Risen Hope

Moving along in the series I will now look at two Jewish sources that make mention of Jesus and His followers. The first source this post will deal with is the Talmud.

For some short and quick history the Talmud is a combination of the Mishnah and the Gemaras. The Mishnah is a collection of oral tradition that was written down and organized by subject matter. The Gemaras is the commentary of the Mishnah. The quotation that mentions Jesus is found in the Babylonian Talmud in the location Sanhedrin 43a.

On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, 'He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Any one who can say anything in his favour, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.' But since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the eve of the Passover![1]

What we can gather from this short passage is the following facts[2]:

1. Jesus' death was by crucifixion (hanging).
2. The time of this event was on the eve of Passover.
3. For a forty day period it was announced that Jesus would be stoned. This is consistent with Jewish practice and though it is not recorded explicitly in the New Testament, there seem to be glimpses of this being recorded (John 8:58-59; 10:31-33, 39).
4. Jesus was judged to be guilty of "sorcery" and spiritual apostasy in leading Israel astray by  his teaching.
5. He lacked anyone coming to his defense and as a result he was killed.

1. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 202-205.
2. Ibid.

The last few posts have looked at three Roman government officials who recorded mentioned some information about either Jesus or his followers. Those three officials are Pliny the Younger [P], Emperor Trajan [Tr], and Emperor Hadrian [H]. Below is a summary of the last few posts and what they wrote:

1. Christ was worshipped as a deity by early believers. [P]
2. The teachings of Jesus were called "excessive superstition" and "contagious superstition." [P]
3. Jesus' ethical teachings are reflected as an oath taken by Christians never to be guilty of a number of sins. [P]
4. There is a possible reference to communion and the Christian celebration of the "love feast" which is their regathering and partaking of ordinary food. [P]
5. A possible reference to Sunday worship since Pliny says they met "on a certain day." [P]
6. Christians were identifiable by their worship practice and what they refused to worship. [P]
7. True believers could not be forced to worship the gods or the emperor. [P]
8. Christian worship involved a pre-dawn service. [P]
9. Christian worship included the singing of hymns. [P]
10. Christians came from all classes, ages, localities, and sexes. [P]
11. There was structure and positions in the church as inferred by the mention of two deaconesses. [P]
12. Christians were frequently reported as lawbreakers in Asia and were punished in various ways. [P, H]
13. The emperors encouraged a certain amount of tolerance and ordered that they not be harassed. [Tr, H]
14. Christians could only be found guilty and punished after careful examination. [Tr, H]
15. Undocumented charges were not to be heard or brought against Christians. Anyone doing so would be punished instead. [H]

Tomorrow will begin looking at two Jewish sources and what they had to say about Jesus and his followers.

We will end the week with the third and final government official that mentions Christians and how they were to be treated. Emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.) replies in a letter to Asian proconsul Minucius Fundanus, who was the successor to Serenius Granianus (Asian proconsul and author of the initial letter to which Hadrian was replying).

I do not wish, therefore, that the matter should be passed by without examination, so that these men may neither be harassed, nor opportunity of malicious proceedings be offered to informers. If, therefore, the provincials can clearly evince their charges against the Christians, so as to answer before the tribunal, let them pursue this course only, but not by mere petitions, and ere out cries against the Christians. For it is far more proper, if any one would bring an accusation, that you should examine it.[1]

So, if someone is being charged with being a Christian, then an investigation must ensue and they must be charged according to the crime they have committed. We can see the following data from Hadrian's response[2]:

1. Christians were frequently reported as lawbreakers in Asia and were punished in various ways.
2. Like Trajan, Hadrian encouraged a certain amount of tolerance and ordered that they not be harassed.
3. If Christians were found guilty after careful examination, then they ought to be punished.
4. However, undocumented charges were not to be heard or brought against them and if anyone did so, then the one leveling the undocumented charges were to be punished instead.

1. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 200-201.
2. Ibid., 201.

Today I continue looking at ancient non-biblical sources. The next few posts will be focused on Roman government officials. First up is Pliny the Younger. Pliny was a "Roman author and administrator who served as the governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor."[1] Pliny is considered to be one of the world's greatest letter writers and 10 books that preserved his letters are still in existence today.

In his tenth book (c. 112 A.D.), Pliny mentions Christianity in his province as well as some information regarding Jesus. In a letter to Emperor Trajan, Pliny writes a fairly lengthy letter inquiring advice on how to proceed with driving out Christianity (we will read Trajan's response to Pliny in tomorrow's post). Here is just a small portion of what Pliny wrote:

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.[2]

From this it is possible to pick out the following facts regarding the worship practices of the early Christians[3]:

1. Christ was worshipped as a deity by early believers (seems to be a high Christology in practice).
2. The teachings of Jesus were called "excessive superstition" and "contagious superstition."
3. Jesus' ethical teachings are reflected as an oath taken by Christians never to be guilty of a number of sins mentioned in the letter.
4. A possible reference to communion and the Christian celebration of the "love feast" which is their regathering and partaking of ordinary food.
5. A possible reference to Sunday worship since Pliny says that they met "on a certain day."
6. Christians were identifiable by their worship practice and what they refused to worship - this allowed Pliny to target Christians for interrogation as well as execution.
7. Pliny reports that true believers could not be forced to worship the gods or the emperor.
8. Christian worship involved a pre-dawn service.
9. This time of worship included the singing of hymns.
10. The Christians came from all classes, ages, localities and sexes.
11. There was structure and positions in the church since Pliny mentions two deaconesses who were tortured for information.

1. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 197.
2. Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96-97.
3. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 200-201.

The last four posts have been spent looking at ancient non-biblical historians from the 1st and 2nd century A.D. Before moving on to look at ancient Roman government officials and what they have to say about Jesus and his followers, I thought it would be good to pause and provide a summary of what we have covered so far.

There were four historians that we have looked at and they are:

1. Cornelius Tacticus [T] (c. 55-120 A.D.) - Roman historian
2. Gaius Suetonius Tranquillas [S] - Roman historian and chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.)
3. Flavius Josephus [J] (c. 37/8 - 97 A.D.) - Jewish Pharisee turned historian who served under the Roman emperor Vespasian
4. Thallus [Th] (c. 52 A.D.)

Below is the information that we can learn from them about Jesus and his followers:

1. Jesus was known as a wise and virtuous man, recognized for good conduct [J]
2. He had many disciples, both Jews and Gentiles [J]
3. Christians were first named for their founder [T, S]
4. Jesus was put to death by the Roman procurator Pontius Pilatus [T, J]
5. His manner of death was by crucifixion [J]
6. There was widespread darkness in the land, implied to have taken place during Jesus' crucifixion [Th]
7. This happened during the reign of Emperor Tiberius [T]
8. Jesus death ended the "superstition" for a short time [T]
9. But it broke out again [T, J]
10. The disciples reported the Jesus had risen from the dead [J]
11. The disciples reported that Jesus had appeared to them on the third day after his crucifixion [J]
12. The teaching had its origin in Judea [T]
13. Unbelievers offered naturalistic explanations for what occurred [Th]
14. Jesus was the brother of James [J]
15. Jesus' followers carried his teaching to Rome [T, J, Th]
16. Perhaps Jesus was the Messiah concerning whom the Old Testament prophets spoke and predicted wonders [J]
17. Jesus was called Messiah by some people [J]
18. The Jews were expelled from Rome due to their disturbances [S]
19. Their teachings caused a riot in Rome [S]
20. A fire broke out during the rule of Emperor Nero and he blamed the Christians who lived in Rome [T]
21. The Christians beliefs were called "mischievous" implying that they were not in accord with social custom [S]
22. The Christians were hated for their abominations [T]
23. Christians that were arrested pleaded guilty [T]
24. They were convicted for "hatred for mankind" [T]
25. They were mocked [T]
26. They were tortured, nailed to crosses, or burnt to death [T]
27. The general population had compassion for the Christians due to the manner in which Nero had them killed [T]
28. Punishments were thought o satisfy one man's glut for cruelty rather than serve as punishment for any crime [T]

Tomorrow I will begin to look at each of the Roman Government officials and what they had to say about Jesus and his followers. When we are done looking at them, I will add their findings to the list of summaries above in a separate post.

Today I continue looking at ancient non-biblical sources. The next few posts will be focused on Roman government officials. First up is Pliny the Younger. Pliny was a "Roman author and administrator who served as the governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor."[1] Pliny is considered to be one of the world's greatest letter writers and 10 books that preserved his letters are still in existence today.

In his tenth book (c. 112 A.D.), Pliny mentions Christianity in his province as well as some information regarding Jesus. In a letter to Emperor Trajan, Pliny writes a fairly lengthy letter inquiring advice on how to proceed with driving out Christianity (we will read Trajan's response to Pliny in tomorrow's post). Here is just a small portion of what Pliny wrote:

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.[2]

From this it is possible to pick out the following facts regarding the worship practices of the early Christians[3]:

1. Christ was worshipped as a deity by early believers (seems to be a high Christology in practice).
2. The teachings of Jesus were called "excessive superstition" and "contagious superstition."
3. Jesus' ethical teachings are reflected as an oath taken by Christians never to be guilty of a number of sins mentioned in the letter.
4. A possible reference to communion and the Christian celebration of the "love feast" which is their regathering and partaking of ordinary food.
5. A possible reference to Sunday worship since Pliny says that they met "on a certain day."
6. Christians were identifiable by their worship practice and what they refused to worship - this allowed Pliny to target Christians for interrogation as well as execution.
7. Pliny reports that true believers could not be forced to worship the gods or the emperor.
8. Christian worship involved a pre-dawn service.
9. This time of worship included the singing of hymns.
10. The Christians came from all classes, ages, localities and sexes.
11. There was structure and positions in the church since Pliny mentions two deaconesses who were tortured for information.

1. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 197.
2. Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96-97.
3. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 200-201.

The final non-biblical ancient historian is Thallus. While his writings have not survived, fragments of what he wrote appear as quotations by other writers. One of those writers is Julius Africanus, who, in A.D. 221, quotes Thallus. It is thought that Thallus probably wrote his History around A.D. 52.

What is questionable about the Thallus quote is (1) we no longer have direct access to his work so (2) we cannot know if the quote that Julius Africanus uses was used by Thallus in reference to Jesus' death. Africanus uses the quote in that manner, but there is no way to corroborate if that use is appropriate or not.

Either way, the quote from Thallus reads

As to His works severally, and His cures effected upon body and soul, and the mysteries of His doctrine, and the resurrection from the dead, these have been most authoritatively set forth by His disciples and apostles before us. On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.[1]

Africanus continues on in his writing and discounts the explanation that Thallus provides given the position of the Sun relative to the moon and Earth during the time of Passover. According to the Jewish calendar, Passover takes place during the time of a full moon and therefore, an eclipse cannot be the cause of the Sun going dark.

If we are to take Thallus' description as referring to the crucifixion of Jesus, then we can know the following facts[2]:

1. The Christian gospel, or at least an account of the crucifixion, was known in the Mediterranean region by the middle of the first century.[3]
2. There was widespread darkness in the land, implied to have taken place during Jesus' crucifixion.
3. Unbelievers offered naturalistic explanation for what occurred.

1. Julius Africanus, Extant Work, Fragment 18.1, On the Circumstances Connected with Our Saviour's Passion and His Life-Giving Resurrection.
2. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 197.
3. This corresponds to what we see recorded by both Suetonius and Tacitus. Christianity had spread and was known by the middle of the first century AD.

The next non-Biblical ancient source to look at is Flavius Josephus (c. 37/8 - 97 A.D.). Josephus was a Jewish historian and Pharisee who, after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, moved to Rome and server emperor Vespasian as court historian. There are two different passages in his Antiquities where he mentions Jesus. The first one is not controversial, but the second reference brings with it much debate.

Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so 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: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrim without his consent.[1]

Josephus is simply identifying who James is, a brother to Jesus whom some called Christ. This is not attributing belief in anyway to Josephus that he thought Jesus was Christ, it is fairly clear that Josephus was just recording what others considered Jesus to be.

The second passage is more controversial and so I will be posting both the controversial passage and the less controversial passage.

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 amongst 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.[2]

The reason that this particular passage is controversial is because it appears to have been tampered with by later Christian editors. There are certain phrases in this passage that would be difficult to attribute to Josephus since he was, as far as we know, an unbeliever and so it seems very out of character for him to use certain phrases and wordings in describing Jesus. For instance, the phrase "if it be lawful to call him a man" is a disputed line and does not seem to fit Josephus. Two other phrases that seem to be Christian insertions into the text are "He was [the] Christ" and "as the divine prophets had foretold these and then thousand other wonderful things concerning him." Neither of these seem to have come from Josephus.

A better rendering of this passage from Josephus that is far less controversial and is taken from an Arabic manuscript is the following:

At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His conduct was good and (he) was known to be virtuous. And many people from 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 recounted wonders.[3]

We can see that the language is less biased here in this passage and seems to fit better with a Jewish historian writing history without a Christian slant coloring the text. This isn't the only reason that historical scholars take the Arabic reading to be closer to the words that Josephus actually wrote, but it is a good place to start without wading into all the technical details. My personal opinion is that the Arabic passage ought to be the preferred passage we use when citing Josephus because it is less controversial and it appears less biased and makes more sense that Josephus would have written this given his Pharisaical and historical upbringing.

So, given that, what can be learned about Jesus from these two passages of Josephus?[4]

1. Jesus was known as a wise and virtuous man, one recognized for good conduct.
2. He had many disciples, both Jews and Gentiles.
3. Pilate condemned him to die.
4. His death by crucifixion is explicitly stated as the manner of death.
5. The disciples reported that Jesus had risen from the dead.
6. The disciples reported that he had appeared to them on the third day after his crucifixion.
7. Consequently, the disciples continued to proclaim his teachings.
8. Perhaps Jesus was the Messiah concerning whom the Old Testament prophets spoke and predicted wonders.
9. Jesus was the brother of James.
10. He was called the Messiah by some people.

1. Josephus, Antiquities 20.9.
2. Josephus, Antiquities 18.3.3.
3. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 193-194.
4. Ibid., 195.

Continuing with ancient historians and their accounts of Jesus and the rise of Christianity, what can be gleaned from the writings of Suetonius? Gaius Suetonius Tranquillas was a Roman historian and chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.). Because of his position, he would have had access to official government records of the empire and therefore would be in a very good position to know certain events that had occurred throughout the empire.

In writing about emperor Claudius (41-54 A.D.), Suetonius records,

He banished from Rome all the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus. [1], [2]

According to Roman history, in 49 A.D. riots broke out in a Jewish community which resulted in the Jews being banned from the city. This information seems to correspond to what was recorded by Luke:

And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. (Acts 18:2 NAS95)

Also, in his writing on Nero, Suetonius makes another mention of this Christian sect and their "mischievous superstition."

Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition.[3]

What facts can be lifted from these two brief mentions in Suetonius' writings[4]?

1. The Jews were expelled from Rome.
2. Something about the teachings of Chrestus (Christ) caused the Jews to riot in Rome.
3. The Christians beliefs are called "mischievous" implying that they were not in accord with social custom
4. The term "Christians" identifies this group as one following the teachings of Christ.

1. Suetonius. Claudius 25.
2. "Chrestus" is a variant Latin spelling of Christus which is similar to how Tacitus spelled the word (Christus) as mentioned in yesterdays post.
3. Suetonius. Nero 16.
4. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 191.

Yesterday I posted a lengthy list of non-Biblical, ancient sources that mention something of the life of Jesus, either directly or indirectly. Today, I continue along that same line by looking a bit more closely at some of those sources. The next several posts will cull some of the information from those sources and enumerate what precisely can be known about Jesus based on those writings. So pretend for a moment, that the New Testament did not exist. What can we know about this carpenter-turned-itinerant preacher from other ancient sources?

I will begin this quest of information by looking at the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus. Tacitus (C. 55-120 A.D.), as he is more commonly referred, lived through the reign of several emperor's. He is also considered Rome's "greatest historian" and he wrote several at least two works that he is best known for: (1) the Annals, and (2) the Histories. While the numbers differ between how many books were included in each set, the total still comes out to 30 books between the two of them.

Tacitus mentions Jesus as he recounts the burning of Rome during Nero's reign. In Annals 15.44 there is the following [1]:

Such indeed were the precautions of human wisdom. The next thing was to seek means of propitiating the gods, and recourse was had to the Sibylline books, by the direction of which prayers were offered to Vulcanus, Ceres, and Proserpina. Juno, too, was entreated by the matrons, first, in the Capitol, then on the nearest part of the coast, whence water was procured to sprinkle the fane and image of the goddess. And there were sacred banquets and nightly vigils celebrated by married women. But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre 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. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.

Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed.

From this, we learn the following things [2]:

1. Christians were first named for their founder, Christus (from the Latin),
2. who was put to death by the Roman procurator Pontius Pilatus (also Latin),
3. during the reign of emperor Tiberius (14-37 A.D.).
4. His death ended the "superstition" for a short time,
5. but it broke out again,
6. especially in Judea, where the teaching had its origin.
7. His followers carried his doctrine to Rome.
8. When the great fire destroyed a large part of the city during the reign of Nero (54-68 A.D.), the emperor placed the blame on the Christians who lived in Rome.
9. Tacitus reports that this group was hated for their abominations.
10. These Christians were arrested after pleading guilty,
11. and many were convicted for "hatred for mankind."
12. They were mocked and
13. then tortured, including being "nailed to crosses" or burnt to death.
14. Because of these actions, the people had compassion on the Christians.
15. Tacitus therefore concluded that such punishments were not for the public good but were simply "to glut one man's cruelty."

1. Tacitucs. Annals
2. Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing, 2008, 187-189.