Josephus’ account of Jesus called ‘totally authentic’ in new scholarly study
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11/3/20262 min read
Why it matters: Most historians already accept that Josephus wrote about Jesus, but skeptics have long claimed Christian scribes later doctored parts of the passage. A Fairfield University scholar now argues the whole thing is genuine.
The big picture: For centuries, the skeptics’ best argument has been that some medieval monk snuck a few compliments into a Jewish historian’s footnote. T.C. Schmidt says the evidence points the other way. His 2025 book, Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ, argues the passage reads like Josephus throughout.
By the numbers:
c. 37–100 A.D.: Josephus’ lifespan. He wrote about Jesus in Antiquities of the Jews, roughly 60 years after the crucifixion.
5 ancient languages compared: Greek, Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Armenian.
Every phrase in the passage can be traced to wording Josephus uses elsewhere, Schmidt says, backed by computer-assisted style analysis.
4 Gospel details corroborated: Jesus’ disciples, his reputation for miracles, his crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, and his followers’ belief he rose on the third day.
What they’re saying: “What this passage does is that it solidifies Jesus in history,” Schmidt told Fox News Digital.
The other side: Scholars still disagree over how much of the passage later Christians edited. Schmidt’s answer is that the wording is actually ambiguous, leaving open whether Jesus’ powers came from God or the devil. That’s how a non-Christian Jew would talk, not a Christian forger.
The bottom line: Even the skeptics’ version concedes Jesus lived, gathered disciples and died under Pilate. The 2,000-year fight has been over adjectives. Schmidt adds that he was taught his whole career the passage was fake, and believed it, until he checked the evidence himself.
THE FAITH CHECK: Paul told a Roman governor the gospel “was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). Josephus proves it: a Jewish historian living on an emperor’s patronage, no friend of the church, wrote down the disciples, the miracles, the cross and the resurrection claim. But here’s the thing. Josephus had all the facts and never followed Jesus, which is exactly what Jesus said would happen: some won’t be persuaded “though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). History can clear away your excuses; it can’t answer for you the question Josephus dodged: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15).
You should probably know… Josephus isn’t a lone witness. He also mentions “James, the brother of Jesus who was called Christ” (Antiquities 20), a line most scholars accept. And the Roman historian Tacitus, who openly despised Christians, independently recorded that Christ was executed by Pilate under Tiberius. Schmidt says he’s found two or three more possible links between Josephus and people tied to the crucifixion. Stay tuned.
Original reporting by Fox News Digital.
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