HisStory

The following was extracted off a forum when i was doing a search on roman history and if it recorded the existence of Jesus. It was in reply to a question if history sources besides the Bible recorded the existence of Him.

in history we have two reliable sources that are classical references to JESUS, independently from what the Holy Bible says.
There were in fact two historians who mention Jesus as a historical personage.
They are the Jewish historian FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS(37 AD - circa 100 AD ) and the great Roman historian Tacitus (AD 55-c.AD 117).
So, the first century Jewish historian Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews 18.3.3 says:
“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.”

Also, in the book 20, 1, of the same work he mentions “Jesus, who was called Christ”.

Similarly, the Roman historian, TACITUS, wrote in 109 AD of a Christ who “suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus”.
Here is the quote from 'Annals' 15.44, where Jesus and the Christians are mentioned in an account of how the Emperor Nero persecuted the Christians in order to draw attention away from himself after Rome's fire of 64 AD:

“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 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, 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“.

From this evidence it is clear that the Romans knew perfectly well Jesus has been executed by Pontius Pilate who was procurator of Judea from 26-36AD under the emperor Tiberius.
Further, a prominent historical detail in this extra-biblical source – the name of Pontius Pilate – is in full agreement with the gospel accounts.
So it seems quite improbable to argue that there was no historical Jesus; on the contrary we have a solid evidence for the existence of Jesus and for historical data about Jesus' life.

In fact both Josephus and Tacitus are reliable sources so that we can conclude that there is every reason to trust Josephus and overall Tacitus as reliable. Tacitus in fact is a writer whose reliability cannot be seriously questioned.

To conclude, what we know for certain about Jesus in history is that :
1- he was a wise man
2-he was crucified by order of Pontius Pilate ,Roman procurator of Judea, at the suggestion of the principal men of the jewish Sanhedrin.
3- he appeared to his apostles alive again the third day.
4- he gave his name-Christ- to the Christians.

Nothing else we can say from the historical point of view.

Hope this can be helpful to you.
Best regards
Maria
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NOTA BENE
-"Antiquities of the Jews" is an account of Jewish history from its early beginnings to the revolt against Rome in AD 66, written in Greek in about AD 93 by Flavius Josephus, a general in the Jewish army who defected to Rome.

-"The Annals" are Tacitus' brilliant account of Roman imperial history from the death of Augustus (14 AD) to the death of Nero (68AD).

My God is good.

It's been such a long time since i have written.. partly cause i have had so little time, because of commitments, partly cos i have felt so much like i lack e things to write these days. I still feel quite wierd like there is so little to write after so long out.. so i figured i would write about my Lord. Since i am not doing much now being on this 24 hr standby duty.

See, we all go through history lessons. And at times, it seems easier to envision the existence of Hitler, Churchill, Raffles, the Roman empire and other historical characters and countries then it is to envision the existence of people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Paul, Peter and of course Jesus. Yet Jesus and the people of the Bible were not that far away. They are not some story book characters. The Bible IS a historical record of things past. Think about it. These people are and were as real as our ancestors, our grandparents, and the people we see everyday.

I was worshipping in service the other day when i asked God what was really worship. There are so many books and definitions of what worship is. But i got this very simple answer. Son, if you only believe in Me, I take it as worship. And then i realise how real God is. Sometimes we lose sight and reality of how real Jesus really is. I felt like the crucifixion He suffered on the cross was as real as jus yesterday.

Think about it. If one came to realise how real Jesus really is, then everything in the Bible comes to life. It comes to reality. Truths like He so loved us that He died on the cross. Things like His sacrifice was a one time sacrifice for all sins. That He loves mercy. That He wants to bless us super abudantly beyond all we can ask or think, to the thousandth fold, and that His heart is for us. And what about the truths that through the works of the cross, where the Son of God died for you and me, we have been reconciliated with our God in heaven through the acceptance of Jesus as our Saviour. Where accepting Him as saviour in the most basic meaning actually is jus saying that we believe that His sacrifice on the cross was for us and that we are willing to receive this free gift. If the world would hear and see.

Lord Jesus, You are as real to me right now as the things i touch, taste, smell, feel and see everyday. You said that the things that are not seen are eternal whilst the things that are seen are temporal. You said that i am a spirit being and that the Holy Spirit lives in me and has given me a new heart. Lord as i believe unto Your Reality more and more everyday, so too i believe Your Hand and blessings over my life will become manifested more and more everyday. Until people around me will look at my life and say.. Indeed you have been with Jesus. Your God is good.