The document is a lesson plan for teaching about whether Jesus was a historical figure. It outlines topics to be covered, including evidence from Roman historians Tacitus and Pliny the Younger, eyewitness accounts in the Gospels, and Jesus' miracles and resurrection. The plan also provides two discussion questions about the most important lesson Jesus taught and his teaching methods.

1. Is Jesus a historical figure – RE lesson plan
Teachers note:
Topics we will
look at.
See more Free Lesson Plans at:
https://notmanywise.uk/re-lesson-plans/
a) Most Historians would agree that Jesus Christ was a
real historic figure.
b) Where Jesus Christ fits in with the rest of history.
c) In the world now, there are billions of Christians.
d) What was different about Jesus?
e) Jesus and his miracles.
f) Jesus died and rose back to life.
g) Two answers for teachers needing additional help:
The most important lesson Jesus taught.
The methods of teaching Jesus used.
[i]

2. Q. Is there anybody in history who you look up to, anybody who
interests you?
Robin Hood
King Arthur
Oliver Cromwell
King ?
Queen ?
Some of the stories about these
people may have some truth in them,
others may be totally true and some
may be a total myth. [ii]
A starter to set the scene:
Nelson Mandela

3. Q. How do we know if someone from history
was a real person?
The things they did, were they real and true?
[iii]

4. There is evidence from two non-Christian writers
who included Jesus in their writings shortly after the
events had happened.
[iv]
Most Historians would agree that Jesus Christ was a real historic figure because:
1. The Roman historian Tacitus
2. Pliny the Roman governor
of Bithynia in Asia Minor.
There is also evidence from another
non-Christian.
3. He wrote of Jesus about a century later.
The Greek satirist, Lucian of Samosata:
[v]
[vi]

5. There are also very important eyewitness accounts:
There were people living at the time of Jesus who saw and heard Jesus’ teachings and his
miracles.
What is a miracle?
A miracle is something that
cannot be explained by the
natural laws of nature.
For example, giving sight to a
blind man.
These four eyewitness accounts were written by Jesus’ disciples:
These books are known as the ‘Gospels’ (which means ‘good news’).
They are found at the start of the New Testament in the Bible.
Then there are the writings of: They too were disciples of Jesus and therefore also
eyewitnesses.
Their writings are found near the end of the New
Testament.
• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John
• Peter (often known as Simon Peter)
• James
• Jude

6. And there is still more evidence:
Lastly, there are the writings of Paul.
He wrote most of the letters in the New Testament to different
Churches, just a few years after Jesus.
Many of these people we have just named
mention real, historical figures of that time;
King Herod, Pontius Pilate, etc.
These people fit in with that time in history.
There is just too much ‘evidence’
to try to pretend that Jesus did not exist.

7. Have a long piece of paper and mark it into these sections:
(Or print off templates).
Cut out famous historic people and things like pyramids
and glue them on the timeline.
Here are some suggestions:
The Egyptian pyramids were built in this long period: (2500 to 1650 BC)
Oliver Cromwell: (born 1599)
Mohammed: (born 579)
Robert the Bruce: (approx. 1300)
Robin Hood: (approx. 1200 -1300 ??)
Julius Caesar’s first invasion attempt on Britain: (55 BC)
The first ever marathon runner: (490 BC)
The Vikings with their long boats: (800 to 1066)
Samuel Pepys: (born 1633)
Queen Boadicea: (60 AD)
William Shakespeare: (born 1564)
King Arthur: (approx. 500)
Winston Churchill: (born 1874)
The Saxons: (450 to 1066)

8. Now you could put on some Bible characters:
Moses: (born approx. 1500 BC)
Noah: (approx. 2500 BC)
Joseph: (approx. 1700 BC)
Abram, later called Abraham: (approx. 2000 BC)
King Solomon: (approx. 1000 BC)
Daniel the prophet: (approx. born 600 BC)

9. The answer to where Jesus Christ is on our timeline:
He is around the zero mark, between BC and AD.
(Although there was not a year ‘zero’.)
A monk had worked out a new system for numbering the years,
based on the birth of Jesus Christ representing zero.
Therefore all years before that were classed as B.C. which
means ‘Before Christ’
but some now call that B.C.E. (Before Common Era).
All dates after that were to be A.D. which was ‘Anno Domini’
which means
‘In the year of our Lord’ in Latin.
But the monk had miscalculated by a few years,
so Jesus was actually born somewhere between 1 and 4 B.C.
[vii]

10. So all through this BC period on our timeline, many prophets
were predicting that the ‘Christ’, the Messiah, would come, for example:
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you,
from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” Deuteronomy 18:15 NIV
The words of a prophet above were fulfilled when an angel appeared to
Mary before she was pregnant and said:
“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of
God” (Luke 1:35).
Jesus was then born, fulfilling the prophesies.
Christians believe that Jesus is the One who is predicted
in the Old Testament.
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,
and will call him Immanuel” Isaiah 7:14 NIV

11. 2 billion is a lot of noughts: 2,000,000,000
The number of active Christians is a minority in Britain,
but in a number of other countries, there are vast numbers.
In the 2011 UK Census, 60% said they were ‘Christian
but less than 5% of people were attending church.
In some countries, Christians are often killed because they believe in Jesus.
“In the last 100 years, the number of Christians in the world
has quadrupled from about 600 million in 1910
to well past 2 billion presently.
Today, Christianity remains the world’s largest religious group.”
‘How Many Christians Are In the World Today?’ By Mary Fairchild
In the world now, there are billions of Christians:

12. For example, on one occasion the crowds
had gone a long way out into the
countryside to listen to Him teaching and it
tells us:
[viii]
What was different about Jesus?
Let’s look at what made Him so well known throughout history, and even now.
The way He taught people about God drew large crowds.
The numbers of people that listened to Him preach were sometimes recorded:
Q. So how many people were there?
“The number of those who ate was about five
thousand men, besides women and children.”
Matthew 14:21 (NLT)
We don’t know, because there were 5000 men, plus women and children.

13. With such large crowds following Him, it became very squashed when He spoke in a house!
On one occasion, on returning home, people filled the house and were pressing around the
doors and windows to try and listen to what He was saying.
Then some people tried to get to Jesus who were carrying a stretcher with a crippled man
on it, but they couldn’t get anywhere near Jesus.
So they managed to get up on the roof and they
dug a hole through it!
Then they lowered the crippled man down with
ropes, while he was still on the stretcher
so that Jesus could heal the man! (Mark 2:1-4)
[ix]

14. [x]
On another occasion, the
Bible tells us:
“Such large crowds gathered
around him that he got into a
boat and sat in it,
while all the people stood on
the shore.”
Matthew 13:2 (NIV)

15. Christians believe that Jesus healed people and
did miracles to show His love and concern for
people, but also to prove that He is the Son of
God and that His teaching could be trusted.
Jesus and his miracles.
He was teaching in a synagogue (which is like a Church) and there was a man there who had a shriveled right hand.
The Religious leaders were jealous of Jesus so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath
because the Jews do not do any work on that day, and they would say that healing someone was work!
[xi]
“But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand;
‘Get up and stand in front of everyone.’ So he got up and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath:
to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?’
He looked around at them all, and then said to the man,
‘Stretch out your hand.’
He did so, and his hand was completely restored.
But they were furious and began to discuss with one another
what they might do to Jesus.” Luke 6:6-11 (NIV)

16. Jesus died and rose back to
life
He is also remembered throughout history because Christians believe
that He rose back to life from the dead:
Jesus used to tell His closest followers that He was going to die,
but that He was going to be raised back to life
and that He was going to return to His Father (God) in heaven.
So Jesus allowed Himself to be betrayed,
knowing that it was Judas – one of His followers.
He was given over to the Roman authorities by His own people,
to be crucified upon a wooden cross.
The ones who were jealous of Jesus and who hated Him,
watched Him die upon the cross.
Before His body was taken down, the Roman soldiers pierced Him
with a spear to check that He was really dead!
[
[xii]

17. His friends then took Him down and put burial spices on Him,
and wrapped His body in a white sheet. His body was then put in a cave with a large rock
[
rolled against the entrance, (that was how they buried people
then, in that country).
The ones that hated Jesus had asked for some soldiers to guard
the entrance so that no one could remove the body.
But Jesus was raised back to life, there was an earthquake and He
walked out of the cave alive!
For 40 days He kept appearing to many people, and then He
returned to heaven.
There have been countless people who have believed in Jesus
Christ, and there are billions of people now in the world who
choose to obey Him.
Something to think about:
Q. Would believing in Jesus Christ give a different meaning and
purpose to life?
[xii]

18. Q1. What is the most important lesson Jesus taught?
Jesus said:
Two answers for teachers needing additional help:
“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” (John 14:6 NIV)
Jesus is saying that he is the way to get to heaven,
what he says is the truth,
and knowing Jesus (which means you know God the Father as well)
gives peace and meaning to your life.

19. Jesus taught people about the kingdom of God
by using stories and parables related to everyday life.
He would ask questions and his lifestyle matched his teachings.
His enemies could find no wrong in his life.
He spoke with a heavenly authority
and often performed miracles which were signs of his authority.
Q2. What are the methods of teaching Jesus used?

20. Photo credits:
[i] Jesus statue image: https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos
[ii] Nelson Mandella statue image: https://pixabay.com/users/falco-81448/
[iii] Winston Churchill statue image: https://pixabay.com/users/ralphs_fotos-1767157/
[iv] Drawing of Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus by Julien image:
This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright
term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer.
[v] Statue of Pliny image: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
[vi] Book by Lucian of Samosata image:
This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright
term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer.
[vii] Jesus statue image: https://pixabay.com/users/momentmal-5324081/
[viii] Jesus feeding the 5000 image: https://pixabay.com/users/gdj-1086657
[ix] The man being lowered through the roof image: https://pixabay.com/users/ccxpistiavos-4540068/
[x] Jesus teaching from a boat image: https://pixabay.com/users/ambroz-3699982/
[xi] Jesus healing a man image: https://pixabay.com/users/gdj-1086657/
[xii] Jesus on a cross image: https://pixabay.com/users/ambroz-3699982/