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April 1999, Vol. 4, No. 4
The monthly newsletter of the Internet Infidels
The Historical Jesus
Jesus was a Jew who lived in a peasant society in the decades
leading up to the First Jewish Revolt of 66-70 CE. The Jewish
people groaned under the yoke of Rome's colonial oppression.
The earliest layers of New Testament (NT) material concerning
Jesus suggests that he was both a miracle-worker and a wisdom
teacher. By being declared a king (or perhaps declaring
himself a king) Jesus was found guilty of treason against the
Emperor. The fifth Roman procurator of Judaea, Pontius Pilate,
crucified Jesus sometime during his ten-year appointment that
began in 26 CE and lasted until his forced removal from office
in 36 CE.
Josephus (37-100 CE) is our primary source for the history of
first-century Palestine. He was born Joseph ben Matthias into
a priestly Hasmonean family, but after he became a Roman
citizen he adopted the emperor's name, Flavius. Flavius
Josephus spent some time with the Pharisees, Essenes and, for
three years, was a disciple of an ascetic teacher name Banus
(Life, 2). During the First Jewish Revolt (66-70 CE), he led
an army against the Romans but in 67 CE was captured in
Galilee by the Roman general Vespasian. Josephus impressed
Vespasian and, when in 69 CE Vespasian became emperor, he
released Josephus from prison. After Jerusalem fell in 70 CE,
Josephus returned to Rome and began writing the history of the
Jewish people. His two major works are The Wars of the Jews
(c. 75 CE) and The Antiquities of the Jews (c. 95 CE).
Josephus is considered important for historical Jesus research
because his writings focus on the socio-political events that
occurred during Jesus' life. Interestingly, Josephus writes
about John the Baptist's teachings at great length
(Antiquities, 18.5.2), but tells us very little about Jesus
and his ministry. In a much-contested passage of the
Antiquities, the following passage (without the Christian
interpolations) is what scholars generally agree Josephus
writes about Jesus:
Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man . . .
For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was
a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly.
He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. . . .
When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the
highest standing among us, had condemned him to be
crucified, those who had in the first place come to
love him did not give up their affection for him. . .
And the tribe of Christians, so called after him,
has still to this day not disappeared (18.3.3).
Even though Josephus tells us very little, we can still
discern a few very important things about Josephus' portrayal
of Jesus. Jesus was a wisdom teacher. This is an especially
important attestation of the Q gospel's portrayal of Jesus.
Also, Josephus is aware of the pejorative term "Christian"
(messiah-followers) and refers to them as "so called"
Christians because, as a Jew, Josephus did not believe Jesus
to be the messiah. The Roman historians Tacitus (Annals 15.44)
and Seutonius (Lives of the Caesars 6.16) use the term
Christian in a pejorative sense and we learn from 1 Peter
4:14-16 that the term was used derogatorily against Jesus'
followers while they were persecuted.
Other than Josephus, the only other historian that seems to
mention the historical Jesus is Tacitus (56 CE-117 CE). In his
Annals he writes:
The founder of this sect, Christus, was given the
death penalty in the reign of Tiberius by the
procurator, Pontius Pilate; suppressed for the
moment, the detestable superstition broke out again,
not only in Judea where the evil originated, but
also in [Rome], where everything horrible and
shameful flows and grows (15.44).
Most historicists believe that Tacitus and Josephus provide
reliable extra-biblical historical evidence for the view that
there existed a historical Jesus. However, our feature
article, written by Earl Doherty, argues convincingly that
this conclusion is presumptuous and that there is room to
doubt whether there really was a historical figure of Jesus.
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