Non-Christian Historical References to Jesus Christ
A common complaint of skeptics of Christianity is that only Christian sources testify to Jesus Christ being a person of history, and that no Pagans nor Jews testified to or recorded Jesus as being a person of history.
This is an obvious lie, as we have many Jewish and Pagan historical references to Jesus Christ, that are obviously non-Christian.
Reports of Jesus of Nazareth and his miracle 1st century ministry did reach many outside of Israel.
If God forbid we had no New Testament or writings by early Christians then, "we would be able to conclude from such non-Christian writings as Josephus, the Talmud, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger that: (1) Jesus was a Jewish teacher; (2) many people believed that he performed healings and exorcisms; (3) he was rejected by the Jewish leaders; (4) he was crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius; (5) despite this shameful death, his followers, who believed that he was still alive, spread beyond Palestine so that there were multitudes of them in Rome by A.D. 64; (6) all kinds of people from the cities and countryside -- men and women, slave and free -- worshiped him as God by the beginning of the second century.”(1)
This is an obvious lie, as we have many Jewish and Pagan historical references to Jesus Christ, that are obviously non-Christian.
Reports of Jesus of Nazareth and his miracle 1st century ministry did reach many outside of Israel.
If God forbid we had no New Testament or writings by early Christians then, "we would be able to conclude from such non-Christian writings as Josephus, the Talmud, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger that: (1) Jesus was a Jewish teacher; (2) many people believed that he performed healings and exorcisms; (3) he was rejected by the Jewish leaders; (4) he was crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius; (5) despite this shameful death, his followers, who believed that he was still alive, spread beyond Palestine so that there were multitudes of them in Rome by A.D. 64; (6) all kinds of people from the cities and countryside -- men and women, slave and free -- worshiped him as God by the beginning of the second century.”(1)
“The fact that the witness is not in sympathy with the defendant would remove any possibility of prejudice or partiality toward him. It would also remove the possibility of perjury and establish instead a high probability of truthfulness as to the facts of the case...this type of testimony is considered to be of the very highest quality.”(2)
Pagan Historical References
Jewish Historical References
Notes copied from this link (local copy), and Josh McDowell's The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict
(1) Wilkins, Michael and J. P. Moreland, eds. Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995
(2) M.L. Lubenow
- Updated 10/24/2020
- Tacitus - (Roman historian, ca. 112 A.D.)
- Writes of Jesus in his ANNALS
- "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 with the most exquisite tortures, the persons commonly called 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." Annals XV.44
- Suetonius - Chief Secretary to Roman Emperor Hadrian
- “As the Jews were making constant disturbance at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.”
- Luke makes reference to this same expulsion in Ac 18:1-2
- "As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome." Life of Clausius 25.4
- He also writes: "Punishment by Nero was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition." Lives of the Caesars, 26.2
- Pliny the Younger - Roman Administrator, Author
- Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor
- Wrote to the emperor Trajan about Christians and their devotion to Christ
- "They affirmed, however, that the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verse a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves to a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft, adultery, never to falsify their word, not to deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up." Epistles X.96
- Emperor Trajan - Roman Emperor
- Lucian of Samosata - 2nd century Greek satirist
- "...the man who was crucified in Palestine because he introduced this new cult into the world...Furthermore, their first lawgiver persuaded them that they are all brothers one of another after they have transgressed once for all by denying the Greek gods and by worshipping that crucified sophist himself and living under his laws." The Passing Peregrinus
- Thallus - (a Samaritan historian, ca. 52 A.D.)
- Wrote attempting to give a natural explanation for the darkness which occurred at the crucifixion of Jesus
- He did not deny the existence of Jesus, and tried to explain away the strange circumstances surrounding His death
- Julius Africanus comments on Thallus' writing (we can't find them) saying, "Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun - unreasonable, as it seems to me' (unreasonable, of course, because a solar eclipse could not take place at the time of the full moon, and it was at the season of the Paschal full moon that Christ died)."
- Phlegon - (first century historian)
- His work is lost, but he is quoted by Julius Africanus regarding the crucifixion darkness
- "And about this darkness...Phlegon recalls it in the Olympiads (the title of his history) ... Phlegon mentioned the eclipse which took place during the crucifixion of the LORD Christ, and no other (eclipse), is clear that he did not know from his sources about any (similar) eclipse in previous times...and this is shown by the historical account itself of Tiberius Caesar."
- Mara Bar-Serapion - (written to his son, ca. 73 A.D.)
- He tells of the deaths of Socrates, Pythagoras, and of Jesus
- “What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king?...Nor did the wise king die for good; he lived on in the teaching which he had given.”
Jewish Historical References
- Talmud - Rabbis circa 70-200 A.D.
- Consists of two separate books dealing with Jewish law, written during the period from 100 A.D. to 500 A.D.
- Speaks frequently of Jesus of Nazareth... 1) In unfriendly terms, of course 2) But never disputing his status as a historical figure
- "On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu (of Nazareth) and the herald went before him for forty days saying (Yeshu of Nazareth) is going forth to be stoned in that he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover" (Babylonia Sanhedrin 43a)
- Maimonides - 12th century sage
- "Jesus of Nazareth ... interpreted the Torah and its precepts in such a fashion as to lead to their total annulment. The sages, of blessed memory, having become aware of his plans before his reputation spread among our people, meted out fitting punishment to him." - letter to Yemen
- Josephus - 1st century Pharisee, General, Roman Historian
- A Jewish general turned Roman historian, born 37 A.D.
- Makes several references to Jesus in his History Of The Jews
- E.g., “...and brought before it the brother of Jesus, the so-called Christ, whose name was James.”
- "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a men, 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, 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." Antiquities. xviii.33.
- "But the younger Ananus who, as we said, received the high priesthood, was of a bold disposition and exceptionally daring; he followed the party of the Sadducees, who are severe in judgment above all the Jews, as we have already shown. AS therefore Ananus was of such a disposition, he thought he had now a good opportunity, as Festus was now dead, and Albinus was still on the road; so he assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, whose name was James, together with some others, and having accused them as law-breakers, he delivered them over to be stoned." Antiquities XX9:1
Notes copied from this link (local copy), and Josh McDowell's The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict
(1) Wilkins, Michael and J. P. Moreland, eds. Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995
(2) M.L. Lubenow
- Updated 10/24/2020