The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus composed an exceptional account of Jesus that scholars call the Testimonium Flavianum. Despite being the oldest description of Jesus by a non-Christian, the passage’s authenticity has long been questioned. In his book Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford Univ. Press, 2025), New Testament scholar Thomas Schmidt presents evidence that not only authenticates Josephus’s authorship of the passage, but also suggests that Josephus may have had direct access to people familiar with Jesus. BAR recently spoke with Schmidt to learn more about his startling conclusions. (1)2345 What is the Testimonium […]
