   #copyright

Jesus

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Divinities; Religious
figures and leaders

   In the 6th-century mosaic in Ravenna Jesus is portrayed as a
   Greco-Roman priest and king - the Pantokrator enthroned, donning regal
   Tyrian purple, and gesturing a sign of the cross.
   Enlarge
   In the 6th-century mosaic in Ravenna Jesus is portrayed as a
   Greco-Roman priest and king - the Pantokrator enthroned, donning regal
   Tyrian purple, and gesturing a sign of the cross.

   A series of articles on

   Jesus Christ and Christianity
   Christology
   Chronology
   Ministry
   Miracles
   Parables
   Names and titles
   Relics

   Non-religious aspects
   Background
   Historicity
   Greek • Aramaic
   Race

   Perspectives on Jesus
   New Testament view
   Christian views
   Religious perspectives
   Jewish view
   Islamic view of his death
   Yuz Asaf
   Historical Jesus
   Jesus Seminar
   Jesus as myth
   Criticism

   Jesus in culture
   Popular culture
   Dramatic portrayals
   Images

   Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/ CE), also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is
   the central figure of Christianity. The name "Jesus" is an
   Anglicization of the Greek Iesous, itself a transliteration of the
   Hebrew Jeshua, meaning " YHWH is salvation". He is commonly referred to
   as Jesus Christ, where " Christ" is a title derived from the Greek
   christos, meaning "Anointed One", which corresponds to the
   Hebrew-derived " Messiah".

   The main sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are
   the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke,
   and John. Most scholars in the fields of history and biblical studies
   agree that Jesus was a Jewish teacher from Galilee, who was regarded as
   a healer, was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in
   Jerusalem on orders of the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate under the
   accusation of sedition against the Roman Empire. A small minority of
   scholars and authors question the historical existence of Jesus,
   arguing for a completely mythological Jesus.

   Christian views of Jesus (see Christology) centre on the belief that
   Jesus is the Messiah as promised in the Old Testament and that he was
   resurrected after he died on a cross. Christians typically believe
   Jesus is the Son of God, and that he was sent by God to provide
   salvation from death and reconciliation with God by atoning for the
   sins of humanity by his death. Trinitarian Christians (the majority)
   believe that Jesus is God incarnate, while Nontrinitarian Christians
   profess various other interpretations regarding his divinity. Other
   common Christian beliefs include his Virgin Birth, miracles,
   fulfillment of biblical prophecy, ascension into Heaven, and future
   Second Coming.

Chronology

    Suggested years of Jesus'
   birth and death based on
   Gospel interpretations
   c. 8 BC/BCE Birth (earliest)
   c. 4 BC/BCE Herod's death
   c. 6 AD/CE  Birth (latest)
               Quirinius' census
   c. 26/27    Pilate governor
   c. 27       Death (earliest)
   c. 36       Death (latest)
   c. 36/37    Pilate removed

   The most detailed accounts of Jesus' birth are contained in the Gospel
   of Matthew (probably written between 65 and 90 AD/CE) and the Gospel of
   Luke (probably written between 65 and 100 AD/CE). There is considerable
   debate about the details of Jesus' birth among even Christian scholars,
   and few scholars claim to know precisely either the year or the date of
   his birth or of his death.

   The nativity accounts in Matthew and Luke do not mention a date or time
   of year for the birth of Jesus. In Western Christianity, it has been
   traditionally celebrated in the liturgical season of Christmastide as
   Christmas on 25 December, a date that can be traced as early as 330
   among Roman Christians. Before then, and still today in Eastern
   Christianity, Jesus' birth was generally celebrated on January 6 as
   part of the feast of Theophany, also known as Epiphany, which
   commemorated not only Jesus' birth but also his baptism by John in the
   Jordan River and possibly additional events in Jesus' life. Many
   scholars note that the event described in Luke of the shepherds'
   activities suggest a spring or summer date for Jesus' birth. Scholars
   speculate that the date of the celebration was moved in an attempt to
   replace the Roman festival of Saturnalia (or more specifically, the
   birthday of the pagan god Sol Invictus).

   In the 248th year during the Diocletian Era (based on Diocletian's
   ascension to the Roman throne), Dionysius Exiguus attempted to pinpoint
   the number of years since Jesus' birth, arriving at a figure of 753
   years after the founding of Rome. Dionysius then set Jesus' birth as
   being December 25 1 ACN (for "Ante Christum Natum", or "before the
   birth of Christ"), and assigned AD 1 to the following year — thereby
   establishing the system of numbering years from the birth of Jesus:
   Anno Domini (which translates as "in the year of our Lord"). This
   system made the then current year 532, and almost two centuries later
   it won acceptance and became the established calendar in Western
   civilization due to its further championing by the Venerable Bede.

   However, based on a lunar eclipse that Josephus reports shortly before
   the death of Herod the Great (who plays a major role in Matthew's
   account), as well as a more accurate understanding of the succession of
   Roman Emperors, Jesus' birth would have been some time during or before
   the year 4 BC/BCE. Having fewer sources and being further removed in
   time from the authors of the New Testament, establishing a reliable
   birth date now is particularly difficult. Alternatively, based on the
   idea that a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction was the "star" the Wise Men
   followed, the birth could be as early as 7BC/BCE.

   The exact date of Jesus' death is also unclear. Many scholars hold that
   the Gospel of John depicts the crucifixion just before the Passover
   festival on Friday 14 Nisan, called the Quartodeciman, whereas the
   synoptic gospels (except for Mark 14:2) describe the Last Supper,
   immediately before Jesus' arrest, as the Passover meal on Friday 15
   Nisan; however, a number of scholars hold that the synoptic account is
   harmonious with the account in John. Further, the Jews followed a
   lunisolar calendar with phases of the moon as dates, complicating
   calculations of any exact date in a solar calendar. According to John
   P. Meier's A Marginal Jew, allowing for the time of the procuratorship
   of Pontius Pilate and the dates of the Passover in those years, his
   death can be placed most probably on April 7, 30 AD/CE or April 3, 33
   AD/CE.

Life and teachings, as told in the Gospels

               Major events in Jesus's life in the Gospels
     * Nativity
     * Baptism
     * Temptation
     * Sermon on the Mount
     * Commission of the Twelve
     * Miracles
     * Entering Jerusalem
     * Temple incident
     * Great Commandment
     * Anointing
     * Last Supper
     * Promise of the Paraclete
     * Arrest
     * Before the High Priest
     * Before Pilate
     * Death & Resurrection
     * Great Commission
     * Ascension
     * Second Coming Prophecy
     __________________________________________________________________

   As few of the details of Jesus' life can be independently verified, it
   is difficult to gauge the historical accuracy of the Biblical accounts.
   The four canonical gospels are the main sources of information for the
   traditional Christian narrative of Jesus' life.

Genealogy and family

   Jesus and Mary: Black Madonna of Częstochowa
   Enlarge
   Jesus and Mary: Black Madonna of Częstochowa

   Of the four gospels, only Matthew and Luke give accounts of Jesus'
   genealogy. Matthew's account gives the male line through his legal
   father Joseph; Luke either gives the male line or, according to another
   interpretation, the line through Jesus' mother, Mary. Both accounts
   trace his line back to King David and from there to Abraham. These
   lists are identical between Abraham and David, but they differ between
   David and Joseph. Matthew starts with Solomon and proceeds through the
   kings of Judah to the last king, Jeconiah. After Jeconiah, the line of
   kings terminated when Babylon conquered Judah. Thus, Matthew shows that
   Jesus is the legal heir to the throne of Israel. Luke's genealogy is
   longer than Matthew's; it goes back to Adam and provides more names
   between David and Jesus.

   Joseph appears only in descriptions of Jesus' childhood. With Jesus
   commending Mary into the care of the beloved disciple during his
   crucifixion ( John 19:25–27), it is likely that he had died by the time
   of Jesus' ministry. The New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, and
   Galatians tell of Jesus' relatives, including possible brothers and
   sisters. The Greek word adelphos in these verses, often translated as
   brother, can refer to any familial relation, and most Catholics and
   Eastern Orthodox translate the word as kinsman or cousin in this
   context (see Perpetual virginity of Mary).

   An account of the childhood of Mary is given in the mid-second century
   non-canonical Protoevangelium of James.

Nativity and early life

   Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerard van Honthorst , 17th c.
   Enlarge
   Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerard van Honthorst , 17th c.

   According to Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea to
   Mary, a virgin, by a miracle of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of Luke
   gives an account of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary to tell her that
   she was chosen to bear the Son of God ( Luke 1:26–38). According to
   Luke, an order of Caesar Augustus forced Mary and Joseph to leave their
   homes in Nazareth and come to the home of Joseph's ancestors, the house
   of David, for the Census of Quirinius. After Jesus' birth, the couple
   was forced to use a manger in place of a crib because there was no room
   for them in the town's inn ( Luke 2:1–7). According to Luke, an angel
   announced Jesus' birth to shepherds who came to see the newborn child
   and subsequently publicized what they had witnessed throughout the area
   (see The First Noël). Matthew also tells of the " Wise Men" or " Magi"
   who brought gifts to the infant Jesus after following a star which they
   believed was a sign that the Messiah, or King of the Jews, had been
   born ( Matthew 2:1-12), and of the flight to Egypt after Jesus' birth
   in order to escape Herod's Massacre of the Innocents.

   Jesus' childhood home is stated in the Bible to have been the town of
   Nazareth in Galilee. According to Luke, Joseph and Mary lived in
   Nazareth before Jesus' birth and returned there afterwards. According
   to Matthew, the family remained in Egypt until Herod's death, whereupon
   they moved to Nazareth in order to avoid living under the authority of
   Herod's son and successor Archelaus ( Matthew 2:19-23).

   Aside from the flight to Egypt and a short trip to Tyre and Sidon, all
   other events in the Gospels are set in ancient Israel. According to
   Luke ( Luke 3:23) Jesus was "about thirty years of age" when he was
   baptized. The only event mentioned between Jesus' infancy and baptism
   in any of the canonical Gospels is Luke's Finding in the Temple ( Luke
   2:41–52). In Mark Jesus is called a carpenter ( Mark 6:3), and in
   Matthew a carpenter's son ( Matthew 13:55), suggesting that Jesus spent
   some of the intervening time practising carpentry with his father.

Baptism and temptation

   The Gospel of Mark begins with the Baptism of Jesus by John the
   Baptist, which Biblical scholars describe as the beginning of Jesus'
   public ministry. According to Mark, Jesus came to the Jordan River
   where John the Baptist had been preaching and baptizing people in the
   crowd. Matthew adds to the account by describing an attempt by John to
   decline Jesus' request for baptism, saying that it is Jesus who should
   baptize John. Jesus insisted however, claiming that baptism was
   necessary to "fulfill all righteousness." ( Matthew 3:15). After Jesus
   had been baptized and rose from the water, Mark states Jesus "saw the
   heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a
   voice came from heaven saying: ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am
   well pleased.’" ( Mark 1:10–11).

   Following his baptism, according to Matthew, Jesus was led into the
   desert by God where he fasted for forty days and forty nights. During
   this time, the devil appeared to him and tempted Jesus to demonstrate
   his supernatural powers as proof of being the Son of God, although each
   temptation was refused by Jesus with a quote of scripture from the Book
   of Deuteronomy. In all, he was tempted three times. The Gospels state
   that having failed, the devil departed and angels came and brought
   nourishment to Jesus ( Matthew 4:1-11).

   The narrative of the Baptism and Temptation is in the Synoptics, but
   not in the Gospel of John.

Ministry

   Sermon on the Mount, Carl Heinrich Bloch, 19th c.
   Enlarge
   Sermon on the Mount, Carl Heinrich Bloch, 19th c.

   The Gospels state that Jesus, as Messiah, was sent to "give his life as
   a ransom for many" and "preach the good news of the Kingdom of God."
   Over the course of his ministry, Jesus is said to have performed
   various miracles, including healings, exorcisms, walking on water,
   turning water into wine, and raising several people, such as Lazarus,
   from the dead ( John 11:1–44).
   Judæa and Galilee at the time of Jesus
   Enlarge
   Judæa and Galilee at the time of Jesus

   The Gospel of John describes three different passover feasts over the
   course of Jesus' ministry. This implies that Jesus preached for a
   period of three years, although some interpretations of the Synoptic
   Gospels suggest a span of only one year. The focus of his ministry was
   toward his closest adherents, the Twelve Apostles, though many of his
   followers were considered disciples. Jesus led what many believe to
   have been an apocalyptic following. He preached that the end of the
   current world would come unexpectedly; as such, he called on his
   followers to be ever alert and faithful.

   At the height of his ministry, Jesus attracted huge crowds numbering in
   the thousands, primarily in the areas of Galilee and Perea (in
   modern-day Israel and Jordan respectively). Some of Jesus' most famous
   teachings come from the Sermon on the Mount, which contained the
   Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer. Jesus often employed parables, such
   as the Prodigal Son, and the Parable of the Sower. His teachings
   centered around unconditional self-sacrificing God-like love for God
   and for all people. During his sermons, he preached about service and
   humility, the forgiveness of sin, faith, turning the other cheek, love
   for one's enemies as well as friends, and the need to follow the spirit
   of the law in addition to the letter.

   Jesus often met with society's outcasts, such as the publicani
   (Imperial tax collectors who were despised for extorting money),
   including the apostle Matthew; when the Pharisees objected to meeting
   with sinners rather than the righteous, Jesus replied that it was the
   sick who need a physician, not the healthy ( Matthew 9:9–13). According
   to Luke and John, Jesus also made efforts to extend his ministry to the
   Samaritans, who followed a different form of the Israelite religion.
   This is reflected in his preaching to the Samaritans of Sychar,
   resulting in their conversion ( John 4:1–42).

Arrest, trial, and death

   Ecce Homo (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseri, 19th c.: Pontius Pilate
   presents a scourged Jesus of Nazareth to onlookers: a very popular
   motif in Christian art.
   Enlarge
   Ecce Homo (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseri, 19th c.: Pontius Pilate
   presents a scourged Jesus of Nazareth to onlookers: a very popular
   motif in Christian art.

   According to the Gospels, Jesus came with his followers to Jerusalem
   during the Passover festival where a large crowd came to meet him,
   shouting, " Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
   Blessed is the King of Israel!" Following his triumphal entry,
   according to the synoptic gospels, Jesus created a disturbance at
   Herod's Temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers operating
   there, claiming that they had made the Temple a "den of robbers." (
   Mark 11:17). Later that week, according to the synoptic gospels, Jesus
   celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples, subsequently known as
   the Last Supper in which he prophesied his future betrayal by one of
   his apostles and ultimate execution. In this ritual he took bread and
   wine in hand, saying: "this is my body which is given for you" and
   "this cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood,"
   and instructed them to "do this in remembrance of me" ( Luke 22:7-20).
   Following the supper, Jesus and his disciples went to pray in the
   Garden of Gethsemane.

   While in the garden, Jesus was arrested by Roman soldiers on the orders
   of the Sanhedrin and the high priest, Caiaphas. The arrest took place
   clandestinely at night to avoid a riot, as Jesus was popular with the
   people at large ( Mark 14:2). According to the synoptics, Judas
   Iscariot, one of his apostles, betrayed Jesus by identifying him to the
   guards with a kiss. Another apostle used a sword to attack one of the
   captors, cutting off his ear, which, according to Luke, Jesus
   immediately healed. Jesus rebuked the apostle, stating "all they that
   take the sword shall perish by the sword" ( Matthew 26:52). After his
   arrest, Jesus' apostles went into hiding.
   Crucifixion, Diego Velázquez, 17th c.
   Enlarge
   Crucifixion, Diego Velázquez, 17th c.

   During the Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, the high priests and elders asked
   Jesus, "Are you the Son of God?", and upon his reply of "You say that I
   am", condemned Jesus for blasphemy ( Luke 22:70–71). The high priests
   then turned him over to the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate, based on an
   accusation of sedition for claiming to be King of the Jews. While
   before Pilate, Jesus was questioned "Are you the king of the Jews?" to
   which he replied, "It is as you say." According to the Gospels, Pilate
   personally felt that Jesus was not guilty of any crime against the
   Romans, and since there was a custom at Passover for the Roman governor
   to free a prisoner (a custom not recorded outside the Gospels), Pilate
   offered the crowd a choice between Jesus of Nazareth and an
   insurrectionist named Barabbas. The crowd chose to have Barabbas freed
   and Jesus crucified. Pilate washed his hands to display that he himself
   was innocent of the injustice of the decision ( Matthew 27:11–26).

   According to all four Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon. The
   wealthy Judean Joseph of Arimathea, according to Mark and Luke a member
   of the Sanhedrin, received Pilate's permission to take possession of
   Jesus' body, placing it in a tomb. According to John, Joseph was joined
   in burying Jesus by Nicodemus, who appears in other parts of John's
   gospel ( John 19:38–42). The three Synoptic Gospels tell of an
   earthquake and of the darkening of the sky from twelve until three that
   afternoon.

Resurrection and Ascension

   Christ en majesté, Matthias Grünewald, 16th c.: Resurrection of Jesus
   Enlarge
   Christ en majesté, Matthias Grünewald, 16th c.: Resurrection of Jesus

   According to the Gospels, Jesus was raised from the dead on the third
   day after his crucifixion. The Gospel of Matthew states that an angel
   appeared near the tomb of Jesus and announced his resurrection to the
   women who had arrived to anoint the body. According to Luke it was two
   angels, and according to Mark it was a youth dressed in white. Mark
   states that on the morning of his resurrection, Jesus first appeared to
   Mary Magdalene ( Mark 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 ( John
   20:11-18).

   The Acts of the Apostles state that Jesus appeared to various people in
   various places over the next forty days. Hours after his resurrection,
   he appeared to two travellers on the road to Emmaus. To his assembled
   disciples he showed himself on the evening after his resurrection.
   Although his own ministry had been specifically to Jews, Jesus is said
   to have sent his apostles to the Gentiles with the Great Commission and
   ascended to heaven while a cloud concealed him from their sight.
   According to Acts, Paul of Tarsus also saw Jesus during his Road to
   Damascus experience. Jesus promised to come again to fulfill the
   remainder of Messianic prophecy.

Historicity

   Scholars use the historical method to develop probable reconstructions
   of Jesus' life. This is to be distinguished from the Biblical Jesus,
   which derives from a theological reading of the Gospel texts. Some
   scholars dispute the historicity of Jesus.

Historical and archaeological reconstructions of Jesus' day to day life

   Secular historians generally describe Jesus as an itinerant preacher
   and leader of a religious movement within Judaism.

Social Background

   Most scholars agree the Gospels were written shortly before or after
   the destruction of the Jewish Temple in the year 70 by the Romans.
   Examining the New Testament account of Jesus in light of historical
   knowledge about the time when Jesus was purported to live, as well as
   historical knowledge about the time during which the New Testament was
   written, has led several scholars to reinterpret many elements of the
   New Testament accounts. Many have sought to reconstruct Jesus' life in
   terms of contemporaneous political, cultural, and religious currents in
   Israel, including differences between Galilee and Judea; between
   different sects such the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots; and
   in terms of conflicts among Jews in the context of Roman occupation.

Ties to Religious Groups

   The Gospels record that Jesus was a Nazarene, but the meaning of this
   word is vague. Some scholars assert that Jesus was himself a Pharisee.
   In Jesus' day, the two main schools of thought among the Pharisees were
   the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai. Jesus' assertion of
   hypocrisy may have been directed against the stricter members of the
   House of Shammai, although he also agreed with their teachings on
   divorce ( Mark 10:1–12). Jesus also commented on the House of Hillel's
   teachings (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a) concerning the greatest
   commandment ( Mark 12:28–34) and the Golden Rule ( Matt 7:12).

   Other scholars assert that Jesus was an Essene, a sect of Judaism not
   mentioned in the New Testament. Still other scholars assert that Jesus
   led a new apocalyptic sect, possibly related to John the Baptist, which
   became Early Christianity after the Great Commission spread his
   teachings to the Gentiles. This is distinct from an earlier commission
   Jesus gave to the twelve Apostles, limited to "the lost sheep of
   Israel" and not including the Gentiles or Samaritans ( Matt 10).

Names and titles

   According to most critical historians, Jesus probably lived in Galilee
   for most of his life and he probably spoke Aramaic and Hebrew. The name
   "Jesus" is an English transliteration of the Latin (Iēsus) which in
   turn comes from the Greek name (Ιησους). Since most scholars hold that
   Jesus was an Aramaic-speaking Jew living in Galilee around 30 AD/CE, it
   is highly improbable that he had a Greek personal name. Further
   examination of the Septuagint finds that the Greek, in turn, is a
   transliteration of the Hebrew name Yehoshua (יהושוע) (Yeho - Yahweh
   [is] shua` - help/salvation) or the shortened Hebrew/ Aramaic Yeshua or
   Jeshua (ישוע). As a result, scholars believe that one of these was most
   likely the name that Jesus was known by during his lifetime by his
   peers.

   Christ (which is a title and not a part of his name) is an
   Anglicization of the Greek term for Messiah, and literally means
   "anointed one". Historians have debated what this title might have
   meant at the time Jesus lived; some historians have suggested that
   other titles applied to Jesus in the New Testament (e.g. Lord, Son of
   Man, and Son of God) had meanings in the first century quite different
   from those meanings ascribed today: see Names and titles of Jesus.

Historicity of the texts

   Most modern Biblical scholars hold that the works describing Jesus were
   initially communicated by oral tradition, and were not committed to
   writing until several decades after Jesus' crucifixion. The earliest
   extant texts which refer to Jesus are Paul's letters, which are usually
   dated from the mid-1st century. Paul wrote that he only saw Jesus in
   visions, but that they were divine revelations and hence authoritative
   ( Gal 1:11–12). The earliest extant texts describing Jesus in any
   detail were the four New Testament Gospels. These texts, being part of
   the Biblical canon, have received much more analysis and acceptance
   from Christian sources than other possible sources for information on
   Jesus.

   Many other early Christian texts detail events in Jesus' life and
   teachings, though they were not included when the Bible was canonised
   due to a belief that they were pseudepigraphical, not inspired, or
   written too long after his death, while others were suppressed because
   they contradicted Christian orthodoxy. It took several centuries before
   the list of what was and was not part of the Bible became finally
   fixed, and for much of the early period the Book of Revelation was not
   included while works like The Shepherd of Hermas were.

   The books that did not make it into the final list have since become
   known as the New Testament apocrypha, and the chief amongst them, is
   the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of logia - phrases and sayings
   attributed to Jesus without a narrative framework, only rediscovered in
   the 20th century. Other important apocryphal works that had a heavy
   influence in forming traditional Christian beliefs include the
   Apocalypse of Peter, Protevangelium of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas,
   and Acts of Peter. A number of Christian traditions (such as Veronica's
   veil and the Assumption of Mary) are found not in the canonical gospels
   but in these and other apocryphal works.

Possible earlier texts

   Some texts with even earlier historical or mythological information on
   Jesus are speculated to have existed prior to the Gospels, though none
   have been found. Based on the unusual similarities and differences (see
   synoptic problem) between the Synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark and
   Luke, the first three canonical gospels — many Biblical scholars have
   suggested that oral tradition and logia (such as the Gospel of Thomas
   and the theoretical Q document) probably played a strong role in
   initially passing down stories of Jesus, and may have inspired some of
   the Synoptic Gospels.

   Specifically, many scholars believe that the Q document and the Gospel
   of Mark were the two sources used for the gospels of Matthew and Luke;
   however, other theories, such as the older Augustinian hypothesis,
   continue to hold sway with some Biblical scholars. Another theoretical
   document is the Signs Gospel, believed to have been a source for the
   Gospel of John.

   There are also early noncanonical gospels which may predate the
   canonical Gospels, although few surviving fragments have been found.
   Among these are the Unknown Berlin Gospel, the Oxyrhynchus Gospels, the
   Egerton Gospel, the Fayyum Fragment, the Dialogue of the Saviour, the
   Gospel of the Ebionites, the Gospel of the Hebrews, and the Gospel of
   the Nazarenes. While the earliest surviving manuscripts and fragments
   of these texts are dated later than the earliest surviving manuscripts
   and fragments of the canonical Gospels, they are probably copies of
   earlier manuscripts whose precise dates are unknown.

Questions of reliability

   As a result of the likely several-decade time gap between the writing
   of the Gospels and the events they describe, the accuracy of all early
   texts claiming the existence of Jesus or details of Jesus' life have
   been disputed by various parties. The authors of the Gospels are
   traditionally thought to have been witnesses to the events included.
   After the original oral stories were written down, they were
   transcribed, and later translated into other languages. Several
   Biblical historians have responded to claims of the unreliability of
   the gospel accounts by pointing out that historical documentation is
   often biased and second-hand, and frequently dates from several decades
   after the events described.

   The Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution brought
   skepticism regarding the historical accuracy of these texts. Although
   some critical scholars, including archeologists, continue to use them
   as points of reference in the study of ancient Near Eastern history,
   others have come to view the texts as cultural and literary documents,
   generally regarding them as part of the genre of literature called
   hagiography, an account of a holy person regarded as representing a
   moral and divine ideal. Hagiography has a principal aim of the
   glorification of the religion itself and of the example set by the
   perfect holy person represented as its central focus.

   Some say that the Gospel accounts are neither objective nor accurate,
   since they were written or compiled by his followers and seem to
   exclusively portray a positive, idealized view of Jesus, while others
   point to the lack of any non-Christian sources until Josephus in the
   year 93. Those who have a naturalistic view of history generally do not
   believe in divine intervention or miracles, such as the resurrection of
   Jesus mentioned by the Gospels. One method used to estimate the factual
   accuracy of stories in the gospels is known as the " criterion of
   embarrassment", which holds that stories about events with embarrassing
   aspects (such as the denial of Jesus by Peter, or the fleeing of Jesus'
   followers after his arrest) would likely not have been included if
   those accounts were fictional.

External influences on gospel development

   Vatican mosaic (3rd c.): Sol Invictus
   Enlarge
   Vatican mosaic (3rd c.): Sol Invictus

   Many scholars, such as Michael Grant, do not see significant similarity
   between the pagan myths and Christianity. Grant states in Jesus: An
   Historian's Review of the Gospels that "Judaism was a milieu to which
   doctrines of the deaths and rebirths, of mythical gods seemed so
   entirely foreign that the emergence of such a fabrication from its
   midst is very hard to credit."

   However, some scholars believe that the gospel accounts of Jesus have
   little or no historical basis. At least in part, this is because they
   see many similarities between stories about Jesus and older myths of
   pagan godmen such as Mithras, Apollo, Attis, Horus and Osiris-Dionysus,
   leading to conjectures that the pagan myths were adopted by some
   authors of early accounts of Jesus to form a syncretism with
   Christianity. A small minority, such as Earl Doherty, carry this
   further and propose that the gospels are actually a reworking of the
   older myths and not based on a historical figure. While these
   connections are disputed by many, it is nevertheless true that many
   elements of Jesus' story as told in the Gospels have parallels in pagan
   mythology, where miracles such as virgin birth were well-known. Some
   Christian authors, such as Justin Martyr and C.S. Lewis, account for
   this with the belief that such myths were created by ancient pagans
   with vague and imprecise foreknowledge of the Gospels; in other words
   the pagans gave prophetic attributes of the Christ as shown in the
   Jewish Torah and Prophets to their particular deity. In fact, Lewis
   wrote that Christianity would be less believable if it didn't have
   themes in common with said pagan myths.

Religious perspectives

Christian views

   Jesus Carrying the Cross, El Greco - Domenikos Theotokopoulos, 16th c.
   Enlarge
   Jesus Carrying the Cross, El Greco - Domenikos Theotokopoulos, 16th c.

   Though Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to describe a
   general majority Christian view by examining the similarities between
   Catholic, Orthodox, and certain Protestant doctrines found in their
   catechetical or confessional texts. This view, given below as the
   Principal view, does not encompass all groups which describe themselves
   as Christian, with other views immediately following.

Principal view

   Christians predominately profess that Jesus is the Messiah (Greek:
   Christos; English: Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament, who,
   through his life, death, and resurrection, restored man's communion
   with God in the blood of the New Covenant. His death on a cross is
   understood as the redemptive sacrifice: the source of mankind's
   salvation and the atonement for sin, which had entered human history
   through the sin of Adam.

   They profess Jesus to be the only Son of God, the Lord, and the eternal
   Word, who became man in the incarnation, so that those who believe in
   him might have eternal life. They further hold that he was born of the
   Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit in an event described as
   the miraculous virgin birth. In his life Jesus proclaimed the "good
   news" (Middle English: gospel; Greek: euangelion) that the coming
   Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, and established the Christian Church,
   which is the seed of the kingdom, into which Christ calls the poor in
   spirit. Jesus' actions at the Last Supper, where he instituted the
   Eucharist, are understood as central to worship and communion with God.

   These groups profess Jesus suffered death by crucifixion, descended
   into Hell, and rose bodily from the dead in the definitive miracle that
   foreshadows the resurrection of mankind at the end of time, when Christ
   will come again to judge the living and the dead, resulting in election
   to Heaven or damnation to Hell.

   The nature of Jesus was theologically articulated and refined by a
   series of seven ecumenical councils, between 325 and 681 (see
   Christology). These councils described Jesus as one of the three divine
   hypostases or persons of the Holy Trinity: the Son is defined as
   constituting, together with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, the
   single substance of the One God. Furthermore, Jesus is defined to be
   one person with a fully human and a fully divine nature, a doctrine
   known as the Hypostatic union (an articulation not accepted by Oriental
   Orthodoxy, see Nestorianism, Monophysitism and Miaphysitism). In
   defense of Jesus' divinity, some apologists argue that there is a
   trilemma, or three possibilities, resulting from Jesus' reported claims
   that he is the one God of Israel: either he is truly God, a liar, or a
   lunatic — the latter two dismissed on the basis of Jesus's coherence.
     __________________________________________________________________

Alternative views

   Groups that do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity include the
   Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Jehovah's Witnesses. LDS theology
   maintains that the Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost
   are three separate and distinct beings, though all eternal and equally
   divine, who together constitute the Godhead. Though described as "one
   God in purpose", each play different roles: the Holy Ghost is a spirit
   without a physical body, the Father and Son possess distinct,
   perfected, bodies of flesh and bone. The Book of Mormon records that
   the resurrected Jesus visited and taught some of the inhabitants of the
   early Americas after he appeared to his apostles in Jerusalem. Mormons
   also believe that an apostasy occurred after the death of Christ and
   his apostles. They believe that Christ and the Heavenly Father appeared
   to Joseph Smith in 1820 as part of a series of heavenly visits to
   restore the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They believe Jesus
   (not the Father) is the same as Jehovah or Yahweh of the Old Testament.
   See Jesus in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

   Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus to be God's (or Jehovah's) son, but
   rather than being God himself, Jehovah's Witnesses believe he was the
   same divine creature as Michael the Archangel, and that he became a
   perfect human to come down to earth. They view the term "Son of God" as
   an indication of Jesus' importance to the creator and his status as
   God's "only-begotten (unique) Son", the "firstborn of all creation",
   the one "of whom, and through whom, and to whom, are all things".
   Lastly, they believe that Jesus died on a single-piece torture stake,
   not a cross.

   Other non-Trinitarian group include Arians, in antiquity, and in more
   recent times Unitarians.

Other early views

   Various early Christian groups and theologians held differing views of
   Jesus.

   The Ebionites, an early Jewish Christian community, believed that Jesus
   was the last of the prophets and the Messiah. They believed that Jesus
   was the natural-born son of Mary and Joseph, and thus they rejected the
   Virgin Birth. The Ebionites were adoptionists, believing that Jesus was
   not divine, but became the son of God at his baptism. They rejected the
   Epistles of Paul, believing that Jesus kept the Mosaic Law perfectly
   and wanted his followers to do the same. However, they felt that Jesus'
   crucifixion was the ultimate sacrifice, and thus animal sacrifices were
   no longer necessary. Therefore, some Ebionites were vegetarian and
   considered both Jesus and John the Baptist to have been vegetarians.

   In Gnosticism, Jesus is said to have brought the secret knowledge (
   gnosis) of the spiritual world necessary for salvation. Their secret
   teachings were paths to gnosis, and not gnosis itself. While some
   Gnostics were docetics, other Gnostics believed that Jesus was a human
   who became possessed by the spirit of Christ during his baptism. Many
   Gnostics believed that Christ was an Aeon sent by a higher deity than
   the evil demiurge who created the material world. Some Gnostics
   believed that Christ had a syzygy named Sophia. The Gnostics tended to
   interpret the books that were included in the New Testament as
   allegory, and some Gnostics interpreted Jesus himself as an allegory.
   The Gnostics also used a number of other texts that did not become part
   of the New Testament canon.

   Marcionites were 2nd century Gentile followers of the Christian
   theologian Marcion of Sinope. They believed that Jesus rejected the
   Jewish Scriptures, or at least the parts that were incompatible with
   his teachings. Seeing a stark contrast between the vengeful God of the
   Old Testament and the loving God of Jesus, Marcion came to the
   conclusion that the Jewish God and Jesus were two separate deities.
   Like some Gnostics, Marcionites saw the Jewish God as the evil creator
   of the world, and Jesus as the savior from the material world. They
   also believed Jesus was not human, but instead a completely divine
   spiritual being whose material body, and thus his crucifixion and
   death, were divine illusions. Marcion was the first known early
   Christian to have created a canon, which consisted of ten Pauline
   epistles, and a version of the Gospel of Luke (possibly without the
   first two chapters that are in modern versions, and without Jewish
   references), and his treatise on the Antithesis between the Old and New
   Testaments. Marcionism was declared a heresy by proto-orthodox
   Christianity.

   Montanists in the 2nd century and Sabellius in the 3rd century taught
   that the Trinity represented not three persons but a single person in
   three "modes."

Islamic views

   In Islam, Jesus (known as Isa in Arabic, Arabic: عيسى), is considered
   one of God's most-beloved and important prophets and the Messiah. Like
   Christian writings, the seventh-century Qur'an holds that Jesus was
   born without a biological father to the virgin Mary, by the will of God
   (in Arabic, Allah) and for this reason is referred to as Isa ibn Maryam
   (English: Jesus son of Mary), a matronymic (since he had no biological
   father). (Qur'an 3:45, 19:21, 19:35, 21:91) In Muslim traditions, Jesus
   lived a perfect life of nonviolence, showing kindness to humans and
   animals (similar to the other Islamic prophets), without material
   possessions, and abstaining from sin. Most Muslims believe that Jesus
   abstained from alcohol, and many believe that he also abstained from
   eating animal flesh. Similarly, Islamic belief also holds that Jesus
   could perform miracles, but only by the will of God. However, Muslims
   do not believe Jesus to have divine nature as God nor as the Son of
   God. Islam greatly separates the status of creatures from the status of
   the creator and warns against believing that Jesus was divine. (Qu'ran
   3:59, 4:171, 5:116-117). Muslims believe that Jesus received a gospel
   from God called the Injil in Arabic that corresponds to the Christian
   New Testament, but that parts of it have been misinterpreted over time
   so that they no longer accurately represent God's message (See Tahrif).

   Muslims also do not believe in Jesus' sacrificial role, nor do they
   believe that Jesus died on the cross. In fact, Islam does not accept
   any human sacrifice for sin (See Islamic conceptions of atonement for
   sin for further information). Regarding the crucifixion, the Qur'an
   states that Jesus' death was merely an illusion of God to deceive his
   enemies, and that Jesus ascended to heaven. (Qur'an 4:157-158.) Based
   on the quotes attributed to Muhammad, some Muslims believe that Jesus
   will return to the world in the flesh following Imam Mahdi to defeat
   the Dajjal (an Antichrist-like figure, translated as "Deceiver").
   Muslims believe he will descend at Damascus, presently in Syria, once
   the world has become filled with sin, deception, and injustice; he will
   then live out the rest of his natural life. Sunni Muslims believe that
   after his death, Jesus will be buried alongside Muhammad in Medina,
   presently in Saudi Arabia. However, the sects of Sunni and Shi'ite
   Islam are divided over this issue. Some Islamic scholars like Javed
   Ahmed Ghamidi and Amin Ahsan Islahi question quotes attributed to
   Muhammad regarding a second coming of Jesus, as they believe it is
   against different verses of the Qur'an.

   The Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement (a very small percentage of Muslims)
   believes that Jesus survived the crucifixion and travelled to Kashmir,
   where he died as a prophet under the name of Yuz Asaf (whose grave they
   identify in Srinagar). Mainstream Muslims, however, consider these
   views heretical. Historical research found these accounts to be without
   foundation. Even then, the tomb of Jesus has been suggested to be found
   in Srinagar, Kashmir India.

Judaism's view

   Judaism holds the idea of Jesus being God, or part of a Trinity, or a
   mediator to God, to be heresy.( Emunoth ve-Deoth, II:5) Judaism also
   holds that Jesus is not the Messiah, arguing that he had not fulfilled
   the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal
   qualifications of the Messiah.

   The Mishneh Torah (an authoritative work of Jewish law) states:

     Even Jesus the Nazarene who imagined that he would be Messiah and
     was killed by the court, was already prophesied by Daniel. So that
     it was said, “And the members of the outlaws of your nation would be
     carried to make a (prophetic) vision stand. And they stumbled”
     (Daniel 11.14). Because, is there a greater stumbling-block than
     this one? So that all of the prophets spoke that the Messiah redeems
     Israel, and saves them, and gathers their banished ones, and
     strengthens their commandments. And this one caused (nations) to
     destroy Israel by sword, and to scatter their remnant, and to
     humiliate them, and to exchange the Torah, and to make the majority
     of the world err to serve a divinity besides God. However, the
     thoughts of the Creator of the world — there is no force in a human
     to attain them because our ways are not God's ways, and our thoughts
     not God's thoughts. And all these things of Jesus the Nazarene, and
     of (Muhammad) the Ishmaelite who stood after him — there is no
     (purpose) but to straighten out the way for the King Messiah, and to
     restore all the world to serve God together. So that it is said,
     “Because then I will turn toward the nations (giving them) a clear
     lip, to call all of them in the name of God and to serve God
     (shoulder to shoulder as) one shoulder.” (Zephaniah 3.9). Look how
     all the world already becomes full of the things of the Messiah, and
     the things of the Torah, and the things of the commandments! And
     these things spread among the far islands and among the many nations
     uncircumcised of heart. (Hilkhot Melakhim 11:10–12)

   Reform Judaism, the modern progressive movement, states For us in the
   Jewish community anyone who claims that Jesus is their savior is no
   longer a Jew and is an apostate. (Contemporary American Reform
   Responsa, #68).

   According to Jewish tradition, there were no more prophets after 420
   BC/BCE, Malachi being the last prophet, who lived centuries before
   Jesus. Judaism states that Jesus did not fulfill the requirements set
   by the Torah to prove that he was a prophet. Even if Jesus had produced
   such a sign, Judaism states that no prophet or dreamer can contradict
   the laws already stated in the Torah ( Deut 13:1–5)

Buddhist views

   Buddhists' views of Jesus differ, due to Jesus not being mentioned in
   any Buddhist text, and Buddhism's lack of centralized doctrine. Some
   Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama regard Jesus as
   a bodhisattva who dedicated his life to the welfare of human beings.
   Some Buddhist scholars have noted parallels between the teachings of
   Jesus and Gautama Buddha both in terms of preaching a doctrine of love
   and compassion and of occupying a similar position with respect to the
   existing religious orthodoxy of their day of which they were both
   critical. Both advocated radical alterations in the common religious
   practices of the day. There are occasional similarities in language,
   such as the use of the common metaphor of a line of blind men to refer
   to religious authorities they disagreed with ( DN 13.15, Matthew
   15:14). Some believe there is a particularly close affinity between
   Buddhism (or Eastern spiritual thought generally) and the doctrine of
   Gnostic texts such as The Gospel of Thomas

Hinduism's views

   Hindu beliefs in Jesus vary. Some believe that Jesus was a normal man.
   Many Hindus see Jesus as a wise guru or yogi who was not God. Many in
   the Surat Shabd Yoga tradition regard Jesus as a Satguru. Swami
   Vivekananda has praised Jesus and cited him as a source of strength and
   the epitome of perfection. Paramahansa Yogananda taught that Jesus was
   the reincarnation of Elisha and a student of John the Baptist, the
   reincarnation of Elijah. Mahatma Gandhi considered Jesus one of his
   main teachers and inspirations for Nonviolent Resistance, saying "I
   like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so
   unlike your Christ."

   Yuz Asaf, regarded as Jesus by the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement,
   is seen also as a holy man by some Hindus and Buddhists.

Other views of Jesus

   The Bahá'í Faith considers Jesus, along with Muhammad, the Buddha, and
   others, to be " Manifestations" (or prophets) of God, with both human
   and divine stations. While some Bahá'í views of Jesus agree with
   Christian views, Christians do not accept the Bahá'í view of Jesus.

   Mandaeanism regards Jesus as a deceiving prophet (mšiha kdaba) of the
   false Jewish god of the Old Testament, Adonai, and an opponent of the
   good prophet John the Baptist. Even so, they believe that John baptized
   Jesus.

   The New Age movement entertains a wide variety of views on Jesus, often
   recognizing him as a "great teacher" (or Ascended Master") similar to
   Buddha. Some (such as A Course In Miracles) claim to go so far as to
   trance- channel his spirit. Although the New Age movement generally
   teaches that Christhood is something that all may attain, many New Age
   teachings such as reincarnation appear to reflect a certain discomfort
   with traditional Christianity. Numerous New Age subgroups claim Jesus
   as a supporter, often incorporating contrasts with or protests against
   the Christian mainstream. Thus, for example, Theosophy and its
   offshoots have Jesus studying esotericism in the Himalayas or Egypt
   during his "lost years."

   There are many non-religious people who emphasize Jesus' moral
   teachings. Garry Wills argues that Jesus' ethics are distinct from
   those usually taught by Christianity. The Jesus Seminar portrays Jesus
   as an itinerant preacher ( Matt 4:23), who taught peace ( Matt 5:9) and
   love ( Matt 5:44), rights for women ( Luke 10:42) and respect for
   children ( Matt 19:14), and who spoke out against the hypocrisy of
   religious leaders ( Luke 13:15) and the rich ( Matt 19:24). Thomas
   Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers that many consider to have been
   a deist, created a " Jefferson Bible" for the Indians entitled "The
   Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth" that included only Jesus' ethical
   teachings.

   There are, however, those who do not regard Jesus' teaching or life to
   have had any worth. Many atheists regard his moral teachings to have
   decidedly repugnant aspects. Others still, such as Bertrand Russell,
   see them as surpassed by other philosophers; Bertrand writes 'I cannot
   myself feel that either in the matter of wisdom or in the matter of
   virtue Christ stands quite as high as some other people known to
   History. I think I should put Buddha and Socrates above Him in those
   respects.' Nietzsche regarded the character of Jesus as being worthy
   only of contempt, and saw nothing worthwhile in his teachings. In a
   similar vein, the founder of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey,
   described Jesus (at his crucifixion) as 'pallid incompetence nailed to
   a tree' ( Satanic Bible, pg. 11).

Legacy

Cultural effect of Jesus

   Pietà, Michelangelo, 16th c.: Jesus' mother Mary holds the body of her
   dead son
   Enlarge
   Pietà, Michelangelo, 16th c.: Jesus' mother Mary holds the body of her
   dead son

   According to most Christian interpretations of the Bible, the theme of
   Jesus' preachings was that of repentance, forgiveness of sin, grace,
   and the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus extensively trained
   disciples who, after his death, interpreted and spread his teachings.
   Within a few decades his followers comprised a religion clearly
   distinct from Judaism. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire
   under a version known as Nicene Christianity and became the state
   religion under Constantine the Great. Over the centuries, it spread to
   most of Europe, and around the world.

   Jesus has been drawn, painted, sculpted, and portrayed on stage and in
   films in many different ways, both serious and humorous. In fact most
   medieval art and literature, and many since, were centered around the
   figure of Jesus. A number of popular novels, such as The Da Vinci Code,
   have also portrayed various ideas about Jesus. Many of the sayings
   attributed to Jesus have become part of the culture of Western
   civilization. There are many items purported to be relics of Jesus, of
   which the most famous are the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of
   Oviedo.

   Other legacies include a view of God as more fatherly, merciful, and
   more forgiving, and the growth of a belief in an afterlife and in the
   resurrection of the dead. His teaching promoted the value of those who
   had commonly been regarded as inferior: women, the poor, ethnic
   outsiders, children, prostitutes, the sick, prisoners, etc. Jesus and
   his message have been interpreted, explained and understood by many
   people. Jesus has been explained notably by Paul of Tarsus, Augustine
   of Hippo, Martin Luther, and more recently by C.S. Lewis.

   For some, the legacy of Jesus has been a long history of Christian
   anti-Semitism, although in the wake of the Holocaust many Christian
   groups have gone to considerable lengths to reconcile with Jews and to
   promote interfaith dialog and mutual respect. For others, Christianity
   has often been linked to European colonialism (see British Empire,
   Portuguese Empire, Spanish Empire, French colonial empire, Dutch
   colonial empire); conversely, Christians have often found themselves as
   oppressed minorities in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and in the
   Maghreb.
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