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Non-Biblical References to Jesus' Miracles

Pharisees during Jesus time on earth.
'Jesus cast out demons "by Beelzebul" the ruler of the demons.'

Josephus @ 93 A.D.
“Now around this time lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was a worker of amazing deeds and was a teacher of people who gladly accept the truth. He won over both many Jews and many Greeks. Pilate, when he heard him accused by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, (but) those who had first loved him did not cease (doing so). To this day the tribe of Christians named after him has not disappeared.”

Josephus. Antiquities XVIII, iii, 3, seems to satisfy this expectation:
"About this time appeared Jesus, a wise man (if indeed it is right to call Him man; for He was a worker of astonishing deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with joy), and He drew to Himself many Jews (many also of Greeks. This was the Christ.) And when Pilate, at the denunciation of those that are foremost among us, had condemned Him to the cross, those who had first loved Him did not abandon Him (for He appeared to them alive again on the third day, the holy prophets having foretold this and countless other marvels about Him.) The tribe of Christians named after Him did not cease to this day.

Celsus (175AD)
'Jesus possessed unusual magical powers and claimed to be God.'
the logos alethes of Celsus, as quoted by Origen (Contra Celsus, passim), testifies that at that time the facts related in the Gospels were generally accepted as historically true.

Lucian
- sneered at Christ and the Christians, as he scoffed at the pagan gods. He alludes to Christ's death on the Cross, to His miracles, to the mutual love prevailing among the Christians ("Philopseudes", nn. 13, 16; "De Morte Pereg").

The Talmud
-also calls Him a sorcerer: "The master said: Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic and deceived and led Israel astray." (Sanhedrin 107b)

Justin Martyr (second century)
-in his Dialogue with Trypho wrote that the Jewish leaders were still claiming the disciples stole the body in his day (which means they affirmed the tomb was empty).

Acts of Pontius Pilate, reports sent from Pilate to Tiberius, referred to by Justin Martyr (150 AD):
"And the expression, 'They pierced my hands and my feet,' was used in reference to the nails of the cross which were fixed in His hands and feet. And after he was crucified, they cast lots upon His vesture, and they that crucified Him parted it among them. And that these things did happen you can ascertain the 'Acts' of Pontius Pilate." Later Justin lists several healing miracles and asserts, "And that He did those things, you can learn from the Acts of Pontius Pilate."

Quadratus, to Emperor Hadrian about 125 AD:
"The deeds of our Saviour were always before you, for they were true miracles; those that were healed, those that were raised from the dead, who were seen, not only when healed and when raised, but were always present. They remained living a long time, not only whilst our Lord was on earth, but likewise when He had left the earth. So that some of them have also lived to our own times."

(Pseudo-)Barnabas, written 130-138 AD:
"He must needs be manifested in the flesh. ... He preached teaching Israel and performing so many wonders and miracles, and He loved them exceedingly. ... He chose His own apostles who were to proclaim His Gospel. ... But He Himself desired so to suffer; for it was necessary for Him to suffer on a tree.

 

Roman historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus provided the first eyewitness account ever recorded of a miracle of Jesus Christ.  He describes a scene that he allegedly witnessed, in which a prophet and teacher that he names as ‘Iésous de Nazarenus’, resuscitated a stillborn boy and handed him back to his mother.‬  The text as a whole is a narrative of the author’s return journey from Parthia to Rome that occurred in 31 AD, and is recorded in a highly rhetorical style of four sheets of parchment. He describes many different episodes taking place during his trip, such as a violent sandstorm in Mesopotamia and a visit to a temple in Melitta (modern day Mdina, in Malta). 

The author first describes the arrival of a great leader in the town with a group of disciples and followers, causing many of the lower class people from neighbouring villages to gather around them.

According to Velleius, that great man’s name was Iésous de Nazarenus, a Greco-Latin translation of Jesus’ Hebrew name, Yeshua haNotzri.

Upon entering town, Jesus visited the house of a woman named Elisheba, who had just given birth to a stillborn child. Jesus picked up the dead child and uttered a prayer in Aramaic to the heavens, which unfortunately the author describes as ‘immensus’, meaning incomprehensible. To the crowd’s surprise and amazement, the baby came back to life almost immediately, crying and squirming like a healthy newborn.  The dating analysis also revealed that the sheepskin parchment on which the text is written dates from the first century, more precisely from between 20-45 AD. http://www.thecatholicuniverse.com/jesus-miracle-historian-unearths-eyewitness-account-4515 


Conclusion: Jesus' miracles are never denied by even his opponents and the opponents of Christianity.  They may be refered to as magic, evil magic, or sorcery, but the fact that early 1st century writers wrote about them in this way serves to confirm his miracles.
 

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