Jesus did and did not exist

The question concerning Jesus' existence has a twofold answer: 1)Yes, he did exist, and 2) no, he most likely didn't.
Taking this question strictly on mythical grounds, like whether Zeus mythically but not physically existed, one can say yes, Jesus exists. Taking this question historically, on the other hand, one can say proof of Jesus' existence is sorely lacking.

An interesting read on this subject is Bart Ehrman's book Did Jesus Exist?. Even though this book contends that Jesus existed historically, it sorts through the historical record frantically and unsuccessfully, to a large extent, in attempting to prove Jesus' existence. Simply put, historical accounts of Jesus' existence are quite lacking, especially those records produced (none, really) during his lifetime. In fact, the best contended historical evidence comes from Josephus, who was born 4 years after Jesus' death, and his account, only one paragraph in length, has been widely discredited as fraudulent.

Mythically, like Zeus, yes, an abundance of literature exists, thus his omnipresence today, but myth does not translate necessarily to reality.

Ehrman's book, nevertheless, is interesting and thus a decent read.

Decent read