Happy 3:16 Day! The evidence is clear - Jesus is real, Pilate was real, Jesus really died for you and rose again!
This is the Pontius Pilate Stone. It was discovered at the archaeological site of Caesarea Maritima in 1961. It is physical evidence that Pilate was a prefect of Judea from 26-35 AD.
Simon Greenleaf, one of the founders of Harvard Law School, confirmed the Gospels as valid historical eyewitness testimony and confirms as fact that Jesus was crucified under Pilate in 33 AD and rose from the dead two days later.
Papyrus 52 (P52) - Physical Proof the Gospels Were Written Early
Papyrus 52 (also known as the Rylands Library Papyrus P52) is one of the oldest surviving New Testament manuscript fragments. Dated to approximately 125-175 AD, it contains portions of John 18:31-33 and 18:37-38 - the very passage where Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate.
This is hard physical evidence that the Gospel of John was already being copied and circulated within decades of the events it describes. Since the original Gospel of John was composed earlier than this copy (scholars date the original to 90-95 AD), and John records eyewitness testimony of events from 30-33 AD, the gap between the events and the written record is within one human lifetime - well within the period where living eyewitnesses could verify or challenge the account.
This completely refutes the claim that the Gospels were invented centuries later. P52 proves the text existed in written form just 30-80 years after composition, and the composition itself was within 60 years of the crucifixion. Compare this to other ancient texts: we have no copies of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars until nearly 1,000 years after he wrote them.
You can view P52 and thousands of other digitized manuscripts at the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM).
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16 KJV
Further Reading
Simon Greenleafs Testimony of the Evangelists - Famous Trials