Flavius JosephusFlavius Josephus (a Jewish historian writing a history of the Jewish people for a Roman audience in approximately 93 AD) provides the most impressive and detailed evidence for the historical Jesus outside Christian scripture. Many historians and exegetes have written extensively on Josephus’ testimony about Jesus because there were obviousChristian edits and interpolations of this text. Luke Timothy Johnson,8Raymond Brown,and John P. Meierhave a very balanced (and somewhat minimalistic) approach to the critical passage. All three scholars believe that the beginning part of the passage from Josephus’ Antiquities has not been significantly changed or edited, though later parts clearly were. The passage (sometimes called the Testimonium Flavianum) appears directly below. The italicized portions represent those which many scholars believe are part of the original text of Josephus. The unitalicized parts are either probably or definitely Christian additions or interpolations.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 namedfrom him, are not extinct at this day.9Johnson provides a mainstream-minimalistic view of the matter:Stripped of its obvious Christian accretions, the passage tells us a number of important things about Jesus, from the perspective of a first-century Jewish historian . . . . Jesus was both a teacher and a wonder-worker, that he got into trouble with some of the leaders of the Jews, that he was executed under theprefect Pontius Pilate, and that his followers continued to exist at the time of Josephus’ writing.10“Wonder-worker” in the above passage refers to Jesus’ miracles, and it is one of the most explicit references to miracle-working in Josephus’ works. Meier explains it as follows:7Kirby 20148See Johnson 1991, pp. 113-114. 9 See Brown 1994(a), pp.373-376. 10 See Meier 1994, pp.592-593.9Josephus 1965, 18:3.3.10Johnson 1991, pp. 113-114.CCBB - Volume 3 - Evidence for the History and Divinity of Jesus Christ13
Thus, Jesus of Nazareth stands out as a relative exception in The Antiquities [of Josephus] in that he is a named figure in 1st-century Jewish Palestine to whom Josephus is willing to attribute a number of miraculous deeds (Ant.18.3.3 Sec. 63: paradoxōn ergōn poiētēs). That Josephus did not transform 1st-century religious figures into miracle-workers in an irresponsible fashion is shown not only by his presentation of the “sign prophets” but also by the intriguing contrast betweenJesus and the Baptist in Book 18 of The Antiquities.TheBaptistreceivesthelongerandmorelaudatorynotice(18.5.2 Sec.16-19), but without benefit of miracles, while Jesus is presented as both miracle-worker and teacher. The distinction implied in Josephus is mirrored perfectly in the Four Gospels.
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