Let's look at Josephus again, just for a moment!
Antiquities of the Jews xviii 3.3
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.Per the Christians, this is basically the only contemporary reference to their savior god-man. There are virtually no others. Let's close our eyes, just for a moment, and imagine that this is a coherent statement by a Jew (although considered an apostate by jews). Keep in mind the following Christian beliefs, pretty much accepted by most Xians:
1. Jesus was the messiah, expected by the Jews.
2. He was, somehow, also God, Himself. This was known and prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures.
3. He rose from death, and rejoined Himself in Heaven.
4. He did not die again.
None of this actually makes any sense to me, of course, but can we run with this?
Here is my question. If Josephus wrote about him, and thought Jesus was the "Christ", and Jews in the time knew him to be this immortal godman, why does Josephus use the past tense. If the writings of Josephus so very much validate the New Testament, why did he not know that Jesus was still alive? Why didn't Josephus become a Christian?Why did he not say, "and Jesus, being the God/Messiah, is not extinct at this day?" Something is rotten in Israel, to paraphrase Hamlet!
