Once the Christian supplements are removed, the original notice is reduced to the description of Jesus as "wise man" and "performer of paradoxical deeds", the epithet "Christ" attached to the name of Jesus; the crediting of the death sentence to Pilate; and the mention of the existence of the followers of Jesus at the time of the writing of the Testimonium in the 90s CE.

Both "wise man" and "performer of paradoxical deeds" take us to plain Josephus territory. Great biblical and post-biblical characters like the priest Ezra, the miracle-worker Honi-Onias (Hame'agel, the circle-maker), and the Pharisaic leader Samaias are regularly portrayed as "just men" and John is called a "good man". More specifically, the legendary King Solomon and the Prophet Daniel carry the title of "wise man", and the miracle-working prophet Elisha is said to have performed "paradoxical deeds". The notion of a paradox is commonly used by Josephus in relation to extraordinary events caused by God (the manna or the burning bush) and to miracles performed by Moses (Ant. 3:37-38) and by the prophet Elisha (Ant. 9:182).

In contrast, the phrase "wise man" has no New Testament parallels in reference to Jesus and falls far short of an honorific title that a Christian forger would choose to describe the divine Christ. Note that in Paul "wise man" has a pejorative connotation (1 Cor 1:18-31) and in a saying of Jesus "the wise" are unfavourably compared to "babes" (Mt 11:25; Lk 10:21). Furthermore, a Christian interpolator would be presumed to use phrases borrowed from the New Testament such as "mighty deeds" or "signs" instead of the neutral "paradoxical deeds". The term "paradoxical" is found only once in the New Testament on the lips of uncommitted witnesses of a Gospel miracle (Lk 5:26). 

The fact that Josephus makes Pilate responsible for the crucifixion is highly significant. It is perfectly in line with Josephus's critical attitude towards the prefect of Judaea, the perpetrator of a series of dreadful acts. One would imagine that a later Christian forger would try to exculpate him and place the blame for the death of Jesus on the shoulders of the Jews, as do the New Testament and especially later church tradition. Finally, the detached picture of the followers of Jesus is in harmony with the attitude of an outsider, but would be odd in the case of a Christian apologist. 

The Jesus notice is a veritable tour de force. Josephus plays the role of a neutral witness. We know that when he wants to disapprove of someone, he knows how to do it. In his description of two pseudo-Messiahs, Theudas and "the Egyptian", both mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (5:26; 21:38), Josephus calls them "imposters".