History
Suetonius on "Chrestus"
- Era
- c. AD 121
- Location
- Rome (Life of Claudius 25.4)
- Discovered
- ancient — transmitted
The Roman biographer Suetonius reports that Emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome because of disturbances "at the instigation of Chrestus" — corroborating the very expulsion Luke mentions in Acts 18:2.
The find
In his life of Claudius, Suetonius writes: "Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome." "Chrestus" is widely understood as a Roman misspelling of "Christus" (Christ). Acts 18:2 records Paul meeting Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth precisely because Claudius "had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome."
Why it matters
It pinpoints a verifiable Roman-state action — the expulsion under Claudius, around AD 49 — caused by disputes over Christ, and gives us extra-biblical anchoring for the chronology of Acts and Paul's ministry.
Cross-linked Scripture
- Acts 18:1-2— Same expulsion of Jews from Rome under Claudius that Luke records.
- Acts 18:1-3
- Romans 16:3-5
Doctrine check
Sources
- ·Suetonius, Life of Claudius 25.4
- ·Slingerland, H.D. (1997). Claudian Policymaking and the Early Imperial Repression of Judaism at Rome
See also
