Risen Hope

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.