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Section 07

Virtually certain

Jesus’s death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate is among the most secure facts in ancient history.

Attested by all four Gospels, seven Pauline letters, Tacitus (Annals 15.44, ~116 AD), Josephus (Antiquities 18.3.3 and 20.9.1, ~94 AD), the Talmud, and Pliny’s letter to Trajan.

In 1968, the heel bone of Yehohanan ben Hagkol was found in a Jerusalem ossuary with the iron crucifixion nail still embedded. The only archaeological remains of a Roman crucifixion victim ever recovered.

The Pilate Stone (1961) confirms Pontius Pilate as prefect of Judaea. Real figure, real place, real time.

Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.

Tacitus, Annals 15.44, ~116 AD.

By the numbers

Sources attesting crucifixion
4 Gospels + 7 letters + 4 non Christian
Crucifixion date range
30 to 33 AD
Pilate’s tenure
26 to 36 AD
Yehohanan find
1968

Strongest counter position

The Quran (Surah 4:157) denies the crucifixion. The Quranic claim was made ~600 years after the event, against every earlier source. Engaged in section 15.

What this does not prove

The exact date (30 vs. 33 AD) and exact words of the cross sayings involve scholarly disagreement. The fact of the crucifixion under Pilate is not in dispute among professional historians.

Citations

  • Tacitus, Annals 15.44.
  • Josephus, Antiquities 18.3.3, 20.9.1.
  • Bart Ehrman, How Jesus Became God, 2014.
  • Vassilios Tzaferis, Israel Exploration Journal, 1970.

Goes deeper