Background
My article, The Case for Christ, was condensed from my original research for readability, but the additional information is important. Therefore, I created several pieces so that I could share the extra content with readers. This is one of those articles. Click the link above to see the original post on The Case for Christ.
Note: The following information fills out the content from the various sections in the original paper to give a more complete case. I have not repeated the content, except in limited amounts, unless it was necessary for understanding.
Introduction
This paper will continue our look at some of the evidence that Jesus is the Savior of mankind, the Messiah. Our investigation will consider the ancient Biblical documents written about the life of Jesus, and the external, non-biblical evidence of His life.
The External Consistency Test looks to literature or other data outside of the document being studied, that confirms the accuracy of the inner testimony of the document. My original paper reported on the writings of Josephus and Tacitus. Here, we will look at three more reluctant witnesses.
Reluctant Witnesses1
Several non-biblical writers (even hostile to Christianity) fall into the category of what can be called ‘reluctant witnesses.’ This is someone who is giving evidence without really meaning to, and therefore is reluctant. For example, while writing about history, they mention certain people and events that corroborate the Biblical accounts even though they may deny that Jesus is who he claimed to be. Several such writers are listed below.
Thallus (CA. AD 5-60)
Thallus is a Samaritan historian who wrote a three volume account in the middle of the first century. Even though much of his work is now lost, he was quoted by another historian writing in AD 221 named Sextus Julius Africanus. Thallus is describing an unusual solar event that occurred right at the time of the death of Jesus, which Africanus then describes:
“On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.”
“Thallus ‘reluctantly admitted’ important details that corroborated portions of the Gospels. Even though Thallus denied that the darkness at the point of the crucifixion was caused supernaturally, he inadvertently corroborated the claim that Jesus was indeed crucified and that darkness covered the land when He died on the cross.”
Mara Bar-Serapion (AD 70-Unknown)
A Syrian philosopher who compares Jesus with several others who were also persecuted for their ideas in an effort to encourage his son:
“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.”
“At the very least, we can conclude that Jesus was a wise and influential man who died for His beliefs. We can also conclude that the Jews played a role in Jesus’s death and that Jesus’s followers adopted and lived lives that reflected Jesus’s beliefs.”
Phlegon (AD 80-140)
Phlegon wrote an historical account near the end of his life. Africanus (mentioned earlier), quoted him in a similar way that he referenced Thallus’ work:
“Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth hour to the ninth.”
The early church theologian, Origen, also cited Phlegon:
“Now Phlegon, in the thirteenth or fourteenth book, I think, of his Chronicles, not only ascribed to Jesus a knowledge of future events (although falling into confusion about some things which refer to Peter, as if they referred to Jesus), but also testified that the result corresponded to his predictions. So that he also, by these very admissions regarding foreknowledge, as if against his will, expressed his opinion that the doctrines taught by the fathers of our system were not devoid of divine power.
“And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place, Phlegon too, I think, has written in the thirteenth or fourteenth book of his Chronicles.
“He imagines also that both the earthquake and the darkness were an invention; but regarding these, we have in the preceding pages made our defence [sic], according to our ability, adducing the testimony of Phlegon, who relates that these events took place at the time when our Saviour suffered.”
“Although Phlegon was not a follower of Jesus and denied many of the claims of the gospel writers, his statements did reluctantly admit that Jesus had the ability to accurately predict the future and was crucified under the reign of Tiberius Caesar.”
Picture of Jesus
These late first and early second century “reluctant” non-biblical writers add to our information about Jesus. This data, along with the information from Josephus and Tacitus in my original paper, The Case for Christ, allows us to construct a modest picture of the Messiah:
- Lived in Judea
- A virtuous man
- Had wondrous power
- Could predict the future
- Was ‘wise king’ of the Jews
- Accused by Jewish leaders
- Crucified by Pilate
- During the reign of Tiberius
- Darkness and earthquake
- Reportedly rose after death
- Believed to be the Messiah
- Called the Christ
- Followers called Christians
- A ‘superstition’ spread
Conclusion
These non-biblical sources provide additional support for the historical person of Jesus and confirms the gospel writer’s accounts of Him. It is clear that even non-Christians of that era knew who Jesus was, His character, and the miraculous powers attributed to Him.
1 J. Warner Wallace, Cold-Case Christianity (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013), Summarized and quoted, pgs 195-201. Italics in the original.