THIS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU

In one of his two mentions of Jesus, Josephus tells of a man stoned to death in Jerusalem in 62 AD. Who was he?

The answer

James. Josephus calls him "the brother of Jesus who is called the messiah" (Antiquities 20.9.1). The high priest Ananus had him put to death while the Roman governor was away.

Why it’s interesting

Josephus tells the story to show a high priest abusing his power, so Jesus comes up only to say whose brother James was. "Who is called the messiah" reports what others said. Josephus himself never became a follower.

Scholarly consensus

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