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Many skeptics have asserted that Jesus of Nazareth is nothing but a fictional character or a myth. They would have us believe that the historical Jesus never existed and that this Jesus character was created and was used to promote a new religion.

To the contrary there is plenty of non-Christian evidence that testifies to the historicity of Jesus Christ. Historians have written about Him and events that have taken place that supports events in the New Testament.

Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews is the famous work by Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus, he writes about Jesus and His followers who were called Christians. In Antiquities (xviii. 3.3) we read,

“And there arose about his time Jesus, a wise man, if indeed we call him a man; for he was

a doer of marvelous deeds, a teacher of men who receive the truth with pleasure. He had

led away many Jews, and also many Greeks. This man was the Christ.

And when Pilate condemned him to the cross on his impeachment by the chief men

among us, those who had loved him at first did not cease; for he appeared to them on the

third day alive again, the divine prophets haven spoken these and thousands of wonderful

things about him: and even now the tribe of Christians, so named after him, has not yet

died out” 1

Here we have extra biblical testimony that Christ appeared alive to his

disciples.

Josephus also refers to the stoning of Jesus’ Brother James (A.D.62), in

Antiquities (xx.9.1), he writes:

“Ananus was of such disposition,…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.” 2

This supports the New Testament that Jesus had a brother named James and that he died for his belief in a risen Christ.

Tacticus: The Roman historian, Cornelius Tacticus, writes about the persecution of Christians under Emperor Nero in regards to the burning of Rome (A.D.64), in this writing he mentions Christ. To rid himself of suspicion, Nero blames the fires on the Christians, Tacticus writes:

“The name is derived from Christ, whom the procurator Pontius Pilate had executed in the reign of Tiberius.” 3

Suetonius: In the work Vita Claudii 25:4 , Roman historian, Caius Suetonius Tranquillus, writes about the life of the emperor Claudius and mentions Jesus:

“He [Claudius] expelled the Jews, who had on the instigation of Chrestus continually been causing disturbances, from Rome.” 4

Chrestus is another name for Christ, this writing refers to turmoils caused by the Jews in Rome because of the uprising of Christianity.

This actaully supports what the New Testament says about same event, we read:

“After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Pricilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them” (Acts 18:2).

Here we see that the text of Suetonius and the New Testament are in agreement of this historical event.

Pliny the Younger: This man was an avid writer and practiced civil law at a young age. He later became governor of Bithynia which is in asia Minor. In a long letter to the Roman emperor Trajan, he asks for advice on what to do with Christians that were brought before him for not worshipping the emperor. In one section of the letter he describes the Christians actions, he writes,

“--That they (Christians) were wont (accustomed), on a stated day, to meet together before it was light, and to sing a hymn to Christ, as to a god, alternately; and oblige themselves by sacrament [or oath], not to do anything that was ill…” 5

The Jewish Talmud: These ancient Hebrew writings contain the basis for much Jewish law, spiritual insight, and ethics; it is a testament to the historicity of Jesus as well. We read,

“On the eve of the Passover they hanged Yeshu (Jesus). And an announcer went out in front of him for forty days saying, ‘He is going to be stoned, because he practiced sorcery and enticed and led Israel astray. Anyone who knows anything in his favor, let him come and plead in his behalf.’ But not having found anything in his favor, they hanged him on the eve of Passover.” 6

The Talmud was written by the every Jews who denied Him. If Jesus never existed the

writers of the Talmud would have written so. To write about a fictional character as if he

were real will only cause some people believe that the character actually existed. The events

written in the Talmud are corroborative evidence that supports the New Testament.

In regard to the claims that Jesus never existed, about extra-biblical references, the

Encyclopedia Britannica states:

“These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of

Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and

on inadequate grounds at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the

20th centuries.” 7

There are other ancient non-Christian sources that refer Jesus throughout history, they are some as follows: 8

Cornelius Tacticus, a Roman historian

Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian

Seutonius, a Roman historian

Pliny the Younger, a Roman Politician

Thallus, a first century historian

Phlegion, an ex slave that wrote histories

Lucien, a Greek satirist

Celsus, a Roman philosopher

Mara Bar-Serapion, a citizen who wrote to his son

The Jewish Talmud

Some of these early writers could actually be thought of as anti-Christian because of how they wrote. Even so, there is not one reference that contradicts the eyewitness accounts of the New Testament Gospels.

If Jesus never existed, how would all of these non-Christian references put together the basic premise of Christianity that is described in the Gospels? All together these extra-biblical written accounts agree that: 9

Jesus performed miracles.

Jesus had a brother named James.

Jesus was acclaimed to be the messiah.

Jesus was crucified under Pontis Pilate.

Jesus was crucified before the Jewish Passover.

An earthquake and darkness had occurred as Jesus died.

Jesus’ disciples believed that He rose from the dead.

Jesus’ disciples were willing to die for their belief that He rose from the dead.

Jesus’ disciples worshipped Him as God.

Christianity spread to Rome very quickly.

Since these outside references agree with what the New Testament writers wrote, it is even more likely that everything else written in the New Testament is true as well, including the resurrection.

Why didn’t anyone else in Israel write about Jesus? In Palestine in the first century, not many people were able to read or write. If other people outside the Bible did write about Christ, chances are they would not have survived 200 years.

We do have the existing testimonies because they have been copied over and over again. Those who could write probably would not have written it down anyway. If most literate people don’t write books or events that have happened in their lives in modern times, why would people of early Israel?

Even atheists acknowledge that Jesus is an actual person. There is enough evidence to prove the existence of Jesus just as there is enough for Galileo, Caesar Augustus, or any other historical person. If one should choose to deny the many testimonies of existence of the historical of Jesus, then every other testimony of other historical figures should be discredited as well.