Wesley Huff

the individuals who we call the disciples, who are like this close Jesus community and connects with them.

So he's our earliest source.

But then you have these gospel accounts, these biographies.

And the gospels are interesting because they fit within the historical framework of ancient Greco-Roman biography.

So let me give you an example.

The most well-known person in Jesus' day was the emperor.

His name was Tiberius.

Tiberius has four biographical accounts that are written about him.

Vileus Patriculus, Cassio Dio, Suetonius, and Tacitus.

So this is the four guys, okay?

And what's interesting in sort of a comparative analysis of Jesus and those people is—

is that they're all writing around the same time period.

So the biographies are coming from the first century for Jesus.

They're coming in this time period where you have an early eyewitness testimony.

For the emperor, for the most well-known person in the ancient world,

All of the sources except for Vileus Patriculus are coming from the second century.

Vileus Patriculus is coming from the first century.

He's very close to the source, but he's a paid propagandist.

So even though he's the earliest, he's the least reliable.

And for the Gospels, that comes around to the fourth century.