What outsiders said.

Every source outside the Christian movement, up to about 200 CE, that has been claimed to mention Jesus or his followers, including later compositions that are not genuine. Each is graded on whether the text is authentic, whether it refers to Jesus, and how independent it is.

The resurrection What outsiders said Archaeology Dating the crucifixion

Authentic 5Genuine core 1Known through a quotation 3Disputed 3Late 1Silent 1Not genuine 3

after 73 CE? (disputed)

Letter on the "wise king" of the Jews

A Syrian prisoner's letter sets the Jews' execution of "their wise king" beside the deaths of Socrates and Pythagoras.

Disputed

Thallus undated (often placed c. 50 CE); Africanus c. 221

The darkness at the crucifixion

Africanus reports that Thallus explained the darkness at the crucifixion as an eclipse of the sun.

Known through a quotation

c. 93-94 CE

James, "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ"

Josephus records the stoning of James in 62 CE, naming him as the brother of Jesus "who was called Christ".

Authentic

c. 93-94 CE

The Testimonium Flavianum

Josephus describes Jesus as a wise man and a doer of wonderful works, condemned to the cross by Pilate, whose followers did not cease.

Genuine core

written c. 100 CE; read by Photius, 9th c.

Justus of Tiberias' chronicle

Photius notes that this Galilean historian's chronicle of the Jewish kings does not mention Jesus.

Silent

c. 111-113 CE

Christians who sing "to Christ as to a god"

Pliny reports that Christians in Bithynia met before dawn to sing a hymn "to Christ as to a god", and asks Trajan how to try them.

Authentic

c. 116 CE

"Christus" executed by Pilate

Tacitus explains that the Christians took their name from Christus, executed by Pontius Pilate under Tiberius.

Authentic

c. 121 CE

Christians punished under Nero

Suetonius lists the punishment of the Christians, "a new and mischievous superstition", among Nero's measures.

Authentic

c. 121 CE

Jews expelled "at the instigation of Chrestus"

Suetonius says Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome for disturbances "at the instigation of Chrestus".

Disputed

c. 140 CE

An eclipse and earthquake under Tiberius

Christian writers report that Phlegon recorded a great eclipse under Tiberius and mentioned Jesus' foreknowledge.

Known through a quotation

c. 165-170 CE

"The crucified sophist"

Lucian mocks the Christians, who "worship a man to this day ... who was crucified" and care generously for their imprisoned.

Authentic

c. 175-180 CE

The Jew of Celsus: Mary, Panthera and Egypt

Celsus' attack, preserved by Origen, charges that Jesus was born of adultery with a soldier, Panthera, and learned magic in Egypt.

Known through a quotation

compiled c. 250 CE; events c. 100-130

Healing "in the name of Yeshua ben Pantera"

Rabbis forbid a follower, Jacob of Kefar Sakhnin, to heal in the name of "Yeshua ben Pantera" (in one manuscript).

Disputed

redacted c. 500-600 CE

"Yeshu the Nazarene" hanged on Passover eve

A baraita says Yeshu was hanged on the eve of Passover for sorcery and for leading Israel astray.

Late

present form 4th-5th c.

The Acts of Pilate (Gospel of Nicodemus)

A Christian work presented as Pilate's records of the trial and resurrection.

Not genuine

Slavonic translation, 11th-15th c.

The passages on Jesus in the Slavonic Jewish War

Passages on Jesus and John the Baptist found only in the Old Russian version of Josephus' Jewish War.

Not genuine

medieval (manuscripts from the 12th c.)

The letter of "Publius Lentulus" describing Jesus

A physical description of Jesus attributed to a Roman official, which shaped many later portraits.

Not genuine

← All sources

The letter of "Publius Lentulus" describing Jesus

AuthenticityNot genuine

Author: Unknown, in a Roman official's name
Date: medieval (manuscripts from the 12th c.)
Stance: Christian

The Christian case

No Christian argument depends on this letter, and none is made from it here. Jesus' existence and execution are attested by genuine outside witnesses such as Josephus and Tacitus (see O3 and O7). The letter is listed because it shaped Western images of Jesus and still circulates as a "Roman eyewitness".

What the research found

Not genuine. The letter, addressed to the Roman Senate, describes Jesus' hair, beard, eyes and bearing. Its earliest manuscripts are from the 12th century. It was incorporated, without the Lentulus name, in Ludolph of Saxony's (died 1377) Life of Christ, and first printed in 1474. Scholars overwhelmingly regard it as fraudulent.

Explore the counterarguments

No such governor is known. A Roman official would have written to the emperor, not to the Senate. The letter also calls Jesus "Christ" and cites the prophets.