— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
The outlook of our time places great importance on scientific truths. We tend to believe what has been proven or, at the very least, what has been supported by scientific research. In fact, when something happens for which there is no possible scientific explanation, rather than believing it to be a “miracle,” we assume that we do not yet have the theoretical tools necessary to explain the phenomenon. Nevertheless, we trust that, in the future, we will be able to find an explanation. Certainly, scientific theories, with their critical methods, have contributed a great deal to our lives: they have given us a better understanding of the nature of things and of how our world works. They have also had a profound impact on our way of life, to the point of making it possible for us to extend our lives by a considerable number of years.
Now, this Socratic desire to ask why has often been considered incompatible with faith. We have prominent atheist thinkers such as Russell and Nietzsche, who, from different perspectives, questioned Christianity’s claims to truth. Nevertheless, I believe that this same curiosity to question, to take nothing for granted, and to go back to the roots of things themselves can be a path, perhaps an unusual one, but a very fruitful one, toward an encounter with the Other. Within this same search arises the most basic question, which I want to place at the centre of our reflection. Before asking whether Jesus is the Son of God, we should first ask whether he really existed and what implications this may have for our faith or, better still, whether this is relevant to our faith at all.
To answer this first question, we can turn to historical research, which, although it employs methods different from those of the natural sciences, also critically examines the available evidence. Let us first consider some sources that allow us to establish the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth.
Paul, in his letters, particularly in Galatians 1:18–19, explains that he travelled to Jerusalem, where he met Peter and James, the latter identified as the brother of the Lord. These letters were written approximately twenty to thirty years after Jesus’ death. However, this first argument is often given little weight because Paul was already a believer and his testimony comes from within the Christian community. Although this does not invalidate his testimony, it does make it necessary to examine other sources that do not come from that community.
Flavius Josephus, in his Jewish Antiquities, written around AD 93 or 94, recounts in Book XX the execution of James, whom he identifies as the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ. This historical reference has particular value because Josephus was not writing to defend Christianity, since he himself did not belong to that community. Likewise, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote in his Annals (XV.44), when describing the persecution of Christians under Nero, that Christ had suffered the death penalty during the reign of Tiberius, at the hands of Pontius Pilate. Although there is some difficulty in determining where Tacitus obtained this information, his account remains an important source for corroborating that the execution of Jesus was also known outside Christian communities.
On the basis of this evidence, and in accordance with the widely shared consensus among scholars of early Christianity, we can conclude that there was a Jewish man named Jesus, associated with a religious movement in first-century Palestine, who gathered followers and was executed by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, probably around AD 30.[1]
This is of great importance for us, women and men of the twenty-first century, because we have solid historical evidence that the person we follow truly existed. Our faith concerns a real person, not merely a collection of ideas or speculations. Moreover, the fact that Jesus lived in first-century Palestine has profound implications for the way we believe.
I would like to offer just two consequences for your consideration.
First, Jesus, being fully human, teaches us how to relate to God. He teaches us who God is and how we can understand him. Contemplating Jesus of Nazareth in his concrete historical context teaches us who God is. Consider, for example, his crucifixion. Jesus was not crucified simply because he taught people to love their neighbours or because he spoke about God. His death had concrete historical causes. Jesus came into conflict with the political and religious powers of his time, questioned certain authorities, and proclaimed the Kingdom of God in a society under Roman rule. His way of living and proclaiming this Kingdom had consequences that eventually led to his condemnation and death.
At the same time, the Gospels show us a Jesus who approached the poor, the sick, and those who were excluded from society. If we believe that God is revealed in Jesus, then we must take these actions seriously in order to understand who God is, what it means to relate to him, and, above all, how Jesus can serve as a model for our own concrete actions.
Second, the fact that Jesus became incarnate within a particular sociocultural context shows us that we too, within our own historical and cultural contexts, can relate to God and to others. Consider, for example, our own context: our church here in Freiburg, our workplaces, and the spaces in which we interact with others every day. What can we do in these places to become more like Jesus?
We can contemplate Jesus in the way he related to people from other cultures, as he did with the Samaritan woman. We can contemplate how he responded to the needs of others. We can contemplate how he related to those who, in his time, were considered “undesirable.” And here a question arises that we should ask ourselves: who are the “undesirables” of our time? How do we relate to them?
Finally, we can return to the Gospels and ask about Jesus’ everyday life: how he shared meals with others, how he cultivated his friendships, and how he sought moments of prayer and rest. From there, we can ask ourselves how we live those same moments in our own lives.
I would like to conclude by returning to our initial question: why is it important for us to know that Jesus truly existed? I believe it is not simply a matter of having historical evidence of his existence, but also of understanding that the person we follow was a real man who lived at a particular time and place, who faced difficulties, who related to others, and who confronted the problems of his own society. And if we believe that God has revealed himself to us in Jesus, then knowing his life also helps us better understand our relationship with God and with others.
For this reason, I believe it is important that we never stop questioning and reflecting on Jesus in all his dimensions. In his historical dimension, by asking who he was, where he lived, and what he did; in his concrete human dimension, by trying to understand how he related to others, how he lived, and how he responded to the difficulties of his time; and, of course, in the dimension of faith, by asking what it means for us to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
I believe we need to continue investigating, exploring more deeply, and, above all, asking questions. We should not be afraid to question what we believe, because questioning our faith does not necessarily mean moving away from God. On the contrary, it can also be a path toward knowing him better.
I would like to end with a reflection by Francis Bacon, who once suggested, in other words, that a little philosophy may lead us away from God, but going deeper into philosophy may bring us closer to religion. I believe this invites us not to settle for the first things we know or have been taught, but to continue searching, questioning, and trying to understand.
Finally, for those who would like to explore the life of Jesus in greater depth, I would like to recommend a book by José Antonio Pagola, Jesús. Aproximación histórica (Jesus: An Historical Approximation). It is a very accessible book that helps us understand who Jesus was, what the society in which he lived was like, how he related to people, and what the concrete circumstances of his life and death were. I believe it can be a valuable reading for returning to the Gospels with new questions and, above all, for asking ourselves what it means to follow that Jesus here and now.
Roberto Carlos Abrego Manriquez
References
Ehrman, Bart D. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195124736.001.0001.
Hansen, Chrissy M. “Familial Brother(s) of the Lord? On Recent Disagreements on Galatians 1.19 and 1 Corinthians 9.5.” The Expository Times 136, no. 11 (2025): 483–493. https://doi.org/10.1177/00145246251346748.
Meier, John P. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. Vol. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person. New York: Doubleday, 1991.
Sanders, E. P. Jesus and Judaism. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
Schmidt, T. C. Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1093/9780191957697.001.0001.
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
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