The publication contains a collection of the most important historical documents about Jesus Christ, both adjacent to the canonical Gospels and those outside biblical literature. This is a kind of manual for all students of the New Testament, regardless of whether they are a historian, religious scholar, theologian, or simply a believer. The published materials are of objective historical value. Almost every section contains excerpts from the works of early Christian writers directly related to a particular document. The collection includes special illustrative material: images of coins minted in Judea during the governorship of Pontius Pilate, a fragment of a marble slab with his dedicatory inscription , funeral urn with the name of Caiaphas, Other illustrations show how Jesus was seen by the early Christians, how his image developed in the first centuries of the Church. Belonging to different cultural and historical traditions, the documents are connected in chronological order and provided with the necessary comments. Some of the documents are translated into Russian for the first time. This edition of the collection in its revised and expanded form takes into account almost all the comments and suggestions made by the scientific community regarding previous editions. The book is intended for anyone interested in the history of Christianity. CONTENTS: IntroductionI. Some Gospel Messages in the Light of HistoryII. Josephus Flavius. "Testimony of Josephus" in the Christian traditionIII. Roman and other non-Christian authors of the 1st–2nd centuries IV. New Testament apocrypha of the 2nd–5th centuries. Acts of Pilate (Gospel of Nicodemus, 1–16)2. Gospel of Peter3. First Gospel of James4. Gospel of the Savior's Childhood (Gospel of Thomas)5. Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew6. Arabic Gospel of the Savior's Childhood7. Fragments of unidentified Gospels8. Early Christian authors on the New Testament apocrypha9. Christian parts of the Sibylline books10. Medieval authors about Jewish traditionsV. Jesus in Rabbinic Literature1. Talmud and Midrashim2. Toldot Yeshu (manuscripts A, S)3. Toldot Yeshu (manuscript V)VI. Jesus in the Islamic tradition1. Koran2. Sunnah3. At-tabari4. Al-mas'udiVII. Pseudohistorical texts1. Correspondence between Augustus and Herod the Great2. The Legend of Aphroditian3. Correspondence of Abgar Cherny4. Message of Lentulus5. Pilate's letters to Rome6. Letters of Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch7. Pilate's verdict8. APPENDIX Index of essay authors. Bibliography.SourcesResearch (cited and reference literature)"Behold the man": Jesus Christ as a historical figureAbbreviations