Page 396 - ILIAS ATHANASIADIS AKA RO1

Twenty years later, according to Tacitus, Christians in Rome were prominent
enough to be persecuted by Nero, and it was known that they were devoted to

Christus, whom Pilate had executed (Annals 15.44).

This knowledge of Jesus, however, was dependent on familiarity with early
Christianity and does not provide independent evidence about Jesus. Josephus

wrote a paragraph about Jesus (The Antiquities of the Jews 18.63ff.)

—as he did about Theudas, the Egyptian, and other charismatic leaders
(History of the Jewish War 2.258–263; The Antiquities of the Jews 20.97–99,
167–172)—but it has been heavily revised by Christian scribes, and Josephus’s

original remarks cannot be discerned.

The letters of Paul contain reliable but meagre evidence. Their main theme,
that Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead, is especially prominent in 1

Corinthians 15,

Where Paul evokes an early tradition about Jesus’ death and subsequent
appearances to his followers. The Crucifixion and Resurrection were accepted

by all first-generation Christians.

Paul also quotes a few of Jesus’ sayings: the prohibition of divorce and
remarriage (1 Corinthians 7:10–11), the words over the bread and cup at Jesus’

Last Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23–25), and a prediction of the imminent arrival
of the Saviour from heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17).

Fuller information about Jesus is found in the Gospels of the New Testament,

though those are not of equal value in reconstructing his life and teaching.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree so closely with one another
that they can be studied together in parallel columns in a work called a

synopsis and are hence called the Synoptic Gospels.

John, however, is so different that it cannot be reconciled with the Synoptics
except in very general ways (e.g., Jesus lived in Palestine, taught, healed, was

crucified and raised).