TRADITION VS SCHOLARSHIP
The answer
Agree. As it stands, the paragraph in Antiquities 18.3.3 says "He was the Messiah." Josephus never became a Christian, and many scholars think this is one of the lines a Christian copyist added.
Why it’s interesting
In his other mention of Jesus, the passage on James, Josephus calls him only the one "who is called the messiah." That reports what other people said.
Genuinely debated
Learn the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.