Let God Help

1. Flavius Josephus (c. 93–94 AD) Jewish-Roman historian who mentions Jesus twice in his work Antiquities of the Jews: The Testimonium Flavianum: A famous passage describing Jesus as a "wise man" and "doer of startling deeds." While many scholars believe later Christian scribes added some devotional language, most agree a core authentic reference to Jesus exists here. Josephus also records the execution of "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James." This second reference is almost universally accepted as authentic.

 

2. Cornelius Tacitus (c. 116 AD) Widely considered the greatest Roman historian, Tacitus recorded the Great Fire of Rome in his Annals. He mentions that Emperor Nero blamed the "Christians," a group whose name derived from "Christus," who "suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus."

 

3. Pliny the Younger (c. 112 AD) As a Roman governor in Bithynia (modern-day Turkey), Pliny wrote a letter to Emperor Trajan asking how to handle the growing number of Christians. He noted that they met on a fixed day to "sing in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god," providing evidence of the group's early rituals and their devotion to a historical figure.

 

4. Gaius Suetonius (c. 120 AD) In his work The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, the Roman historian Suetonius mentions that Emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome because they were "constantly making disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus" (widely believed to be a misspelling of Christus).

 

5. Thallus (c. 52 AD) Though his original works are lost, the early 3rd-century historian Julius Africanus quotes Thallus’s history of the Mediterranean. Thallus reportedly tried to explain away the darkness that occurred during Jesus’s crucifixion as a solar eclipse, providing an early—albeit skeptical—account of the events surrounding Jesus' death.

 

6. Mara Bar-Serapion (c. 73 AD) A Syrian Stoic philosopher who wrote a letter to his son from prison. He refers to the execution of the "wise King" of the Jews, comparing his death to that of Socrates and Pythagoras. He notes that the Jews "gained nothing" from the execution and that the "wise King" lived on through his teachings.

 

7. Lucian of Samosata (c. 165 AD) A Greek satirist who mocked Christians in his work The Death of Peregrine. Despite his hostility, he confirms that Christians worshiped a "distinguished personage" who "was crucified in Palestine" because he introduced a new cult to the world.

 

8. The Babylonian Talmud (c. 70–500 AD) This collection of Jewish rabbinic writings contains several passages referring to "Yeshu." One notable entry (Sanhedrin 43a) mentions that "Yeshu was hanged" on the eve of Passover for practicing sorcery and enticing Israel to apostasy, corroborating the timing and nature of the execution from a hostile perspective.

 

9. Celsus (c. 175 AD) A Greek philosopher and fierce opponent of Christianity. His work The True Word survives through the writings of Origen, who quoted Celsus extensively to refute him. Celsus acknowledged Jesus' existence and his reputation for performing miracles, though he claimed Jesus learned "sorcery" in Egypt.

 

10. Phlegon of Tralles (c. 140 AD) Another historian whose work is preserved in fragments by later writers like Origen and Julius Africanus. Phlegon mentions a great eclipse and earthquake that occurred during the reign of Tiberius Caesar, which early writers cited as a secular confirmation of the atmospheric events described during the crucifixion.

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