|
 Index To All 16 Chapters
Introduction
The Non-Christian Authors That Confirmed New Testament Accounts
The Jews
Josephus
The Talmud
The Gentiles
Tacitus - A Roman Historian
Lucian of Samosata
Pliny the Younger
Suetonius
Why Isn't There More Evidence Like Coins and Inscriptions?
Is That Even a Serious Question?
Introduction
As said by Paul L. Maier, The Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History, Western Michigan University
There is more evidence that Jesus of Nazareth certainly lived than for most famous figures of the ancient past. This evidence is of two kinds: internal and external, or, if you will, sacred and secular. In both cases, the total evidence is so overpowering, so absolute that only the shallowest of intellects would dare to deny Jesus' existence. And yet this pathetic denial is still parroted by "the village atheist," bloggers on the internet, or such organizations as the Freedom from Religion Foundation. [01]
In fact, what is really interesting is that neither the Jews nor the Gentiles who either directly or indirectly mentioned Christ in their writings never said he didn't exist.
The Non-Christian Sources That Confirmed New Testament Accounts
The Jews - Flavius Josephus
Flavius Josephus was a Jew, a Pharisee, and an important historian of the day who completed Antiquities of The Jews (a history of the Jewish people) in about A.D. 93. One of Josephus' writings about Jesus has been hotly contested through the ages. Called the Testimonium Flavianum, it says, (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 among us, had condemned him to the cross;7 those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. For he appeared to them alive again, the third day:8 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. [02]
Scholars who are familiar with Josephus' writings agree that the passage is authentic on the whole except for a couple of phrases that Josephus would probably never have used. For example "if it be lawful to call him a man" was probably inserted by Christian copyists somewhere along the way. It is also extremely unlikely that Josephus would have stated that Jesus was The Christ.
However, what we shouldn't do is throw the baby out with the bath water. The interpolations aside, Josephus corroborates that Jesus was the martyred leader of the Jerusalem church, and that He had a large following. (The entire argument for and against can be read HERE.
And that was not all. He also mentioned the death of both James the Just and John the Baptist.
Josephus and Jesus' Brother, James
In his Anitiquities Josephus also wrote that the "younger Ananus" was "a bold man in his temper, and very insolent" and was also a Sadducee who are very rigid in judging offenders above all the rest of the Jews". When he "took the High Priesthood", he...
assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James: and some others; [or, some of his companions.] And when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned. [03]
This passage does not prove that Jesus was the Son of God as He claimed, but it does provide evidence that a man called James - the brother of Jesus, was condemned by the Sanhedrin and stoned. As said by Dr. Paul L. Maier, Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University
This, Josephus' second reference to Jesus, shows no tampering whatever with the text and it is present in all Josephus manuscripts....
He adds
Nor could the New Testament have served as Josephus' source since it provides no detail on James's death. For Josephus to further define Jesus as the one "who was called the Christos" was both credible and even necessary in view of the twenty other men names Jesus he cites in his works....
Furthermore, his second citation regarding the attitudes of the high priest and Sanhedrin versus that of the Roman governor perfectly mirrors the Gospel versions of the two opposing sides at the Good Friday event. And this extra-biblical evidence comes not from a Christian source trying to make the Gospels look good, but from a totally Jewish author who never converted to Christianity. [04]
Josephus and John The Baptist
In Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII. Ch 5, Josephus records that John The Baptist was slain by Herod.
Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God [05]
The Talmud " is the textual record of generations of rabbinic debate about law, philosophy, and biblical interpretation, compiled between the 3rd and 8th centuries and structured as commentary on the Mishnah with stories interwoven" [06]. It is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism - the primary source of Jewish religious law and the basis of religious authority in orthodox Judaism. It is much quoted in rabbinic literature.
Some scholars believe that certain passages refer to the historical Jesus, others do not. However, if these texts are in fact speaking about Jesus Christ they do not mention Him favorably - a fact that is hardly surprising. They say He was the Son of Mar, a teacher of the Torah, a sorcerer who had disciples, an idolater who led people astray, and (possibly in reference to His miracles) that He practiced magic. Also that He was executed and would be punished in hell.
Some have identified passages (Sanhedrin 43a) that they believe mention Jesus' execution:
"On (Sabbath eve and) the eve of Passover Jesus the Nazarene was hanged and a herald went forth before him forty days heralding, 'Jesus the Nazarene is going forth to be stoned because he practiced sorcery and instigated and seduced Israel to idolatry. Whoever knows anything in defense may come and state it.' But since they did not find anything in his defense they hanged him on (Sabbath eve and) the eve of Passover. Ulla said: Do you suppose that Jesus the Nazarene was one for whom a defense could be made? He was a mesit (someone who instigated Israel to idolatry), concerning whom the Merciful [God]says: Show him no compassion and do not shield him.
It is extremely unlikely that we will ever come to any firm conclusion on the matter but I have to wonder how many men called Jesus were from Nazareth and executed on the eve of Passover.
The Gentiles
Please note that although the following secular accounts do not tell us whether Jesus really existed they do substantiate the beliefs of the very early church.
Tacitus - A Roman Historian
The respected Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus was a friend of the historian Pliny the Younger and is generally considered a reliable historian. In A.D. 115, he wrote the following...
But not all the relief that could come from man, not all the Bounties that the prince could bestow, nor all the atonements Which could be presented to the gods, availed to relieve Nero From the infamy of being believed to have ordered the Conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he Falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were Hated for their enormities.
Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate procurator of Judea in the reign Of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief Originated, but through the city of Rome also, where all things Hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their Center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first Made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an Immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of Firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. [07]
Tacitus called Christianity a 'mischievous superstition' from which we can infer that he was not sympathetic to the new religion. However, he unwittingly provided us with some significant corroboration to the Gospels.
1. Christ was 'put to death' under Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate which is totally consistent with all four gospels.
2. Christ was crucified during the reign of Tiberias (14 AD to 37 AD). It is very likely that Jesus was crucified around A.D. 27.
3. Christ's crucifixion briefly checked the spread of Christianity, but it then broke out again in Judea and even in Rome. Again this is entirely consistent with the Gospel narratives, which says Christianity gathered momentum only from the day of Pentecost - forty days after Jesus' death.
4. An "immense multitude" believed in Jesus by the time of Nero and were arrested for their faith by Nero.
Tacitus also confirms that the Christians were falsely accused of crimes... not only setting fire to the city, but "hatred against mankind". This probably rose from their refusal to worship both pagan gods and the Emperor himself.
Paul L. Maier, cited earlier, wrote
Tacitus, it should be emphasized, was not some Christian historian who was trying to prove that Jesus Christ really lived, but a pagan who despised Christians as a "disease," a term he uses later in the passage. Had Jesus never even existed, he would have been the first to expose that pathetic phantom on whom such cultists placed their trust. Were no other references to Jesus available, this passage alone would have been sufficient to establish his historicity. Skeptics realize this, and so have tried every imaginable means to discredit this passage-but to no avail. Manuscript analysis and computer studies have never found any reason to call this sentence into question, nor its context". [08]
Was this a genuine reference, or are there doubts about its veracity? You can read more about the debate here.... http://www.tektonics.org/jesusexist/tacitus.php. Copy and paste Into Your Browser
Lucian of Samosata (AD 125 – after AD 180)
was a rhetorician and satirist who wrote in Greek. He satirized the Christians in his Passing of Peregrinus, a story of a philosopher/sage who at one point becomes a leader of the Christians to take advantage of their gullibility.
The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day,--the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.....
You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on trust, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property. Now an adroit, unscrupulous fellow, who has seen the world, has only to get among these simple souls, and his fortune is pretty soon made; he plays with them. [09]
His text confirms that Jesus, who was worshiped introduced "novel rites" and was crucified. Also Christians believed in eternal life, and denied false gods.
Pliny the Younger
Around 111 AD, Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, wrote the following to the Emperor Trajan
... in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.
They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition. [10]
This letter from a persecutor of the church, shows us that the Christians by the early second century most definitely considered Christ to be a god, if not God.
Suetonius
In The Life of Claudius 25.4, Suetonius, secretary and historian to Hadrian, Emperor of Rome from 117 to 138 AD, noted,
"As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome."
This is plausibly a reference to the expulsion of Jewish Christians from Rome. The author of Acts makes mention of this same expulsion, which occurred in 49 CE according to the fifth century church father Orosius, in Acts 18:2. "There he [Paul] met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome." Aquila and Priscilla seem to have been converted prior to meeting Paul. [11]
The question is whether Chrestus was a misspelling of Christus. However, it seemed fairly common for both pagan and Christian authors to spell the name using either an e or an i. For example, in his first apology, Justin Martyr who was born around the end of the first century used the incorrect spelling of Chrestian. [12]
Tertullian (c. 155 –240 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage. He criticised pagan hatred for Christianity and pointed out the fact they didn't even get the name right.
But Christian, so far as the meaning of the word is concerned, is derived from anointing. Yes, and even when it is wrongly pronounced by you "Chrestianus" (for you do not even know accurately the name you hate), it comes from sweetness and benignity. You hate, therefore, in the guiltless, even a guiltless name. But the special ground of dislike to the sect is, that it bears the name of its Founder. [13]
Lactantius (c. 274-337 AD) who tutored Constantine's son Crispus repeats Tertullian's lament
"But although His name, which the supreme Father gave Him from the beginning, is known to none but Himself, nevertheless He has one name among the angels, and another among men, since He is called Jesus among men: for Christ is not a proper name, but a title of power and dominion; for by this the Jews were accustomed to call their kings. But the meaning of this name must be set forth, on account of the error of the ignorant, who by the change of a letter are accustomed to call Him Chrestus" [14]
Critics also claim the unrest could not have serve as evidence for the historicity of Christ, because there are apparently, other records of Claudius expelling Jews from Rome which took place between somewhere around 49, or 52-53 AD. In other words, this revolt happened quite a few years after Christ's time.
This contention actually makes no sense whatsoever since, the passage says there was an instigation, not that "Chresto" was the instigator. The original Latin reads
"Iudaeos (The Jews) impulsore (the instigation) Chresto (Chrestus) assidue (upon) tumultuantis (making a disturbance) Roma (Rome) expulit (were expelled)."
In fact, an expulsion of 'Jews' is mentioned in Acts 18:1-2, which says Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met a Jew named Aquila, who had "recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome". Note: It is reasonable certain that Luke finished writing the book of Acts by AD 62, since he says nothing about the deaths of Paul or James, the brother of Christ and leader of the church in Jerusalem. Paul was executed during Nero's reign, which ended in A.D. 68, and the Jewish historian Josephus tells us that James was killed in 62.
Coincidence?
I have to wonder...
Why Isn't There More Evidence?
A question that has often been asked is why there isn't any definitive physical/rchaeological evidence that shows Jesus actually existed.
There are several reasons for the paucity of evidence.
To begin with...
Palestine is only 60 miles wide in places, yet it is strategically positioned as a land bridge between three continents... Asia, Africa and Europe. It is little wonder then that various empires (including Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, etc) seeking to control what was an important trade and military route fought wars over this very narrow piece of real estate. In fact, because innumerable people passed through Palestine heading every which way it was the ideal place for God to make Himself known .
Having said that, it is also important to remember that not too many people were interested in the country itself, just its very strategic location. In the time of Christ Israel itself was not a significant economic, political, and cultural center, but a backwater on the eastern frontiers of the Roman Empire. Nor was Jerusalem exactly a booming Metropolis or center of learning. An event in Jerusalem, even an event that both Roman and Jewish authorities were opposed to, was but a small storm in an even smaller teacup. As New Testament scholar and Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, Anglican cleric Professor R. T. France said,
The explanation for this lack of evidence is to be found in the nature and scale of the early Christian movement.
From the point of view of Roman history of the first century, Jesus was a nobody. A man of no social standing, who achieved brief local notice in a remote and little-loved province as a preacher and miracle-worker, and who was duly executed by order of a minor provincial governor, could hardly be expected to achieve mention in the Roman head-lines. Even his fellow-countrymen who did not respond to his mission would not be likely to think much of him once his execution had put paid to his claims.
(In other words, peasants don't normally leave an archaeological trail)
If Jesus was to be noticed it would more likely be through the success of the movement which he founded. As we noted above, it is Christianity rather than Jesus which first makes an appearance in Roman records. In the light of the political prominence which Christianity achieved in the fourth century, it is natural for us to envisage it as an imposing movement from the beginning. But sociological studies indicate first-century Christianity as a predominantly lower-class movement, with only a very limited appeal to the influential classes. And the careful reader of Paul's letters and of the Acts of the Apostles does not gain the impression of a mass movement, but rather of small, rather isolated groups of Christians banding together for mutual support in a hostile environment. Such groups are not the stuff of which news stories are made. [15]
Yet, apparently some people have some very unrealistic expectations.
Coins and Inscriptions
In his article Why I Don't Buy the Resurrection Story (6th ed., 2006), Richard Carrier talks about the various coins struck by the Roman emperors,
Consider what we have for Caesar. In 47 B.C. coins were struck by the government of Antioch (which Caesar had just liberated from Pompey) declaring it to be "year two of the era of Caesar." Cicero's letters confirm that Caesar's conquest of the Roman Empire began in 49 B.C., two years before this coin was struck. This is corroborating physical evidence. Comparably, if we had coins struck in Damascus in 33 A.D. declaring "year two of the era of Jesus Christ," that would be physical evidence corroborating the resurrection of Jesus.
We have other coins struck by Caesar himself during the war to pay his soldiers, then coins struck celebrating Caesar's victory over Rome (and then coins struck by Brutus celebrating his assassination of Caesar). In a similar fashion, inscriptions document Caesar's victory over Rome, his capture of Italy, and his founding of colonies for veterans of the war there. We could certainly have had similar inscriptions by or about Jesus erected during his life, or shortly thereafter, documenting his miracles in life or appearances after death, or the subsequent commitments of the Church, and so on. But we don't. [16]
In the world of ridiculous comments that one has to take first prize for absurdity.
Caesar was a Roman emperor with all means, authority, and power that came with the position. He could strike all the coins his little heart desired and I am sure that there were plenty of people willing to put up inscriptions documenting his victories all over the place.
In complete contrast, in 33 A.D. the disciples were a rag tag bunch with no leader. Even after Pentecost when Christianity began to spread, they were endlessly persecuted, and even executed for their faith.
Carrier also asks whether it was "unreasonable of Diogenes of Oenoanda to erect an inscription conveying the complete gospel of his beloved philosopher Epicurus" and adds it would not be unreasonable
"... to expect some Christians to have done the same. If any king had been converted, for example, it would not be unreasonable for him to mint coins honoring his new god... If Joseph of Arimathea was indeed a rich believer, it would not be unreasonable for him to do what Diogenes did and inscribe his own beloved gospel in stone somewhere. And motives aside, the point remains we still don't have any such evidence. It doesn't matter why we don't have it. We still don't have it. [17]
And no it wasn't unreasonable for Diogenes to erect an inscription. He was "... wealthy enough to acquire a large tract of land in the city of Oenoanda to construct (or possibly buy) a piazza to display his inscription" [18] And it's not that there weren't any wealthy Christians but, money or no money, they were hounded and persecuted. Even put to death in some horrible ways.
Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent member of the Sanhedrin - the court which condemned Jesus to death, the Bible very clearly states that he was a secret disciple of Jesus "for fear of the Jews". He got Pilate's permission to take Jesus' body away then he and Nicodemus bound the body with spices and laid it in the tomb. (John 19:38-42). By doing this, he risked his reputation and his very life. His first inscription would have been his last. In any case Christianity never was and never will be about erecting monuments but of course all that changed with the Roman Emperor Constantine.
Although there is some doubt as to exactly how 'converted' he was, Constantine was the first king to turn to Christianity in the fourth century. The Edict of Milan was the outcome of a political agreement concluded in Mediolanum (modern Milan) between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius in February 313 A.D., It permanently established religious tolerance for Christianity within the Roman Empire. Prior to this Christians usually worshipped secretly in homes or house churches. After the proclamation Christians, protected from religious persecution could, for the first time, draw breath without fear.
Oh yes, and not only did Constantine's military standard display the "Chi-Rho" symbol (formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ") but He had coins issued that depicted his labarum or imperial standard spearing a serpent.
End Notes (Chapter 10)
[01] Paul L. Maier, Did Jesus Really Exist?
https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/apologetics/jesus-exist.php
[02] Flavius Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII. Chapter 3. 3
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-18.html
[03] Flavius Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews - Book XX. Chapter 9.1. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-20.html
[04] Professor Paul L. Maier.Josephus and Jesus. North American Mission Board
https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/josephus-and-jesus/
[05] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII. Ch 5, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/josephus/works/files/ant-18.htm
[06] About Talmud. https://www.sefaria.org/texts/Talmud
[07] Tacitus on Jesus. Tacitus, Annals of Imperial Rome, XV.44 https://www.tektonics.org/jesusexist/tacitus.php
[08] Professor Paul L. Maier.Josephus and Jesus. North American Mission Board
https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/josephus-and-jesus/
[09] The Death Of Peregrine. http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/luc/wl4/wl420.htm. Also Sumber: Lucian, The Death of Peregrine 11–13, translated by H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler in The Works of Lucian of Samosata (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1949), vol. 4.
[10] Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96. Pliny to the Emperor Trajan https://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/texts/pliny.html
[11] Suetonius. Estimated Range of Dating: 115-115 A.D.https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/suetonius.html
[12] Justin Martyr. First Apology . Chapter IV - Christians Unjustly Condemned For Their Mere Name.
www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-firstapology.html
[13] Tertullian Apology, Chapter III http://earlychristianwritings.com/text/tertullian01.html
[14] Lactantius. The Divine Institutes. Book Iv.Of True Wisdom And Religion. Chapter VII.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf07.iii.ii.iv.vii.html
[15] Professor R. T. France. The Gospels As Historical Sources For Jesus,The Founder Of Christianity.
http://www.leaderu.com/truth/1truth21.html
[16] Richard Carrier. Why I Don't Buy the Resurrection Story.
http://infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/resurrection/rubicon.html
[17] ibid.
[18] Wikipedia. Diogenes of Oenoanda.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_of_Oenoanda#:~:text=Diogenes%20was%20
wealthy%20enough%20to,piazza%20to%20display%20his%20inscription
Continue To Chapter 11: Does Archaeology Confirm, or Undermine, The New Testament Accounts?
In spite of the fact that the four Gospels are ancient documents that claim to be eye witness testimony, much of what those men wrote was dismissed as the product of fervent and vivid imagination. Yet, archaeology has corroborated many minute details found in both in the Old and New Testaments. HERE
|
