There are many critics out there who will not accept the testimony of scripture, saying that this is tainted evidence. So, let’s look at some ancient sources, some even from those that were against Christianity and the person of Jesus.
- A passage in the Babylonian Talmud, a Jewish book of commentary on the Scriptures, contains references to “Yeshu, the Nazarene.” Writings dated to the 2nd century confirm that He was hanged “on the eve of the Sabbath,” at the time of Passover. The passage also mentions Joseph of Arimathaea, who buried Jesus in his own tomb, and refers to the fact that He was accused of sorcery. This latter reference confirms the reaction of the Pharisees to his casting out of a demon that was described in Matthew 12.
- Other Talmudic passages speak about Jesus’ disciples, identifying at least Thaddeus and Matthew and also speak about the powers of one Jacob who was said to have healed “in the name of Yeshu.” This is all evidence that his contemporaries never questioned the fact that Jesus was a performer of miracles. Instead opponents tried to attack him on the grounds that his power was derived from the devil. The public nature of his ministry meant that he could not be so easily dismissed.
- Flavius Josephus, a priest, Pharisee and generally trusted historian writing in the 1st century AD. Some of Josephus‟ writings include references to James the brother of Jesus and John the Baptist, whom he described as “a good man.” He is also known to have authored a passage specifically about Jesus, found in his work called ‘Antiquities of the Jews’. Though long controversial, experts now agree that the majority of the passage comes from the pen of the historian. In the uncontested version he refers to Jesus as “…a wise man …For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly.” He goes on to talk about his death at the hands of Pilate and the fact that his followers believed him risen from the dead. Additional confirmation exists.
- Roman historians Tacitus and Lucian both testified to the execution of Christ under Pilate, Lucian adding that He was considered a lawgiver and worshipped as God.
- Caius Suetonius suggests that Christians were known to be able to perform healings and miracles.
- Matthew 27:45 records that “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.” This is confirmed by several sources.
- Pagan historian Phlegon of Lydia, writing early in the first century refers to a “great and extraordinary” solar eclipse, dating it according to the Olympic year. He writes, “At the sixth hour the day was turned into dark night, so that the stars in heaven were seen, and there was an earthquake in Bithynia which overthrew many houses in the city of Nice.”
- Tertullian found evidence of this in the Roman archives of his day.
- The Greek historian Thallus also wrote of that supernatural event, a most fearful darkness accompanied by earthquakes.
- Julius Africanus wrote that this was no eclipse of the sun. An eclipse is a predictable event. Working backwards from that time he points out that an eclipse is impossible when there is a full moon. This was evidence then that this unusual darkness not only occurred, but also was not due to an eclipse of the sun but was rather an unnatural event.
In examining the rabbinic writings, we find that the common beliefs included not only the fact that the Messiah was expected to appear at that time but that He was to be no ordinary man. They believed that He had existed since before the creation. The commentaries on Isaiah and Micah give evidence that it was commonly held that the existence of the Messiah was eternal. The text of Micah 5:2, describes a Messiah “who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” These writings also anticipated his cruel and violent death, the re-establishment of Israel, and redemptive nature of his ministry. Commentaries reveal that they believed that the Messiah would forgive sins because of his position as the “Righteous One.” Their beliefs were based on ancient Scriptural prophecy and the commentaries on those prophecies.
Both the Midrash and the Talmud itself reveal that the Messiah was expected to be the full Son of God. Confirmation of this is found in Psalm 2:7. In the King James Version we read, “Thou art my Son; this day I have begotten thee.”
In fact, predictions of the Messiah were so prevalent that it was the non-Jewish Magi, possibly originating from a class of Zoroastrian priests, who relied on the prophecy of Micah 5:2 to inform the unschooled Herod that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. They too expected his imminent arrival to redeem Israel. Much of this speculation was based on the very precise prediction found in Daniel 9:24. The Rabbis of that era were aware that no matter how one interpreted the 70 weeks of Daniel, the arrival of the Savior should occur sometime in the first decades of the first century. This belief was confirmed by the teachings of the Essene community that gave us the Dead Sea Scrolls. They firmly believed that Daniel’s prophecy would be fulfilled during their lifetimes.
After the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD all that changed. Written after that time, the Babylonian Talmud acknowledged the prophecies of Daniel had predicted the coming of the Messiah, but that the time had already passed. Moses Maimonides, working twelve centuries later, recognized this too. Almost cryptically he refers to the censoring of that teaching by the Jewish religious leaders. He tells us they “…have barred the calculation of the days of Messiah’s coming so that the untutored populace will not be led astray.” [They of course, were protecting the masses against the ‘Christian Heresy.’] Grant Jeffrey, writing again in Jesus the Great Debate, cites some of the censored Jewish material. The writings confirm the basic account of Christ’s trial and death. Significantly the passage also acknowledges him as a legitimate king of Israel in the line of David and most notably that He was referred to in the prophecies of Daniel.
There is little doubt that the Messiah was expected at just the time Jesus came on the scene. Events surrounding an obscure passage in Genesis accentuated the anticipation. Genesis 49:10 reads, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes.” It must be understood that ‘Shiloh,’ by general Rabbinical concurrence refers to the Messiah. So what this is saying is that the power to rule, especially the power over life and death, would be secure in Judah until the coming of the Messiah. Throughout all the centuries of Jewish captivity this power had never been removed. Interestingly however the Romans had recently taken this authority. This happened on the occasion of the dethroning of Archelus, the king of the Jews in AD 14. This would have been the same year that Jesus came up to the temple for his Bar Mitzvah at the age of twelve. In his commentary Rabbi Rachmon describes the consternation of the assembly when this power was removed. They were mourning the fact that “…the scepter has departed from Judah and the Messiah has not come.”[i] So many of the expectations of the Jews regarding the imminent arrival of their Savior were based on the remarkable Book of Daniel.[ii] [iii]
[i] Jameel, Until Shiloh Comes, from The Timing of Messiah’s First Coming, The Stillwater Trust, monitored September 2002
[ii] Grant Jeffrey, The Great Debate, Frontier Research, 1999, pg 193-213
[iii] Dr Mark Eastman, Daniel’s Prophecy Came True When Yeshua Entered Jerusalem, Messianic Times, April 1996
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