這一段對耶穌記載的文字，被稱為弗拉維斯·約瑟夫斯的證詞（英語：Testimonium Flavianum）（Testimonium Flavianum）。但是幾乎所有的研究聖經的學者，都一致質疑這一段是後來基督徒更動後的結果。由於作者是為改信的猶太人，不可能直接宣稱耶穌是彌賽亞並死而復活。而自從阿拉伯文版的《猶太古史》被發現後，一些學者（例如約翰·P·邁爾〔John P. Meier〕和戈柏〔Goldberg〕等）相信儘管整體上的記述是源自約瑟夫斯，但認同耶穌為「基督」這一點大概是基督徒後加，「復活」這一段則是引述，非描述。[82]
福音書記載耶穌是拿撒勒人，但「拿撒勒」這個字的意思卻很模糊[125]。耶穌其實亦是法利賽人的一份子[註 6]。在耶穌時代，法利賽人的學說有兩個主流，分別是：希列派及煞買派。這兩派對離婚有不同的看法：希列派依照《申命記》第24章第1節的理由而認為男性在任何時候都可以要求離婚，這種觀點亦是當時猶太社會的主流思想。相反的，耶穌卻贊同另一派煞買派對於離婚的嚴格要求[129]。根據《馬爾谷福音》記載，當時有法利賽人試探耶穌，要求耶穌表明對休妻的立場，試圖誘使他說出違反摩西律法的言論[130]。現代的猶太拉比 Jacob Neusner亦在他的著作中指出耶穌的教導在兩派立場中傾向於煞買派[131]。對於希列派有關最大的誡命[132]及推己及人的原則[133]，耶穌亦有評論過。
根據猶太拉比（古代猶太法學博士）所編纂的文獻─《塔木德經》中較晚期作品《耶穌一生》的記載：耶穌又名耶穌·本·潘得拉（Yeshu Ben Pandera），他的母親是馬利亞，他的父親是約瑟·本·潘得拉。在《塔木德經》中的耶穌是一位巫師，他在埃及學到黑魔法並有五個門徒。最後他以使用巫術的罪名被起訴，在逾越節後四十天被絞死。有學者認為Ben Pandera是扭轉Ben Parthenos（童貞女子之子）而成的。然而《死海古卷》與基督教緣起的專家詹姆斯．泰伯則認為「潘得拉」是當時確實存在且常在使用的名字。在他的著作《耶穌的真實王朝》有提到相關的論述和墓碑考古資料。在此書中詹姆斯．泰伯推測耶穌的生父很可能就是一名叫做約瑟·本·潘得拉的羅馬帝國士兵。[151]
Tuckett, Christopher. Sources and methods. Bockmuehl, Markus N. A. (編). Cambridge Companion to Jesus. Cambridge University Press: 123–4. 2001. ISBN 978-0-521-79678-1. All this does at least render highly implausible any far-fetched theories that even Jesus’ very existence was a Christian invention. The fact that Jesus existed, that he was crucified under Pontius Pilate (for whatever reason) and that he had a band of followers who continued to support his cause, seems to be part of the bedrock of historical tradition. If nothing else, the non-Christian evidence can provide us with certainty on that score.
James Dunn states that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent" and "rank so high on the 'almost impossible to doubt or deny' scale of historical facts" that they are often the starting points for the study of the historical Jesus.
Jesus Remembered by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 978-0-8028-3931-2 page 339 states of baptism and crucifixion that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent".
Crossan, John Dominic. Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperOne. 1995: 145. ISBN 0-06-061662-8. That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be, since both Josephus and Tacitus...agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact.
Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word (Vol. II): Meditations on the Gospel According to St. Matthew – Dr Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, Introduction
The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 page 110
Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research edited by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans 1998 ISBN 978-90-04-11142-4 pages 455-457
Louis Feldman (ISBN 978-90-04-08554-1 pages 55-57) states that the authenticity of the Josephus passage on James has been "almost universally acknowledged".
The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3page 110
The Blackwell Companion to Jesus p220 Delbert Burkett - 2010 "That is to say, varying presuppositions as to the extent to which the ancient rabbis were preoccupied with Jesus and Christianity can easily predetermine which texts might be identified and interpreted as having him in mind."
Robert E. Van Voorst. Jesus outside the New Testament. 2000 ISBN 978-0-8028-4368-5. p. 124. "This is likely an inference from the Talmud and other Jewish usage, where Jesus is called Yeshu, and other Jews with the same name are called by the fuller name Yehoshua, "Joshua""
Meier, John P.The Roots of the Problem and the Person (Convenience link). A marginal Jew: rethinking the historical Jesus 1. Anchor Bible Series. 1991: 98 [August 3, 2011]. ISBN 978-0-385-26425-9. LCCN 91010538. OCLC 316164636. （原始內容存檔於2021-10-13）. While not accepting the full, radical approach of Maier, I think we can agree with him on one basic point: in the earliest rabbinic sources, there is no clear or even probable reference to Jesus of Nazareth. Furthermore, I favor the view that, when we do finally find such references in later rabbinic literature, they are most probably reactions to Christian claims, oral or written.
Van Voorst 2000 - see also Thiessen and Merz mention Gustaf Dalman (1893), Johann Maier (1978), and Thoma (1990) in favour of this conclusion.* Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). p. 74-76. *See also Jeffrey Rubenstein, Rabbinic Stories (The Classics of Western Spirituality) New York: The Paulist Press, 2002 & Daniel Boyarin, Dying for God: Martyrdom and the Making of Christianity and Judaism, Stanford University Press, 1999.
Theissen p 75: "[some authors conclude that the Talmud's passages] have no independent historical value. In contrast to this, other authors, e.g. Klausner, believe that they can discover at least some old and historically reliable traditions in the Talmud". Theissen cites Klausner, Jesus of Nazareth, pp 18–46
Kostenberger, Andreas J.; Kellum, L. Scott; Quarles, Charles L. (2009). The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New TestamentISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3. pages 107-109
In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, Bart Ehrman (now a secular agnostic who was formerly Evangelical) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees" B. Ehrman, 2011 Forged : writing in the name of GodISBN 978-0-06-207863-6. page 285
Robert M. Price (a Christian atheist who denies the existence of Jesus) agrees that this perspective runs against the views of the majority of scholars: Robert M. Price "Jesus at the Vanishing Point" in The Historical Jesus: Five Views edited by James K. Beilby & Paul Rhodes Eddy, 2009 InterVarsity, ISBN 978-0-281-06329-1 page 61
Michael Grant (a classicist) states that "In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." in Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels by Micjhael Grant 2004 ISBN 978-1-898799-88-7 page 200
Richard A. Burridge states: "There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more." in Jesus Now and Then by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (Apr 1, 2004) ISBN 978-0-8028-0977-3 page 34
Robert E. Van VoorstJesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. ISBN 978-0-8028-4368-5 page 16 states: "biblical scholars and classical historians regard theories of non-existence of Jesus as effectively refuted"
Amy-Jill Levine in The Historical Jesus in Context edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. Princeton Univ Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 page 4: ""There is a consensus of sorts on a basic outline of Jesus' life. Most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John, debated with fellow Jews on how best to live according to God's will, engaged in healings and exorcisms, taught in parables, gathered male and female followers in Galilee, went to Jerusalem, and was crucified by Roman soldiers during the governorship of Pontius Pilate"
Bargil Pixner, Wege des Messias und Stätten der Urkirche, Giessen/Basel 1991, p. 275. English edition (2010): Paths of the Messaiah. Ignatius Press: San Francisco, p.
For a comparison of the Jesus movement to the Zealots, see S.G.F Brandon, Jesus and the Zealots: a study of the political factor in primitive Christianity, Manchester University Press (1967) ISBN 978-0-684-31010-7
For a general comparison of Jesus' teachings to other schools of first century Judaism, see John P. Meier, Companions and Competitors (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 3) Anchor Bible, 2001. ISBN 978-0-385-46993-7.
Eisenman, RobertJames the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Penguin (Non-Classics), 1998. ISBN 978-0-14-025773-1
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