ornithology.)
