This
story with Christian evidence unnoted by many historians came to my attention
from my son who had purchased “The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus”. Flavius
Josephus [FLAW vee us Joe SEEF us] was a Jew who was born 4 years after
Jesus’s death and went on to become a prolific writer of firsthand accounts of
the revolt of the Jews in the 60s AD as well as much we know about Jewish
culture. His mother was royal, Hasmonean, related to Herod the Great. His
father, Mattias, was a priest and so Josephus Ben-Mattias became one too. His life was roughly 33 years of training for
the priesthood followed by captivity and then citizenship and return to status
when he wrote his histories. Compared to other ancient “historians” he is a
rarity,quite factual. Others, in service
to kings wrote propaganda. But Josephus
wrote to defend Judaism and Jews and this colors his text. Yet he was looked upon as a sell-out by Jews
of his day. He studied Sadducees and
Essenes but decided to become a Pharisee, like the apostle Paul. Banus, an
Essene was his close friend.
After a revolt in 64 AD, Josephus
went to Rome to plead for release of 3 priests, sent there for trial by
Proconsul of Palestine Felix. That was
the year of the burning of Rome. Emperor
Nero’s wife, Poppaea, was a God-fearer (Gentile who admired Judaism). So while Jews and especially Christians were
being persecuted, the priests were released. Josephus realized that Rome was
undefeatable and the Romans realized he was good at diplomacy. But upon returning to Jerusalem, he was
persuaded to side with another revolt.
The following year his forces were defeated by Vespasian. He was captured in a cave and certain to be
executed. But he had a dream that
Vespasian was to be emperor and told his captor about it. Vespasian decided to keep Josephus as a slave
and interpreter, growing fond of his attempts to quiet the Jews. In 69 AD, Nero was voted out of the
Consulship by the Senate and he committed suicide, thus ending the Julian line
of emperors without heir. Vespasian returned
to Rome and became emperor just as Josephus had predicted. He left behind his son Titus to quash
rebellion, and Josephus with him, who tried to convince Jerusalem not to
resist. It didn’t work. Jerusalem was
totally destroyed by the Romans. Half of Palestine’s 2 million people were
killed. Vespasian granted Josephus citizenship and Titus gave him a land grant,
but he retired to Rome to write as he was viewed as an egotistic opportunist
traitor by the Jews. He adopted Flavius,
the Vespasian family name and died in 103 AD.
Josephus became a highly educated
writer who wrote about the Hasmonean dynasty that ended with the Herods, the
Jewish rebellion and life after the Temple.
Very briefly he mentioned another. “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[self] both many of the
Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was
[the] Christ; and when Pilate at the suggestion of the principle men among us,
had condemned him to the cross on [Roman date of April 3, 33AD]. Those that loved him at first did not forsake
him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets
had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and
the tribe of Christians, so named for him are not extinct at this day.” (Antiquities,ch.3,
vs. 3)
The truthful Josephus, unlike fellow
Pharisees, admired Jesus, acknowledged him to be the Christ, but without
understanding the implication of that, was not a Christian himself. He considered Christians as another Jewish
sect, not bringing up the animosity for Christians that arose after 70 AD among
both Romans and Jews.
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