3 details about Jesus in the Gospels that scholars think are probably true because they would have been embarrassing for early Christians to invent.
Historians often use a principle called the “criterion of embarrassment.”
The idea: if an early movement includes stories that make its founder look weak, confused, or humiliated, those stories are less likely to be invented and more likely to be historical.
In the case of Jesus Christ, scholars often point to these three examples.
1. Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist
One widely accepted event is Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist.
Why it’s embarrassing:
In the early Christian message, Jesus is portrayed as greater than John and even sinless. But John’s baptism was meant for repentance of sins.
So this raises an awkward question:
- Why would the supposedly greater, sinless figure submit to someone else’s baptism?
Because the story appears in multiple gospel accounts in the New Testament, historians think it was too well known to remove, suggesting it likely happened.
2. Jesus’ humiliating execution by crucifixion
Jesus was executed by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.
Why it’s embarrassing:
Crucifixion in the Roman Empire was a punishment for criminals, rebels, and slaves. It was considered extremely shameful.
For early Christians claiming Jesus was the Messiah, this created a major problem:
- The expected Jewish Messiah was supposed to defeat enemies, not be executed by them.
Historians argue it would make little sense to invent such a humiliating death for a religious hero.
3. The disciples abandoning Jesus
In the Gospel narratives, Jesus’ closest followers repeatedly fail him:
- They misunderstand his teachings
- They fall asleep when he asks them to pray
- They run away during his arrest
- Peter the Apostle denies knowing him three times
Why it’s embarrassing:
These same disciples later became leaders of the early Christian movement. If early Christians were inventing stories, they likely would have portrayed their founders more heroically.
Instead, the texts show them as fearful and flawed.
✅ Why historians care about these details
Events like these are considered historically plausible because they:
- Don’t serve propaganda purposes
- Create problems for the early movement
- Appear across multiple sources
That doesn’t prove every detail of the Gospels is historical, but it helps scholars identify which parts are more likely based on real events.