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This 11th Century image is one of many Images of Jesus in which a halo is used to represent divinity.
Jesus (c. 6– 4 BCE to c. 29– 33 CE) is the central figure in Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from the Hebrew יהושע [Yehošua‘], and Greek Χριστός [Christos]), and an important prophet in Islam. He is also called Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene.The main account of his life is the four Gospels, which form the first books of the New Testament of the BibleThe Bible (From Greek βιβλια biblia meaning "books", which in turn is derived from βυβλος byblos meaning "papyrus", from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus). According to these, Jesus was the JewishJudaism is the religion and culture of the Jewish people and the first recorded monotheistic faith. The tenets and history of Judaism constitute the historical foundation of many other religions, including Christianity and Islam. Star of David, a common s MessiahThis article is about religious concept of Messiah. For the musical work by Handel, see Messiah (Handel). For the BBC television drama series, see Messiah (television). In Judaism, the Messiah "Anointed one", Standard Hebrew Mašia Tiberian Hebrew M& (anointed one) and the Son of GodSon of God is a biblical phrase from the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament. According to Christians it refers to Jesus Christ, whom they believe to be the begotten son of God. Son of God" in Judeo-Christian terms In the Hebrew Bible In the Hebrew Bible,, who preached a religious message in GalileeGalilee (Hebrew hagalil , Arabic al-jaleel ), meaning circuit is a large area located in what is currently northern Israel ( Tzafon), traditionally divided into three parts: Upper Galilee, Lower Galilee and Western Galilee. Geography Galilee embraces more and Judaea (in IsraelThis article discusses the State of Israel. For other meanings of Israel see Israel (disambiguation). The State of Israel Medinat Yisrael in Hebrew, Daulat Israil in Arabic) is a country in the Middle East on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea.), and was ultimately sentenced to death and crucifiedJesus typically, and inaccurately, show him supported by nails through the palms. Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, in which the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross ( Latin: crux and left to hang there until dead. Crucifixion ha in Jerusalem by order of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate before rising from the dead on the third day. Jesus's acts and words, as presented in the New Testament, constitute Christianity's basic teachings. These teachings were spread by a small group of followers or disciples known as Apostles. The most prominent of the disciples was Paul of Tarsus, a Christian Saint and putative author of several of the New Testament books, most notably the " Pauline epistles," which he is believed to have written while imprisoned.
There are many, widely differing, views of Jesus:
Main Article: Chronology of Jesus' birth and death
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of important years from empirical sources. (see also detailed timeline for Jesus and detailed Christian timeline)
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Main articles: New Testament view on Jesus' life
This section presents a description of Jesus' life, as based on the four gospels. It does not take a critical view of their historiography.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, while Nazareth in Galilee was his childhood home, as the son of Mary (a virgin) and God. Mary's husband was Joseph, who had sons called James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, and some daughters, who may, or may not, be the children from a previous marriage rather than Mary's.
The Gospels do not describe much of Jesus' life between the ages of 12 and 32, the last incident before the gap being that he instructed the scholars in the temple, neither is much of his childhood discussed (though some non-Biblical texts go into this detail). However, just after he was baptized by John the Baptist, to whom Jesus' relationship is not made clear, Jesus began his public teaching.
Jesus used a variety of methods in his teaching, such as paradox, koans, metaphor and parable, leaving it unclear how literally he wished to be taken and precisely what he meant. Jesus also performed various miracles in the course of his ministry, ranging from cures to exorcisms, with several others that show a dominion over nature. Scholars in mainstream Christian traditions as well as many secular scholars view these as claims of supernatural power. However, some consider the stories to be allegory, for example he made the blind to see, and the deaf to hear is taken by some to mean that he opened the eyes of people to the truth, and made the people that refused to listen do so.
Jesus debated with many religious leaders including the opposing forces of Sadducees and Pharisees, and produced argument which a few modern scholars think indicates that Jesus may have been a liberal Pharisee, or an Essene. For many years in the first millenium, Jesus was cast as an enemy of the Pharisees, as the Pharisees had become the dominant sect of Judaism. In his role as a social reformer, and with his followers holding the inflammatory view that he was Messiah, Jesus threatened the status quo.
Jesus also preached the imminent end of the current era of history, in some sense a literal end of the world as people of his time knew it; in this sense he was an apocalyptic preacher bringing a message about the imminent end of the world the Jews knew. Some interpretations of the text, particularly amongst Protestants, suggest that Jesus opposed stringent interpretations of Jewish law, supporting the spirit of the law more than the letter of the law.
The Bible does not explicitly indicate that Jesus had any romantic relationships, and most scholars and Christians think that he had none. However, some contrary interpretations are based on references to "the disciple whom Jesus loved", usually thought to refer to John the Apostle though some think it might be a reference to Lazarus, and a lesser number still think it may be Mary Magdalene.
right Michelangelo's Pietà shows Mary holding the dead body of Jesus.
Jesus came with his followers to Jerusalem during the Passover festival, created a disturbance at the Temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers there, and was subsequently arrested on the orders of the Sanhedrin and the High Priest, Joseph Caiphas.. He was identified to the guards by one of his Apostles, Judas Iscariot, who is portrayed as having betrayed Jesus, by a kiss.
Jesus was crucified by the Romans on the reluctant orders of Pontius Pilate, bowing to the Jewish religious leaders' pressure. A deal with Pilate by Joseph of Arimathea resulted in the body being taken down and entombed, during the presence of Mary and other women, notably Mary Magdalene.
Jesus' disciples encountered him again on the third day after his death, raised back to life. No one was a witness to the resurrection, though those who went to anoint the body found the tomb empty. After the resurrection, the Gospels give various accounts of Jesus meeting various people in various places over a period of forty days before "ascending into heaven".
According to most Christian interpretations of the Bible, the theme of Jesus' preaching was that of apocalyptic repentance. Later, Jesus extensively trained twelve Apostles to continue his teachings. Most Christians who hold that Jesus's miracles were literally true, not allegory, think that the Apostles gained the power to perform healing to both Jews and Gentiles alike after they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit which he was to send to them following his Ascension.
Main article: Names and titles of Jesus
Jesus is derived from the Greek Ιησους (Iēsoûs) via Biblical Latin. The earliest use of Iēsoûs is found in the Septuagint, as a transliteration of the Hebrew name Yehoshua (יהושע — known in English as Joshua when transliterated directly from Hebrew), and also Yeshua (ישוע). Jesus' original Aramaic name is not reported by ancient sources, though modern scholars have suggested ישׁוע / Yešûaʿ which was a fairly common name at the time. His patronymic would have been, ben Yusef, for "son of Joseph."
Christ is not a name but a title, which comes from the Greek Χριστός (Christos) via Latin, which means anointed with chrism. The Greek form is a liberal translation of Messiah from Hebrew mashiyakh (משיח) or Aramaic m'shikha (משיחא), a word which occurs often in the Hebrew Bible and typically refers to the "high priest" or " king".
The Gospels record Jesus referring to himself both as Son of Man and as Son of God, but not as God the Son. However, some scholars have argued that Son of Man was an expression that functioned as an indirect first person pronoun, and that Son of God was an expression that signified "a righteous person". Evidence for these positions is provided by similar use by other persons than Jesus at a similar time to the writing of the Gospels, such as Jewish priests and judges.
In the Gospels, Jesus has many other titles, including Prophet, Lord, and King of the Jews . Together, the majority of Christians understand these titles as attesting to Jesus' divinity. Some historians argue that when used in other Hebrew and Aramaic texts of the time, these titles have other meanings, and therefore may have other meanings when used in the Gospels as well.
See: Historicity of Jesus, Jesus and textual evidence
Debates concerning Jesus as a historical figure center on three issues: the role of God in natural and human history, the veracity of the New Testament as a historical source, and the paucity of other, non-Christian sources that attest to events in the New Testament.
The question of God's role in natural and human history involves not only assumptions about God, but about how humans acquire knowledge. This subject is discussed in the disciplines of epistemology and metaphysics.
The 19th century was particularly marked by a movement toward higher criticism, where previously universally accepted tenets were closely inspected to determine their veracity. One of the major centers of this study with respect to the Bible and the life of Jesus was Eberhard Karls university in Tübingen, Germany. Some scholars in this group reached the conclusion that there was no historical Jesus at all.
As might be expected, opinions about the historicity of Jesus run the gamut from "myth" ( Earl Doherty) to "demythologized" ( Rudolf Bultmann) to "basically historical, with additions" ( Will Durant) to "fully historical" (most conservative Christians).
Consensus on such an issue is particularly hard to reach, given that the subject touches on deeply held beliefs. The majority of Christian theologians and historians and some non-Christian theologians and historians acknowledge that a person named Jesus did exist in the first century. Beyond that, little has been absolutely agreed upon.
Main Article: Cultural and historical background of Jesus
To understand Jesus properly it is generally agreed by scholars that it is necessary to understand the world in which he lived. This was a volatile period marked by cultural and political dilemmas. Culturally, Jews had to grapple with the values of Hellenism and its philosophy, together with the paradox that their Torah applied only to them, but revealed universal truths. This situation led to new interpretations of the Torah, influenced by Hellenic thought and in response to Gentile interest in Judaism.
All of Palestine belonged to the Roman empire at the time given for Jesus' birth, but it was indirectly ruled by King Herod the Great. After Herod's death in 4 BC, Judea and Samaria were combined into the Roman province of Palestina, ruled by a procurator. Galilee, where Jesus allegedly grew up, remained under the jurisdiction of Herod's son, the Tetrarch Herod Antipas.
Within Judaism, there were several parties, primarily the Sadducees, closely connected with the priesthood and the temple, and the Pharisees, who were teachers and leaders of the synagogues. They resented Roman occupation, but at Jesus' time were not particularly political. Isolated in small communities from these main groups, by choice, lived the Essenes, whose theology and philosophy are percieved as having influenced Jesus and/or John the Baptist by many scholars. The Zealots, who advocated direct action against the Romans (eventually leading to the destruction of the temple, and the subsequent decline of the Saducees and Essenes), may have been active at this time (though this is debated).
Many Jews hoped that the Romans would be replaced by a Jewish king (or Messiah) of the line of David — the last legitimate Jewish regime. Most Jews (like the sage and High Priest Yehoshua ben Gamala) believed that their history was governed by God, meaning that even the conquest of Judea by the Romans was a divine act. Therefore the Romans would be replaced by a Jewish king only through divine intervention; thus, the majority of Jews accepted Roman rule. Some like John the Baptist in the first half of the century, and Yehoshua ben Ananias in the second, claimed that a messianic age was at hand. Others believed that the kingdom should be restored immediately, through violent human action.
Main article: Alleged relics of Jesus Christ
There are many items that are purported to be authentic relics of the Gospel account, which are listed in the main article. The most famous alleged relic of Jesus is the Shroud of Turin, which is claimed to be the burial shroud used to wrap the body of Jesus. Many modern Christians, however, do not accept any of these as true relics. Indeed, this skepticism has been around for centuries, with Erasmus joking that so much wood formed parts of the True Cross, that Jesus must have been crucified on a whole forest.
Main article: Non-Christian perspectives on Jesus
There has been a wide range of reactions to Jesus from adherents of other faiths, from ignoring him completely to seeing him as an important figure, while rejecting the exclusive claims of Christianity.
Main article: Dramatic portrayals of Jesus Christ
Jesus has been featured in many films and media, sometimes as a serious portrayal, and other times as satire. Many of these portrayals have attracted controversy, whether they were intended to be based on the Biblical accounts (such as Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Pier Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew) or intentionally added extra material (such as The Last Temptation of Christ). Another recurring theme is the up-dating of aspects of the life of Jesus, or imagining his Second Coming (for example, The Seventh Sign).
In many portrayals Jesus himself is a minor character, used to develop the overall themes. For example, in Ben Hur and The Life of Brian Jesus only appears in a few scenes.
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