The Annals, XV: 44
Excerpt taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus_on_Christ
If the only references to the trial of Jesus came from Christian sources, there might be reason to wonder if such a trial ever took place--or indeed, even if Jesus ever existed. Fortunately, there are a few important surviving references to the trial of Jesus in non-Christian writings. One comes from Publius Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman historian who was hostile to the Christian movement. Other references can be found in the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian, the Talmud, and Mara bar Serapion, a Syrian prisoner. Each of these references confirms three central facts: that there was a leader of a movement called Jesus (or Christ), that Jesus was executed, and that the movement that Jesus was part of survived his death. Jesus, however, is variously portrayed in these writings as a troublemaker (Tacitus), a teacher (Josephus), a sorcerer or magician (Talmud), and a wise king (Serapion). |
| Tacitus was a member of the Roman consular nobility committed to the senatorial ideals of the Roman republic. He detested both Christians and Jews.Tacitus wrote of the fire that consumed much of Rome in 64 C.E. during the reign of Nero and the chaos which followed the fire. Then Tacitus reported that Nero fixed blame for the disaster on Christians: |
| 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 Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, and 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 by 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 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 it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed. |
| Josephus was an
aristocratic Jewish historian. The Sanhedrin placed Josephus in command
of Galilee during the uprising against the Romans. He later settled in
Rome following Nero's persecution of the Christians. The major purpose
of his writings seems to have been to commend Judaism to Romans. A
pharisee of priestly descent, Josephus wrote critically of the Zealots,
who he blamed for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Christian
scribes edited the writings of Josephus, probably adding references
that surfaced in some versions to the performance of miracles by Jesus
and to the ascension of Jesus three days after his death. Historians
reconstructing the account of Josephus generally omit those references
as interpolated. Josephus makes two references to Jesus. In one reference, he refers to the stoning to death of James in 62 C.E., calling James "the brother of Jesus who is called Christ." The other, more significant reference to Jesus follows: |
| About the same time there lived Jesus, a wise man for he was a performer of marvelous feats and a teacher of such men who received the truth with pleasure. He attracted many Jews and many Greeks. He was the Christ. When Pilate sentenced him to die on the cross, having been urged to do so by the noblest of our citizens; but those who loved him at the first did not give up their affection for him. And the tribe of the Christians, who are named after him, have not disappeared to this day. |
| The Talmud is the central text of mainstream Judaism. It is a compilation of rabbinical teachings compiled over a period of about three hundred years, from roughly 200 C.E. to 500 C.E. The Talmud contains several possible references to Jesus, but the one passage that most clearly describes the events surrounding his death is the one that follows. The passage suggests that Jesus (Yeshu) was a person of some influence and a magician of sorts. The passage suggests that he enticed people to apostasy, which under Jewish law was a crime punishable by stoning. The Talmud suggests no role for Roman authorities in the execution of Jesus. |
| On the eve of the Passover Yeshu (Jesus) 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 practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Anyone who can say anything in his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf." But since nothing was brought forward in his favor he was hanged on the eve of the Passover!-- Ulla retorted, "Do you suppose that he one for whom a defense could be made? Was he not a mesith [enticer], concerning whom Scripture says, Neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him? With Yeshu, however, it was different, for he was connected with royalty [or well-connected]." |
| Mara bar Serapion was a Syrian prisoner to wrote a letter to his son in 73 C.E. or later that has survived. The letter exhorts his son to seek wisdom. |
| What advantage did the Athenians gain from putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea; the Jews, ruined and driven from their land, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates did not die for good; he lived on in the teaching of Plato. Pythagoras did not die for good; he lived on in the statue of Hera. Nor did the wise king die for good; he lived on in the teaching which he had given. |
Pliny the Younger
Another
important source of evidence about Jesus and early Christianity can be
found in the letters of Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan. Pliny was
the Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor. In one of his letters,
dated around A.D. 112, he asks Trajan's advice about the appropriate way
to conduct legal proceedings against those accused of being
Christians.{8} Pliny says that he needed to consult the emperor about
this issue because a great multitude of every age, class, and sex stood
accused of Christianity.{9}
At one point in his letter, Pliny relates some of the information he has learned about these Christians:
They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.{10}
This
passage provides us with a number of interesting insights into the
beliefs and practices of early Christians. First, we see that Christians
regularly met on a certain fixed day for worship. Second, their worship
was directed to Christ, demonstrating that they firmly believed in His
divinity. Furthermore, one scholar interprets Pliny's statement that
hymns were sung to Christ, as to a god, as a reference to the
rather distinctive fact that, "unlike other gods who were worshipped,
Christ was a person who had lived on earth."{11} If this interpretation
is correct, Pliny understood that Christians were worshipping an actual
historical person as God! Of course, this agrees perfectly with the New
Testament doctrine that Jesus was both God and man.
Not only does Pliny's letter help us understand what early Christians believed about Jesus' person, it also reveals the high esteem to which they held His teachings. For instance, Pliny notes that Christians bound themselves by a solemn oath not
to violate various moral standards, which find their source in the
ethical teachings of Jesus. In addition, Pliny's reference to the
Christian custom of sharing a common meal likely alludes to their
observance of communion and the "love feast."{12} This interpretation
helps explain the Christian claim that the meal was merely food of an ordinary and innocent kind.
They were attempting to counter the charge, sometimes made by
non-Christians, of practicing "ritual cannibalism."{13} The Christians
of that day humbly repudiated such slanderous attacks on Jesus'
teachings. We must sometimes do the same today.
8. Pliny, Epistles x. 96, cited in Bruce, Christian Origins, 25; Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 198.
9. Ibid., 27.
10.
Pliny, Letters, transl. by William Melmoth, rev. by W.M.L. Hutchinson
(Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1935), vol. II, X:96, cited in
Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 199.
11. M. Harris, "References to Jesus in Early Classical Authors," in Gospel Perspectives V, 354-55, cited in E. Yamauchi, "Jesus Outside the New Testament: What is the Evidence?", in Jesus Under Fire, ed. by Michael J. Wilkins and J.P. Moreland (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), p. 227, note 66.
12. Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 199.
13. Bruce, Christian Origins, 28.
Lucian
Lucian of Samosata was a second century Greek satirist. In one of his works, he wrote of the early Christians as follows:
The Christians . . . worship a man to this day--the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. . . . [It] was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws.{27}
Although
Lucian is jesting here at the early Christians, he does make some
significant comments about their founder. For instance, he says the
Christians worshipped a man, "who introduced their novel rites." And though this man's followers
clearly thought quite highly of Him, He so angered many of His
contemporaries with His teaching that He "was crucified on that
account."
Although
Lucian does not mention his name, he is clearly referring to Jesus. But
what did Jesus teach to arouse such wrath? According to Lucian, he
taught that all men are brothers from the moment of their conversion.
That's harmless enough. But what did this conversion involve? It
involved denying the Greek gods, worshipping Jesus, and living according
to His teachings. It's not too difficult to imagine someone being killed for teaching that.
Though Lucian doesn't say so explicitly, the Christian denial of other
gods combined with their worship of Jesus implies the belief that Jesus
was more than human. Since they denied other gods in order to worship
Him, they apparently thought Jesus a greater God than any that Greece
had to offer!
Let's
summarize what we've learned about Jesus from this examination of
ancient non-Christian sources. First, both Josephus and Lucian indicate
that Jesus was regarded as wise. Second, Pliny, the Talmud, and Lucian
imply He was a powerful and revered teacher. Third, both Josephus and
the Talmud indicate He performed miraculous feats. Fourth, Tacitus,
Josephus, the Talmud, and Lucian all mention that He was crucified.
Tacitus and Josephus say this occurred under Pontius Pilate. And the
Talmud declares it happened on the eve of Passover. Fifth, there are
possible references to the Christian belief in Jesus' resurrection in
both Tacitus and Josephus. Sixth, Josephus records that Jesus' followers
believed He was the Christ, or Messiah. And finally, both Pliny and
Lucian indicate that Christians worshipped Jesus as God!
I hope you see how this small selection of ancient non-Christian sources helps corroborate our knowledge of Jesus from the gospels. Of course, there are many ancient Christian sources
of information about Jesus as well. But since the historical
reliability of the canonical gospels is so well established, I invite
you to read those for an authoritative "life of Jesus!"
27. Lucian, The Death of Peregrine,
11-13, in The Works of Lucian of Samosata, transl. by H.W. Fowler and
F.G. Fowler, 4 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1949), vol. 4., cited in
Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 206.
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