Jesus

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Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BC/BCE – c. 30-33 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus, is the central figure of Christianity. Most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated and believe that he rose from the dead after being crucified.[9][10]

The principal sources of information regarding Jesus are the four canonical gospels,[11] and most critical scholars find them, at least the Synoptic Gospels,[12] useful for reconstructing Jesus’ life and teachings.[13][14][15][16] Some scholars believe apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel according to the Hebrews are also relevant.[17]

Most critical historians agree that Jesus was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer, that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire.[18] Critical Biblical scholars and historians have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the Historical Jesus consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating an imminent apocalypse.[19] Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.[19]

Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was born of a virgin,[10]:529–32 performed miracles,[10]:358–59 founded the Church, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven,[10]:616–20 from which he will return.[10]:1091–109 Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah promised in the Old Testament and as God,[20] arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.[21] The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, one of three divine persons of a Trinity. A few Christian groups, however, reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, believing it to be non-scriptural.[22][23]

Judaism rejects assertions that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh.[24] In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى‎ or يسوع, commonly transliterated as Isa or Yasū, respectively) is considered one of God's important prophets,[25][26] a bringer of scripture, and the product of a virgin birth; but did not experience a crucifixion.[27] Islam and the Baha'i Faith use the title "Messiah" for Jesus,[28][29] but do not teach that he was God incarnate.


See also: Jesus (name), Holy Name of Jesus, and Yeshua

“Jesus” (pronounced /ˈdʒiːzəs/) is a transliteration, occurring in a number of languages and based on the Latin Iesus, of the Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), itself a Hellenisation of the Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yĕhōšuă‘, Joshua) or Hebrew-Aramaic יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēšûă‘).meaning "Yahweh delivers (or rescues)".[30][31]

The etymology of the name Jesus is generally explained as "God's salvation" usually expressed as "Yahweh saves"[32][33][34] "Yahweh is salvation"[35][36] and at times as "Jehovah is salvation".[37] The name Jesus appears to have been in use in Judaea at the time of the birth of Jesus.[38][37] And Philo's reference (Mutatione Nominum item 121) indicates that the etymology of Joshua was known outside Judaea at the time.[39]

In the New Testament, in Luke 1:31 an angel tells Mary to name her child Jesus, and in Matthew 1:21 an angel tells Joseph to name the child Jesus. The statement in Matthew 1:21 "you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" associates salvific attributes to the name Jesus in Christian theology.[40][41]

"Christ" (pronounced /ˈkraɪst/) is derived from the Greek Χριστός (Khristós) meaning "the anointed one", a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Māšîaḥ), usually transliterated into English as Messiah.[42][43] In the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible (written well over a century before the time of Jesus), the word Christ was used to translate into Greek the Hebrew word Māšîaḥ.[44] In Matthew 16:16, Apostle Peter's profession: "You are the Christ" identifies Jesus as the Messiah.[45] In post-biblical usage Christ became a name, one part of the name "Jesus Christ", but originally it was a title (the Messiah) and not a name.[46]
Historical context


Although a few scholars have questioned the existence of Jesus as an actual historical figure[47] most scholars involved with historical Jesus research believe his existence can be established using documentary and other evidence.[48][49][50][51][52][53] As discussed in the sections immediately below, the estimation of the year of death of Jesus places his lifespan around the beginning of the first century AD/CE, in the geographic region of Roman Judaea.[54][55][56][57][58] The New Testament also refers to the Sea of Galilee which is about 75 miles north of Jerusalem.[59]

Roman involvement in Judaea began around 63 BC/BCE and by 6 AD/CE Judaea had become a Roman province.[60] From 26-37 AD/CE Pontius Pilate was the governor of Roman Judaea.[61] In this time period, although Roman Judaea was strategically positioned between Asia and Africa, it was not viewed as a critically important province by the Romans.[62][63] The Romans were highly tolerant of other religions and allowed the local populations such as the Jews to practice their own faiths.[60]
Possible year of birth
See also: Anno Domini, Common Era, and Year zero

Two independent approaches have been used to estimate the year of the birth of Jesus, one by analyzing the Nativity accounts in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew along with other historical data, the other by working backwards from the estimation of the start of the ministry of Jesus, as also discussed in the section below.[64][5]

In their Nativity accounts, both the Gospels of Luke and Matthew associate the birth of Jesus with the reign of Herod the Great, who is generally believed to have died around 4 BC/BCE.[65][64] Matthew 2:1 states that: "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king" and Luke 1:5 mentions the reign of Herod shortly before the birth of Jesus.[64] Matthew also suggests that Jesus may have been as much as two years old at the time of the visit of the Magi and hence even older at the time of Herod's death.[66] But the author of Luke also describes the birth as taking place during the first census of the Roman provinces of Syria and Iudaea, which is generally believed to have occurred in 6 AD/CE.[67] Most scholars generally assume a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC/BCE.[68] Other scholars assume that Jesus was born sometime between 7–2 BC/BCE.[69][70][71][72][73]

The year of birth of Jesus has also been estimated in a manner that is independent of the Nativity accounts, by using information in the Gospel of John to work backwards from the statement in Luke 3:23 that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry.[5][3] As discussed in the section below, by combining information from John 2:13 and John 2:20 with the writings of Josephus, it has been estimated that around 27-29 AD/CE, Jesus was "about thirty years of age".[74][75] Some scholars thus estimate the year 28 AD/CE to be roughly the 32nd birthday of Jesus and the birth year of Jesus to be around 6-4 BC/BCE.[3][76][5]

However, the common Gregorian calendar method for numbering years, in which the current year is 2011, is based on the decision of a monk Dionysius in the six century, to count the years from a point of reference (namely, Jesus’ birth) which he placed sometime between 2 BC/BCE and 1 AD/CE.[77] Although Christian feasts related to the Nativity have had specific dates (e.g. December 25 for Christmas) there is no historical evidence for the exact day or month of the birth of Jesus.[78][79][80]

esus' crucifixion is described in all four Canonical gospels, and is attested to by other sources of that age (e.g. Josephus and Tacitus), and is regarded as an historical event.[168][147][169]

After the trials, Jesus made his way to Calvary (the path is traditionally called via Dolorosa) and the three synoptic Gospels indicate that he was assisted by Simon of Cyrene, the Romans compelling him to do so.[170][171] In Luke 23:27-28 Jesus tells the women in multitude of people following him not to cry for him but for themselves and their children.[170] Once at Calvary (Golgotha), Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall to drink - usually offered as a form of painkiller. Matthew's and Mark's Gospels state that he refused this.[170][171]

The soldiers then crucified Jesus and cast lots for his clothes. Above Jesus' head on the cross was the inscription King of the Jews, and the soldiers and those passing bye mocked him about the title. Jesus was crucified between two convicted thieves, one of whom rebuked Jesus, while the other defended him.[170][172] Each gospel has its own account of Jesus' last words, comprising the seven last sayings on the cross.[173][174][175] In John 19:26-27 Jesus entrusts his mother to the disciple he loved and in Luke 23:34 he states: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do", usually interpreted as his forgiveness of the Roman soldiers and the others involved.[176][177][178][173]

In the three synoptic Gospels, various supernatural events accompany the crucifixion , including darkness of the sky, an earthquake, and (in Matthew) the resurrection of saints.[171] The tearing of the temple veil, upon the death of Jesus, is referenced in the synoptic.[171] The Roman soldiers did not break Jesus' legs, as they did to the other two men crucified (breaking the legs hastened the crucifixion process), as Jesus was dead already. One of the soldiers pierced the side of Jesus with a lance and water flowed out.[172] In Mark 13:59, impressed by the events the Roman centurion calls Jesus the Son of God.[170][179][180][171]

Following Jesus' death, Joseph of Arimathea asked the permission of Pilate to remove the body. The body was removed from the cross, was wrapped in a clean cloth and buried in a new rock-hewn tomb, with the assistance of Nicodemus.[170] In Matthew 27:62-66 the Jews go to Pilate the day after the crucifixion and ask for guards for the tomb and also seal the tomb with a stone as well as the guard, to be sure the body remains there.[170][181][182]

The Gospels state that Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday.[183] All the Gospels portray Jesus' empty tomb. In Matthew, an angel appears near the tomb of Jesus and announces his resurrection to Mary Magdalene and "another Mary" who had arrived to anoint the body.[Mt 28:1–10] Jewish elders bribe the soldiers who had guarded the tomb to spread the rumor that Jesus' disciples took his body.[184] In Luke, there are two angels[Lk 24:4] and in Mark the angel appears as a youth dressed in white.[Mk 16:5] The "longer ending" to Mark, which is known as the Markan Appendix and which did not form part of the original manuscripts,[185][186] states that on the morning of his resurrection, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene.[Mk 16:9] John states that when Mary looked into the tomb, two angels asked her why she was crying; and as she turned round she initially failed to recognize Jesus until he spoke her name.[Jn. 20:11–18]

The Gospels all record appearances by Jesus, including an appearance to the eleven apostles.[187] In Mark, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, to two disciples in the country, and to the eleven, at which point Jesus commissions them to announce the gospel, baptize, and work miracles.[185] In Matthew, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the eleven on a mountain, at which point he commissions them to enlist followers, baptize, and teach what Jesus taught.[185] Although his own mission and his disciples' missions had been to the Jews,[Mt 15:24] here he sends the eleven to the whole world (see Great Commission). In Luke, he appears to two disciples in the country and to the eleven.[185] He proves to them that he has a body, opens their minds to understand the scripture about the Messiah, and directs them to wait in Jerusalem until they are invested with power.[185] In John, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the eleven. He demonstrates his physical reality to doubting Thomas.[139][185] Later he appears to seven disciples who are fishing, and finally talks with Peter, foretelling Peter's death[185] and assigning him the principal role as shepherd of the new community.[185][188]

In the Gospels of Mark and Luke, Jesus ascends to the heavens[Mk 16:19][Lk 24:5] after these appearances. In Luke, Jesus ascends after he blesses his disciples.[185] In Mark, the Ascension—where he sits at God's right hand—is said to have taken place, but is not described as a visible event.[185] John implies that Jesus will return to his Father[Jn. 20:17] but does not describe an Ascension.[185]

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