13 April 2026

It is very satisfying to think that the reality of Jesus is confirmed not only by the historical accounts in the Gospels but in sources outside  the Church. Studying Latin at school, I was intrigued to read one of the Younger Pliny’s letters in which he describes Christian worship ‘in honour of Christ as if to a god’.

The first century historian, Flavius Josephus, pays tribute to Jesus in these terms, ‘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 receive the truth with pleasure’.

What I like about the writings of Josephus is that he surprises us in saying a little more about the nature of Jesus. He writes that he was ‘a doer of wonderful works’ and implies that he was much more than a human being!

The most important reference to the existence of Jesus outside the Gospels is in the writings of the Roman historian, Tacitus. He says that the Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for setting Rome ablaze.

He goes on to say that the Christians had been named after ‘Christus’ who ‘suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of … Pontius Pilatus’.

Not only does this Roman historian consider that Jesus was a real person, he was so real that he located him in the historical context of a particular Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, whose historicity is celebrated in the Apostles’ Creed!