Over 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ left Nazareth in Israel to live and preach his message of faith and make followers while also earning enemies. Ultimately he found many followers, as well as enemies of his own.
He was a carpenter who performed miracles and taught about God’s kingdom, until one of his own disciples betrayed and crucified him; three days later, however, his resurrection occurred.
His Birth
Nearly 2000 years ago, an angel appeared to a young Jewish woman named Mary and informed her of her imminent pregnancy with Jesus – God’s own Son! This event came to be known as the Nativity and marked the beginning of His ministry.
According to Matthew and Luke’s Gospels, Jesus was born in Bethlehem during a Roman census. Joseph and Mary traveled there because Roman law mandated each head be counted in one place. Due to overcrowding in town, due to overcrowding the family was allowed to stay at an animal stable nearby which fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about his coming as Messiah.
Furthermore, the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth prefigured events that would transpire during His time on Earth. Shepherds in nearby fields heard about His birth; wise men from the East brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh from their journey from Asia in recognition of Jesus as divine; Herod attempted to kill him 33 years later–foreshadowing his eventual crucifixion as well.
Jesus attracted large crowds as both a teacher and preacher. He would interact freely with everyone he encountered – tax collectors and sinners included! – while frequently clashing with Jewish religious authorities who doubted his claims of being the Messiah. Many believed in his healing powers, leading them to create what became Christianity as one of the major world faiths today.
Over the centuries, scholars have debated Jesus’s life and history for millennia. Rudolf Bultmann in particular was highly critical of historical research in relation to Christian theology; more recently however Ernst Kasemann developed criteria for assessing historicity of Gospel accounts, leading to renewed interest in studying him – evidenced by John Dominic Crossan’s The Historical Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography and Marcus Borg’s Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time among others.
His Teachings
Jesus’ public ministry between 29 and 33 CE attracted large crowds and caused much contention. He preached peace and salvation while criticizing social injustices; crossing many social boundaries such as tax collectors, sinners and even tax collectors who had previously been shunned from society; advocating on behalf of poor individuals while clashing often with Jewish religious leaders.
The Gospels of the New Testament depict Jesus teaching his fellow Jews how to worship God, often by using parables. Christians believe these accounts to be historically accurate and view Jesus as both fully human and fully divine – an incarnate Son of God!
Jesus used various techniques to make his teachings memorable and compelling. These included proclaiming divine commands, comparing his message to existing law, debating opponents and citing scripture in support of his viewpoint, using poetry, exaggeration and metaphors among many other rhetorical styles; using wordplay, irony and riddles along with riddles and paradoxes frequently as teaching techniques.
Jesus made headlines as he entered Jerusalem during his final weeks on earth by overthrowing tables belonging to moneychangers who had made the temple an arena for trade and commerce, thus turning into a den of thieves and making disciples uncomfortable. Crowds cheered Jesus as he entered, with cheers of “Hosanna!” but when He entered the temple itself He caused controversy by turning over tables occupied by moneychangers; by doing this he inflamed religious tension while making headlines by condemning their business activities in holy space while criticizing them for conducting business transactions while criticising them for conducting business transactions inside an otherwise holy site (just like we shouldn’t play online slot games on websites recommended at https://moxiecafe.com in such places) and making worshippers uncomfortable with what they expected when entering worshipping Christs presence amongst them a den of thieves!
He exhorted his followers to love their enemies and not judge people based on outward appearances, wealth, status or education. Through teachings known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made clear that God’s laws do not simply exist to provide external standards of morality; they also aim to develop and inspire individuals from within. Lastly, Jesus stressed that his kingdom wasn’t one that belonged to this world and his disciples must be ready to leave it once their time comes.
The Gospels indicate that Jesus had twelve disciples whom he frequently took with him on his travels. One of Jesus’s most prominent followers was Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus appeared to after his resurrection and who is mentioned by all four Gospels. Jesus derives his name from Mesiah which means “anointed one”. Among ancient Jews this term would only apply when greater specificity was required and could refer either to either their father’s name or place of birth.
His Death
At the time of Jesus, there was a wide array of beliefs and opinions regarding Him. Some were completely against Him while others found Him supportive. Many saw Jesus as God’s Son, as the Source from which all creation had arisen, the Passover Sacrifice for Jewish People, Suffering Servant Who Taken Our Sins Away And New High Priest.
Jesus was also revered as a healer, exorcist, and miracle worker. Mark’s Gospel records that Jesus traveled throughout Galilee teaching with parables about fulfilling prophets’ prophecies and inaugurating God’s Kingdom.
According to Luke and John’s Gospels, Jesus was betrayed by Judas just prior to Passover and trial/crucifixion likely took place shortly thereafter. These accounts can be found in Luke and John, while Flavius Josephus provides one of the earliest non-Christian sources regarding Him as an early source for Jewish history writings.
He died an excruciating death. Beatings, hits and spitting ensued during his three hour death on the cross, leading him to cry out in pain and experience several outbursts that marked outbursts during that period of time. After an earthquake tore down part of Temple veil separating holy area from public area. Additionally, Gospels include seven statements by Jesus as His last breaths were drawn.
Jesus’ death marked the conclusion of a life that would have had profound ramifications on humanity, yet His resurrection would follow soon thereafter. His followers believed He was God incarnate who came down as human for one purpose only: to shed his blood by dying on a cross and rising again after three days on Earth. Today Christians still adhere to his claims and teachings as their Savior who paid the ultimate price to redeem all humanity from sins committed against Him during his earthly lifetime.
His Resurrection
Christianity depends on the resurrection of Jesus as it establishes Him as Messiah and Son of God – without it, His claims would be rendered hollow and His sacrifice for sinners futile. There are six facts which support Christ’s resurrection from death.
First mentioned in John 2:1-11 is Jesus at a wedding in Cana. As per John, when the hosts ran out of wine at their celebration they approached Jesus for help; He asked for large jars from them, transformed water into better-quality wine than before, and demonstrated His miraculous powers beyond human control – an event which stands as testimony that He truly had power beyond our grasp.
Other examples can be found throughout the Gospels of Jesus healing the sick and speaking with tax collectors and “sinners”, preaching to crowds, often clashing with religious leaders, performing miracles to prove He was indeed their Messiah.
Jesus continued His ministry even after His crucifixion by performing miracles and spreading His message of the kingdom. Additionally, His Upper Room discourse with His disciples (John 14-16) demonstrated His concern with spiritual matters. Lastly, He promised that the Holy Spirit would empower his disciples in continuing his ministry.
Though Jesus performed miracles and taught His followers, many still doubted He was the Messiah. Some doubters perceived His words to be deceiving while others suspected no Messiah would rise from the dead – yet Jesus made sure He demonstrated His identity by providing evidence of who He really was – something which was crucial for fulfilling His mission.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written within two generations after Jesus’ death and provide eyewitness accounts that strongly corroborate Jesus’ resurrection as historical fact. Furthermore, Paul himself wrote many other letters in the New Testament as he also had direct knowledge. Therefore, its historical accuracy can be supported with several appearances of Christ post resurrection including Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, two disciples on their way to Emmaus, then over 500 people all at one time!