| (1) Exhibit #18: Overview non-Christian sources | (2) Testimony of Flavius Josephus |
| (3) Writings of Cornelius Tacitus | (4) Other non-Christians writings |
7. Testimony Non-Christian Writers (2) |
|
Exhibit #18: Testimony of Non-Christian Sources Flavius Josephus (37 – ca. 100 AD) |
Flavius
Josephus
was a Jewish military officer and historian. He was born in 37 AD, and
raised as a Pharisee. Later he joined the Zealots who rebelled against
Roman rule in 66 AD, and the Sanhedrin (the Jewish governing body)
appointed Josephus commander of
 |
Flavius Josephus |
Josephus produced a number of books of considerable historical
value. In The Jewish War
(77-78 AD) Josephus described the Roman-Jewish conflict from the time
of Antiochus Ephiphanes to just after the fall of
The most intersections with the accounts of the New Testament of any non-Christian writer are found in the work of Josephus. Most of these confirm Biblical events, and some even add information. Table 15-1 is an overview of Biblical accounts and names in Josephus’ writings.
|
Testimony
from Flavius Josephus |
|||
|
Date |
Event |
Bible text |
Josephus text |
|
4 BC |
Archelaus
ruler of |
“But
when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Matthew
2:22 |
“So
Caesar, …. gave the one half of Herod’s kingdom to Archelaus,
by the name of Ethnarch….” [2] |
|
6,7 AD |
Roman
annexation and assessment |
“This
was the first census that took place while Quirinius was
governor of Luke 2:2 |
“…and
Cyrenius [is Quirinius]
, one that had been consul, was sent by Caesar to take account
of people’s effects in |
|
6,7 AD |
Revolt of
Judas the Galilean |
“…Judas the Galilean
appeared in the days of the census…”
Acts 5:37 |
“…a certain Galilean,
whose name was Judas, prevailed with his countrymen to
revolt…” [4]
|
|
28 AD |
Pontius
Pilate |
“In
the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when
Pontius Pilate was governor of Luke 3:1 |
“Now
Pilate, who was sent as procurator into |
|
29,30 AD |
John the
Baptist |
“King Herod….. sent an
executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went,
beheaded John in the prison…” Mark
6:14-29 |
“…a punishment of what
he did against John, that was called the Baptist…who was a
good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue… and so to
come to baptism …Herod, …thought it best, by putting him to
death…”[6] |
|
30-33 AD |
Jesus’
crucifixion |
All
gospels, book of Acts |
“Now,
there was about this time Jesus, a wise man… he was a doer of
wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth
with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and
many of the Gentiles. … when Pilate, at the suggestion of the
principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross,
those that loved him at the first did not forsake him…. and
the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at
this day.” [7] |
|
ca. 36 AD |
Joseph,
also called Caiaphas |
All
gospels mention Caiaphas |
“…
he also deprived Joseph, who was called Caiaphas, of the high
priesthood…” [8] |
|
ca. 36 AD |
Aretas
IV, king of Nabateans |
“In 2
Corinthians 11:32 |
“About
this time Aretas (the king of |
|
44 AD |
Death of
Herod Agrippa I |
“…Herod,
…did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him
down, and he was eaten by worms and died.” Acts
12:20-23 |
“Agrippa … that he was a
god… When he said this, his pain was become violent…. he had
been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he
departed this life…” [10] |
|
ca. 47 AD |
Ananias
the high priest |
“At this the high priest
Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the
mouth.” Acts 23:2 |
“Herod, king of Chalcis,
removed Joseph, the son of Camydus, from the high priesthood,
and made Ananias, the son of Nebedeus, his successor.”
[11] |
|
ca. 57 AD |
James,
the brother of Jesus |
“The
next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the
elders were present.” Acts
21:18 |
“Ananus…assembled
the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of
Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some
others, …, he delivered them to be stoned.” [12] |
Table 15- 1 : Testimony of Josephus Compared to the Bible
Note how well Josephus’ accounts match the New Testament documents. Be sure to observe the corroborative details in Josephus: the high priests Caiaphas (“also called Joseph”) and Ananus (Annas); various Roman rulers including Pontius Pilate; John the Baptist and his execution by Herod; Jesus (twice, including explicit mention of the crucifixion by Pilate), James (“the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ”) and his execution by the Sanhedrin and Herod Agrippa including the details of his death that are consistent with the book of Acts.
Was Josephus history of Jesus a Fraud?
Some claim Josephus' reference to Jesus is 'too good to be true' and hence Josephus history of Jesus is a fraud. Some claim even Josephus was Paul of Tarsus. That claim is obviously historically not correct and frankly ludicrous. Paul and Josephus lived very different lives and never even met! Let's look a little further at what Josephus writes about Jesus. Following is Josephus' most extensive (and famous) quotation about Jesus, the Messiah (emphasis added):
Now,
there was about this time Jesus, a wise man,
if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful
works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He
drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles.
He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the
principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross,
those that loved him at the first did not forsake him,
for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine
prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things
concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are
not extinct at this day.[37]
The text is obviously an amazing confirmation from a Jewish contemporary of the apostles, who was not a Christian, but still confirms Jesus as the Messiah (the Christ) and the resurrection. However, it is too good to be true. It is just unlikely that a man like Josephus (not a Christian) would write this about Jesus. Therefore the vast majority of scholars agree that the basis of the text is genuine and originally from Josephus, but that likely over the centuries Christian sources have added the statements about Christ and the resurrection. The text accepted as original is underlined in the above quotation, and it still confirms that:
- Jesus was a wise man, a teacher and a “doer of wonderful works”.
- Jesus attracted both Jews and Gentiles to be His followers.
- He was condemned to the cross by Pilate at suggestion of the Jews.
- His followers are now called Christians and they are “not extinct at this day”.
Even in its “reduced” form, this text from this non-Christian Jew is an invaluable confirmation of the reliability and truth of the gospel accounts.
Read on about: (3) Writings of Cornelius Tacitus
[1] Adapted from C.W.Hensley in Who's Who in Christian History (1997).
[2] Josephus, Flavius; Whiston, William: The Works of Josephus (1987), The Wars of the Jews, 2.94.
[3] Ibid, The Antiquities of the Jews, 17.334.
[4] Ibid, The Wars of the Jews, 2.118.
[5] Ibid, The Wars of the Jews, 2.169.
[6] Ibid, The Antiquities of the Jews, 18.113-117.
[7] Ibid, The Antiquities of the Jews, 18.63-64. This text is widely thought to have been edited by early Christian influences, the shown quotation is generally accepted as the original text of Josephus.
[8] Ibid, The Antiquities of the Jews, 18.95. That Caiaphas was also called Joseph is not mentioned in the NT.
[9] Ibid, The Antiquities of the Jews, 18.109.
[10] Ibid, The Antiquities of the Jews, 19.344-349.
[11] Ibid, The Antiquities of the Jews, 20.103.