The bible is full of references and stories about Jesus Christ. Four books are written specifically about his life, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But are there any references to Jesus outside the bible? Indeed there is starting with Josephus.
To look at references to Jesus outside the bible Josephus come to mind first. “What evidence is there for Christ’s existence? The earliest non-Christian reference occurs in Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews (A.D. 93?).” The Story of Civilization CAESAR AND CHRIST Will Durant, 1944, p.554 .
Josephus was a Jew who surrendered to the Romans during the Roman-Jewish war and collaborated with the Romans. He was an historian and wrote the Antiquities of the Jews around 93 A.D. Below is an excerpt Will Durant refers to:
“At that time lived Jesus, a holy man, if he may be called, for he performed wonderful works, and taught men, and joyfully received the truth. And he was followed by many Jews and many Greeks. He was the Messiah.”
Durant adds that there is some controversy about this passage. Lee Strobel gives a good breakdown of this passage in The Case for Christ.
“But even so, Josephus corroborates important information about Jesus: that he was the martyred leader of the church in Jerusalem and that he was a wise teacher who had established a wide and lasting following, despite the fact that he had been crucified under Pilate at the instigation of some of the Jewish leaders.” The Case for Christ Lee Strobel, 1998, p.80.
There are also references from Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Lucian, and from the Babylonian Talmud. See https://www.bethinking.org/jesus/ancient-evidence-for-jesus-from-non-christian-sources.
J. Warner Wallace, in his book Cold-Case Christianity (pp 106-201), mentions how Josephus, Thallus, Tacitus, Mara Bar-Serapion and Phlegon describe Jesus. Though not all descriptions contain His name, these references are about Jesus from writers born in the first century.
Also by Josephus – “At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. … They reported that he had appeared to them three days after the crucifixion and that he was alive …”
Thallus – Wrote in 52 AD but his writing are lost. Julius Africanus cites him as writing about Jesus and the 3 hours of darkness while Jesus was on the cross.
Tacitus – “Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, …”
Jewish literature also mentions Jesus although not in a positive way. (See The Case for Christ, p. 86) Strobel quotes Professor M. Wilcox as stating the Jewish writing ascribe to Jesus as being a teacher, healer, a miracle worker (though by sorcery), and had disciples.
The Koran recognizes the existence of Jesus, but that he was a prophet and denies that he was God.