This lecture distills Schmidt’s book Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford University Press, 2025), which brings to light an extraordinary connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Jewish historian Josephus. Writing in 93/94 CE, Josephus composed an account of Jesus known as the Testimonium Flavianum. Though often considered the oldest description of Jesus by a non-Christian, scholars have long doubted its authenticity due to the alleged pro-Christian claims it contains. The present lecture, however, presents evidence authenticating Josephus’s authorship of the Testimonium Flavianum and then reveals a startling observation: Josephus was directly familiar with those who put Jesus on trial. Consequently, Josephus would have had access to highly reliable information about the man from Nazareth. The lecture concludes by describing what Josephus tells us about the Jesus of history, his miracles, and his resurrection.

Thomas Schmidt (Yale PhD) publishes on topics such as the historical Jesus, the formation of the New Testament, and the history of Christianity in Eastern contexts. Notably, Schmidt has produced peer-reviewed translations from Latin, Greek, Syriac, and Arabic texts. His books have been published with Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and others.

Image: Josephus and Jesus