Ben Masada
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THE TEXT JOSEPHUS NEVER WROTE
"Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works - a teacher of such men as to receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first, did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold this and thousand other wonderful things concerned him; and the tribes of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day." (Antiquities of the Jews, p.576, #3)
Now, with the above in mind, I am bringing to your attention the reasons why Josephus could have never written this text above:
1 - Josephus was the kind of Historian who could bore any reader with his paronoia with details. Taken Herod, for instance, Josephus would go down to the dot of the letter about even family intrigues and things really of no concern. Do you think that he would miss such a highly important event in the life of Herod as his order to slaughter all the children from two years of age and under with the intent to catch the "king of the Jews" who had just been born? Obviously not. Since Josephus could not have missed that event in the life of Herod, it either did not happen or Josephus never wrote this text. But then again, Luke missed it too. Therefore, it never happened.
2 - "...if it be lawful to call him a man." If not a man, what, a god? Josephus was a Jewish man and he knew that there is no such a thing in Judaism as the Greek myth of the demigod, which is the son of a god with an earthly woman.
3 - "...he drew over to him many of the Gentiles." I wonder where Josephus got that from because, even the NT cannot confirm what he said if he ever wrote that text. Why? Because rather the opposite was true. Jesus rather closed the doors to the Gentiles by actually forbidding his disciples to take his gospel to the Gentiles. (Mat. 10:5)
4 - "He was [the] Christ." Josephus knew Greek fluently. As a Jew who never converted to Christianity, he would never state that Jesus was the Messiah.
5 - "At the suggestion of the Jews, Pilate condemned Jesus to the cross." Knowing Pilate as Josephus did, he was well aware that Pilate would never condemn someone to the cross at the suggestion of another, especially Jews of all people. Besides, Jesus was not the only one. Josephus reports a number within the thousands.
6 - "...for he appeared to the disciples alive the third day." Josephus could have never stated this item of Paul's gospel without at least quoting, "according to his disciples, or according to Paul, as this himself confessed that Jesus resurrected according to his gospel.(2 Tim. 2:8) Any one can see that the forgery was done with the intent to have Josephus preach the resurrection of Jesus. A Jew could never do such a thing.
7 - "...as the divine prophets foretold this and thousand other wonderful things about Jesus." Where, for heaven's sake is it written? Could it be that, after having written such a detailed history of the Jews, Josephus had forgotten all about the Tanach? Highly improbable. Therefore, Josephus did not write the text above about Jesus. Evidences can't be more shouting that it was forged into Josephus' writings by the Church in the 4th Century.
Ben
"Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works - a teacher of such men as to receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first, did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold this and thousand other wonderful things concerned him; and the tribes of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day." (Antiquities of the Jews, p.576, #3)
Now, with the above in mind, I am bringing to your attention the reasons why Josephus could have never written this text above:
1 - Josephus was the kind of Historian who could bore any reader with his paronoia with details. Taken Herod, for instance, Josephus would go down to the dot of the letter about even family intrigues and things really of no concern. Do you think that he would miss such a highly important event in the life of Herod as his order to slaughter all the children from two years of age and under with the intent to catch the "king of the Jews" who had just been born? Obviously not. Since Josephus could not have missed that event in the life of Herod, it either did not happen or Josephus never wrote this text. But then again, Luke missed it too. Therefore, it never happened.
2 - "...if it be lawful to call him a man." If not a man, what, a god? Josephus was a Jewish man and he knew that there is no such a thing in Judaism as the Greek myth of the demigod, which is the son of a god with an earthly woman.
3 - "...he drew over to him many of the Gentiles." I wonder where Josephus got that from because, even the NT cannot confirm what he said if he ever wrote that text. Why? Because rather the opposite was true. Jesus rather closed the doors to the Gentiles by actually forbidding his disciples to take his gospel to the Gentiles. (Mat. 10:5)
4 - "He was [the] Christ." Josephus knew Greek fluently. As a Jew who never converted to Christianity, he would never state that Jesus was the Messiah.
5 - "At the suggestion of the Jews, Pilate condemned Jesus to the cross." Knowing Pilate as Josephus did, he was well aware that Pilate would never condemn someone to the cross at the suggestion of another, especially Jews of all people. Besides, Jesus was not the only one. Josephus reports a number within the thousands.
6 - "...for he appeared to the disciples alive the third day." Josephus could have never stated this item of Paul's gospel without at least quoting, "according to his disciples, or according to Paul, as this himself confessed that Jesus resurrected according to his gospel.(2 Tim. 2:8) Any one can see that the forgery was done with the intent to have Josephus preach the resurrection of Jesus. A Jew could never do such a thing.
7 - "...as the divine prophets foretold this and thousand other wonderful things about Jesus." Where, for heaven's sake is it written? Could it be that, after having written such a detailed history of the Jews, Josephus had forgotten all about the Tanach? Highly improbable. Therefore, Josephus did not write the text above about Jesus. Evidences can't be more shouting that it was forged into Josephus' writings by the Church in the 4th Century.
Ben
