Ancient Artifacts Verify
. . . eyewitnesses saw Jesus die on the cross
Supporting Data and Analysis
A substantial amount of archaeological evidence has been unearthed, which makes the Christian faith viable. This page presents archaeological evidence that reinforces the biblical texts related to Jesus dying on the cross. This evidence reinforces that skeptics becoming early Christians did so only after witnessing Jesus as Messiah who conquered death.
Did Jesus Die on the Cross,
(then Rise from the Dead)?
Archaeological discoveries from the 20th century verify that people existed who looked into Jesus' eyes on the day of the crucifixion. Four characters are presented below. According to New Testament texts, each character had some type of personal contact with Jesus the Messiah on the day of the crucifixion.
This physical evidence supports the New Testament texts are credibile source texts since the texts correlate to physical evidence.
Artifact No. 2 (discovered in 1961): The Pontius Pilate Inscription
Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to die on the cross as recorded by secular authors Josephus (37 – 100 AD), Tacitus (55 – 115 AD), and five New Testament authors.
Artifact No. 3 (discovered in 1990): The ossuary of Caiaphas, the high priest
The richly ornate ossuary is inscribed 2-times with the name “Joseph of the family of Caiaphas”.
Josephus matched the inscribed name, “Joseph, who was also called Caiaphas, of the high priesthood” [Antiquities 18.4.3]. Caiaphas looked into Jesus’ eyes on the day he died on the cross.
Hershel Shanks wrote "In the temple of Solomon and the Tomb of Caiaphas," on page 44, “Joseph of the family of Caiaphas” offers the best modern understanding of the inscription since there were no last names used at the time of Jesus. The inscription literally reads “Joseph son of Caiaphas,” but this does not mean “the son of biologically” since “son of...” is used in the sense of belonging to the same group or family5.
Artifact No. 4 (discovered in 1941): The ossuary of Alexander, son of Simon of Cyrene
The ossuary of Alexander, son of Simon of Cyrene, found in a cave sealed up before AD 70. Simon of Cyrene carried Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21). This artifact appears authentic due to probability calculations in the London Sunday Times, March 31, 1996. Tom Powers essay entitled Treasures in the Storeroom provides in-depth analysis of this artifact.
This artifact verifies the existence of two biblical characters, Simon of Cyrene and his son, Alexander.
Conclusions Based on Archaeological Evidence
Ancient artifacts discovered since 1850, scholarly guidelines, and the laws of probability support that the biblical story about Jesus dying on the cross is true. Due to the amount of ancient artifacts and other evidence, the biblical story of Jesus death on the cross is highly probable (less than 2 chances in 1 billion of being wrong due to random error). 6 The graph below supports the credibility of the Christian faith.
In contrast, the Atheist world view requires blind faith in imaginary universes that no one will ever be able to confirm to exist. Since Naturalism requires blind faith in imaginary universes, not even a single data point can be used to create a viable graph to compare to the Christian faith.
Why did skeptics of Jesus become early day Christians?
It is certain that skeptics such as Saul of Tarsus would have continued terrorizing the early Christians without evidence that Jesus arose from the dead. According to the book of Acts testimony, Saul of Tarsus became a Christian due to a spiritual experience with the resurrected Jesus. Do you believe the Apostle Paul's testimony?
Dr. Hemer's research (comparing archaeological evidence to texts written in the book of Acts) supports that the recorded events in the book of Acts are credible. Only a small amount of faith is required to believe the testimony of the Apostle Paul.
Perhaps you can relate to Saul of Tarsus. Perhaps you have extreme doubts about the historic person of Jesus being a divine personalilty that died on the cross, then overcame death. Are you ready to consider the reality of Christ?
You Can Know God in a Personal Way?
The Bible teaches that Christians can have a deep, personal relationship with God. Paul wrote to Christians, “…the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ
” (
Rom. 8:9). And in another verse, “…
you are God's temple . . . God's Spirit lives in you” (
1 Cor. 3:16).
And God’s presence brings “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).
The verse above promises peace with God. I have experienced God's peace for many years. You can too. To begin this personal walk with God, take time to pray with your heart and mind using this verse as a guide. “…if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10). Repeat these words and believe them with all your heart and mind. Ask the Lord Jesus to come into your life and fill you with His Holy Spirit. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
If you have taken time to say this prayer and mean it, then please send an e-mail. We hope and pray that we will find another Christian brother or sister to guide you and gain true spiritual knowledge.
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References for Research:
5: Shanks, Hershel, In the temple of Solomon and the Tomb of Caiaphas, p#44, © 1993 Biblical Archaeological Society.
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6: Saul of Tarsus would have continued as a skeptic if he were not confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus. Five skeptics becoming Christians supports that Jesus died and rose again and that this is credible at the 97.5% confidence level.
Now consider the evidence revealed by the Apostle Paul. Paul writes that more than 500 people were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Jesus and that when Paul wrote this, most of these people were still living.
Five-hundred witness yields a probability of Jesus dying on the cross, then rising from the dead at ~ 9.5 x 10111, which is only 9 chances in 1000 trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion. Is it any wonder that the early followers of Jesus laid down their lives for Messiah, who conquered death?
The ultimate skeptic, Saul of Tarsus became a Christian due to being confronted by the resurrected Jesus. Due to the Apostle Paul's statement about 500 eyewitnesses, Christians can expect that more archaeological evidence will be uncovered to support the Christian world view. And there is more evidence than what is written into this web page. As time permits, this web site will be updated to add even more evidence that supports the Christian world view. As time moves forward with additional research, scholars will continue to uncover evidence that validates the Christian faith.
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