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JesusTemplate:Efn (Template:CircaTemplate:SndAD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ,Template:Efn Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader.Template:Sfn He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians consider Jesus to be the incarnation of God the Son and awaited messiah, or Christ, a descendant from the Davidic line that is prophesied in the Old Testament. Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically.Template:Efn Accounts of Jesus's life are contained in the Gospels, especially the four canonical Gospels in the New Testament. Since the Enlightenment, academic research has yielded various views on the historical reliability of the Gospels and how closely they reflect the historical Jesus.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Craig Evans, "Life-of-Jesus Research and the Eclipse of Mythology", Theological Studies 54 (1993) pp. 13–14, "First, the New Testament Gospels are now viewed as useful, if not essentially reliable, historical sources. Gone is the extreme skepticism that for so many years dominated gospel research. Representative of many is the position of E. P. Sanders and Marcus Borg, who have concluded that it is possible to recover a fairly reliable picture of the historical Jesus."</ref>
According to Christian tradition, as preserved in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus was circumcised at eight days old, was baptized by John the Baptist as a young adult, and after 40 days and nights of fasting in the wilderness, began his own ministry. He was an itinerant teacher who interpreted the law of God with divine authority and was often referred to as "rabbi". Jesus often debated with his fellow Jews on how to best follow God, engaged in healings, taught in parables, and gathered followers, among whom twelve were appointed as his apostles. He was arrested in Jerusalem and tried by the Jewish authorities,Template:Sfn handed over to the Roman government, and crucified on the order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judaea. After his death, his followers became convinced that he rose from the dead, and following his ascension, the community they formed eventually became the early Christian Church that expanded as a worldwide movement.Template:Sfn
Christian theology includes the beliefs that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of a virgin named Mary, performed miracles, founded the Christian Church, died by crucifixion as a sacrifice to achieve atonement for sin, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven from where he will return. Commonly, Christians believe Jesus enables people to be reconciled to God. The Nicene Creed asserts that Jesus will judge the living and the dead, either before or after their bodily resurrection, an event tied to the Second Coming of Jesus in Christian eschatology. The great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three persons of the Trinity.Template:Efn The birth of Jesus is celebrated annually, generally on 25 December,Template:Efn as Christmas. His crucifixion is honoured on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. The world's most widely used calendar era—in which the current year is AD 2025 (or 2025 CE)—is based on the approximate date of the birth of Jesus.<ref>Template:Cite dictionary.</ref>
Jesus in IslamTemplate:Efn is considered the messiah and a prophet of God, who was sent to the Israelites and will return to Earth before the Day of Judgement. Muslims believe Jesus was born of the virgin Mary but was neither God nor a son of God. Most Muslims do not believe that he was killed or crucified but that God raised him into Heaven while he was still alive.Template:Efn Jesus is also revered in the Baháʼí Faith, Druze and Rastafari. In contrast, Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited messiah, arguing that he did not fulfil messianic prophecies, was not lawfully anointed and was neither divine nor resurrected. Template:TOC limit
NameEdit
A typical Jew in Jesus's time had only one name, sometimes followed by a patronymic phrase of the form "son of [father's name]", or the person's home town.<ref name="Britannica" /> Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is commonly referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth".Template:Efn Jesus's neighbours in Nazareth referred to him as "the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon", "the carpenter's son", or "Joseph's son"; in the Gospel of John, the disciple Philip refers to him as "Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth".<ref>Template:Bibleverse</ref>
The English name Jesus, (Template:Langx, romanized Template:Tlit), is a rendering of Joshua (Template:Langx, romanized Template:Tlit, later Template:Tlit), and was not uncommon in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew tells of an angel that appeared to Joseph instructing him "to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins".<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>
Jesus ChristEdit
Since the early period of Christianity, Christians have commonly referred to Jesus as "Jesus Christ".Template:Sfn The word Christ was a title or office ("the Christ"), not a given name.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It derives from the Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Tlit),<ref>Template:CathEncy</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a translation of the Hebrew Template:Tlit ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) meaning 'anointed', and is usually transliterated into English as messiah.Template:Sfn In biblical Judaism, sacred oil was used to anoint certain exceptionally holy people and objects as part of their religious investiture.<ref>See Leviticus 8:10–12 and Exodus 30:29.</ref>
Christians of the time designated Jesus as "the Christ" because they believed him to be the messiah, whose arrival is prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. In postbiblical usage, Christ became viewed as a name—one part of "Jesus Christ". The term Christian (meaning a follower of Christ) has been in use since the 1st century.Template:Sfn
Life and teachings in the New TestamentEdit
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Canonical gospelsEdit
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The four canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are the foremost sources for the life and message of Jesus.<ref name="Britannica" /> But other parts of the New Testament also include references to key episodes in his life, such as the Last Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name="Fahlbusch52" />Template:Sfn Acts of the Apostles<ref>Template:Bibleverse and Template:Bibleverse.</ref> refers to Jesus's early ministry and its anticipation by John the Baptist.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Acts 1:1–11<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> says more about the Ascension of Jesus<ref>also mentioned in Template:Bibleverse.</ref> than the canonical gospels do.Template:Sfn In the undisputed Pauline letters, which were written earlier than the Gospels, Jesus's words or instructions are cited several times.<ref>Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse.</ref>Template:Efn
Some early Christian groups had separate descriptions of Jesus's life and teachings that are not in the New Testament. These include the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Peter, and Gospel of Judas, the Apocryphon of James, and many other apocryphal writings. Most scholars conclude that these were written much later and are less reliable accounts than the canonical gospels.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn
Authorship, date, and reliabilityEdit
The canonical gospels are four accounts, each by a different author. The authors of the Gospels are pseudonymous, attributed by tradition to the four evangelists, each with close ties to Jesus:Template:Sfn Mark by John Mark, an associate of Peter;<ref name="May Metzger Mark" /> Matthew by one of Jesus's disciples;Template:Sfn Luke by a companion of Paul mentioned in a few epistles;Template:Sfn and John by another of Jesus's disciples,Template:Sfn the "beloved disciple".Template:Sfn
According to the Marcan priority, the first to be written was the Gospel of Mark (written AD 60–75), followed by the Gospel of Matthew (AD 65–85), the Gospel of Luke (AD 65–95), and the Gospel of John (AD 75–100).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Most scholars agree that the authors of Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source for their gospels. Since Matthew and Luke also share some content not found in Mark, many scholars assume that they used another source (commonly called the "Q source") in addition to Mark.Template:Sfn
One important aspect of the study of the Gospels is the literary genre under which they fall. Genre "is a key convention guiding both the composition and the interpretation of writings".<ref>Burridge, R. A. (2006). Gospels. In J. W. Rogerson & Judith M. Lieu (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 433.</ref> Whether the gospel authors set out to write novels, myths, histories, or biographies has a tremendous impact on how they ought to be interpreted. Some studies have suggested that the Gospels ought to be seen as ancient biography.<ref>Talbert, C. H. (1977). What is a Gospel? The Genre of the Canonical Gospels. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Fortress Press.</ref><ref>Wills, L. M. (1997). The Quest of the Historical Gospel: Mark, John and the Origins of the Gospel Genre. London: Routledge. p. 10.</ref><ref>Burridge, R. A. (2004). What are the Gospels? A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography. revised updated edn. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans.</ref> Although not without critics,<ref>e.g. Vines, M. E. (2002). The Problem of the Markan Genre: The Gospel of Mark and the Jewish Novel. Atlanta, Georgia: Society of Biblical Literature. pp. 161–162.</ref> the position that the Gospels are a type of ancient biography is the consensus among scholars today.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Concerning the accuracy of the accounts, viewpoints range from considering them inerrant descriptions of Jesus's life,Template:Sfn to doubting whether they are historically reliable on various points,Template:Sfn to considering them to provide very little historical information about his life beyond the basics.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to a broad scholarly consensus, the Synoptic Gospels (the first three—Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are the most reliable sources of information about Jesus.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Britannica" />
Comparative structure and contentEdit
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}} Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels, from the Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Tlit, 'together') and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Tlit, 'view'),<ref name="Haffner-2008" /><ref name="Scroggie-1995" /><ref>Template:OED</ref> because they are similar in content, narrative arrangement, language and paragraph structure, and one can easily set them next to each other and synoptically compare what is in them.<ref name="Haffner-2008">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Scroggie-1995">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Britannica URL</ref> Scholars generally agree that it is impossible to find any direct literary relationship between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Many events (e.g., Jesus's baptism, transfiguration, crucifixion and interactions with his apostles) appear in the Synoptic Gospels, but incidents such as the transfiguration and Jesus's exorcising demonsTemplate:Sfn do not appear in John, which also differs on other matters, such as the cleansing of the Temple.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Synoptics emphasize different aspects of Jesus. In Mark, Jesus is the Son of God whose mighty works demonstrate the presence of God's Kingdom.<ref name="May Metzger Mark" /> He is a tireless wonder worker, the servant of both God and man.<ref name="ThompsonPortraits">Thompson, Frank Charles. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. Kirk Bride Bible Company & Zondervan Bible Publishers. 1983. pp. 1563–1564.</ref> This short gospel records a few of Jesus's words or teachings.<ref name="May Metzger Mark" /> The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes that Jesus is the fulfilment of God's will as revealed in the Old Testament, and the Lord of the Church.<ref>May, Herbert G. and Bruce M. Metzger. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. 1977. "Matthew" pp. 1171–1212.</ref> He is the "Son of David", a "king", and the Messiah.<ref name="ThompsonPortraits" />Template:Sfn Luke presents Jesus as the divine-human saviour who shows compassion to the needy.<ref name="May Metzger Luke">May, Herbert G. and Bruce M. Metzger. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. 1977. "Luke" pp. 1240–1285.</ref> He is the friend of sinners and outcasts, and came to seek and save the lost.<ref name="ThompsonPortraits" /> This gospel includes well-known parables, such as the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.<ref name="May Metzger Luke" />
The prologue to the Gospel of John identifies Jesus as an incarnation of the divine Word (Logos).<ref name="MayMetzgerJohn">May, Herbert G. and Bruce M. Metzger. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. 1977. "John" pp. 1286–1318.</ref> As the Word, Jesus was eternally present with God, active in all creation, and the source of humanity's moral and spiritual nature.<ref name="MayMetzgerJohn" /> Jesus is not only greater than any past human prophet but greater than any prophet could be. He not only speaks God's Word; he is God's Word.Template:Sfn In the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals his divine role publicly. Here he is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the True Vine, and more.<ref name="ThompsonPortraits" />
The authors of the New Testament generally showed little interest in an absolute chronology of Jesus or in synchronizing the episodes of his life with the secular history of the age.Template:Sfn As stated in John 21:25, the Gospels do not claim to provide an exhaustive list of the events of Jesus's life.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The accounts were primarily written as theological documents in the context of early Christianity, with timelines as a secondary consideration.<ref name="Wiarda75">Template:Cite book</ref> The Gospels devote about one third of their text to the last week of Jesus's life in Jerusalem, referred to as the Passion.<ref name="Turner613">Template:Cite book</ref> They do not provide enough details to satisfy the demands of modern historians regarding exact dates, but it is possible to draw from them a general picture of Jesus's life story.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Wiarda75" />
Genealogy and nativityEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Jesus was Jewish,Template:Sfn born to Mary, wife of Joseph.<ref>Matthew 1; Luke 2.</ref> The Gospels of Matthew and Luke offer two accounts of his genealogy. Matthew traces Jesus's ancestry to Abraham through David.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>Template:Sfn Luke traces Jesus's ancestry through Adam to God.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>Template:Sfn The lists are identical between Abraham and David but differ radically from that point. Matthew has 27 generations from David to Joseph, whereas Luke has 42, with almost no overlap between the names on the two lists.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite book "From David the two lists diverge, as Matthew follows the line of succession to the throne of Judah from Solomon, whereas Luke's list goes through Nathan, ... and converges with Matthew's only for the two names of Shealtiel and Zerubabbel until Joseph is reached."</ref> Various theories have been put forward to explain why the two genealogies are so different.Template:Efn
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Both Matthew and Luke describe Jesus's birth, especially that Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary in Bethlehem in fulfilment of prophecy. Luke's account emphasizes events before the birth of Jesus and centres on Mary, while Matthew's mostly covers those after the birth and centres on Joseph.Template:Sfn<ref name="marsh37">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn Both accounts state that Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph, who was descended from King David and was not his biological father, and both support the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus, according to which Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb when she was still a virgin.<ref name="Jeffrey">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> At the same time, there is evidence, at least in the Lukan Acts of the Apostles, that Jesus was thought to have had, like many figures in antiquity, a dual paternity, since there it is stated he descended from the seed or loins of David.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> By taking him as his own, Joseph will give him the necessary Davidic descent.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some scholars suggest that Jesus had Levite heritage from Mary, based on her blood relationship with Elizabeth.<ref>For example, Template:Citation</ref>
In Matthew, Joseph is troubled because Mary, his betrothed, is pregnant,<ref>Matthew 1:19–20.</ref> but in the first of Joseph's four dreams an angel assures him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because her child was conceived by the Holy Spirit.<ref name="Talbert">Template:Cite book</ref> In Matthew 2:1–12, wise men or Magi from the East bring gifts to the young Jesus as the King of the Jews. They find him in a house in Bethlehem. Herod the Great hears of Jesus's birth and, wanting him killed, orders the murders of male infants in Bethlehem and its surroundings. But an angel warns Joseph in his second dream, and the family flees to Egypt—later to return and settle in Nazareth.<ref name="Talbert" />Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In Luke 1:31–38, Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that she will conceive and bear a child called Jesus through the action of the Holy Spirit.<ref name="marsh37" /><ref name="Jeffrey" /> When Mary is due to give birth, she and Joseph travel from Nazareth to Joseph's ancestral home in Bethlehem to register in the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. While there Mary gives birth to Jesus, and as they have found no room in the inn, she places the newborn in a manger.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> An angel announces the birth to a group of shepherds, who go to Bethlehem to see Jesus, and subsequently spread the news abroad.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Luke 2:21 tells how Joseph and Mary have their baby circumcised on the eighth day after birth, and name him Jesus, as Gabriel had commanded Mary.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> After the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Joseph, Mary and Jesus return to Nazareth.<ref name="marsh37" /><ref name="Jeffrey" />
Early life, family, and professionEdit
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Jesus's childhood home is identified in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew as Nazareth, a town in Galilee in present-day Israel, where he lived with his family. Although Joseph appears in descriptions of Jesus's childhood, no mention is made of him thereafter.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His other family members, including his mother, Mary, his four brothers James, Joses (or Joseph), Judas, and Simon, and his unnamed sisters, are mentioned in the Gospels and other sources.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jesus's maternal grandparents are named Joachim and Anne in the Gospel of James.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Gospel of Luke records that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Extra-biblical contemporary sources consider Jesus and John the Baptist to be second cousins through the belief that Elizabeth was the daughter of Sobe, the sister of Anne.<ref>PG 97.1325.</ref><ref>PG 120.189.</ref><ref>PG 145.760 (Nicephorus Callistus, Historia ecclesiastica, 2.3).</ref>
The Gospel of Mark reports that at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus comes into conflict with his neighbours and family.Template:Sfn Jesus's mother and brothers come to get him<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> because people are saying that he is mentally ill.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Jesus responds that his followers are his true family. In the Gospel of John, Jesus and his mother attend a wedding at Cana, where he performs his first miracle at her request.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Later, she follows him to his crucifixion, and he expresses concern over her well-being.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>
Jesus is called a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Tlit) in Mark 6:3, a term traditionally understood as carpenter but which could also refer to makers of objects in various materials, including builders.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn Given the term's broad semantic range and "the socio-historical reality of a common Nazarene τέκτων", Matthew K. Robinson, minister and academic, prefers to translate τέκτων as 'builder-craftsman'.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Gospels indicate that Jesus could read, paraphrase, and debate scripture, but this does not necessarily mean that he received formal scribal training.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
The Gospel of Luke reports two journeys of Jesus and his parents in Jerusalem during his childhood. They come to the Temple in Jerusalem for the presentation of Jesus as a baby in accordance with Jewish Law, where a man named Simeon prophesies about Jesus and Mary.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> When Jesus, at the age of twelve, goes missing on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover, his parents find him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions, and the people are amazed at his understanding and answers. Mary scolds Jesus for going missing, to which Jesus replies that he must "be in his father's house".<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>
Baptism and temptationEdit
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The synoptic gospels describe Jesus's baptism in the Jordan River and the temptations he suffered while spending forty days in the Judaean Desert, as a preparation for his public ministry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The accounts of Jesus's baptism are all preceded by information about John the Baptist.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn They show John preaching penance and repentance for the remission of sins and encouraging the giving of alms to the poor<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> as he baptizes people in the area of the Jordan River around Perea and foretells the arrival of someone "more powerful" than he.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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In the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, and as he comes out of the water he sees the Holy Spirit descending to him like a dove and a voice comes from heaven declaring him to be God's Son.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> This is one of two events described in the Gospels where a voice from Heaven calls Jesus "Son", the other being the Transfiguration.Template:Sfn<ref name="Nobbs" /> The spirit then drives him into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Jesus then begins his ministry in Galilee after John's arrest.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>
In the Gospel of Matthew, as Jesus comes to him to be baptized, John protests, saying, "I need to be baptized by you."<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Jesus instructs him to carry on with the baptism "to fulfil all righteousness".<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Matthew details three temptations that Satan offers Jesus in the wilderness.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>
In the Gospel of Luke, the Holy Spirit descends as a dove after everyone has been baptized and Jesus is praying.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Later John implicitly recognizes Jesus after sending his followers to ask about him.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Luke also describes three temptations received by Jesus in the wilderness, before starting his ministry in Galilee.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>
The Gospel of John leaves out Jesus's baptism and temptation.Template:Sfn Here, John the Baptist testifies that he saw the Spirit descend on Jesus.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>Template:Sfn John publicly proclaims Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God, and some of John's followers become disciples of Jesus.Template:Sfn Before John is imprisoned, Jesus leads his followers to baptize disciples as well,<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> and they baptize more people than John.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>
Public ministryEdit
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The Synoptics depict two distinct geographical settings in Jesus's ministry. The first takes place north of Judea, in Galilee, where Jesus conducts a successful ministry, and the second shows Jesus rejected and killed when he travels to Jerusalem.<ref name="ISBEO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Often referred to as "rabbi",<ref name="ISBEO" /> Jesus preaches his message orally.<ref name="Dunn2013">Template:Cite book</ref> Jesus forbids those who recognize him as the messiah to speak of it, including people he heals and demons he exorcises (see Messianic Secret).Template:Sfn John depicts Jesus's ministry as largely taking place in and around Jerusalem, rather than in Galilee, and Jesus's divine identity is openly proclaimed and immediately recognized.Template:Sfn
Scholars divide the ministry of Jesus into several stages. The Galilean ministry begins when Jesus returns to Galilee from the Judaean Desert after rebuffing the temptation of Satan. Jesus preaches around Galilee, and in Matthew 4:18–20, his first disciples, who will eventually form the core of the early Church, encounter him and begin to travel with him.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This period includes the Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus's major discourses,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> as well as the calming of the storm, the feeding of the 5,000, walking on water and other miracles and parables.Template:Sfn It ends with the Confession of Peter and the Transfiguration.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Barton132">Template:Cite book</ref>
As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, in the Perean ministry, he returns to the area where he was baptized, about a third of the way down from the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan.<ref>John 10:40–42.</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The final ministry in Jerusalem begins with Jesus's triumphal entry into the city on Palm Sunday.Template:Sfn In the Synoptic Gospels, during that week Jesus drives the money changers from the Second Temple and Judas bargains to betray him. This period culminates in the Last Supper and the Farewell Discourse.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Disciples and followersEdit
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Near the beginning of his ministry, Jesus appoints twelve apostles. In Matthew and Mark, despite Jesus only briefly requesting that they join him, Jesus's first four apostles, who were fishermen, are described as immediately consenting, and abandoning their nets and boats to do so.<ref>Matthew 4:18–22, Mark 1:16–20.</ref> In John, Jesus's first two apostles were disciples of John the Baptist. The Baptist sees Jesus and calls him the Lamb of God; the two hear this and follow Jesus.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In addition to the Twelve Apostles, the opening of the passage of the Sermon on the Plain identifies a much larger group of people as disciples.<ref>Luke 6:17.</ref> Also, in Luke 10:1–16 Jesus sends 70 or 72 of his followers in pairs to prepare towns for his prospective visit. They are instructed to accept hospitality, heal the sick, and spread the word that the Kingdom of God is coming.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Teachings and miraclesEdit
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In the Synoptics, Jesus teaches extensively, often in parables,Template:Sfn about the Kingdom of God (or, in Matthew, the Kingdom of Heaven). The Kingdom is described as both imminent<ref>Mark 1:15.</ref> and already present in the ministry of Jesus.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Jesus promises inclusion in the Kingdom for those who accept his message.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> He talks of the "Son of Man", an apocalyptic figure who will come to gather the chosen.<ref name="Britannica" />
Jesus calls people to repent their sins and to devote themselves completely to God.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Britannica</ref> He tells his followers to adhere to Jewish law, although he is perceived by some to have broken the law himself, for example regarding the Sabbath.<ref name="Britannica" /> When asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus replies: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind ... And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.Template:'"<ref>Matthew 22:37–39.</ref> Other ethical teachings of Jesus include loving your enemies, refraining from hatred and lust, turning the other cheek, and forgiving people who have sinned against you.<ref>Matthew 5–7.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
John's Gospel presents the teachings of Jesus not merely as his own preaching, but as divine revelation. John the Baptist, for example, states in John 3:34: "He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure." In John 7:16 Jesus says, "My teaching is not mine but his who sent me." He asserts the same thing in John 14:10: "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works."<ref name="Osborn-1993" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Approximately 30 parables form about one-third of Jesus's recorded teachings.<ref name="Osborn-1993">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The parables appear within longer sermons and at other places in the narrative.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They often contain symbolism, and usually relate the physical world to the spiritual.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Common themes in these tales include the kindness and generosity of God and the perils of transgression.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some of his parables, such as the Prodigal Son,<ref>Luke 15:11–32.</ref> are relatively simple, while others, such as the Growing Seed,<ref>Mark 4:26–29.</ref> are sophisticated, profound and abstruse.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When asked by his disciples why he speaks in parables to the people, Jesus replies that the chosen disciples have been given to "know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven", unlike the rest of their people, "For the one who has will be given more and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived even more", going on to say that the majority of their generation have grown "dull hearts" and thus are unable to understand.<ref>Matthew 13:10–17.</ref>
In the gospel accounts, Jesus devotes a large portion of his ministry to performing miracles, especially healings.Template:Sfn The miracles can be classified into two main categories: healing miracles and nature miracles.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The healing miracles include cures for physical ailments, exorcisms,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and resurrections of the dead.Template:Sfn<ref name="Oxford Companion" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The nature miracles show Jesus's power over nature, and include turning water into wine, walking on water, and calming a storm, among others. Jesus states that his miracles are from a divine source. When his opponents accuse him of performing exorcisms by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, Jesus counters that he performs them by the "Spirit of God" (Matthew 12:28) or "finger of God", arguing that all logic suggests that Satan would not let his demons assist the Children of God because it would divide Satan's house and bring his kingdom to desolation; he also asks his opponents that if he exorcises by Beelzebub, "by whom do your sons cast them out?".<ref>Luke 11:20.</ref><ref name="Britannica" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Matthew 12:31–32, he goes on to say that while all manner of sin, "even insults against God" or "insults against the son of man", shall be forgiven, whoever insults goodness (or "The Holy Spirit") shall never be forgiven; they carry the guilt of their sin forever.
In John, Jesus's miracles are described as "signs", performed to prove his mission and divinity.<ref name="Sign" />Template:Sfn In the Synoptics, when asked by some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees to give miraculous signs to prove his authority, Jesus refuses,<ref name="Sign">Template:Cite book</ref> saying that no sign shall come to corrupt and evil people except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Also, in the Synoptic Gospels, the crowds regularly respond to Jesus's miracles with awe and press on him to heal their sick. In John's Gospel, Jesus is presented as unpressured by the crowds, who often respond to his miracles with trust and faith.Template:Sfn One characteristic shared among all miracles of Jesus in the gospel accounts is that he performed them freely and never requested or accepted any form of payment.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The gospel episodes that include descriptions of the miracles of Jesus also often include teachings, and the miracles themselves involve an element of teaching.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn Many of the miracles teach the importance of faith. In the cleansing of ten lepers and the raising of Jairus's daughter, for instance, the beneficiaries are told that their healing was due to their faith.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Proclamation as Christ and TransfigurationEdit
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At about the middle of each of the three Synoptic Gospels are two significant events: the Confession of Peter and the Transfiguration of Jesus.<ref name="Barton132" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name="Nobbs" /> These two events are not mentioned in the Gospel of John.Template:Sfn
In his Confession, Peter tells Jesus, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn Jesus affirms that Peter's confession is divinely revealed truth.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn After the confession, Jesus tells his disciples about his upcoming death and resurrection.<ref>Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, and Luke 9:22.</ref>
In the Transfiguration,<ref>Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2–8, and Luke 9:28–36.</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name="Nobbs">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Barton132" /> Jesus takes Peter and two other apostles up an unnamed mountain, where "he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white".Template:Sfn A bright cloud appears around them, and a voice from the cloud says, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him."<ref>Matthew 17:1–9.</ref>Template:Sfn
Passion WeekEdit
The description of the last week of the life of Jesus (often called Passion Week) occupies about one-third of the narrative in the canonical gospels.<ref name="Turner613" /> It starts with Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ends with his Crucifixion.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Activities in JerusalemEdit
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In the Synoptics, the last week in Jerusalem is the conclusion of the journey through Perea and Judea that Jesus began in Galilee.Template:Sfn Jesus rides a young donkey into Jerusalem, reflecting the tale of the Messiah's Donkey, an oracle from the Book of Zechariah in which the Jews' humble king enters Jerusalem this way.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref><ref name="May Metzger Mark">May, Herbert G. and Bruce M. Metzger. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. 1977. "Mark" pp. 1213–1239.</ref> People along the way lay cloaks and small branches of trees (known as palm fronds) in front of him and sing part of Psalms 118:25–26.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Jesus next expels the money changers from the Second Temple, accusing them of turning it into a den of thieves through their commercial activities. He then prophesies about the coming destruction, including false prophets, wars, earthquakes, celestial disorders, persecution of the faithful, the appearance of an "abomination of desolation", and unendurable tribulations.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> The "Son of Man", he says, will dispatch angels to gather the faithful from all parts of the earth.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Jesus warns that these events will occur in the lifetimes of the hearers.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>Template:Sfn In John, the Cleansing of the Temple occurs at the beginning of Jesus's ministry instead of at the end.<ref>John 2:13–16.</ref>Template:Sfn
Jesus comes into conflict with the Jewish elders, such as when they question his authority and when he criticizes them and calls them hypocrites.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, secretly strikes a bargain with the Jewish elders, agreeing to betray Jesus to them for 30 silver coins.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Gospel of John recounts two other feasts in which Jesus taught in Jerusalem before the Passion Week.<ref>John 7:1–10:42.</ref>Template:Sfn In Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. This potent signTemplate:Sfn increases the tension with authorities,Template:Sfn who conspire to kill him.<ref>John 11.</ref>Template:Sfn Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus's feet, foreshadowing his entombment.Template:Sfn Jesus then makes his messianic entry into Jerusalem.Template:Sfn The cheering crowds greeting Jesus as he enters Jerusalem add to the animosity between him and the establishment.Template:Sfn In John, Jesus has already cleansed the Second Temple during an earlier Passover visit to Jerusalem. John next recounts Jesus's Last Supper with his disciples.Template:Sfn
Last SupperEdit
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The Last Supper is the final meal that Jesus shared with his twelve apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper is mentioned in all four canonical gospels; Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians<ref>1 Corinthians 11:23–26.</ref> also refers to it.<ref name="Fahlbusch52">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn During the meal, Jesus predicts that one of his apostles will betray him.Template:Sfn Despite each Apostle's assertion that he would not betray him, Jesus reiterates that the betrayer would be one of those present. Matthew 26:23–25 and John 13:26–27 identify Judas as the traitor.<ref name="Fahlbusch52" />Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
In the Synoptics, Jesus takes bread, breaks it, and gives it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you." He then has them all drink from a cup, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."<ref>Luke 22:19–20.</ref><ref name="Fahlbusch52" />Template:Sfn The Christian sacrament or ordinance of the Eucharist is based on these events.<ref>Template:CathEncy</ref> Although the Gospel of John does not include a description of the bread-and-wine ritual during the Last Supper, most scholars agree that John 6:22–59 (the Bread of Life Discourse) has a eucharistic character and resonates with the institution narratives in the Synoptic Gospels and in the Pauline writings on the Last Supper.Template:Sfn
In all four gospels, Jesus predicts that Peter will deny knowledge of him three times before the cock crows the next morning.<ref name="Denial">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Luke and John, the prediction is made during the Supper.<ref>Luke 22:34, John 22:34.</ref> In Matthew and Mark, the prediction is made after the Supper; Jesus also predicts that all his disciples will desert him.<ref>Matthew 26:31–34, Mark 14:27–30.</ref>Template:Sfn The Gospel of John provides the only account of Jesus washing his disciples' feet after the meal.Template:Sfn John also includes a long sermon by Jesus, preparing his disciples (now without Judas) for his departure. Chapters 14–17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse and are a significant source of Christological content.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Agony in the Garden, betrayal, and arrestEdit
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In the Synoptics, Jesus and his disciples go to the garden Gethsemane, where Jesus prays to be spared his coming ordeal. Then Judas comes with an armed mob, sent by the chief priests, scribes and elders. He kisses Jesus to identify him to the crowd, which then arrests Jesus. In an attempt to stop them, an unnamed disciple of Jesus uses a sword to cut off the ear of a man in the crowd. After Jesus's arrest, his disciples go into hiding, and Peter, when questioned, thrice denies knowing Jesus. After the third denial, Peter hears the cock crow and recalls Jesus's prediction about his denial. Peter then weeps bitterly.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Denial" />
In John 18:1–11, Jesus does not pray to be spared his crucifixion, as the gospel portrays him as scarcely touched by such human weakness.Template:Sfn The people who arrest him are Roman soldiers and Temple guards.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Instead of being betrayed by a kiss, Jesus proclaims his identity, and when he does, the soldiers and officers fall to the ground. The gospel identifies Peter as the disciple who used the sword, and Jesus rebukes him for it.
Trials by the Sanhedrin, Herod, and PilateEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also After his arrest, Jesus is taken late at night to the private residence of the high priest, Caiaphas, who had been installed by Pilate's predecessor, the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus.<ref>Josephus Antiquities 18.2.2.</ref> The Sanhedrin was a Jewish judicial body.Template:Sfn The gospel accounts differ on the details of the trials.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53, and Luke 22:54, Jesus is taken to the house of the high priest, Caiaphas, where he is mocked and beaten that night. Early the next morning, the chief priests and scribes lead Jesus away into their council.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Holman608">Template:Cite book</ref> John 18:12–14 states that Jesus is first taken to Annas, Caiaphas's father-in-law, and then to the high priest.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Holman608" />
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During the trials Jesus speaks very little, mounts no defence, and gives very infrequent and indirect answers to the priests' questions, prompting an officer to slap him. In Matthew 26:62, Jesus's unresponsiveness leads Caiaphas to ask him, "Have you no answer?".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Holman608" /> In Mark 14:61, the high priest then asks Jesus, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?". Jesus replies, "I am", and then predicts the coming of the Son of Man.<ref name="Britannica" /> This provokes Caiaphas to tear his own robe in anger and to accuse Jesus of blasphemy. In Matthew and Luke, Jesus's answer is more ambiguous:<ref name="Britannica" />Template:Sfn in Matthew 26:64, he responds, "You have said so", and in Luke 22:70 he says, "You say that I am."Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Jewish elders take Jesus to Pilate's Court and ask the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to judge and condemn Jesus for various allegations: subverting the nation, opposing the payment of tribute, claiming to be Christ, a king, and claiming to be the son of God.<ref>Matthew: "claiming to be king of the Jews". Mark: "King of the Jews". Luke: "subverting nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, claiming to be Christ, a king" John: "breaking Jewish law, claiming to be the son of God".</ref><ref name="Holman608" /> The use of the word "king" is central to the discussion between Jesus and Pilate. In John 18:36, Jesus states, "My kingdom is not from this world", but he does not unequivocally deny being the King of the Jews.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Luke 23:7–15, Pilate realizes that Jesus is a Galilean, and thus comes under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Pilate sends Jesus to Herod to be tried,Template:Sfn but Jesus says almost nothing in response to Herod's questions. Herod and his soldiers mock Jesus, put an expensive robe on him to make him look like a king, and return him to Pilate,Template:Sfn who then calls together the Jewish elders and announces that he has "not found this man guilty".Template:Sfn
Observing a Passover custom of the time, Pilate allows one prisoner chosen by the crowd to be released. He gives the people a choice between Jesus and a murderer called Barabbas ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Bar-abbâ, "son of the father", from the common given name Abba: 'father').Template:Sfn Persuaded by the elders,<ref>Matthew 27:20.</ref> the mob chooses to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus.Template:Sfn Pilate writes a sign in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that reads "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (abbreviated as INRI in depictions) to be affixed to Jesus's cross,<ref>John 19:19–20.</ref>Template:Sfn then scourges Jesus and sends him to be crucified. The soldiers place a crown of thorns on Jesus's head and ridicule him as the King of the Jews. They beat and taunt him before taking him to Calvary,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> also called Golgotha, for crucifixion.Template:Sfn<ref name="Holman608" />Template:Sfn
Crucifixion and entombmentEdit
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Jesus's crucifixion is described in all four canonical gospels. After the trials, Jesus is led to Calvary carrying his cross; the route traditionally thought to have been taken is known as the Via Dolorosa. The three Synoptic Gospels indicate that Simon of Cyrene assists him, having been compelled by the Romans to do so.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In Luke 23:27–28, Jesus tells the women in the multitude of people following him not to weep for him but for themselves and their children.Template:Sfn At Calvary, Jesus is offered a sponge soaked in a concoction usually offered as a painkiller. According to Matthew and Mark, he refuses it.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
The soldiers then crucify Jesus and cast lots for his clothes. Above Jesus's head on the cross is Pilate's multilingual inscription, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Soldiers and passersby mock him about it. Two convicted thieves are crucified along with Jesus. In Matthew and Mark, both thieves mock Jesus. In Luke, one of them rebukes Jesus, while the other defends him.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Jesus tells the latter: "today you will be with me in Paradise."<ref>Luke 23:43.</ref> The four gospels mention the presence of a group of female disciples of Jesus at the crucifixion. In John, Jesus sees his mother Mary and the beloved disciple and tells him to take care of her.<ref>John 19:26–27.</ref>
In John 19:33–34, Roman soldiers break the two thieves' legs to hasten their death, but not those of Jesus, as he is already dead. Instead, one soldier pierces Jesus's side with a lance, and blood and water flow out.Template:Sfn The Synoptics report a period of darkness, and the heavy curtain in the Temple is torn when Jesus dies. In Matthew 27:51–54, an earthquake breaks open tombs. In Matthew and Mark, terrified by the events, a Roman centurion states that Jesus was the Son of God.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
On the same day, Joseph of Arimathea, with Pilate's permission and with Nicodemus's help, removes Jesus's body from the cross, wraps it in a clean cloth, and buries it in a new rock-hewn tomb.Template:Sfn In Matthew 27:62–66, on the following day the chief Jewish priests ask Pilate for the tomb to be secured, and with Pilate's permission the priests place seals on the large stone covering the entrance.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Resurrection and ascensionEdit
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The Gospels do not describe the moment of the resurrection of Jesus. They describe the discovery of his empty tomb and several appearances of Jesus, with distinct differences in each narrative.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the four Gospels, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb on Sunday morning, alone or with one or several other women.Template:Sfn The tomb is empty, with the stone rolled away, and there are one or two angels, depending on the accounts. In the Synoptics, the women are told that Jesus is not here and that he is risen.<ref>Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, and Template:Bibleverse.</ref> In Mark and Matthew, the angel also instructs them to tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee.<ref>Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse.</ref> In Luke, Peter visits the tomb after he is told it is empty.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> In John, he goes there with the beloved disciple.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Matthew mentions Roman guards at the tomb,<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> who report to the priests of Jerusalem what happened. The priests bribe them to say that the disciples stole Jesus's body during the night.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref>
The four Gospels then describe various appearances of Jesus in his resurrected body. Jesus first reveals himself to Mary Magdalene in Mark 16:9 and John 20:14–17,<ref>Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse.</ref> along with "the other Mary" in Matthew 28:9,<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> while in Luke the first reported appearance is to two disciples heading to Emmaus.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> Jesus then reveals himself to the eleven disciples, in Jerusalem or in Galilee.<ref>Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, and Template:Bibleverse.</ref> In Luke 24:36–43, he eats and shows them his tangible wounds to prove that he is not a spirit.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> He also shows them to Thomas to end his doubts, in John 20:24–29.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> In the Synoptics, Jesus commissions the disciples to spread the gospel message to all nations,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn while in John 21, he tells Peter to take care of his sheep.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Jesus's ascension into Heaven is described in Luke 24:50–53, Acts 1:1–11, and mentioned in 1 Timothy 3:16. In the Acts of the Apostles, forty days after the Resurrection, as the disciples look on, "he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight". 1 Peter 3:22 states that Jesus has "gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God".Template:Sfn
The Acts of the Apostles describes several appearances of Jesus after his Ascension. In Acts 7:55, Stephen gazes into heaven and sees "Jesus standing at the right hand of God" just before his death.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> On the road to Damascus, the Apostle Paul is converted to Christianity after seeing a blinding light and hearing a voice saying, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."<ref>Acts 9:5.</ref> In Acts 9:10–18, Jesus instructs Ananias of Damascus in a vision to heal Paul.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Book of Revelation includes a revelation from Jesus concerning the last days of Earth.<ref>Template:CathEncy</ref>
Early ChristianityEdit
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After Jesus's life, his followers, as described in the first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, were all Jews either by birth or conversion, for which the biblical term "proselyte" is used,<ref>Catholic Encyclopedia: Proselyte Template:Webarchive: "The English term 'proselyte' occurs only in the New Testament where it signifies a convert to the Jewish religion (Template:Bibleverse; Template:Bibleverse; Template:Bibleverse-nb; etc.), though the same Greek word is commonly used in the Septuagint to designate a foreigner living in Palestine. Thus the term seems to have passed from an original local and chiefly political sense, in which it was used as early as 300 BC, to a technical and religious meaning in the Judaism of the New Testament epoch."</ref> and referred to by historians as Jewish Christians. The early Gospel message was spread orally, probably in Aramaic,Template:Sfn but almost immediately also in Greek.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The New Testament's Acts of the Apostles and Epistle to the Galatians record that the first Christian community was centred in Jerusalem and its leaders included Peter, James, the brother of Jesus, and John the Apostle.<ref>Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse; See Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles for details.</ref>
After his conversion, Paul the Apostle spread the teachings of Jesus to various non-Jewish communities throughout the eastern Mediterranean region. Paul's influence on Christian thinking is said to be more significant than that of any other New Testament author.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> By the end of the 1st century, Christianity began to be recognized internally and externally as a separate religion from Judaism which itself was refined and developed further in the centuries after the destruction of the Second Temple.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Numerous quotations in the New Testament and other Christian writings of the first centuries indicate that early Christians generally used and revered the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) as religious text, mostly in the Greek (Septuagint) or Aramaic (Targum) translations.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Early Christians wrote many religious works, including the ones included in the canon of the New Testament. The canonical texts, which have become the main sources used by historians to try to understand the historical Jesus and sacred texts within Christianity, were probably written between 50 and 120 AD.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Historical viewsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also Prior to the Enlightenment, the Gospels were usually regarded as accurate historical accounts, but since then scholars have emerged who question the reliability of the Gospels and draw a distinction between the Jesus described in the Gospels and the Jesus of history.Template:Sfn Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly quests for the historical Jesus have taken place, each with distinct characteristics and based on different research criteria, which were often developed during the quest that applied them.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn While there is widespread scholarly agreement on the existence of Jesus,Template:Efn and a basic consensus on the general outline of his life,Template:Efn the portraits of Jesus constructed by various scholars often differ from each other, and from the image portrayed in the gospel accounts.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Approaches to the historical reconstruction of the life of Jesus have varied from the "maximalist" approaches of the 19th century, in which the gospel accounts were accepted as reliable evidence wherever it is possible, to the "minimalist" approaches of the early 20th century, where hardly anything about Jesus was accepted as historical.Template:Sfn In the 1950s, as the second quest for the historical Jesus gathered pace, the minimalist approaches faded away, and in the 21st century, minimalists such as Price are a small minority.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Although a belief in the inerrancy of the Gospels cannot be supported historically, many scholars since the 1980s have held that, beyond the few facts considered to be historically certain, certain other elements of Jesus's life are "historically probable".Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn Modern scholarly research on the historical Jesus thus focuses on identifying the most probable elements.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Judea and Galilee in the 1st centuryEdit
In AD 6, Judea, Idumea, and Samaria were transformed from a Herodian client state of the Roman Empire into an imperial province, also called Judea. A Roman prefect, rather than a client ruler, governed the land. The prefect governed from Caesarea Maritima, leaving Jerusalem to be run by the High Priest of Israel.<ref name="horsley">Template:Cite book</ref> As an exception, the prefect came to Jerusalem during religious festivals, when religious and patriotic enthusiasm sometimes inspired unrest or uprisings. Galilee with Perea was a Herodian client state under the rule of Herod Antipas since 4 BC.<ref name="horsley" /> Galilee was evidently prosperous, and poverty was limited enough that it did not threaten the social order.<ref name="Britannica" /> Philip (d. 34 AD), half-brother of Herod Antipas, ruled as Tetrarch yet another Herodian client state to the north and east of the sea of Galilee that included Gaulanitis, Batanea, and Iturea; it was mostly non-Jewish.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> South of this on the east bank of the Jordan was the Decapolis; a collection of Hellenistic city-states that were clients of the Roman empire. North of Galilee were the cities of Tyre and Sidon which were in the Roman province of Syria. Though non-Jewish lands surrounded the mostly Jewish territories of Judea and Galilee, Roman law and practice allowed Jews to remain separate legally and culturally.<ref name="Britannica" />
This was the era of Hellenistic Judaism, which combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Hellenistic culture. Until the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Muslim conquests of the Eastern Mediterranean, the main centres of Hellenistic Judaism were Alexandria (Egypt) and Antioch (now Southern Turkey), the two main Greek colonies of the Middle East and North Africa area, both founded at the end of the 4th century BC in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Hellenistic Judaism also existed in Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period, where there was conflict between Hellenizers and traditionalists (sometimes called Judaizers). The Hebrew Bible was translated from Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic into Jewish Koine Greek; the Targum translations into Aramaic were also generated during this era, both due to the decline of knowledge of Hebrew.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Jews based their faith and religious practice on the Torah, five books said to have been given by God to Moses. The three prominent religious parties were the Pharisees, the Essenes, and the Sadducees. Together these parties represented only a small fraction of the population. Most Jews looked forward to a time when God would deliver them from their pagan rulers, possibly through war against the Romans.<ref name="Britannica" />
SourcesEdit
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New Testament scholars face a formidable challenge when they analyse the canonical Gospels.Template:Sfn The Gospels are not biographies in the modern sense, and the authors explain Jesus's theological significance and recount his public ministry while omitting many details of his life.Template:Sfn James Dunn has argued that the accounts of his teachings and life were initially conserved by oral transmission, which was the source of the written Gospels.<ref name="Dunn2013" /> The Gospels are commonly seen as literature that is based on oral traditions, Christian preaching, and Old Testament exegesis with the consensus being that they are a variation of Greco-Roman biography; similar to other ancient works such as Xenophon's Memoirs of Socrates.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The reports of supernatural events associated with Jesus's death and resurrection make the challenge even more difficult.Template:Sfn Scholars regard the Gospels as compromised sources of information because the writers were trying to glorify Jesus.Template:Sfn Ed Sanders states that the sources for Jesus's life are better than sources scholars have for the life of Alexander the Great.Template:Sfn
Scholars use several criteria, such as the criterion of independent attestation, the criterion of coherence, and the criterion of discontinuity to judge the historicity of events.Template:Sfn The historicity of an event also depends on the reliability of the source; indeed, the Gospels are not independent nor consistent records of Jesus's life. Mark, which is most likely the earliest written gospel, has been considered for many decades the most historically accurate.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> John, the latest written gospel, differs considerably from the Synoptic Gospels, and thus is generally considered less reliable, although more and more scholars now also recognize that it may contain a core of older material as historically valuable as the Synoptic tradition or even more so.Template:Sfn
Some scholars (such as the Jesus Seminar) believe that the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas might be an independent witness to many of Jesus's parables and aphorisms. For example, Thomas confirms that Jesus blessed the poor and that this saying circulated independently before being combined with similar sayings in the Q source.Template:Sfn The majority of scholars are sceptical about this text and believe it should be dated to the 2nd century AD.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Other select non-canonical Christian texts may also have value for historical Jesus research.Template:Sfn
Early non-Christian sources that attest to the historical existence of Jesus include the works of the historians Josephus and Tacitus.Template:EfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Josephus scholar Louis Feldman has stated that "few have doubted the genuineness" of Josephus's reference to Jesus in book 20 of the Antiquities of the Jews, and it is disputed only by a small number of scholars.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Tacitus referred to Christ and his execution by Pilate in book 15 of his work Annals. Scholars generally consider Tacitus's reference to the execution of Jesus to be both authentic and of historical value as an independent Roman source.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Non-Christian sources are valuable as they show that even neutral or hostile parties never show any doubt that Jesus existed. They present a rough picture of Jesus that is compatible with that found in the Christian sources: that Jesus was a teacher, had a reputation as a miracle worker, had a brother James, and died a violent death.Template:Sfn
Archaeology helps scholars better understand Jesus's social world.Template:Sfn For example, it indicates that Capernaum, a city important in Jesus's ministry, was poor and small, without even a forum or an agora.<ref name="Gowler">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> This archaeological discovery resonates well with the scholarly view that Jesus advocated reciprocal sharing among the destitute in that area of Galilee.<ref name="Gowler" />
ChronologyEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also Template:Jewish Christianity Jesus was a Galilean Jew,Template:Sfn born around the beginning of the 1st century, who died in AD 30 or 33 in Judea.Template:Sfn The general scholarly consensus is that Jesus was a contemporary of John the Baptist and was crucified as ordered by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate,Template:Sfn who held office from AD 26 to 36.Template:Sfn
The Gospels offer several indications concerning the year of Jesus's birth. Matthew 2:1 associates the birth of Jesus with the reign of Herod the Great, who died around 4 BC, and Luke 1:5 mentions that Herod was on the throne shortly before the birth of Jesus,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn although this gospel also associates the birth with the Census of Quirinius which took place ten years later.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Luke 3:23 states that Jesus was "about thirty years old" at the start of his ministry, which according to Acts 10:37–38 was preceded by John the Baptist's ministry, which was recorded in Luke 3:1–2 to have begun in the 15th year of Tiberius's reign (AD 28 or 29).Template:Sfn<ref name="Vermes-2010">Template:Cite book</ref> By collating the gospel accounts with historical data and using various other methods, most scholars arrive at a date of birth for Jesus between 6 and 4 BC,<ref name="Vermes-2010" />Template:Sfn but some propose estimates that include a wider range.Template:Efn
The date range for Jesus's ministry has been estimated using several different approaches.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn One of these applies the reference in Luke 3:1–2, Acts 10:37–38, and the dates of Tiberius's reign, which are well known, to give a date of around 28–29 AD for the start of Jesus's ministry.Template:Sfn Another approach estimates a date around 27–29 AD by using the statement about the temple in John 2:13–20, which asserts that the temple in Jerusalem was in its 46th year of construction at the start of Jesus's ministry, together with Josephus's statement<ref>Template:Citation.</ref> that the temple's reconstruction was started by Herod the Great in the 18th year of his reign.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn A further method uses the date of the death of John the Baptist and the marriage of Herod Antipas to Herodias, based on the writings of Josephus, and correlates it with Matthew 14:4 and Mark 6:18.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Given that most scholars date the marriage of Herod and Herodias as AD 28–35, this yields a date about AD 28–29.Template:Sfn
Various approaches have been used to estimate the year of the crucifixion of Jesus. Most scholars agree that he died in AD 30 or 33.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Gospels state that the event occurred during the prefecture of Pilate.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn The date for the conversion of Paul (estimated to be AD 33–36) acts as an upper bound for the date of Crucifixion. The dates for Paul's conversion and ministry can be determined by analysing the Pauline epistles and the Acts of the Apostles.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Astronomers have tried to estimate the precise date of the Crucifixion by analysing lunar motion and calculating historic dates of Passover, a festival based on the lunisolar Hebrew calendar. The most widely accepted dates derived from this method are 7 April AD 30, and 3 April AD 33 (both Julian).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Historicity of eventsEdit
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Nearly all historians (both modern and historical) agree that Jesus was a real person who historically existed.Template:Efn Scholars have reached a limited consensus on the basics of Jesus's life.<ref name="White">Template:Cite book</ref>
FamilyEdit
Template:See also Many scholars agree that Joseph, Jesus's father, died before Jesus began his ministry. Joseph is not mentioned in the Gospels during Jesus's ministry. Joseph's death would explain why in Mark 6:3, Jesus's neighbours refer to Jesus as the "son of Mary" (sons were usually identified by their fathers).Template:Sfn
According to Theissen and Merz, it is common for extraordinary charismatic leaders, such as Jesus, to come into conflict with their ordinary families.Template:Sfn In Mark, Jesus's family comes to get him, fearing that he is mad (Mark 3:20–34), and this account is thought to be historical because early Christians would probably not have invented it.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After Jesus's death, many members of his family joined the Christian movement.Template:Sfn Jesus's brother James became a leader of the Jerusalem Church.Template:Sfn
Géza Vermes says that the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus arose from theological development rather than from historical events.Template:Sfn Despite the widely held view that the authors of the Synoptic Gospels drew upon each other (the so-called synoptic problem), other scholars take it as significant that the virgin birth is attested by two separate gospels, Matthew and Luke.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book cited in the preceding.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
According to E. P. Sanders, the birth narratives in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke are the clearest cases of invention in the Gospel narratives of Jesus's life. Marcus Borg concurs, explaining that, "I (and most mainline scholars) do not see these stories as historically factual."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Both accounts have Jesus born in Bethlehem, in accordance with Jewish salvation history, and both have him growing up in Nazareth. But Sanders points out that the two Gospels report completely different and irreconcilable explanations for how that happened. Luke's account of a census in which everyone returned to their ancestral cities is not plausible. Matthew's account is more plausible, but the story reads as though it was invented to identify Jesus as a new Moses, and the historian Josephus reports Herod the Great's brutality without ever mentioning that he massacred little boys.Template:Sfn The contradictions between the two Gospels were probably apparent to the early Christians, since attempts to harmonize the two narratives are already present in the earlier apocryphal infancy gospels (the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of James), which are dated to the 2nd century AD.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Conservative scholars argue that despite the uncertainty of the details, the gospel birth narratives trace back to historical, or at least much earlier pre-gospel traditions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>R. T. France (2008), Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary, p. 81-82</ref><ref>Craig Blomberg (2nd Ed. 2009), Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 243-244</ref><ref>Raymond Brown (1977), The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke, pp. 104–121</ref> For instance, according to Ben Witherington:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
What we find in Matthew and Luke is not the story of ... a [god] descending to earth and, in the guise of a man, mating with a human woman, but rather the story of a miraculous conception without the aid of any man, divine or otherwise. As such, this story is without precedent either in Jewish or pagan literature.<ref>Witherington (1992), Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, p. 70</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries}}
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Sanders says that the genealogies of Jesus are based not on historical information but on the author's desire to show that Jesus was the universal Jewish saviour.Template:Sfn In any event, once the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus became established, that tradition superseded the earlier tradition that he was descended from David through Joseph.Template:Sfn The Gospel of Luke reports that Jesus was a blood relative of John the Baptist, but scholars generally consider this connection to be invented.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
BaptismEdit
Most modern scholars consider Jesus's baptism to be a historical fact, along with his crucifixion.Template:Sfn The theologian James D. G. Dunn states that they "command almost universal assent" and "rank so high on the 'almost impossible to doubt or deny' scale of historical facts" that they are often the starting points for the study of the historical Jesus.Template:Sfn Scholars adduce the criterion of embarrassment, saying that early Christians would not have invented a baptism that might imply that Jesus committed sins and wanted to repent.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Theissen and Merz, Jesus was inspired by John the Baptist and took over from him many elements of his teaching.Template:Sfn
Ministry in GalileeEdit
Most scholars hold that Jesus lived in Galilee and Judea and did not preach or study elsewhere.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> They agree that Jesus debated with Jewish authorities on the subject of God, performed some healings, taught in parables and gathered followers.Template:Sfn Jesus's Jewish critics considered his ministry to be scandalous because he feasted with sinners, fraternized with women, and allowed his followers to pluck grain on the Sabbath.Template:Sfn According to Sanders, it is not plausible that disagreements over how to interpret the Law of Moses and the Sabbath would have led Jewish authorities to want Jesus killed.Template:Sfn
According to Ehrman, Jesus taught that a coming kingdom was everyone's proper focus, not anything in this life.Template:Sfn He taught about the Jewish Law, seeking its true meaning, sometimes in opposition to traditions. Jesus put love at the centre of the Law, and following that Law was an apocalyptic necessity.Template:Sfn His ethical teachings called for forgiveness, not judging others, loving enemies, and caring for the poor.Template:Sfn Funk and Hoover note that typical of Jesus were paradoxical or surprising turns of phrase, such as advising one, when struck on the cheek, to offer the other cheek to be struck as well.<ref>Luke 6:29.</ref>Template:Sfn
The Gospels portray Jesus teaching in well-defined sessions, such as the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew or the parallel Sermon on the Plain in Luke. According to Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz, these teaching sessions include authentic teachings of Jesus, but the scenes were invented by the respective evangelists to frame these teachings, which had originally been recorded without context.Template:Sfn While Jesus's miracles fit within the social context of antiquity, he defined them differently. First, he attributed them to the faith of those healed. Second, he connected them to end times prophecy.Template:Sfn
Jesus chose twelve disciples (the "Twelve"),Template:Sfn evidently as an apocalyptic message. All three Synoptics mention the Twelve, although the names on Luke's list vary from those in Mark and Matthew, suggesting that Christians were not certain who all the disciples were. The twelve disciples might have represented the twelve original tribes of Israel, which would be restored once God's rule was instituted. The disciples were reportedly meant to be the rulers of the tribes in the coming Kingdom.<ref>Matthew 19:28, Luke 22:30.</ref> According to Bart Ehrman, Jesus's promise that the Twelve would rule is historical, because the Twelve included Judas Iscariot. In Ehrman's view, no Christians would have invented a line from Jesus, promising rulership to the disciple who betrayed him.Template:Sfn
In Mark, the disciples play hardly any role other than a negative one. While others sometimes respond to Jesus with complete faith, his disciples are puzzled and doubtful. They serve as a foil to Jesus and to other characters. The failings of the disciples are probably exaggerated in Mark, and the disciples make a better showing in Matthew and Luke.Template:Sfn Recent studies tend to suggest that Mark is not as negative towards Peter as a previous generation of scholars thought.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Sanders says that Jesus's mission was not about repentance, although he acknowledges that this opinion is unpopular. He argues that repentance appears as a strong theme only in Luke, that repentance was John the Baptist's message, and that Jesus's ministry would not have been scandalous if the sinners he ate with had been repentant.Template:Sfn According to Theissen and Merz, Jesus taught that God was generously giving people an opportunity to repent.Template:Sfn
RoleEdit
Jesus taught that an apocalyptic figure, the "Son of Man", would soon come on clouds of glory to gather the chosen ones.<ref>Mark 13:24–27, Matthew 24:29–31, and Luke 21:25–28.</ref> He referred to himself as a "son of man" in the colloquial sense of "a person", but scholars do not know whether he also meant himself when he referred to the heavenly "Son of Man". Paul the Apostle and other early Christians interpreted the "Son of Man" as the risen Jesus.<ref name="Britannica" />
The Gospels refer to Jesus not only as a messiah but in the absolute form as "the Messiah" or, equivalently, "the Christ". In early Judaism, this absolute form of the title is not found, but only phrases such as "his messiah". The tradition is ambiguous enough to leave room for debate as to whether Jesus defined his eschatological role as that of the Messiah.Template:Sfn The Jewish messianic tradition included many different forms, some of them focused on a messiah figure and others not. Based on the Christian tradition, Gerd Theissen advances the hypothesis that Jesus saw himself in messianic terms but did not claim the title "Messiah".Template:Sfn Bart Ehrman argues that Jesus did consider himself to be the Messiah, albeit in the sense that he would be the king of the new political order that God would usher in,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> not in the sense that most people today think of the term.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Passover and crucifixion in JerusalemEdit
Around AD 30, Jesus and his followers travelled from Galilee to Jerusalem to observe Passover.Template:Sfn Jesus caused a disturbance in the Second Temple,Template:Sfn which was the centre of Jewish religious and civil authority. Sanders associates it with Jesus's prophecy that the Temple would be totally demolished.Template:Sfn Jesus held a last meal with his disciples, which is the origin of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. His words as recorded in the Synoptic gospels and Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians do not entirely agree, but this meal appears to have pointed to Jesus's place in the coming Kingdom of God when very probably Jesus knew he was about to be killed, although he may have still hoped that God might yet intervene.Template:Sfn
The Gospels say that Jesus was betrayed to the authorities by a disciple, and many scholars consider this report to be highly reliable.Template:Sfn He was executed on the orders of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judaea.Template:Sfn Pilate most likely saw Jesus's reference to the Kingdom of God as a threat to Roman authority and worked with the Temple elites to have Jesus executed.Template:Sfn The Sadducean high-priestly leaders of the Temple more plausibly had Jesus executed for political reasons than for his teaching.Template:Sfn They may have regarded him as a threat to stability, especially after he caused a disturbance at the Second Temple.Template:Sfn<ref name="JE1906">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} See Avodah Zarah 17a:1, Sanhedrin 43a:20, Gittin 57a:3–4, and Sotah 47a:6.</ref> Other factors, such as Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, may have contributed to this decision.Template:Sfn Most scholars consider Jesus's crucifixion to be factual because early Christians would not have invented the painful death of their leader.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
After crucifixionEdit
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After Jesus's death, his followers said he was restored to life, although the exact details of their experiences are unclear. The gospel reports contradict each other, possibly suggesting competition among those claiming to have seen him first rather than deliberate fraud.Template:Sfn On the other hand, L. Michael White suggests that inconsistencies in the Gospels reflect differences in the agendas of their unknown authors.<ref name="White" /> The followers of Jesus formed a community to wait for his return and the founding of his kingdom.Template:Sfn
Portraits of JesusEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Modern research on the historical Jesus has not led to a unified picture of the historical figure, partly because of the variety of academic traditions represented by the scholars.Template:Sfn Given the scarcity of historical sources, it is generally difficult for any scholar to construct a portrait of Jesus that can be considered historically valid beyond the basic elements of his life.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The portraits of Jesus constructed in these quests often differ from each other, and from the image portrayed in the Gospels.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Jesus is seen as the founder of, in the words of Sanders, a "renewal movement within Judaism". One of the criteria used to discern historical details in the "third quest" is the criterion of plausibility, relative to Jesus's Jewish context and to his influence on Christianity. A disagreement in contemporary research is whether Jesus was apocalyptic. Most scholars conclude that he was an apocalyptic preacher, like John the Baptist and Paul the Apostle. Certain prominent North American scholars, such as Burton Mack and John Dominic Crossan, advocate for a non-eschatological Jesus, one who is more of a Cynic sage than an apocalyptic preacher.Template:Sfn In addition to portraying Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, a charismatic healer or a cynic philosopher, some scholars portray him as the true messiah or an egalitarian prophet of social change.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn The attributes described in the portraits sometimes overlap, and scholars who differ on some attributes sometimes agree on others.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Since the 18th century, scholars have occasionally put forth that Jesus was a political national messiah, but the evidence for this portrait is negligible. Likewise, the proposal that Jesus was a Zealot does not fit with the earliest strata of the Synoptic tradition.Template:Sfn
Language, ethnicity, and appearanceEdit
Jesus grew up in Galilee and much of his ministry took place there.Template:Sfn The languages spoken in Galilee and Judea during the 1st century AD include Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek, with Aramaic being predominant.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There is substantial consensus that Jesus gave most of his teachings in AramaicTemplate:Sfn in the Galilean dialect.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Britannica</ref> Other than Aramaic and Hebrew, it is likely that he was also able to speak Greek.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Modern scholars agree that Jesus was a Jew of 1st-century Judea.Template:Sfn Template:Tlit in New Testament GreekTemplate:Efn is a term which in the contemporary context may refer to religion (Second Temple Judaism), ethnicity (of Judea), or both.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In a review of the state of modern scholarship, Amy-Jill Levine writes that the entire question of ethnicity is "fraught with difficulty", and that "beyond recognizing that 'Jesus was Jewish', rarely does the scholarship address what being 'Jewish' means".Template:Sfn
The New Testament gives no description of the physical appearance of Jesus before his death—it is generally indifferent to racial appearances and does not refer to the features of the people it mentions.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Perkinson30">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jesus probably looked like a typical Jewish man of his time and place; standing around Template:Convert tall with a thin but fit build, olive-brown skin, brown eyes and short, dark hair. He also probably had a beard that was not particularly long or heavy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Christ myth theoryEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Christ myth theory is the hypothesis that Jesus of Nazareth never existed; or that if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity and the accounts in the gospels.Template:Efn Stories of Jesus's birth, along with other key events, have so many mythic elements that some scholars have suggested that Jesus himself was a myth.Template:Sfn
Bruno Bauer (1809–1882) taught that the first Gospel was a work of literature that produced history rather than described it. According to Albert Kalthoff (1850–1906), a social movement produced Jesus when it encountered Jewish messianic expectations. Arthur Drews (1865–1935) saw Jesus as the concrete form of a myth that predated Christianity.Template:Sfn Despite arguments put forward by authors who have questioned the existence of a historical Jesus, virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Jesus was a historical figure and consider the myth theory to be fringe.<ref>Template:Harvnb: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees, based on certain and clear evidence."</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Religious perspectivesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Jesus's teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of human history, and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people, even non-Christians, worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He is considered by many people to be the most influential figure to have ever lived, finding a significant place in numerous cultural contexts.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Apart from his own disciples and followers,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the Jews of Jesus's day generally rejected him as the messiah,Template:Sfn as does Judaism today.Template:Sfn Christian theologians, ecumenical councils, reformers and others have written extensively about Jesus over the centuries. Christian denominations have often been defined or characterized by their descriptions of Jesus. Meanwhile, Manichaeans, Gnostics, Muslims, Druzes,<ref name=Hitti>Template:Cite book</ref> the Baháʼís, and others have found prominent places for Jesus in their religions.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
ChristianityEdit
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Jesus is the central figure of Christianity.Template:Sfn Although Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to summarize the key beliefs shared by the major denominations, as stated in their catechetical or confessional texts.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Christian views of Jesus are derived from the texts of the New Testament, including the canonical gospels and letters such as the Pauline epistles and the Johannine writings. These documents outline the key beliefs held by Christians about Jesus, including his divinity, humanity, and earthly life, and that he is the Christ and the Son of God.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Despite their many shared beliefs, not all Christian denominations agree on all doctrines, and both major and minor differences on teachings and beliefs have persisted throughout Christianity for centuries.Template:Sfn
The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith.<ref>1 Corinthians 15:12–20.</ref><ref>Template:Britannica</ref> Christians believe that through his sacrificial death and resurrection, humans can be reconciled with God and are thereby offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.<ref name="Oxford Companion">Template:Cite book</ref> Recalling the words of John the Baptist in the gospel of John, these doctrines sometimes refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God, who was crucified to fulfil his role as the servant of God.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jesus is thus seen as the new and last Adam, whose obedience contrasts with Adam's disobedience.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Christians view Jesus as a role model, whose God-focused life believers are encouraged to imitate.Template:Sfn
Most Christians believe that Jesus is both human and the Son of God.Template:Sfn While there has been theological debate over his nature,Template:Efn Trinitarian Christians generally believe that Jesus is the Logos, God's incarnation and God the Son, both fully divine and fully human. The doctrine of the Trinity is not universally accepted among Christians.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:CathEncy</ref> With the Reformation, Christians such as Michael Servetus and the Socinians started questioning the ancient creeds that had established Jesus's two natures.<ref name="Britannica" /> Nontrinitarian Christian groups include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses.Template:Sfn
Christians revere not only Jesus but also his name. Devotions to the Holy Name of Jesus go back to the earliest days of Christianity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn These devotions and feasts exist in both Eastern and Western Christianity.Template:Sfn
Judaism's viewEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also Judaism rejects the idea of Jesus (or any future Jewish messiah) being God,<ref name="JE1906" /> or a mediator to God, or part of a Trinity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It holds that Jesus is not the messiah, arguing that he neither fulfilled the messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal qualifications of the Messiah.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jews argue that Jesus did not fulfil prophecies to build the Third Temple,<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> gather Jews back to Israel,<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> bring world peace,<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> and unite humanity under the God of Israel.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Furthermore, according to Jewish tradition, there were no prophets after Malachi,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> who delivered his prophecies in the 5th century BC.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Judaic criticism of Jesus is long-standing, and includes a range of stories in the Talmud, written and compiled from the 3rd to the 5th century AD.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> In one such story, Yeshu HaNozri ('Jesus the Nazarene'), a lewd apostate, is executed by the Jewish high court for spreading idolatry and practising magic.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to some, the form Yeshu is an acronym which in Hebrew reads "may his name and memory be blotted out".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The majority of contemporary scholars consider that this material provides no information on the historical Jesus.Template:Sfn The Mishneh Torah, a late 12th-century work of Jewish law written by Moses Maimonides, states that Jesus is a "stumbling block" who makes "the majority of the world to err and serve a god other than the Lord".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Medieval Hebrew literature contains the anecdotal "Episode of Jesus" (known also as Toledot Yeshu), in which Jesus is described as being the son of Joseph, the son of Pandera (see: Episode of Jesus). The account portrays Jesus as an impostor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
ManichaeismEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Manichaeism, an ancient religious movement, became one of the earliest organized religions outside of Christianity to honour Jesus as a significant figure.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Within the Manichaean belief system, Jesus is revered alongside other prominent prophets such as Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha, and Mani himself.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
IslamEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Islamic prophets
A major figure in Islam,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="CEI" /> Jesus (often referred to by his Quranic name Template:Transliteration) is considered to be a messenger of God and the messiah ([[Masih (title)|Template:Transliteration]]) who was sent to guide the Children of Israel (Template:Transliteration) with a new scripture, the Gospel (referred to in Islam as [[Gospel in Islam|Template:Transliteration]]).<ref name="CEI" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Muslims regard the gospels' accounts in the New Testament as partially authentic, and believe that Jesus's original message was altered (Template:Transliteration) and that Muhammad came later to revive it.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Belief in Jesus (and all other messengers of God) is a requirement for being a Muslim.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> The Quran mentions Jesus by name 25 times—more often than Muhammad<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>—and emphasizes that Jesus was a mortal human who, like all other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God's message.<ref name="comparative" /> While the Quran affirms the Virgin birth of Jesus, he is considered to be neither an incarnation nor a son of God.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Morgan" /> Islamic texts emphasize a strict notion of monotheism (Template:Transliteration) and forbid the association of partners with God, which would be idolatry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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The Quran describes the annunciation to Mary ([[Mary in Islam|Template:Transliteration]]) by the Holy Spirit that she is to give birth to Jesus while remaining a virgin. It calls the virgin birth a miracle that occurred by the will of God.<ref name="RobB32" /><ref name="Peters23" /> The Quran (Template:Qref and Template:Qref) states that God breathed his spirit into Mary while she was chaste.<ref name="RobB32" /><ref name="Peters23">Template:Cite book</ref> Jesus is called a "spirit from God" because he was born through the action of the Spirit,<ref name="RobB32">Template:Cite book</ref> but that belief does not imply his pre-existence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
To aid in his ministry to the Jewish people, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles, by permission of God rather than by his own power.<ref name="Morgan">Template:Cite book</ref> Through his ministry, Jesus is seen as a precursor to Muhammad.<ref name="comparative">Template:Cite book</ref> In the Quran (Template:Qref) it is said that Jesus was not killed but was merely made to appear that way to unbelievers,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and that he was raised into the heavens while still alive by God.<ref>Template:Qref: "and for boasting, "We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so. Even those who argue for this ˹crucifixion˺ are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him."</ref> According to most classic Sunni and Twelver Shi'ite interpretations of these verses, the likeness of Jesus was cast upon a substitute (most often one of the apostles), who was crucified in Jesus's stead.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb. The substitution theory was criticized and rejected by the Sunni Quran commentator Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1150–1210); see Template:Harvnb. According to Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d. 1037), the substitution theory was also applied to the death of Ali ibn Abi Talib by the semi-legendary 7th-century figure Abdallah ibn Saba'; see Template:Harvnb.</ref> Some medieval Muslims, including the [[ghulat|Template:Transliteration]] writing under the name of al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi, the Brethren of Purity, various Isma'ili philosophers, and the Sunni mystic al-Ghazali, affirmed the historicity of Jesus's crucifixion. These thinkers held the docetic view that, although Jesus's human body had died on the cross, his spirit had survived and ascended into heaven, so that his death was only an appearance.<ref>On the writings attributed to al‐Mufaddal ibn Umar al‐Ju'fi, see Template:Harvnb. On the Brethren of Purity, see Template:Harvnb, Template:Harvnb and especially Template:Harvnb. On the Isma'ili philosophers (who include Abu Hatim al-Razi, Abu Tammam, Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman, Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani and Ibrahim al-Hamidi), see Template:Harvnb and especially Template:Harvnb. On al-Ghazali, see Template:Harvnb. This type of interpretation of Quran 4:157–159 was specifically rejected by the Sunni Quran commentator al-Baydawi (d. 1319); see Template:Harvnb.</ref> Nevertheless, to Muslims it is the ascension rather than the crucifixion that constitutes a major event in the life of Jesus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There is no mention of his resurrection on the third day, and his death plays no special role in Islamic theories of salvation.<ref>Template:Harvnb.</ref> Jesus is a central figure in Islamic eschatology: Muslims believe that he will return to Earth at the end of time and defeat the Antichrist (ad-Dajjal) by killing him.<ref name="CEI">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
According to the Quran, the coming of Muhammad (also called "Ahmad") was predicted by Jesus:
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And ˹remember˺ when Jesus, son of Mary, said, "O children of Israel! I am truly Allah's messenger to you, confirming the Torah which came before me, and giving good news of a messenger after me whose name will be Aḥmad." Yet when the Prophet came to them with clear proofs, they said, "This is pure magic."{{#if:Template:Qref|{{#if:|}}
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Through this verse, early Arab Muslims claimed legitimacy for their new faith in the existing religious traditions and the predictions of Jesus.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
AhmadiyyaEdit
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The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has several teachings about Jesus.<ref>Template:Harvnb.</ref> Ahmadis believe that he was a mortal man who survived his crucifixion and died a natural death at the age of 120 in Kashmir, India, and is buried at Roza Bal.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb.</ref>
DruzeEdit
Template:Further In the Druze faith,<ref name="Hitti" /> Jesus is considered and revered as one of the seven spokesmen or prophets (Template:Tlit), defined as messengers or intermediaries between God and mankind, along with figures including Moses, Muhammad and Muhammad ibn Isma'il, each of them sent at a different period of history to preach the message of God.<ref name="Hitti" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Druze tradition, Jesus is known under three titles: the True Messiah (Template:Tlit), the Messiah of all Nations (Template:Tlit), and the Messiah of Sinners. This is due, respectively, to the belief that Jesus delivered the true Gospel message, the belief that he was the Saviour of all nations, and the belief that he offers forgiveness.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Baháʼí FaithEdit
In the Baháʼí Faith, Jesus is considered one of the Manifestations of God,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> defined as divine messengers or prophets sent by God to guide humanity, along with other religious figures such as Moses, Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, Muhammad, and Baháʼu'lláh. Baháʼís believe that these religious founders or leaders have contributed to the progressive revelation by bringing spiritual and moral values to humanity in their own time and place.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As a Manifestation of God, Jesus is believed to reflect God's qualities and attributes, but is not considered the only saviour of humanity nor the incarnation of God.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Baháʼís believe in the virgin birth,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Cole">Template:Cite journal</ref> but see the resurrection and the miracles of Jesus as symbolic.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Cole" />
OtherEdit
In Christian Gnosticism (now a largely extinct religious movement),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jesus was sent from the divine realm and provided the secret knowledge (gnosis) necessary for salvation. Most Gnostics believed that Jesus was a human who became possessed by the spirit of "the Christ" at his baptism. This spirit left Jesus's body during the crucifixion but was rejoined to him when he was raised from the dead. Some Gnostics were docetics, believing that Jesus did not have a physical body, but only appeared to possess one.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Some Hindus consider Jesus to be an avatar or a sadhu.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Paramahansa Yogananda, an Indian guru, taught that Jesus was the reincarnation of Elisha and a student of John the Baptist, the reincarnation of Elijah.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, regard Jesus as a bodhisattva who dedicated his life to the welfare of people.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The New Age movement entertains a wide variety of views on Jesus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Theosophists, from whom many New Age teachings originated,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> refer to Jesus as the Master Jesus, a spiritual reformer, and they believe that Christ, after various incarnations, occupied the body of Jesus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Urantia Book teaches Jesus is one of more than 700,000 heavenly sons of God.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Antony Theodore in the book Jesus Christ in Love writes that there is an underlying oneness of Jesus's teachings with the messages contained in Quran, Vedas, Upanishads, Talmud and Avesta.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Atheists reject Jesus's divinity, but have different views about him—from challenging his mental health<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> to emphasizing his "moral superiority" (Richard Dawkins).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Artistic depictionsEdit
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As in other Early Christian art, the earliest depictions date to the late 2nd or early 3rd century, and surviving images are found in the Catacombs of Rome.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some of the earliest depictions of Jesus at the Dura-Europos church date to before 256.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> A wide range of depictions of Jesus appeared during the next two millennia, influenced by cultural settings, political circumstances and theological contexts.Template:Sfn<ref name="Erricker44">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Perkinson30" />
The depiction of Christ in pictorial form was highly controversial in the early Church.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Efn<ref>Synod of Elvira, 'Pictures are not to be placed in churches so that they do not become objects of worship and adoration', AD 306, Canon 36.</ref> From the 5th century, flat painted icons became popular in the Eastern Church.Template:Sfn The Byzantine Iconoclasm acted as a barrier to developments in the East, but by the 9th century, art was permitted again.Template:Sfn The Protestant Reformation brought renewed resistance to imagery, but total prohibition was atypical, and Protestant objections to images have tended to reduce since the 16th century. Although large images are generally avoided, few Protestants now object to book illustrations depicting Jesus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The use of depictions of Jesus is advocated by the leaders of denominations such as Anglicans and Catholics<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and is a key element of the Eastern Orthodox tradition.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In Eastern Christian art, the Transfiguration was a major theme, and every Eastern Orthodox monk who had trained in icon painting had to prove his craft by painting an icon depicting it.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Icons receive the external marks of veneration, such as kisses and prostration, and they are thought to be powerful channels of divine grace.Template:Sfn
In Western Europe, the Renaissance brought forth artists who focused on depictions of Jesus; Fra Angelico and others followed Giotto in the systematic development of uncluttered images.Template:Sfn Before the Protestant Reformation, the crucifix was common in Western Christianity. It is a model of the cross with Jesus crucified on it. The crucifix became the central ornament of the altar in the 13th century, a use that has been nearly universal in Roman Catholic churches since then.Template:Sfn
Associated relicsEdit
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The total destruction that ensued with the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70 made the survival of items from 1st-century Judea very rare and almost no direct records survive about the history of Judaism from the last part of the 1st century to the 2nd century.Template:Sfn<ref name="Koester382">Helmut Koester Introduction to the New Testament, Vol. 1: History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age. Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter Press, 1995, p. 382.</ref>Template:Efn Margaret M. Mitchell writes that, although Eusebius reports (Ecclesiastical History III 5.3) that the early Christians left Jerusalem for Pella just before Jerusalem was subjected to the final lockdown, we must accept that no items from the early Jerusalem Church have survived.<ref>Margaret M. Mitchell "The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine" Cambridge University Press 2006, p. 298.</ref> Joe Nickell writes, "as investigation after investigation has shown, not a single, reliably authenticated relic of Jesus exists."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Efn
Throughout the history of Christianity, relics attributed to Jesus have been claimed, but doubt has been cast on them. The 16th-century Catholic theologian Erasmus wrote sarcastically about the proliferation of relics and the number of buildings that could have been constructed from the wood claimed to be from the cross used in the Crucifixion.Template:Sfn Similarly, while experts debate whether Jesus was crucified with three nails or four, at least thirty holy nails are venerated as relics across Europe.<ref>Template:CathEncy</ref>
Some relics, such as purported remnants of the crown of thorns placed on the head of Jesus, receive only a modest number of pilgrims, while the Shroud of Turin (which is associated with an approved Catholic devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus), has received millions,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> including the popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Outline of Jesus
- Jesuism
- Jesus in comparative mythology
- Last Adam – title of Jesus
- Liminal deity – deity who is a crosser of boundaries
- List of books about Jesus
- List of founders of religious traditions
- List of messiah claimants
- List of people claimed to be Jesus
- List of people who have been considered deities
- List of statues of Jesus
- Sexuality and marital status of Jesus
NotesEdit
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ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
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External linksEdit
- LatinVulgate.com, The Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ in parallel Latin and English, provided by Mental Systems, Incorporated
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