The Silence of Josephus Now, it has often been noted that Josephus doesn't mention anything about Jesus or his ministry except for the quote in the final chapter of "Antiquities." It is also notable that Josephus is fairly moot for the dozen or so years prior to and after the crucifixion. This lack of historical corroboration has led many to believe that Jesus was just some obscure itinerrant preacher which strongly contradicts the gospel accounts. Besides, one of Josephus' favorite topics is talking about the Hasmonean family of Jesus, but not about Jesus. Besides Matthew's claim that Jesus was born in 4 BCE, we have Luke's claim that Jesus was born during the census of Quirinius (Cyrenius) which ocurred in 6 CE. How could Jesus be a real person if the authors of the gospels are this far apart on his birth date. First, let us start with the events of 4 BCE. Here we have Judas ben Sepphoris and Matthias tearing down the golden eagle that Herod had erected over the great gate of the Jerusalem Temple. This is a clear violation of Jewish law. Both of them are arrested and Matthias and 40 of his followers are executed. It is not clear what happens to Judas, but he may have escaped. According to the Syriac or Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Jesus was indeed born during the census, not the census of Quirinius, but that of Augustus in 28 BCE. A birth date at this time was exactly what the Essene had predicted, and why would anyone believe that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah unless he was born within the prophesied time frame. Continued Table of Contents