The Case For Christ

"Now," I said a little pointedly, "that doesn't sound as if
there's much corroboration of the life of Jesus outside the
Bible." Yamauchi smiled and shook his head. "Templeton's
archaeologist is simply mistaken," he replied in a dismissive
tone, "because we do have very, very important references to
Jesus in Josephus and Tacitus. "The gospels themselves say that
many who heard him-even
members of his own family-did not believe in Jesus during his
lifetime, yet he made such an impression that today Jesus is
remembered everywhere, whereas Herod the Great, Pontius Pilate,
and other ancient rulers are not as widely known. So he certainly
did make an impression on those who believed in him."
He paused, then added, "He did not, of course, among those who
did not believe in him."
TESTIMONY BY A TRAITOR
Templeton and Yamauchi had both mentioned Josephus, a firstcentury
historian who's well known among scholars but whose name
is unfamiliar to most people today. "Give me some background
about him," I said, "and tell me how his testimony provides
corroboration concerning Jesus."
"Yes, of course," Yamauchi answered as he crossed his legs and
settled deeper into his chair. "Josephus was a very important
Jewish historian of the first century. He was born in A.D. 37,
and he wrote most of his four works toward the end of the first
century. In his autobiography he defended his behavior in the
JewishRoman War, which took place from A.D. 66 to 74. You see,
he had surrendered to the Roman general Vespasian during the
siege of
Iotapata, even though many of his colleague's committed suicide
rather than give up."
The professor chuckled and said, "Josephus decided it wasn't
God's will for him to commit suicide. He then became a defender
of the Romans."
Josephus sounded like a colorful character; I wanted more details
about him so I could better understand his motivations and
prejudices. "Paint me a portrait of him," I said.
"He was a priest, a Pharisee, and he was somewhat egotistical.
His most ambitious work was called The Antiquities, which was a
history of the Jewish people from Creation until his time. He