Who is Jesus?
- S.K. Caraway
- May 8
- 8 min read
Jesus ( c. 6 to 4 BC – AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader and the central figure of Christianity. He was also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity, which views him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament, with most Christian denominations believing him to be the Son of God who after his crucifixion, was raised from the dead. Islam considers Jesus a prophet and also the Messiah. Several other religions including Islam, Catholicism and Christianity revere him in some way. The son of a carpenter, Joseph and a mother known as the Virgin Mary, He is one of the most influential figures in history.
Known as the Son of God who was crucified and raised from the dead for the salvation of all who trust in Him. Christ is certainly not Jesus's last name, but identifies Him as the Messiah (Christ is the Greek translation of Messiah), the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises that God saves His people. The four canonical gospels, Matthew (often considered the earliest), Mark, Luke, and John, are the main sources for the biography of Jesus' life. Three of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are known as the synoptic Gospels because they display a high degree of similarity in content, narrative arrangement, language, sentence and paragraph structures. These Gospels are also considered to share the same point of view. The fourth canonical Gospel, John, contains many stories and teachings not found in the other three Gospels and differs greatly from the three, as do the Apocryphal gospels (missing books of the bible). Jesus, as well as another profound prophet known as John the Baptist preached at times of great political, social, and religious conflict. In Christianity, John is thought of as the last prophet and Jesus as the Messiah. The problem that Jesus considered by Christians to be without sin, received John's baptism, which was for the repentance of sins (Mark 1:4) is addressed in the Gospel of Matthew's account, which has John refusing to baptize Jesus, saying, "I need to be baptized by you," until Jesus convinces him to baptize him. Nonetheless, John (according to the writings of Matthew), does not baptize Jesus but introduces Jesus to his disciples as the "Lamb of God" (John 1:29-36.
Jesus the Healer, Jesus the Teacher...
According to the Canonical Gospels, the ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1–3 years. In the biblical narrative, Jesus' method of teaching involved parables, metaphor, allegory, sayings, proverbs, and a small number of direct sermons. Matthew identifies Jesus as preaching the same message that John the Baptist had delivered prior to Jesus being baptized by John, namely repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near, which Matthew refers to as the good news of the kingdom—a phrase from which the term gospel derives (gospel is derived from the Old English for good news)—and then goes on to preach, teach, and heal, throughout Galilee. The healing came to the attention of people in the nearby region, and they brought their sick and ill people to Jesus, specifically those who suffered Torment (severe pain), paralysis, seizure (referred to as epilepsy, since at that time epilepsy was a more general term than it is now), and demonic possession. In most ancient manuscripts this region is named as Syria, a Roman Province that covered a very large area. At the time, in Judaism, disease was seen as an atonement for sin, and so healing was seen as forgiveness of sin, and was usually attributed to charismatic and devout priests and other religious leaders as Jesus came to be known.
The Last Supper took place in what is called today The Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion, just outside of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem and is traditionally known as The Upper Room. It is here that Jesus announces one of his twelve Apostles would betray him. Despite the assertions of each Apostle that it would not be he, Jesus is described as reiterating that it would be one of those who were present and goes on to say that there shall be woe to the man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born. Jesus revealed that the one who would betray him would be Judas Iscariot. It was the last meal before the arrest and crucifixion of Christ.
Jesus' Rebellion...
Jesus also represented controversy as well. The narrative of Jesus and the Money Changers occurs in all four Gospels in the New Testament It occurs near the end of the Synoptic Gospels (at Mark 11:15–19, 11:27–33, Matthew 21:12–17, 21:23–27 and Luke 19:45–48, 20:1–8) and near the start in the Gospel of John (at John 2:12–25). As a result some biblical scholars think there may have been two such incidents. In this episode, Jesus is stated to have visited the Temple in Jerusalem, Herod's Temple, at which the courtyard is described as being filled with livestock and the tables of the money changers, who changed the standard Greek and Roman money for Jewish and Tyrian money, which were the only coinage that could be used in Temple ceremonies. Creating a whip from some cords, "he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. But he said to those who sold doves, "Get these out of here! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" It is here that the Sanhedrin fear the temperament, influence and power of Jesus and begin to plan his death.
Jesus' Death...
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the first century A.D. Jesus was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross. The charges brought against Jesus were primarily of blasphemy for claiming to be God, claiming to be the King of the Jewish faith, and for allegedly violating various laws under the laws of Moses, which governed Jewish life. When the Jewish leaders' plan to kill Jesus first arose, they explained in John 10:33: '"For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."' However, the Bible portrays the true motivation for the trial as being political, rather than religious. The rulers, who had been hand-picked themselves by the Romans, were afraid that the Roman Empire occupying their country would view Jesus' following among the people as yet another uprising, prompting a military attack by Rome to crush a rebellion by the Jewish people. Jesus was forced to stand trial before the Sanhedrin, Pontius Pilate, and Herod Antipas, before being handed over for crucifixion. After being flogged, Jesus was mocked by Roman soldiers as the "King of the Jews", clothed in a purple robe, crowned with thorns, beaten and spat on. Jesus then had to make his way to the place of his crucifixion. Once at Golgotha, Jesus was stripped and nailed to the beam and hung between two convicted thieves. According to Mark's Gospel, he endured the torment for some six hours, from the third hour until his death at the ninth hour. The soldiers affixed a sign above his head stating "King of the Jews" in three languages, divided his garments and cast lots for his seamless robe, and offered him wine mixed with gall to drink, before eventually piercing his side with a spear to be certain that he had died.
The gospels mention a total of seven statements that Jesus made while he was being crucified, as well as several supernatural events that occurred, The gospel writers record seven statements uttered by Jesus while he was on the cross:
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Lk 23:34)
"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."(Lk 23:43)
"Woman, behold, your son!"(Jn 19: 25-27)
"E′li, E′li, la′ma sa‧bach‧tha′ni?"(Mt 27:46) (Mk 15:34) (Aramaic for "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?")
"I thirst."(Jn 19:28)
"It is finished."(Jn 19:30)
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!"(Lk 23:40)
While Jesus is hanging on the cross, the sky is "darkened for 3 hours," from the sixth to the ninth hour (noon to mid-afternoon). Both Roman orator Julius Africanus and Christian theologian Origen refer to Greek historian Phlegon as having written "with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place
The synoptic gospels state that after the killing of Christ, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. According to Josephus a first century historian, the curtain in Herod's temple would have been nearly 60 feet (18 m) high and 4 inches (100 mm) thick. According to Hebrews 9:1-10, this curtain was representative of the separation between God and man, beyond which only the High Priest was permitted to pass, and then only once each year (Ex 30:10) to enter into God's presence and make atonement for the sins of Israel. (Lev. 16) Bible expositors agree that the rending of the veil is symbolic of Jesus establishing a new and living way of access to God (Heb. 9:11-15). In her 1944 book 'Poem of the Man God' Italian writer and mystic Maria Valtorta (who had no medical education) provided a very detailed account of the death of Jesus that supports a cardiovascular collapse theory, compounded by partial asphyxiation, and she wrote that the account was dictated to her by Jesus himself in a vision. Endocrinologist Nicholas Pende expressed agreement with Valtorta's account and expressed surprise at the level of detail in which Valtorta depicted Christ's spasms in Crucifixion
The Transfiguration
An event reported by the Synoptic Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upon a mountain (Mount Tabor) (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36). Jesus became radiant, spoke with Moses and Elijah, and was called "Son" by God. It is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels. This miracle is unique among others that appear in the Gospels, in that the miracle happens to Jesus himself. Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 7 March 1274) an Italian priest of the Roman Catholic Church in the Dominican Order, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism) considered the Transfiguration "the greatest miracle" in that it complemented baptism and showed the perfection of life in Heaven. According to the Gospels, Peter, James, son of Zebedee and John the Apostle were with Jesus upon the mountain. The transfiguration put Jesus above Moses and Elijah, the two preeminent figures of Judaism. It also supports his identity as the Son of God. In keeping with the Messianic secret, Jesus tells the witnesses not to tell others what they saw until he has risen on the third day after his death on the cross.
The Great Commission...
Where on a mountain in Galilee, Jesus offered the Great Commission to his disciples in Matthew 28: 16-20, after his resurrection and before his ascension. This commission is often described as his final charge to his followers, instructing them to make disciples of all nations and to baptize and teach them to obey all his commands. The commission instructs the disciples to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you". This commission is considered the final charge Jesus gave to his followers before his ascension to heaven. It emphasizes the importance of spreading the Gospel and making disciples worldwide.
The Ascension...
The Ascension of Jesus refers to his ascent into heaven 40 days after his resurrection, as described in the New Testament. This event is a central tenet of Christian belief, marking Jesus' departure from Earth and his enthronement in heaven. It's celebrated annually as Ascension Day, and is considered a significant part of the Christian faith.
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