It’s known as the Christ Myth: the theory that Jesus of Nazareth never existed as a historical person. One of the arguments that mythicists often use is that the town of Nazareth never existed in the first century at the time Jesus is said to have lived. If Nazareth never existed, then Jesus didn’t exist, right? René Salm has even written an entire book on the subject entitled, The Myth of Nazareth, The Invented Town of Jesus.1
Because this argument is becoming increasingly popular, how does one respond?
Quite easily, actually.
First, the argument is illogical. Atheist, Bart Ehrman has pointed out, “ I could dispose of this argument fairly easily by pointing out that it is irrelevant. If Jesus existed, as the evidence suggests, but Nazareth did not, as this assertion claims, then he merely came from somewhere else. Whether Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or not (for what it is worth, he was) is irrelevant to the question of whether he was born.”2
Secondly, the argument has been falsified through numerous archaeological discoveries which clearly establish that Nazareth was indeed a town inhabited in the first century at the time of Jesus. Consider the following:
- Tombs with fragments of ossuaries have been excavated in Nazareth, indicating a
Jewish presence there in the first century.3
- Hellenistic and early Roman artifacts, including pottery shards, a cooking jar, and lamps discovered in the 1969 Nazareth excavations led by Bellarmino Bagetti, come from a first-century context.4
- In 1997 and 1998, excavations at Mary’s Well, an ancient spring in Nazareth, led by archaeologist Yardenna Alexandra revealed coins from the Hellenistic and early Roman periods – coins that would have bene used in the time of Jesus.5
- In 2009, a first-century dwelling was discovered6 in which were found pottery and chalk stone vessel shards which date from the late Hellenic through Early Roman periods (100 BC to 100 AD)7
- Another first-century courtyard house was excavated in Nazareth8, which still had windows and doors intact. In 2015 Dr. Ken Dark, the lead archaeologist, noted evidence of early Christian veneration at the site, suggesting that it may have been the childhood home of Jesus.9
While there once was a lack of first-century evidence in Nazareth, recent excavations have conclusively demonstrated that in Jesus’ day, Nazareth was a backwater village of around 50 houses about four acres in size and populated by devout Jews of modest means.10
In the historical biographies of Jesus in the Bible, Nazareth is identified as his hometown by each of the writers: Mathew (Mt 2:23), Mark (Mk 1:24), Luke (Lk 18:37), and John (Jn 19:19). Some 30 years after Jesus’s death and resurrection, Christians were still known as the “sect of the Nazarenes.” (Acts 24:5). These writers, along with the many people who spoke about “Jesus of Nazareth” were familiar with the village. Upon hearing that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, one even asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn 1:46)
Some have objected that Nazareth is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) nor in any other ancient sources outside of the New Testament. This is true, and with good reason: Nazareth was too small and too insignificant to have warranted being described. This in itself is evidence that Nazareth truly was the hometown of Jesus; who would make up a place like this for the hometown of the Messiah?
While there are those who would seek to transform Jesus of Nazareth from an actual person into a legendary figure, few scholars and historians subscribe to the Christ Myth. Arguments such as, “Nazareth never even existed at the time of Jesus,” may make for entertaining rhetoric and interesting conspiracy theory, but they are far from compelling. As an archaeologist who reviewed René Salm’s book summarized: “By ignoring or dismissing solid ceramic, numismatic, and literary evidence for Nazareth’s existence during the Late Hellenisitic and Early Roman period, it would appear that the analysis which René Salm includes in his review, and his recent book must, in itself, be relegated to the realm of ‘myth.’”11 The reality is the historical evidence for the existence of the first-century rabbi known as Jesus of Nazareth is overwhelming.
4 Geisler, N. L. (2013). The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible. Eugene, OR: Harvest House. Pg. 319.
5 Geisler, N. L. (2013). The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible. Eugene, OR: Harvest House. Pg. 320.