Discipleship Series · Faith & Reason · 6 Weeks

The Historical Jesus

Did he really live? Did he really die? Did he really rise? — a six-week look at the historical evidence

Six Weeks, One Question

Pleasant Springs Church · Discipleship School

Christianity makes a historical claim: that a man named Jesus of Nazareth lived, taught, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and was raised from the dead — in real places, at a datable time, in front of witnesses. That claim can be examined. Over six weeks we will follow the evidence the way a historian would — through the earliest Christian creeds, the writings of Romans and Jews who were not believers, the spade of the archaeologist, and the testimony of skeptics who changed their minds — and ask what the most honest reading of the record actually supports. This series leans on the work of Gary Habermas (The Historical Jesus) and the “minimal facts” method.

How We Will Work We will not ask you to believe more than the evidence warrants — and we will not let you believe less. Every scripture is read in its original language (the Septuagint (LXX) for the Old Testament, the Greek New Testament for the New) alongside the ESV. Every quotation from a Roman historian, a Jewish writer, or a modern scholar is given in their own words. Bring your questions; bring your doubts. A faith worth having is one that can be asked anything.
The Six Weeks
WEEK
1

Did Jesus Even Live? START HERE

The myth theory, the two-century quest, and why no serious historian doubts Jesus lived. Reading Luke as a careful historian.
WEEK
2

The Earliest Witnesses

Creeds older than the Gospels — the 1 Corinthians 15 tradition dated within a few years of the cross — and the minimal facts even skeptics grant.
WEEK
3

Jesus Outside the Bible

Tacitus, Josephus, Pliny, the Talmud, Lucian and more: a life of Jesus assembled entirely from non-Christian witnesses.
WEEK
4

Stones, Bones, and the Cross

The census, a crucified man's heel bone, the Nazareth Decree, Pilate's own inscription — and why the swoon theory collapses.
WEEK
5

The Empty Tomb and the Appearances

The empty tomb, the appearances to 500, and why hallucination, fraud and legend all fail to explain the evidence.
WEEK
6

So What? The Case Assembled

The whole case assembled, the miracle objection answered, and the one question the evidence finally puts to you.
Teach It Yourself — Free Class Materials

Teaching this in a class or small group? There is a fifteen-minute summary of the whole series, written to be taught in one sitting. Take both files and use them. They are free to print and copy for your church or group — no permission needed.

For the class

6-page workbook — the Scripture in full, blanks to fill in, room to write, and the questions.

⬇ Disciple Handout Large print
For whoever teaches

The full script with timings, what to say, what not to say, and where to stop.

⬇ Leader Guide Large print
The Arc at a Glance
Week 1Did he live?
Week 2The earliest witnesses
Week 3Sources outside the Bible
Week 4Archaeology & the cross
Week 5The empty tomb
Week 6So what?

From “did it happen?” to “what does it mean for me?” — one honest step at a time.