These are 10 historical references to Jesus outside the Bible

People argue all the time over what the Bible says about Jesus, but honestly, some of the most interesting details come from other historical records about him.

A strange darkness gets explained away

Trying to understand Thallus’s writings is pretty difficult. His original books disappeared ages ago. All we have left are the writings of people arguing about him, and that’s where you’ll find mention of Jesus. 

Julius Africanus says Thallus made some claims about the sky going dark when Jesus was crucified. Thallus said it was just a solar eclipse. Sounds reasonable enough. However, Passover happened during a full moon, when eclipses don’t happen.

A Roman name appears

Tacitus wrote about Nero and the Great Fire of Rome. In his writings, you’ll find a little explanation about where Christians get their name from. It comes from ‘Christus.’ Tacitus then goes on to talk about how Pontius Pilate executed Christus during Emperor Tiberius’ reign.

Yes, it’s that same Christus. Tacitus actually describes the whole Christian movement as being destructive and irritating. He kind of sounds annoyed. But even so, it’s one of the most direct non-Biblical references to Jesus out there.

A Jewish historian adds a paragraph

Josephus, a writer from the end of the first century, also mentions Jesus. But his reference’s more in passing. Josephus talks about Jesus as a wise man who had several followers, and then he talks about how Pilate ordered him to be crucified. However, things get messy.

A few of the lines about Jesus sound positive. A little too positive. Some historians believe that Christian scribes might’ve cleaned up the wording to paint Jesus in a better light. But the fact remains. The reference to Jesus is definitely there.

A strange spelling turns up

Suetonius was writing about riots that took place in Rome. He claims they were connected to someone called ‘Chrestus.’ Sounds familiar? There is a bit of a debate, though, because some historians think Suetonius was talking about someone completely different.

Others say it was just a misspelling of ‘Christus,’ aka Jesus. They say spelling wasn’t standardized back then, so misspellings were completely normal. But it’s still an interesting detail. Suetonius says Emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome because of Chrestus.

A satirist takes a swipe

Lucian wasn’t exactly nice about Christians when he was writing in the second century. He wasn’t remotely polite. No, he jokes about them in his writings and says they’re gullible for following a man who was crucified in Palestine. 

He even talks about this man as being a crucified sage. He mocks Christians for living according to his laws. Lucian’s tone isn’t the nicest, sure, but that doesn’t deny the fact that he’s clearly talking about Jesus.

A letter mentions a king

You’ll find one of the oldest Jesus references in a letter by the Syrian philosopher Mara bar Serapion. He was writing to his son, some time after AD 73. In his letter, he talks about the deaths of Socrates, Pythagoras, and someone known as the Jews’ ‘wise king.’ 

Who could that be? Unfortunately, Mara never names the king. But he does say the Romans executed this person and the Jews lost their kingdom afterward, so it was likely Jesus.

A Passover execution is named

There’s a pretty interesting passage in the Babylonian Talmud. It’s actually quite specific. It talks about how Yeshu was executed on the eve of Passover, following a public announcement made forty days before. The announcement asked whether anyone had evidence in Yeshu’s favor.

Interestingly, it talks about Yeshu being hanged. But that word in ancient Jewish writing actually meant suspending someone after they’ve been executed. It wasn’t the Roman-style hanging. 

A charge of magic appears

That’s not all for the Talmud. It says that, yes, Yeshu did some unusual things, but it criticizes him for this. The Talmud’s kind of negative about Yeshu and talks about him leading people astray.

It also accuses Yeshu of practicing sorcery. Ouch. Really, the Talmud’s trying to explain away his reputation, but without denying that he could do some strange things. 

A birth story gets attacked

Celsus was another person hating on Christians. He attacked Christian claims about Jesus’s birth and even repeated one of the rumors at the time. What was it? That Jesus wasn’t born of a virgin. 

Celsus said that Jesus was the son of a Roman soldier called Panthera, who abandoned Mary before Jesus’s birth. Celsus clearly had an agenda. But what really matters here is the fact that he wrote about him. Celsus treats Jesus as a real person, not a myth.

A bishop names Mary

Ignatius has an intense way of writing. It’s almost like you can feel him rushing through his thoughts while he was sending letters under guard to Rome. He shares some quick details about Jesus in one part. He acts like they’re standard.

Ignatius says Jesus was born to Mary and connected to David’s family line. He says John baptized Jesus. He then goes on to say that Pontius Pilate crucified Jesus before moving on to talk about other things. That’s it. No other explanation or details.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.