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Course 7 · Lesson 2.1

Sources for Jesus: Christian, Jewish and Roman

11 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 7 outline

Module 1: The World of the New Testament

  1. Second Temple Judaism in the time of Jesus
  2. Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and other movements
  3. Rome, the Herods and the province of Judea
  4. Hopes, protest and revolt in Jewish political life

Module 2: Jesus in History

  1. Sources for Jesus: Christian, Jewish and Roman
  2. The quests for the historical Jesus and their methods
  3. Criteria of authenticity and their limits
  4. Historical results and Christian confession

Module 3: The Gospels as Books

  1. The gospels and ancient biography
  2. Traditions of authorship and the arguments about them
  3. The synoptic problem: the evidence of agreement and difference
  4. Solutions: Markan priority, Q, Matthean priority and others
  5. Four portraits of Jesus: the distinct emphasis of each gospel

Module 4: Acts and the Spread of the Church

  1. Pentecost and the Jerusalem church
  2. The mission to the Gentiles and the council at Jerusalem
  3. Paul in Acts and in his own letters
  4. Acts as history and as theology

Module 5: Pauline Theology

  1. Paul and his letters: occasion, authorship and order
  2. Gospel, faith and righteousness in Romans and Galatians
  3. Christ, the Spirit and the body of Christ
  4. Reading Paul: traditional, new perspective and other approaches

Module 6: Johannine Theology

  1. The Gospel, the three letters and Revelation: authorship questions
  2. Word, light, life and love in the Gospel of John
  3. The signs and the I am sayings
  4. The Spirit, the community and the Johannine letters

Module 7: Hope, Authority and Church Order

  1. The kingdom of God and last things in Jesus and the apostles
  2. Ways of reading New Testament eschatology
  3. What an apostle was and how apostolic authority worked
  4. Offices and order in the first churches
  5. How Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches read the evidence

Module 8: The Testaments Together

  1. Fulfilment and continuity: how the New Testament uses the Old
  2. Law and covenant across the Testaments
  3. Comparing Paul and John: a method
  4. Shared convictions and meaningful differences

All courses

Program / Course 7: New Testament Theology and History / Lesson 2.1

What you will learn

  • List the main ancient sources that mention Jesus and group them as Christian, Jewish and Roman.
  • Describe what each source says and what it can and cannot show.
  • Explain why historians treat the gospels as primary evidence and also read them critically.
  • Distinguish a source’s date, author, purpose and distance from the events.

The big idea

Historians learn about Jesus the way they learn about any ancient person: by collecting every source, asking who wrote it, when, why and how close to the events, and comparing them. The richest evidence is Christian: the gospels and Paul’s letters. A few Roman and Jewish writers mention Jesus briefly. These outside notices are short, but they agree with the Christian sources on the basics: Jesus lived in Judea, was called Christ, and was executed under Pontius Pilate.

Key terms

Primary source
A text from the period under study, written by someone close to the events or the people involved.
Secondary source
A later account or study that depends on primary sources, such as a modern biography.
Canonical gospels
The four gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Apocryphal gospels
Early Christian gospel-like writings not included in the New Testament, such as the Gospel of Thomas. Most were written in the second century or later.
Interpolation
A passage added to a text by a later hand, usually a copyist.
Testimonium Flavianum
The name for a short paragraph about Jesus in Josephus’ Antiquities, which most scholars think was partly reworked by Christian copyists.
Oral tradition
Teaching and stories passed on by speaking before, and alongside, being written down.

Background

The question of sources is the starting point for all historical work. A historian asks who wrote a text, how close the writer was to the events, what the purpose was, and whether others independently confirm the claims. A single source that stands alone is weaker than several independent ones that agree.

For Jesus, the situation is both better and worse than people expect. It is worse because Jesus left no writings and the Roman world took little notice of an obscure teacher in a distant province. It is better because for an ancient figure of his rank the number of early sources is considerable: Paul’s letters, written about twenty years after the crucifixion, and four gospels written within roughly the first seventy years. Ancient historians often depend on one or two sources written much later.

The sources do not all serve the same purpose. The Christian writers wrote to proclaim and teach. That does not make them useless for history, because every ancient historian had aims. It means that readers must ask how the writer’s faith shaped the account, and compare it to what others say.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Christian sources

Paul’s letters are the earliest Christian writings that survive, from the early 50s AD. Paul says little about Jesus’ life, but he reports that Jesus was born of a woman under the law (Galatians 4:4), was descended from David (Romans 1:3), had a brother named James (Galatians 1:19), gave teaching on divorce and on support for preachers (1 Corinthians 7:10 and 9:14), instituted the Lord’s Supper on the night he was betrayed (1 Corinthians 11:23 to 26), and was crucified and raised (1 Corinthians 15:3 to 8).

The four gospels are the main sources for Jesus’ deeds and sayings. Mark is usually dated to around 65 to 70 AD, Matthew and Luke to the 70s to 90s, and John to the 90s or somewhat earlier, though some scholars date them differently. Other New Testament writings, such as Acts, James and Hebrews, add a little. Outside the New Testament, writings such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter and other apocryphal gospels exist. Most scholars date them later than the four gospels and regard them as of less use for the life of Jesus. A minority argue that Thomas contains early sayings.

Step 2: Roman sources

The Roman historian Tacitus, writing about 116 AD, tells in his Annals of the fire of Rome under Nero. He says that the people called Christians took their name from Christ, who had been executed in Tiberius’ reign by the procurator Pontius Pilate. Tacitus is hostile to the movement, which adds weight to his statement.

Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, wrote to the emperor Trajan around 112 AD about how to treat Christians. He says they met before dawn and sang a hymn to Christ as to a god. This tells about early worship more than about Jesus himself. Suetonius, writing around 120 AD, says that Claudius expelled Jews from Rome because of disturbances at the instigation of ‘Chrestus.’ Scholars debate whether this refers to Christ, and the passage adds little.

Step 3: Jewish sources

The Jewish historian Josephus mentions Jesus twice in his Antiquities, written about 93 AD. In one passage he names James as ‘the brother of Jesus who was called Christ,’ who was stoned (Antiquities 20). Nearly all scholars accept this passage as authentic. In another, the Testimonium Flavianum (Antiquities 18), Josephus calls Jesus a wise man and a doer of surprising deeds, executed by Pilate. In its present Greek form it also says ‘he was the Christ’ and that he appeared alive on the third day. Most scholars think that a Jewish historian would not have written those lines, and conclude that Christian copyists enlarged an original shorter notice. Some regard the whole paragraph as added, and a few defend it as essentially authentic.

Rabbinic writings from centuries later, in the Talmud, contain a few references to a man called Yeshu who was hanged on the eve of Passover and accused of sorcery and of leading Israel astray. Historians generally judge these passages to be late and polemical responses to Christian claims, and not independent memories of the event.

Step 4: What the sources give

Put together, the sources establish a framework almost no historian doubts: Jesus was a Jew who lived in Galilee and Judea, was baptized by John, taught and had followers, was known as a healer or wonder worker to supporters and opponents alike, was crucified under Pilate, and was proclaimed as risen by followers who then spread his movement.

Where the sources give more detail, they come mostly from the gospels. This is why the next lessons turn to the methods historians use to weigh gospel material. The Christian conviction that Jesus is Lord and the historian’s tools do not always address the same questions, and the final lesson of this module discusses how they can stand together.

  1. What makes a source early, and why does early not always mean best?
  2. Why might a hostile source such as Tacitus carry special weight on a few points?
  3. What kinds of question can Paul’s letters answer about Jesus, and which can they not?
  4. How would a historian decide whether a passage in an old manuscript is an interpolation?
  5. Why might a rabbinic source written centuries later be a poor witness to events of the first century?
  6. How does knowing the purpose of a source change the way you read it?

Examples

Tacitus on Christ

A Roman senator who despised Christians states, as a matter of background, that their founder was put to death under Pilate. A writer who wished to flatter the movement would not have said this, since crucifixion was shameful. Scholars therefore treat the notice as good evidence of the crucifixion.

James in Josephus

Josephus mentions in passing the death of James, ‘the brother of Jesus who was called Christ.’ The phrase assumes that readers already know who Jesus was. It confirms that Jesus had a brother named James and that some called Jesus the Christ.

An early creed in Paul

In 1 Corinthians 15:3 to 5, Paul passes on what he ‘received’: that Christ died for sins, was buried, rose on the third day and appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Most scholars think Paul is quoting a formula from the earliest years of the church.

Different perspectives

Scholarly consensus

Nearly all historians, including many who are not Christian, accept that Jesus existed, was baptized by John and was crucified under Pilate. The claim that Jesus never lived is held by almost no specialists in ancient history or New Testament.

Catholic view

The Catholic Church teaches that the four gospels are historical in character, faithfully handing on what Jesus did and taught, and that the apostles and their circle preached from memory and with the light of the Spirit. The Church accepts historical-critical study of their composition.

Orthodox view

The Orthodox Church receives the gospels as the church’s own books, read in worship and within the tradition of the apostles. It values critical scholarship for what it shows about texts, without letting it displace the church’s reading of them.

Protestant view

Protestants hold the gospels to be reliable witness inspired by God. Conservative and evangelical scholars often stress eyewitness testimony and early dating. Others use more critical methods. Protestant churches differ on how far these methods apply.

Why it matters

A person who knows what the sources are, and how far each can be trusted, can enter discussions about Jesus without being misled by either confident dismissal or uncritical claims. The habit of asking who wrote a source, when and why is useful far beyond this course.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: There is no evidence for Jesus outside the Bible.

Correction: There is a small amount: Tacitus, Josephus and others. It is short and cannot replace the gospels, but it confirms the basic facts.

Misunderstanding: The gospels cannot be used as history because they are religious.

Correction: Historians use biased sources all the time, comparing and testing them. Faith commitment affects how the gospels are written but does not remove them from historical study.

Misunderstanding: The Gospel of Thomas and other apocryphal gospels were suppressed early writings as old as Mark.

Correction: Most scholars date them to the second century or later, and the early church did not accept them as apostolic. Scholars debate Thomas, but a late date is the majority view.

Misunderstanding: The Josephus passage proves that Jesus was the Christ.

Correction: Most scholars think that the clause saying so was added by Christians. The shorter text, as reconstructed, simply notes a wise teacher put to death by Pilate.

Knowledge check

What are the earliest Christian writings, and what do they say about Jesus?

Paul’s letters, from the 50s AD. They say Jesus was a Jew descended from David, had a brother James, taught on certain matters, instituted the Lord’s Supper, was crucified and was raised. They say little about his life and teaching in Galilee.

What do Tacitus and Josephus say about Jesus?

Tacitus says that Christ was executed under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. Josephus mentions Jesus as the brother of James and, in a disputed passage, as a wise teacher killed by Pilate. Both are brief and agree with the Christian outline.

Why do most scholars think the Testimonium Flavianum has been altered?

Because in its present form it says Jesus was the Christ and rose on the third day, which a Jewish writer who did not follow Jesus is unlikely to have said. Most conclude that an original brief notice was expanded by Christian copyists.

Why are late rabbinic references to Jesus of limited value?

They were written down centuries after the first century, in debates with Christians, and do not show independent memory of events. Historians therefore use them mostly to understand later Jewish responses.

What do historians generally accept about Jesus from the combined sources?

That he was a Jew from Galilee, baptized by John, who taught and healed, gathered followers, and was crucified under Pilate. Followers soon proclaimed him raised from the dead. Beyond this outline, scholars rely chiefly on the gospels and debate details.

Think it through

  1. Which kind of source would you trust most for the life of Jesus, and what are your reasons?
  2. What do you think of the argument that a hostile witness adds special weight?
  3. How does it feel to treat a sacred text with the tools used for any ancient document? What does it add, and what worries does it raise?
  4. Why do you think the outside sources say so little about Jesus?

Independent assignment

A source table

In your own notebook, write a table or list of 250 to 400 words with one row for each source in this lesson: Paul, the gospels, Tacitus, Pliny, Josephus and the Talmud. For each, note the approximate date, the author’s likely attitude to Jesus, and one thing it tells. Then write a paragraph on which two sources seem most valuable to a historian and why. Do not send this to anyone.

Further study