Mara bar Serapion, sometimes spelled Mara bar Sarapion was a Stoic philosopher

Stoicism

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...

 from the Roman province of Syria

Syria (Roman province)

Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.- Principate :The...

. He wrote a letter in Syriac to his son, who was also named Serapion. This writing is said to be one of the earliest non-Jewish, non-Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 references to a historical Jesus

Historical Jesus

The term historical Jesus refers to scholarly reconstructions of the 1st-century figure Jesus of Nazareth. These reconstructions are based upon historical methods including critical analysis of gospel texts as the primary source for his biography, along with consideration of the historical and...

.

The letter is preserved in a 6th or 7th century manuscript (BL Add. 14658) held by the British Library

British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...

, and was composed sometime between 73 AD and the 3rd century.
Considered by scholars as an example of "chreia" -- the Greek rhetorical exercise of expanding on a written narrative—the letter refers in one passage to a "wise king" executed by his fellow Jews. This passage has been interpreted by some as referring to Jesus of Nazareth, who is mentioned in few non-Christian sources prior to the 2nd century.

Reference to a "wise king" executed by the Jews

Writing from prison to encourage his son to pursue wisdom, the author explains that when the wise are oppressed, not only does their wisdom triumph in the end, but God also punishes their oppressors:

What else can we say, when the wise are forcibly dragged off by tyrants, their wisdom is captured by insults, and their minds are oppressed and without defense? What advantage did the Athenians gain from murdering Socrates? Famine and plague came upon them as a punishment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea and the Jews, desolate and driven from their own kingdom, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates is not dead, because of Plato; neither is Pythagoras, because of the statue of Juno; nor is the wise king, because of the "new law" he laid down

First, Mara speaks of this wise Jew as a king, and "king" is prominently connected to Jesus at his trial, and especially at his death in the titulus on his cross. Second, Mara's link between the destruction of the Jewish homeland and the death of the "wise king" is paralleled in Christian Supersessionism

Supersessionism

Supersessionism is a term for the dominant Christian view of the Old Covenant, also called fulfillment theology and replacement theology, though the latter term is disputed...

, where the destruction of Jerusalem is a punishment for Jewish rejection of Jesus

Rejection of Jesus

The Canonical Gospels of the New Testament include some accounts of the rejection of Jesus in the course of his ministry. Judaism's view of Jesus, Jesus in Islam, and the view of the Historical Jesus all differ from Christian views of Jesus.-Hometown rejection:...

.

Identity of the "wise king"

Many have interpreted the above passage as providing an early, extra-Biblical reference to the historical Jesus. Proponents of this view argue that the allusion to a "wise king" -- specifically, a Jewish king executed by other Jews—fits no individual in history except Jesus, and that it coincides with the many Biblical references to Jesus as "King of the Jews" (e.g., Matthew 2:2; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3; John 18:33) and the crucifixion story told in the New Testament gospels (which, however, claim that the Romans, not the Jews, executed Jesus). Proponents further argue that the traditional date of Jesus' crucifixion, presumed to have occurred in the year 30 or 33, precedes the destruction of the Jewish temple in year 70 during the first Jewish-Roman War

First Jewish-Roman War

The First Jewish–Roman War , sometimes called The Great Revolt , was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of Judaea Province , against the Roman Empire...

, followed by the Jewish diaspora

Jewish diaspora

The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....

 in the several decades following. Proponents argue that this series of events in the 1st and 2nd centuries is the calamity befalling the Jews alluded to in the text of the letter. In the 19th century, William Cureton

William Cureton

-Life:He was born in Westbury, Shropshire. After being educated at the Adams' Grammar School in Newport, Shropshire and at Christ Church, Oxford, he took orders in 1832, became chaplain of Christ Church, sublibrarian of the Bodleian, and, in 1837, assistant keeper of manuscripts in the British Museum...

 offered the following interpretation: the "wise king" is indeed Jesus, and Mara was a Christian writing in a time of persecution, who therefore chose not to make his reference or allegiance so clear as to invite martyrdom.

Critics of this interpretation, however, argue that unlike the references to Socrates and Pythagoras, bar Serapion does not explicitly mention Jesus by name, thereby rendering the actual identity of the "wise king" in the letter indeterminable. Critics contend, as well, that the gospel portraits of Jesus' crucifixion unambiguously place the blame for his execution on the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...

, with the Jewish mob merely agitating for his crucifixion.

What these critics argue when they blame the execution of Jesus on Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...

 does run contrary to the Canonical gospels, according to some interpretations, see Responsibility for the death of Jesus for details. In the Gospel of Matthew

Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...

 27:12 it is written that Jesus was accused by the Jewish chief priests and the elders, following the Incident in the Temple. In verse 18 of the same chapter it states that Pilate "knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him." Pontius Pilate, who was a friend of Sejanus

Sejanus

Lucius Aelius Seianus , commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius...

, saw his position at risk after Sejanus was executed in 31 AD, and therefore was a puppet in the hands of the Jewish leaders. In Gospel of John

Gospel of John

The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...

19:12, it is written, "Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."