Our Christian heritage, with the abundance of many religious ideas and theologies, tells us this great story. The only documentation is in the bible, and well......that being said, many things are done in the name of religion.
Jesus did exist. He was a teacher and a healer. He was presented as the messiah. Whether he truly was, I don't know. I'm certain he had powers, as many enlightened people do. I too, have read many historical accounts, that present other ideas as to his "death and rebirth", with the poison that is "like death", and that he was secreted away to live a somewhat normal life as a husband, father, brother. Anything is possible, as Robyn says. They could have "made" events occur so that the concept of the messiah in Jesus was brought to fruition. Escaping the hold of death is something that all human beings have craved since their beginning. No one wishes to die, and yet, that is our eventuallity. I believe the issue of life, death and resurrection was misinterpreted.
I tend to believe that the "death and ressurrection" shows us the journey of the soul within a human being. Just my opinion. There is so much we just don't know. But we do know the here and now. Our life, this very moment. This is all we truly have. Treasure it. Enjoy it.