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A History Christianity
Edited By: Robert A. Guisepi
Jesus
Nearly
all that is known about the life of Jesus, also called Jesus Christ, after
whom Christianity is named, is contained in the four Gospels of the New
Testament, particularly those of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. These accounts
were written 60 to 100 or more years after the birth of Christ by men of
different temperaments. They differ in some details but agree in all
essentials. Jesus himself left no writings. Aside from mere mention by two
Roman historians, in works written within a century after his death, the
secular historians of his time said nothing about this man who has had
such a profound influence on the life and thought of the world. Although in most countries today time is reckoned from the birth of
Jesus, a mistake occurred in fixing the date of this event. We have no
record of the exact date of Jesus' birth. But we do know that the date
adopted several centuries later as the beginning of the Christian Era was
at least four years too late; that is, Jesus was born in 4 BC, or earlier, according to our
reckoning. Tradition has it that Jesus, also called Jesus of Galilee or Jesus of
Nazareth, was born in Bethlehem of Judea, about 6 miles (9.7 kilometers)
from Jerusalem. Joseph was the legal father of Jesus, but according to
Biblical accounts, an angel appeared to Mary, a virgin, and told her that
she would bear a child who would be the Son of God. Before the birth Mary
and her husband Joseph, a poor carpenter from Nazareth in the northern
province of Galilee, were required to go to Bethlehem to be taxed by the
Roman governor. Because there was no room for them in any inn they had to
lodge in a cave hollowed in a hillside and used as a stable. But Jesus was
supposed to have been descended from David, the great king of Israel,
whose life is recounted in the Old Testament; and the New Testament holds
that his birth was heralded by signs and wonders. Guided by the words of
an angel, shepherds came to the cave and knelt in adoration before the
holy child lying in swaddling clothes in a manger. Soon afterward wise men, or Magi, as they were called, came from the
East, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen
his star in the East, and are come to worship him." The chief priests of
Herod, king of Jerusalem, said the child would be found in Bethlehem. The
Magi continued their journey, with the bright star--now traditionally
called the Star of Bethlehem--moving ahead of them till it stopped above
the place where the child lay. Herod feared his throne would be endangered by the child if he was
allowed to grow to manhood. To remove the threat, Herod ordered all
children 2 years old or younger to be slain. But Joseph, having been
warned by an angel in a dream, fled with Mary and the child to Egypt,
where they lived for some time until Herod's death. Then they returned to
Nazareth. Here Jesus passed his boyhood. Of these years, the Bible tells
only one incident. When he was 12 years old, Jesus went with his parents
to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. His parents had already traveled a
long distance when they suddenly noticed that young Jesus was not with
them. Anxiously returning to the Temple, they found him in the midst of
the doctors, who were astonished by his wisdom. Herod was succeeded by three of his sons; their rule and the presence
of oppressive Roman procurators in Palestine caused great distress and
hardship. When he was approaching 30 years of age, a prophet appeared,
announcing the near approach of the long-awaited Messiah. From the fact
that he baptized his followers in the Jordan River, he is known as John
the Baptist. Jesus came for baptism, and John recognized in him the
Messiah whose coming he had foretold. The word "Christ" had previously
been a religious title meaning "Messiah," but it soon came to be used as a
proper name for Jesus himself. In order to prepare himself for his ministry, Jesus went into the
wilderness. For 40 days and 40 nights he fasted and prayed, struggling
with temptation. After his return there gathered about him a group of
disciples who recognized him as the Messiah. From them were chosen 12
apostles to spread his message. Jesus exhorted them to give up all ties to
family and work, in order to become "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17; Luke
5:10) Jesus and his followers wandered through settlements in Galilee and the
surrounding countryside preaching a message of religious reform and divine
love. Common people welcomed him because of his healing powers, his
ability to teach effectively through parables, and his message that every
person could be saved. Many miracles were attributed to Jesus. In addition
to his extraordinary healing powers, he was believed to have turned water
into wine at a wedding feast at Cana and fed a crowd of 5,000 with five
loaves and two fishes. Wherever he went he sought out the lowly, the poor,
and the maimed. His ministry was strongly opposed by the Pharisees (a Jewish society of
scholars and priests) because of his interest in the poor and his
criticism of hypocrisy within the Jewish community. Jesus saw that many of
the Pharisees followed only the letter of the commandments and forgot the
spirit. For this he denounced them; while they in turn looked upon him as
a revolutionary, accused him of breaking the Sabbath because he healed the
sick on the day of rest, and regarded as blasphemy his claim to be the Son
of God. As his influence grew, his teaching also alarmed Roman
authorities. Although some of his followers took him to be the
long-awaited Messiah, Jewish and Roman authorities suspected him of having
revolutionary aims that might sweep away their power. After a brief ministry in Galilee, Jesus went with his disciples to
Jerusalem for Passover. In Jerusalem he taught in the Temple, and drove
out the money changers, which angered the priests. On Passover Eve, he ate
his last supper with his 12 disciples and retired for prayer to the Garden
of Gethsemane. There he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of the 12
disciples. He was arrested by Roman soldiers and brought before the
Sanhedrin, the Jewish council of priests and elders. After a hasty trial,
they condemned him as a blasphemer deserving death. They had no authority
to pass the death sentence, so they delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the
Roman governor. Pilate, after washing his hands to show that he was
innocent of the blood of the prisoner, yielded to popular demand and gave
him up to be crucified. Under Roman law Jesus was convicted as a political
rebel. With a crown of thorns on his head and wearing a purple robe, which
the soldiers put on him in mockery, because of his claim to be King of the
Jews, Jesus was led to Golgotha, the place of execution. The New Testament holds that after he had died Jesus' body was taken
from the cross and placed in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.
Three days later, when some women came with spices to embalm the body,
they found the tomb empty. An angel who kept watch told them that Jesus
had risen from the dead. Jesus was supposed to have appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, the once sinful woman from whom he had cast out seven devils
and who had become one of his followers, and then to others who had been
close to him. He spent 40 days on Earth after his resurrection and then
was taken up to heaven. Belief in Jesus' resurrection from the dead became
the focus of Christianity, the religion that developed around his
teachings. Jesus has been the accepted incarnation of God to followers of
the Christian faith for nearly 20 centuries Main Page |
