Jesus Christ

The son of God and founder of the Christian faith

Birth

According to the historical information provided in the Gospels, Jesus was likely born sometime between the years of 4-6 BC. While popular consensus stipulates that Jesus was born on December 25th, the date when Christmas is celebrated, there is no true and direct evidence of a particular date when Jesus was born. According to the Gospels, Jesus was born the son of Joseph, a carpenter and his bride, Mary, who conceived as a virgin. The Gospels establish that Joseph is in the line of King David, which fulfills the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would come from that family blood line.

 

Childhood

According to Matthew, soon after Jesus' birth, his family fled with him to Egypt to avoid Herod's massacre of children, which was designed to kill Jesus, who had been prophesied as being the Messiah. Upon the death of Herod, the whole family returned to Nazareth, the home of Mary and Joseph. Outside of an episode that features Jesus arguing with the temple elders, there is little in the Gospels that speaks to Jesus' life between his birth and the start of his ministry. Some writings try to fill in these facts, but they are regarded as apocryphal by most Christian denominations.

Baptism

The Gospel of Luke places Jesus at the age of 30 when he was baptized by John the Baptist, who many sources believe to have been Jesus' cousin. This event marked the start of Jesus' ministry along with the public recognition by God that Jesus was his son. Following his baptism, Jesus was led into the wilderness for forty days and nights, where he was tempted by Satan. Having resisted Satan's temptation, Jesus proceeded with his ministry and miracles throughout Israel. At the start of his ministry, Jesus gathered a collection of 12 disciples to him, whom later became known as the Apostles.

Ministry and Miracles

For the next three years, Jesus traveled through ancient Israel, performed miracles and taught through various parables and sermons. The Gospels attribute many miracles to Jesus, including providing food for a crowd of 5,000 with minimal amounts of bread and fishes, raising Lazarus from the dead, casting out demons, curing people of blindness, lameness and leprosy, and calming violent storms.

Among Jesus' teachings were the Lord's Prayer and the Beatitudes, presented during the Sermon on the Mount. Also prominent in Jesus' instruction were parables, which were stories or aphorisms, presented to illustrate a moral, ethical, or spiritual point. These parables included the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which illustrated God's forgiveness, the Parable of the Sower, which showed how care must be taken in presenting God's teachings, and the Parable of the Talents, which depicted God desiring that His gifts should be multiplied effectively rather than hidden.

Death

Because of Jesus' popularity, a large crowd hailed him as he entered the city of Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. This, along with his later action of casting the moneychangers out of the temple, aroused suspicion and jealousy in the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish council, who feared for the political stability of Jerusalem and the safety of the Jews. These feelings set the stage for Judas to be approached by the Sanhedrin with the intention that he should betray Jesus to them for the sum of 30 pieces of silver.

On what many Christians traditionally call Maundy Thursday, Jesus held the Passover meal, also known as the Last Supper with his disciples, where he washed their feet and predicted His coming, betrayal and death. After the dinner was over, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed before being betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Sanhedrin.

After being tried by the Sanhedrin, Jesus was turned over to Pontius Pilate, with the request that he be executed. Pilate showed trepidations about putting Jesus to death but, once the assembled crowd chose to free Barabbas rather than Jesus, Pilate made the determination that he should be crucified. As a result, Jesus was stripped, adorned with a crown of thorns, mocked, and crucified on what is traditionally known as Good Friday. According to some Gospel accounts, a massive earthquake occurred immediately after His death, which resulted in the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem. He is commonly believed to have been 33 at the time of his death and that, as it took place during the tenure of Pilate as prefect of Judea, it took place between 26-36 AD.

Resurrection

After having been laid in the tomb, Jesus rose from the dead after three days on what is known as Easter Sunday. His absence from the tomb was discovered by Mary Magdalene and another Mary, which is believed to not have been his mother. The risen Jesus later appeared to them and the Apostles and he is reported to have taught and performed miracles before his ascension to Heaven.

Importance to Christianity

Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and most mainstream denominations believe him to be part of the Holy Trinity, which encompasses God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many denominations hold that one has to be "born again" through baptism and belief in Jesus in order to enter Heaven. His death is held to be redemptive in that it redeems mankind of all of its sins and that he will ultimately return to judge the living and the dead.

Importance to Catholicism

Catholics believe similarly about Jesus in that they subscribe to His membership in the Trinity, His redemptive death, and his return in judgment. Catholics add that his sacrifice is perpetual, as represented by the rite of communion, which represents the literal ingesting of Jesus' transubstantiated blood and body in the form of a sip of sacramental wine and holy blessed wafer.

Importance to Judaism

Jesus has no special importance to Judaism. He is not believed to have fulfilled the requirements set forth in the Torah to be the Messiah. Different sects within Judaism hold that belief in Jesus as savior is enough to be declared an apostate Jew.