Gospels Part 024

Historically confirmed people

Not only does the New Testament contain historically accurate information and geographical markers, it also refers to some famous people.  

Geisler and Turek put it well: “There is no way the New Testament writers could have gotten away with writing outright lies about Pilate, Caiaphas, Festus, Felix, and the entire Herodian bloodline. Somebody would have exposed them for falsely implicating these people in events that never occurred. The New Testament writers knew this, and would not have included so many prominent real people in a fictional story that was intended to deceive. Again, the best explanation is that the New Testament writers accurately recorded what they saw” (p. 225).  

Here are some of the historical figures that are mentioned in the New Testament that are also found in non-Christian writings that verify the accuracy: Jesus, Agrippa I, Agrippa II, Ananias, Annas, Aretas, Bernice (wife of Agrippa II), Caesar Augustus, Caiaphas, Claudius, Drusilla, Erastus, Felix, Gallio, Gamaliel, Herod Antipas, Herod Archelaus, Herod the Great, Herod Philip I, Herod Philip II, Herodias, James the brother of Jesus, John the Baptist, Judas the Galilean, Lysanias, Pilate, Quirinius, Porcius Festus, Salome (daughter of Herodias), Sergius Paulus, and Tiberius Caesar.  

These names of dozens of key biblical characters are found in other, non-Christian writings of the day—one more way of verifying the accuracy of what we have in our Bible today.

Ten non-Christian corroborating sources

There are 10 known non-Christian writers who mention Jesus within 150 years of His life, helping corroborate the biblical record.  

These are: Josephus, the Jewish historian for the Roman government; Tacitus, the Roman historian; Pliny the Younger, a Roman politician; Phlegon, a freed slave who wrote histories; Thallus, a first-century historian; Seutonius, a Roman historian; Lucian of Samosata, a Greek satirist; Celsus, a Roman philosopher; Mara Bar-Serapion, a private citizen who wrote to his son; and the Jewish Talmud.  

By contrast, over the same 150 years, there are nine non-Christian sources who mention Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus’ ministry. So discounting all the Christian sources, Jesus is mentioned by one more source than the Roman emperor. If you include Christian sources, authors mentioning Jesus outnumber those mentioning Tiberius by more than four times.  

The book by Geisler and Turek outlines what can be pieced together from the 10 writers, some of whom are decidedly anti-Christian. They attest that Jesus lived during the time of Tiberius Caesar, lived a virtuous life, was a wonder-worker, had a brother named James, was acclaimed to be the Messiah, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate on the eve of the Jewish Passover, accompanied by darkness and earthquake.  

They further affirm that His disciples believed He rose from the dead, were willing to die for their belief, spread Christianity rapidly as far as Rome, and denied the Roman gods, instead worshipping Jesus as God (p. 223).  

More on this can be found in The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel (2007, p. 113). Strobel further relates this:  

“‘We have better historical documentation for Jesus than for the founder of any other ancient religion,’ said Edwin Yamauchi of Miami University, a leading expert on ancient history. Sources from outside the Bible corroborate that many people believed Jesus performed healings and was the Messiah, that he was crucified, and that despite this shameful death, his followers, who believed he was still alive, worshiped him as God. One expert documented thirty-nine ancient sources that corroborate more than one hundred facts concerning Jesus’ life, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection” (p. 272).