What did contemporary historians out side of gospel writers say about Jesus??

Answer 1

nothing

Answer 2

Tacitus, a Roman historian, wrote in his Annals (109): ‘... 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 Judaea, 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'.
Suetonius, another Roman historian (A.D. 75-160) wrote about a man called Christ (Chrestus) who was considered to be a Roman rebel active in the days of Claudius.
The Jewish first century historian Josephus Flavius has two passages (18.3.3 & 20.9 of Antiquities Of The Jews) which mention Jesus Christ.

Answer 3

Josephus wrote in Antiquities 18.3.3, "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 corss, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again on the third day, as the divin prophets had fortold these and then thousand other wonderful things concerning him, and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day."

This was an historical account by Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian and Pharisee, whose writings were from a period when the contemporaries of Jesus' time on earth were still alive.

Answer 4

My History professor has researched the life of Christ and any and all references to Him outside the Bible and he says that if anything, there's more writings in which Christ is directly spoken of before and after His crucifixion by people who directly witnessed the event. He was telling us of a letter found in a clay jar written by a man who was journeying through Jerusalem the day Christ was nailed to the cross and which wrote of a "...massive tumult among the Jews over a man named Jesus, a man whom the leaders say was not a mere man." He says this letter is in a museum archive in Rome, and that gets moved around quite a bit. Draw your own conclusion(s).

Answer 5

Not too much. A first century historian named Josephus acknowledges his existence and that he started the sect that came to be called "Christians" several decades later. Josephus acknowledges Jesus younger brothers and sisters that Mary and Joseph had following Jesus, even telling us the fate, er.. execution, of his brother James.

- Bob

Answer 6

1) Josephus, a Jewish historian who was a contemporary of Jesus wrote shortly after his resurrection:
"About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared."

Josephus would also record information about John the Baptist, who he acknowledged as the cousin of "Jesus, the so called Christ", and of the death of James the Just, the brother of Jesus and first leader of the Jerusalem church. "He convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin and brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned."


2) In A.D. 115, Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of the first century, wrote as follows:
" 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 Tiberias at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome ... 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"


3) Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, wrote as follows to the Emporer Trajan around 111 A.D.

"I have asked them if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution; for whatever the nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubborness and unshakable obstinacy ought not to go unpunished...


4) The Talmud is a collection of writings very important in Judaism written in 70 AD. Many of authors were people who had witnessed the life of Jesus. It mentions Jesus, but not favorably. According to the Talmud, Jesus was a false Messiah, who practiced magic and deceived the people. He was called a sorcerer. This corroborates the accounts of the gospels that Jesus did many supernatural signs and wonders - like healing the sick, feeding the five thousand with a few loaves and fishes and so on. Had Jesus never existed, why would his opponents have recorded information about his life?


5) There are other extra-Biblical sources as well. One is an early second century playwright Lucian who derides a follower of Christ in one of his plays and cites Christian belief about the crucifixion. If Lucian was himself convinced that the entire faith was founded on someone who wasn’t even real, he certainly would have cited that somewhere as it would have made his satire all the more powerful. Another reference point is a first century Hellenistic historian Thallus who alludes to the darkness that followed the crucifixion. Another reference to Christ comes from Suetonius who makes reference to Jews who were expelled from Rome on account of the "instigation of Chrestus." Chrestus was a common misspelling of Christ.