Who was Flavius Josephus?

Josephus, as he is commonly known, was the historian Flavius Josephus, born Joseph bar Matthew (Greek: Matthias), and changing his name to Flavius later in life when he found himself a Jew in a Roman world. He was the son of a Jewish priest, and was a scholarly youth. His intense religious training began at the age of 16 where he studied the principles of the three primary Judean factions — Pharisees, Sadducees and the Essenes. He then spent some time with an ascetic hermit know as Bannus, who was a proponent of the natural lifestyle in the wilderness of Judea. When he returned to Jerusalem in 57 AD he associated himself with the majority party of the Pharisees. At the age of 30 he was taken hostage in the great Jewish Revolt(66-73AD) and spent much of his life thereafter defending the Jewish tradition. Much of the history of Judaism during the First Century BC we can attribute to the dedication of Josephus in chronicling them. We have a better understanding of modern Judaism and of the New Testament in its historical setting.

Josephus became a Pharisee and commanded the Jewish forces in Galilee in their revolt against Rome from AD66,(which ended with the mass suicide at Masada). When captured, he gained the favor of the Roman emperor Vespasian and settled in Rome as a citizen. His eyewitness accounts of history stand alone and are of such importance that the Latin translations of Josephus' oeuvre, made between the fourth and sixth centuries, were studied in Christian Europe for over 1000 years. Four of Josephus’ works have survived and been translated. First, the Jewish War which is the history of the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire in the years 66-74AD. This is primarily a firsthand account. The original Aramaic version of this work was lost, however, the Greek translation survives. The rest of his works written in Greek during his Roman exile after the destruction of Jerusalem, were preserved by the Church. Second is the Antiquities of the Jews - The Jewish history prior to the revolt. This work is based on the Bible and other Jewish historical works. Its primary goal was to prove that the Jews predated the Romans. It showed how the Jewish people flourished following God’s laws. Third, Against Apion, which is a defense of Judaism, answering an attack by a Roman author. It is a two volume sequel to the Antiquities and is a rebuttal to an attack on the Antiquities by Roman critics. It is a refutation of anti-Semitism in a wide variety of ancient cultures. And last, The Life of Josephus, which is an autobiography that is a self-defense countering a charge of a rival Galilean historian, Justus of Tiberias, who said that Josephus was personally responsible for the revolt of Tiberias.

“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not cease. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life. For the prophets of God had prophesied these and myriads of other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still up to now, not disappeared.”

Loeb Classical Library, vol. 9, pp. 49ff.

Many scholars believe that the real writings of Josephus would have spoken of Jesus in more derogatory terms. Many of them have their own translations, but whatever the case may be, the record stands of the existence of the historical Jesus - the man. Whether Josephus found him a savior or a charlatan is of no consequence, except of course to Josephus.