Outside Witnesses

What’s In Your Bible: Outside Witnesses.

Is Jesus documented outside of the Bible?

Here are a few extra Biblical references to the existence of Jesus.

Tacitus was a praetor under Domitian.

His writings called The Annals provide an early account of the persecution of Christians and one of the earliest extra-Biblical references to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Pliny the Younger refers to Jesus.

Lucian explicitly stated “Christ having been crucified.”

Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus said “At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His conduct was good, and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.

Seutonius and Eusebius also refer to Christ.

NERO persecuted followers of Christ. (Nero died only 38 years after Christ was crucified. That would have been 1987 in "Today" years.

Even if we did not have the New Testament books, and simply relied on non-biblical sources like I just cited, we would know the following about Jesus:

• He was born of a virgin and his father a carpenter

• He was a teacher, and his disciples passed on his teachings to others

• He prophesied and performed miracles

• He was known for his wisdom and his virtuous life

• He claimed to be God

• He was crucified by Pontius Pilate

• An earthquake and darkness accompanied his death.

• His followers said he’d risen from the unalived, appeared and showed them the wounds in his hands

• They worshiped him as God

• Belief in Jesus caused disturbances with the Jews, which lead to Claudius’ decree for the Jews to leave Rome

The existence of Jesus has been firmly established in non-biblical historical texts. He's one of the best documented and attested historical figures from the 1st century.

A special thanks to the Biblical Archeology Report for their research.

Dr. Steven A. Hite