Episode 4: Who Was Jesus Really? - The Flavian Hypothesis

Introduction

• Host: Matt Baker
• Series exploring different hypotheses about who Jesus was.
• Previous episodes covered:
  1. Jesus as the secret child of Herod Antipater.
  2. Jesus as the prophet known as the Egyptian.
  3. Jesus as Judas of Galilee, founder of the Zealots.

The Flavian Hypothesis

• A fringe theory suggesting the Romans invented Christianity post the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
• Proposed by Joseph Atwill in his 2005 book "Caesar's Messiah."
• Suggests Jesus is a disguise for Emperor Titus, who allegedly invented Christianity to control the Jews.

Historical Context

• Roman emperors during Jesus’s lifetime: Augustus Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero.
• Vespasian became emperor in 69 CE after a civil war, marking the start of the Flavian dynasty.
• Titus, son of Vespasian, led Roman forces and later became emperor.
• The Flavian period coincided with the likely writing of the Gospel of Mark.

Analysis of the Hypothesis

• Possible motivations: Flavians might have seen pro-Roman, pacifist Christianity as a beneficial development.
• Evidence for the hypothesis:
  • Parallels between the Gospels and Josephus’s accounts of military battles.
  • Alleged Christian members of the Flavian family.
  • Archaeological symbol evidence linked to both Flavians and early Christians.

Criticism of the Hypothesis

• Lack of necessity: Romans had already defeated the Jews militarily.
• Uncoordinated Gospel narratives suggest a lack of centralized control.
• Different Greek used in Gospels and Josephus’s works.

General Observations

• Despite flaws, the hypothesis highlights the importance of Flavian-era events in the development of early Christianity.
• Christianity's pacifist tendencies suited the Roman Empire better than previous Jewish movements.

Related Theories

• Similar theories suggest Jesus's story parallels Julius Caesar's life or involvement of the Piso family in creating Christianity.
• Fictional work "The Gospel of Afranius" explores a Roman soldier manipulating Jesus's movement.

Conclusion

• Encourages exploration of other theories and invites viewer suggestions.
• Promotion of MyHeritage for personal genealogical research.