The neutral reconstruction gains even more credibility in light of the findings of Professor Schlomo Pines of the Jerusalem Hebrew University. Professor Pines published his translation of the Testimonium in 1972 based on his study of a tenth century Arabic manuscript containing the Testimonium:

At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His conduct was good and (he) was known to be virtuous. And many people from the Jews and the other nations became disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets had recounted wonders (S. Pines, An Arabic Version of the Testimonium Flavium and Its Implications, Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanites, 1971, p. 16; quoted in Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament, p. 97).

Philosopher and theologian Gary Habermas argues that these may be the very words of Josephus because his references to Jesus’ alleged Messiahship and resurrection are considerably subdued and conditional compared to the received text, and there is no reference implicating the Jews in Jesus’ death. There is a sense in which Josephus is straddling the fence, honoring his ethnic heritage while at the same time treading lightly with his Roman patrons, which would be quite consistent with our historical understanding of Josephus.

If we accept the neutral reconstruction of the Testimonium, and, as we have argued above, there is good reason to do so, we still find some very valuable information about the historical Jesus and his followers. We learn that Jesus existed, and that he was a teacher of truth; that he gathered quite a following and performed amazing works; that the Jews and the Romans, particularly Pilate, were both involved in the verdict that led to his execution by crucifixion; and that his followers bear his name and enjoy an on ongoing love relationship with him, despite the death of their leader. Furthermore, Josephus was a first century Jew growing up and living in Palestine as a young Pharisee during the time when the Christian message was spreading. This counts strongly in his favor as one who may have had first hand access to both oral tradition and perhaps even eyewitness accounts of the events surrounding Jesus’ life. Hence, from ancient historical literature we have an excellent witness to the Christian message that corroborates the gospels.

So we have come full circle and have demonstrated that evidence for the life of Jesus Christ exists in texts outside of the Bible. In fact, if we had nothing but the extra-biblical evidence available today, we could easily reconstruct the core story of Jesus and the early rise of Christianity. This being said, must we go outside of the gospels in order to establish the historicity of Jesus Christ? The answer is “no.” Any discussion concerning the extra-biblical evidence for the historical Jesus, as useful as this evidence may be, must always have as its purpose the intent of returning us to the complete accounts of him in the gospels.

We need not apologize for the gospels nor be discouraged by those who claim that these are biased accounts by men who had personal agendas. The burden of proof for this claim rests upon the critic. No ancient biographies enjoy greater historical attestation than the gospels in the Bible, and in the end, we must turn from Josephus to the gospels to learn all there is to know about the historical Jesus, for it is within these documents that the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith ultimately meet.

Blessings,

Arnie Gentile

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