It is thus possible that Jesus never existed at all or, if he did, that he attracted very little attention. At any rate, Christianity got its start, according to Wells, without any contact with a historical Jesus who supposedly died about 30 AD, because “only in later documents is his sojourn on earth assigned to a specific time and place.” Nothing precise was known about him, since no firsthand information is presented in the New Testament.^5

1. Early interest in historical Jesus

Of the numerous problems with Wells’ thesis, we will mention five major points here. First and perhaps most important, the earliest books of the New Testament exhibit sufficient interest in the life of the historical Jesus, especially in his death and resurrection. This includes the preservation of eyewitness testimony to these facts.

It is no coincidence that Paul is the author who includes one of the most important indications of this interest in 1 Corinthians 15:3ff.,^6 where he incorporates a very early Christian creed that is much older than the book in which it appears.

3 Wells, “Was Jesus Crucified Under Pilate?” pp. 22, 25. Details are included in Did Jesus Exist?, chapter 5.

4 Besides his discussion in Did Jesus Exist?, cf. “Was Jesus Crucified Under Pilate?” pp. 24, 26.

5 Wells, “Was Jesus Crucified Under Pilate?” pp. 22, 24–26.

6 This text is so important and figures so prominently in contemporary critical discussions, that we will devote a lengthy portion of chapter 7 to the subject. Here we will only be able to hint at some of the relevant details. The reader interested in some of the more scholarly particulars should consult the later chapter.

Such early traditions appear frequently in the New Testament and consist of oral teachings and proclamations that were repeated until recorded in the book itself. These creeds, then, actually predate the New Testament writings in which they occur. This particular tradition reports the death, burial, resurrection, and appearances of Jesus, reciting that he rose the third day after his death. A list of persons to whom he appeared then follows.