All posts tagged: Josephus

Ancient Jewish Historian Josephus Confirms the Existence of James, the Brother of Jesus – OpentheWord.org

Ancient Jewish Historian Josephus Confirms the Existence of James, the Brother of Jesus – OpentheWord.org

Published by Sam Flores

Martyrdom of James, the Lord’s Brother by Master of Winkler’s Epitaph, 1470, Wikipedia, Public Domain Josephus, an ancient Jewish historian who died in 100 AD, wrote several books on Jewish History. On two occasions, Josephus referred to Jesus Christ. We discussed the most extensive mention in a previous article. But his second mention is equally intriguing. In his book, Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus referred to Jesus in the context of the stoning of James, the Lord’s brother: Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was …

Was Josephus’ Description of Jesus, a Glowing Declaration or a Grudging Admission? – OpentheWord.org

Was Josephus’ Description of Jesus, a Glowing Declaration or a Grudging Admission? – OpentheWord.org

Published by Sam Flores

Jesus teaching on the Mountain by Sealino, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 One of the more compelling statements by ancient historians on the existence of Jesus was made by Josephus, a Jewish General and historian who died in 100 AD. In his book, Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus wrote: “And in this time, there was a certain Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man, for he was a doer of incredible deeds, a teacher of men who receive truisms with pleasure. And he brought over many from among the Jews and many from among the Greeks. He was [thought to be] the Christ. And, when Pilate had condemned him to the cross at the accusation of the first men among us, those who at first were devoted to him did not cease to be so, for on the third day it seemed to them that he was alive again given that the divine prophets had spoken such things and thousands of other wonderful things about him. And up till now, …

Comparing Luke’s and Josephus’ description of Herod Agrippa’s death – OpentheWord.org

Comparing Luke’s and Josephus’ description of Herod Agrippa’s death – OpentheWord.org

Published by Sam Flores

Etching of Angel striking down King Herod Agrippa as he addresses the crowd in Caesarea. Credit: Rijksmuseum, Wikipedia, Public Domain Luke starts off Acts 12 starts off with ominous news that Herod Agrippa I (10 BC–44AD) had just executed James the brother of the Apostle John and as well arrested Peter. The early church still in its infancy was under siege. Appointed by the Roman Emperor Claudius, Herod Agrippa’s primary responsibility was to keep the peace. From Agrippa’s perspective this meant appeasing the Jews. Luke high highlights this in the first three verses of chapter 12. After executing James the brother of the Apostle John, Herod ordered the arrest of Peter because, “he saw that it pleased the Jews,” (Acts 12:3).  This desire to keep the Jews happy was Agrippa’s primary motivation for arresting Peter. But in response to this persecution, we see an increase in angelic activity. This included a rather vivid description of an angel breaking Peter out of prison. This actually resulted in Herod executing the guards in charge guarding Peter. But perhaps …