Jesus as a Personage in History

Jesus as a Personage in History SOMETIMES the question is asked whether there is any- historical evidence, outside the books of the New Testament, relating to the life and activity of Jesus on this earth. Such a ques- tion might seem superfluous, but the fact is that some, who consider themselves scientifically competent, have actually denied the reality of the life of our Lord in Palestine, and asserted that the biographies of the evangelists are myths. In a close examination of this question it is important to remem- ber that the kingdom of Judah, at the time of the Savior, was of minor importance in the political geography of the world. Riots and executions were numerous, and the appearance on the scene of the son of a carpenter from a village in far off Galilee, and his tragic fate, did not attract general attention at first. Judea was so insignificant immediately after the Babylonian dispersion that Greek historians hardly ever heard of it. The Mac- cabees tried to restore it to its former importance, but what they had gained was almost entirely lost during the Roman iron rule. We cannot expect many historical ref- erences to Jesus in works from this time, except those penned by his own followers. HP HERE are, however, some. -■ Thus, in the Talmud, there are more or less mythical stories concerning Ben Stada, Ben Pan- dera, Pappus Ben Jehuda, Miriam M'Gadd'la, Neshaya, and Yeshu, which are by some supposed to re- fer to Jesus of Nazareth and some of his contemporaries. The stories may be distorted, but even so, thev prove that there is an historical basis. There is also a book Toledoth Yeshu (Biography of Jesus'! which possibly was circulated among the Jews as early as the fifth century of our era, and which un- doubtedly contains some items from an earlier day, but the nar- rative is so distorted that it is worthless for historical purposes. By ELDER J. M. SJODAHL JOSEPHUS is a better witness. Some have supposed that what little he says of Jesus is interpo- lated by early Christians, but that view is no longer generally accept- ed by scientific criticism. Dr. Jo- seph Klausner, a Jewish scholar, in his history of "Jesus of Nazareth," says on this question: "There are not sufficient grounds for supposing the whole to be spurious. Jo- sephus treats of the life and death of John the Baptist at fair length, and what he says does not at all correspond with the gospel account, and there is no reason, therefore, to suspect Christian copyists of interpolating this section as well, as does Graetz. According even to Shurer, 'the genuineness of this passage is only rarely open to suspicion. It is remarkable that Josephus tries his hardest to conceal from his readers that John preached the coming of the Messiah (for reasons which we have mentioned) : in order to make the episode comprehensible to Greek readers he des- cribes John the Baptist as 'a good man who commanded the Jews to exercise vir- tue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so come to baptism.' Even the three Jewish parties, the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the Essenes, Josephus explains in terms of philosophic schools, all with a view of making himself understood by his Gentile readers. "And he did precisely the same with Jesus: he described him as 'a wise man' just as he described John the Baptist as 'a good man;' he described Jesus as 'a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure,' just as he described John the Baptist as one who 'called upon the Jews to exercise virtue, etc.,' and he described Jesus as 'a doer of wonderful works' (for Josephus himself was a firm believer in miracles) . He could say of Jesus that 'he drew after him many Jews and also Greeks,' because the church contained many Greeks at the time of writing, 93 C. E., and ancient historians had the habit of judging earlier conditions from later times. It was also Josephus who wrote that 'they who loved him at the first did not cease to do so even after Pilate had condemned him to crucifixion at the suggestion of the prin- cipal men among us,' and that the 'race' (or tribe) of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day.' ' rF HE quotation from Josephus is •• as follows: "Now there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man [if it be lawful to call him a man.] For he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. [He was the Messiah] ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the prin- cipal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first ceased not, [for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thou- sand other wonderful things concerning him] ; and the race of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct even now." HTHE words within brackets are universally admitted to be in- terpolations, but the other words are now ascribed to Josephus, and form a powerful testimony for the historical character of Jesus, our Lord. In another connection, Josephus tells how Annas, the son of Annas, the high priest, brought before the Sanhedrin one by the name of James, "the brother of Jesus who was called the Messiah," and oth- ers whom he regards as law-break- ers. This, however, cost the high priest his office. According to Jo- sephus, he was deposed by Agrippa II, and another was appointed in his stead. 1 1 i A MONG other witnesses for the ■**■ historical existence of Jesus is Suetonius, the Roman. He relates that the Jews were expelled from Rome on account of a tumult con- cerning one "Chrestus." This is supposed to have happened in the year 49 A. D.