The following is adapted from the book, Just Looking: Christianity—Your Chance to Believe it or Not, by John Allan.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father.” (John 14:6 CEV)

Is this passage a fair reflection of what Jesus taught? It used to be thought that the Gospel of John was written centuries after Jesus had lived, by someone who knew very little of the facts or the background, but scholars currently believe that the Fourth Gospel was written within seventy (maybe in even forty) years of Jesus' death. Many eyewitnesses who could have challenged any fictional additions were still alive. Archaeological finds have shown that the author knew Jerusalem as it was in Jesus' day. "Father" was a name Jesus often used for God. The famous "Lord's Prayer" calls God "Father."

Other data from the Bible:

• What did some of the earliest disciples believe about Jesus? See an example in Philippians 2:6-11.
• What did Jesus believe about himself? See what he said in Mark 14:53-62.
• What impression did Jesus make on ordinary people? See what they said in Matthew 7:28-29.

Do other writers of the time mention Jesus?

• Flavius Josephus, the great Jewish historian, who lived not long after Jesus' own day, wrote: "About this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and from other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive."

How does Jesus compare with other world and religious leaders? Only a handful of men have founded world-changing movements and most of them spent a long time teaching and recruiting before they died:

• Confucius died in 479 BC. He was 72 years old.
• Gautama Buddha died in 483 BC. He was 80 years old.
• Muhammad died in AD 632. He was 62 years old.
• Karl Marx died in AD 1883. He was 64 years old.
• Jesus spent only three years teaching before dying at the age of 33. He died as a criminal, with just a few hundred followers. Yet within 300 years, belief in Jesus had gripped the Roman empire. Today Christianity is the world's most widespread religion.

Did Jesus actually perform miracles?

• The interesting thing is that no one living at that time attempted to deny it. The Jewish Talmud attributed his miracles to Satan; the pagan philosopher Celsus said it was black magic; but nobody tried to say they hadn't happened. Perhaps because they were too well known to be doubted? 

If you want to read more of what the Bible says about Jesus, read the Gospel of Mark.