The Question of the Greek New Testament

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The Historical Jesus – Jewish, Roman and Pagan References

Thallus (AD 52)
 
In his work of history, Julius Africanus mentions two earlier historians, Phlegon and Thallus, who in turn made references to Jesus. Thallus:
 
·         Acknowledges that Jesus was a real person
·         Confirms that Jesus was crucified
·         Mentions an earthquake and darkness (possibly an eclipse) – both were said to have occurred at the time of Jesus’ death in the gospels.
 
Mara bar Serapion (ca. AD 73)
 
“What advantage did the Athenians gain by murdering Socrates, for which they were repaid with famine and pestilence? Or the people of Samos by the burning of Pythagoras, because their country was completely covered in sand in just one hour? Or the Jews [by killing] their wise king, because their kingdom was taken away at that very time? God justly repaid the wisdom of these three men: the Athenians died of famine; the Samians were completely overwhelmed by the sea; and the Jews, desolate and driven from their own kingdom, are scattered through every nation. Socrates is not dead, because of Plato; neither is Pythagoras, because of the statue of Juno; nor is the wise king, because of the new laws he laid down.” (Letter in Syriac to his son; Van Voorst, page 54)
 
·         while Jesus is not named, and 'wise king' is not a common Christological title, Jesus is doubtless meant by 'their wise king';
·         Mara a Jew writing to his son, speaks of this 'wise' Jew as a king, and 'king [of the Jews]' is prominently connected to Jesus at his trial (e.g. Mark 15:26);
·         the link between the destruction of the Jewish nation and the death of the 'wise king' is parallel in Christianity to the destruction of Jerusalem as a punishment for Jewish rejection of Jesus (cf. Matt 23:37-39; 24:2; 27:25; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 19:42-44; 21:5-24; 23:28-31);
·         the mention of 'the new laws he laid down' is probably a reference to the Christian religion, especially its moral code;
·         Mara probably doesn't mention Jesus directly because it was the Romans who desolated and dispersed the Jews -- he does not want to offend his captors, the people who hold his loved ones.
 
Josephus (c. 93-94 AD)
 
“At this time there was a wise man called Jesus, and his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. Many people among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have reported wonders. And the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day.” (Antiquities XVIII, 63 from Josephus: The Essential Writings by Paul L. Maier, page 264-265; this text is from An Arabic Version of the Testimonium Flavianum and Its Implications by S. Pines [Jerusalem, 1971]; another translation of above found in Van Voorst, page 97; for a different version of the text infamously interpolated by later Christian editors, see discussion in Van Voorst, page 85ff; also full discussion in A Marginal Jew, volume 1 by John P. Meier, pages 56ff)
 
·         this text, which definitely mentions Jesus and his crucifixion under Pilate by a well-known Jewish historian of the first century, is hotly disputed because of possible later 'Christian interpolation' but the above is the Arabic text found without these 'Christian' additions;
·         this version leaves the question of Jesus' messianic status neutral ("perhaps the Messiah");
·         this is another piece corroborating a 'neutral reconstruction' of the Testimonium (which is the preferred view among scholars);
·         the neutral reconstruction, which isolates and removes the later pro-Christian interpolations, makes good sense of the pattern of ancient Christian witnesses to Josephus (e.g. Van Voorst, page 95-97).
 
“Upon Festus' death, Caesar sent Albinus to Judea as procurator. But before he arrived, King Agrippa had appointed Ananus to the priesthood, who was the son of the elder Ananus [or Annas of the Gospels]. This elder Ananus, after he himself had been high priest, had five sons, all of whom achieved that office, which was unparalleled. The younger Ananus, however, was rash and followed the Sadducees, who are heartless when they sit in judgment. Ananus thought that with Festus dead and Albinus still on the way, he would have his opportunity. Convening the judges of the Sanhedrin, he brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law, and condemned them to be stoned to death.” (Antiquities XX, 197; from Josephus, Maier, page 275-276; another translation in Van Voorst, page 83)
 
·         we have a passing but clear reference to Jesus here, and to Jesus' brother named James (cf. Gal 1:19);
·         the overwhelming majority of scholars holds that the words 'the brother of Jesus called Christ' are authentic, as is the entire passage in which it is found;
·         the passage fits in well with its own context;
·         a Christian 'interpolator' would have used laudatory language to describe James and especially Jesus, calling him 'the Lord' or similar language.
 
Pliny the Younger (c. 112 AD)
 
“An anonymous accusatory pamphlet has been circulated containing the named of many people. I decided to dismiss any who denied that they are or ever have been Christians when they repeated after me a formula invoking the gods and made offerings of wine and incense to your image [or statue], which I had ordered to be brought with the images of the gods into court for this reason, and when they reviled Christ [Christo male dicere]. I understand that no one who is really a Christian can be made to do these things. Other people, whose names were given to me by an informer, first said that they were Christians and then denied it. They said that they had stopped being Christian two or more years ago, and some more than twenty. They all venerated your image and the images of the gods as the others did,and reviled Christ. They also maintained that the sum total of this guilt or error was no more than the following. They had met regularly before dawn on a determined day, and sung antiphonally a hymn to Christ as if to a god [carmenque Christo quasi deo decere secum invicem]. They also took an oath not for any crime, but to keep from theft, robbery and adultery, not to break any promise, and not to withhold a deposit when reclaimed.”  (Letter 96:10; Van Voorst, page 25)
 
·         Christ is mentioned three times in this letter to the emperor Trajan;
·         the text of the two letters (Pliny's Letter 96, and Trajan's reply Letter 97) are well-attested and stable, and their authenticity is not seriously disputed;
·         supposed 'Christian interpolators' would not have testified to Christian apostasy or speak disparagingly of Christianity calling it 'madness' (amentia), etc.
·         Christ here is the divine leader of this religion, worshiped by Christians, so that cursing him is tantamount to rejecting Christianity (cf. 1 Cor 12:3).
 
Tacitus (c. 116 AD)
 
“Therefore, to put down the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits and punished in the most unusual ways those hated for their shameful acts [flagitia], whom the crowd called 'Chrestians.' The founder of this name, Christ, had been executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate [Auctor nominis eius Christus Tiberio imperitante per procuratorem Pontium Pilatum supplicio adfectus erat]. Suppressed for a time, the deadly superstition erupted again not only in Judea, the origin of this evil, but also in the city [Rome], where all things horrible and shameful from everywhere come together and become popular. Therefore, first those who admitted to it were arrested, then on their information a very large multitude was convicted, not so much for the crime of arson as for hatred of the human race [odium humani generis]. Derision was added to their end: they were covered with the skins of wild animals and torn to death by dogs; or they were crucified and when the day ended they were burned as torches. Nero provided his gardens for the spectacle and gave a show in his circus, mixing with the people in charioteer's clothing, or standing on his racing chariot.” (Annals 15:44; Van Voorst, page 41-42)
 
·         Christ is definitely mentioned here by a major Roman historian as being 'the founder' of Christianity and as 'executed in the reign of Tiberius' under Pontius Pilate;
·         there are good reasons to conclude with the vast majority of scholars that the passage is fundamentally sound, despite some difficulties (e.g. compressed style);
·         Christian forgers would not have made such disparaging remarks about Christianity;
·         the only textual difficulty is the word Christians, Christianoi or Chrestianoi, with the latter being the 'earliest reading' although more difficult.
 
Seutonius (c. 120 AD)
 
“He [Claudius] expelled the Jews from Rome, since they were always making disturbances because of this instigator Chrestus [Judaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit].”(Lives of the Caesars, book 5, Claudius 25:4; Van Voorst, page 30)
 
·         Christ appears to be mentioned by this Roman historian under the name 'Chrestus';
·         besides one textual variant that reads 'Christ' (instead of 'Chresto') the Latin text is sound;
·         a Christian interpolator would more likely have spelled his name correctly, and would not have placed him in Rome in 49 AD or called him a 'troublemaker';
·         the overwhelming majority of modern scholarship concludes this sentence is genuine, and that 'Chrestus' is indeed Christ.

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