View source for Biography:Jesus

{{Short description|Central figure of Christianity}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
<!----
   Note: Please do not expand this infobox. See the FAQ on the talk page.
 ----->| name               = Jesus
| image              = Spas vsederzhitel sinay.jpg
| caption            = {{longitem |The Christ Pantocrator of Saint Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai, 6th century AD}}
| birth_date         = {{circa}} [[Religion:Date of birth of Jesus|6 to 4 BC]]{{efn|John P. Meier writes that Jesus' birth year is {{c.|7 or 6&nbsp;BC}}.{{sfn|Meier|1991|p=407}}<!--
       --> [[Biography:Karl Rahner|Karl Rahner]] states that the consensus among Christian scholars is {{c.|4 BC|lk=no}}.{{sfn|Rahner|2004|p=732}} <!--
       -->E.&nbsp;P. Sanders also favours {{c.|4 BC|lk=no}} and refers to the general consensus.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=10–11}} <!--
       -->Jack Finegan uses the study of early Christian traditions to support {{c.|3 or 2&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}.<ref name=Finegan>{{harvnb|Finegan|1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookbiblical00fine/page/n350 319]}}</ref> <!--
 -->}}
| birth_place        = <!--Note: No scholarly consensus for any more precise a location than Judea:-->[[History:Herodian kingdom|Herodian kingdom]], Roman Empire{{sfn|Brown|1977|p=513}}
| death_date         = AD 30 or 33 (aged 33–38)
| death_place        = [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], Judaea,<br/>Roman Empire
| known_for          = Central figure of [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]]<br>Major prophet in [[Religion:Islam|Islam]] and Druze Faith<br>Manifestation of God in [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí Faith]]
| death_cause        = <!---Note: No (further) comments required here; the scholarly consensus that the cause of Jesus' death was crucifixion is given in the article text:--->[[Religion:Crucifixion of Jesus|Crucifixion]]<!--
 -->{{efn|James Dunn writes that the baptism and crucifixion of Jesus "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.{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=339}} <!--
       -->Bart Ehrman states that the crucifixion of Jesus on the orders of Pontius Pilate is the most certain element about him.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|p=101}} <!--
       -->John Dominic Crossan and Richard G. Watts state that the crucifixion of Jesus is as certain as any historical fact can be.{{sfn|Crossan|Watts|1999|p=96}} <!--
       -->Paul R. Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd say that non-Christian confirmation of the crucifixion of Jesus is now "firmly established".{{sfn|Eddy|Boyd|2007|p=173}} <!--
 -->}}
<!----
  Note: Please do not expand this infobox. See the FAQ on the talk page.
 ----->| parents            = <!--{{hlist}}, as footnote applies to -both- parents:-->{{hlist |Mary |Joseph{{efn|Traditionally, Christians believe that Mary conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Muslims believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the command of God. Joseph was from these perspectives and according to the canonical gospels the acting adoptive father of Jesus.}}}}
}}

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  The following paragraph was created by consensus after considerable discussion by a variety of editors. Out of courtesy for this process, please discuss any proposed changes on the talk page before editing it.
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'''Jesus'''{{efn|{{lang-grc-gre|Ἰησοῦς}} {{transliteration|grc|Iēsous}}, likely from {{lang-he|יֵשׁוּעַ|label=Hebrew/Aramaic}} ''Yēšūaʿ'' }} ({{circa|6 to 4 [[History:Before Christ|BC]]}}<!-- "By collating the gospel accounts with historical data and using various other methods, most scholars arrive at a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC for Jesus, though scholarly arguments for a date of birth between 7 and 2 BC have been made" in 'Chronology' section -->{{snd}}[[Religion:Anno Domini|AD]] 30 or 33), also referred to as '''Jesus Christ''',{{efn|[[Social:Coptic language|Coptic]]: Ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥ Ⲡⲓⲭ́ρⲓⲥτⲟⲥ; [[Social:Geʽez|Geʽez]]: መሲህ ኢየሱስ; [[Social:Koine Greek|Greek]]: Ἰησοῦς Χριστός; Hebrew: ישוע המשיח; [[Social:Latin|Latin]]: ''Iesus Christus''; Slavonic: Исус Христос; Syriac: ܝܫܘܥ ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ}} '''Jesus of Nazareth''', and many other names and titles, was a first-century Jewish [[Religion:Preacher|preacher]] and religious leader.{{sfn|Vermes|1981|pp=20, 26, 27, 29}} He is the central figure of [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]], the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe Jesus to be the [[Religion:Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation]] of [[Religion:God the Son|God the Son]] and the awaited [[Religion:Messiah|messiah]], the [[Religion:Christ (title)|Christ]] that is prophesied in the [[Religion:Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bible]].<!----
  The following paragraph was created by consensus after considerable discussion by a variety of editors. Out of courtesy for this process, please discuss any proposed changes on the talk page before editing it.
 ----><!--
  PLEASE READ THIS FIRST.
  The following references are WP:RS sources that are used per WP:RS/AC guideline.
  The issue has been discussed on the talk page at length
  See the "talk page FAQ" about it; it may answer your question.

  The main source says "scholars of antiquity", other sources say "scholars", "biblical scholars and classical historians" and "historians".

  Sources do not say "X scholars" or "Christian scholars", so do not modify it as such, for that will make it deviate from what the sources state.
  The source says "virtually all", so do NOT change it to "most", "several", "many", etc.

  Thank you.
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Virtually all modern scholars of [[History:Classical antiquity|antiquity]] agree that [[Religion:Historicity of Jesus|Jesus existed historically]].{{efn |name=exist|In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, Bart Ehrman wrote, "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees."{{sfn|Ehrman|2011|p=[https://archive.org/details/forged_ehrm_2011_000_10544376/page/n298 285]}} Richard A. Burridge states: "There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church's imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more."<ref>{{cite book|title=Jesus Now and Then|first1=Richard A.|last1=Burridge|first2=Graham|last2=Gould|year=2004|isbn=978-0-8028-0977-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/jesusnowthen0000burr/page/34 34]|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|url=https://archive.org/details/jesusnowthen0000burr/page/34}}</ref> Robert M. Price does not believe that Jesus existed but agrees that this perspective runs against the views of the majority of scholars.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|first= Robert M.|last= Price|title= Jesus at the Vanishing Point|encyclopedia= The Historical Jesus: Five Views|editor-last1= Beilby|editor-last2= Eddy|year= 2009|publisher= InterVarsity|isbn= 978-0-8308-7853-6|editor-first= James K.|pages= 55, 61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O33P7xrFnLQC&pg=PA55|editor2-first= Paul R.|access-date= 14 August 2015|archive-date= 7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907112540/https://books.google.com/books?id=O33P7xrFnLQC&pg=PA55|url-status= live}}</ref> James D. G. Dunn calls the theories of Jesus' non-existence "a thoroughly dead thesis".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus|encyclopedia=Sacrifice and Redemption|first= Stephen W.|last= Sykes |year=2007| publisher= Cambridge University Press| isbn= 978-0-521-04460-8|pages=35–36}}</ref> Michael Grant (a classicist) wrote in 1977, "In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary."<ref name=Grant1977>{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Grant|title=Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels|publisher=Scribner's|year=1977|isbn=978-0-684-14889-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/jesushistoriansr00gran/page/200 200]|url=https://archive.org/details/jesushistoriansr00gran/page/200}}</ref> Robert E. Van Voorst states that biblical scholars and classical historians regard theories of non-existence of Jesus as effectively refuted.{{sfn|Van Voorst|2000|p=16}} Writing on ''The Daily Beast'', Candida Moss and Joel Baden state that "there is nigh universal consensus among biblical scholars&nbsp;– the authentic ones, at least&nbsp;– that Jesus was, in fact, a real guy."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/so-called-biblical-scholar-says-jesus-a-made-up-myth|title = So-Called 'Biblical Scholar' Says Jesus a Made-Up Myth|newspaper = The Daily Beast|date = 5 October 2014|last1 = Baden|first1 = Candida Moss}}</ref>}} Accounts of Jesus' life are contained in the Gospels, especially the four canonical Gospels in the [[Religion:New Testament|New Testament]]. [[Religion:Quest for the historical Jesus|Academic research]] has yielded various views on the [[Religion:Historical reliability of the Gospels|historical reliability of the Gospels]] and how closely they reflect the [[Religion:Historical Jesus|historical Jesus]].{{sfn|Powell|1998|pp=168–73}}{{efn|Ehrman writes: "The notion that the Gospel accounts are not completely accurate but still important for the religious truths they try to convey is widely shared in the scholarly world, even though it's not so widely known or believed outside of it."<ref>Bart D. Ehrman. [http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/historical-jesus.html Historical Jesus. 'Prophet of the New Millennium']. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123155853/https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/historical-jesus.html |date=23 January 2019 }} Course handbook, p. 10 (Lecture Three. V. B.) The Teaching Company, 2000, Lecture 24</ref><br />Sanders writes: "The earliest Christians did not write a narrative of Jesus' life, but rather made use of, and thus preserved, individual units—short passages about his words and deeds. These units were later moved and arranged by authors and editors. ... Some material has been revised and some created by early Christians."{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=57}}}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Jesus, Skepticism & The Problem of History: Criteria and Context in the Study of Christian Origins |date=2019 |publisher=Zondervan Academic |isbn=9780310534761 |editor1-last=Komoszewski |editor1-first=J. Ed |pages=22–23 |quote=...a considerable number of specific facts about Jesus are so well supported historically as to be widely acknowledged by most scholars, whether Christian (of any stripe) or not:...(lists 18 points)...Nevertheless, what can be known about Jesus with a high degree of confidence, apart from theological or ideological agendas, is perhaps surprisingly robust. |editor2-last=Bock |editor2-first=Darrell}}</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> As a [[Religion:Galilean|Galilean]] Jew, Jesus was circumcised at eight days old, was [[Religion:Baptism of Jesus|baptized]] by [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]] as a young adult, and after 40 days and nights of fasting in the wilderness, began his own ministry. He was often referred to as "rabbi".<ref name="ISBEO">{{cite web |year=1939 |editor=Orr |editor-first=James |title=International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online |url=http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/R/rabbi.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817024703/http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/R/rabbi.html |archive-date=17 August 2016 |access-date=30 July 2016 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company}}</ref> Jesus often debated with fellow Jews on how to best follow [[Religion:God in Christianity|God]], engaged in healings, taught in parables, and gathered followers, among them [[Religion:Apostles in the New Testament|twelve]] were his primary [[Religion:Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]]. He was arrested in [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] and tried by the Jewish authorities,{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=11}} turned over to the [[History:Ancient Rome|Roman]] government, and [[Religion:Crucifixion of Jesus|crucified]] on the order of [[Religion:Pontius Pilate|Pontius Pilate]], the Roman prefect of Judea. After his death, his followers became convinced that he [[Religion:Resurrection of Jesus|rose from the dead]], and following his ascension, the community they formed eventually became the early Christian Church that expanded as a worldwide movement.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=11, 14}} Accounts of his teachings and life were [[Social:Oral gospel traditions|initially conserved by oral transmission]], which was the source of the written Gospels.<ref name="Dunn2013">{{cite book |last=Dunn |first=James D. G. |title=The Oral Gospel Tradition |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2013 |pages=290–291 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Religion:Christian theology|Christian theology]] includes the beliefs that Jesus was conceived by the [[Religion:Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]], was [[Religion:Virgin birth of Jesus|born of a virgin]] named Mary, performed miracles, founded the Christian Church, died by crucifixion as a sacrifice to achieve [[Religion:Atonement in Christianity|atonement for sin]], rose from the dead, and [[Unsolved:Ascension of Jesus|ascended]] into [[Unsolved:Heaven in Christianity|Heaven]], from where he [[Religion:Second Coming|will return]]. Commonly, [[Religion:Jesus in Christianity|Christians believe Jesus]] enables people to be reconciled to God. The [[Religion:Nicene Creed|Nicene Creed]] asserts that Jesus will [[Religion:Last Judgment|judge the living and the dead]], either [[Religion:Intermediate state (Christianity)|before]] or [[Religion:Christian mortalism|after]] their [[Unsolved:Resurrection of the dead#Christianity|bodily resurrection]], an event tied to the [[Religion:Second Coming|Second Coming]] of Jesus in [[Religion:Christian eschatology|Christian eschatology]]. The great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three [[Philosophy:Prosopon|prosopon]]s of the [[Religion:Trinity|Trinity]].{{efn|A small minority of Christian denominations reject trinitarianism, wholly or partly, as non-scriptural}} The [[Religion:Nativity of Jesus|birth of Jesus]] is celebrated annually on 25 December and 7 January as Christmas.{{efn|Part of the Eastern Christian churches celebrate Christmas on 25 December of the [[Julian calendar]], which currently corresponds to 7 January in the Gregorian calendar. In many countries, Christmas is celebrated on 24 December.}} His crucifixion is honored on [[Religion:Good Friday|Good Friday]] and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. The world's most widely used [[History:Calendar era|calendar era]]—in which the current year is [[Religion:Anno Domini|AD]] {{CURRENTYEAR}} (or {{CURRENTYEAR}} [[Common Era|CE]])—is based on the approximate [[Religion:Date of birth of Jesus|birthdate of Jesus]].<ref name="AD">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2003 |title=anno Domini |encyclopedia=Merriam Webster Online Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Anno%20Domini |access-date=3 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222112520/http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/anno%20domini |archive-date=22 December 2007 |quote=Etymology: Medieval Latin, in the year of our Lord |url-status=live}}.</ref>

Jesus is also revered in the [[Religion:Islam|Islam]], [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí Faith]] and Druze Faith. [[Biography:Jesus in Islam|In Islam]], Jesus (often referred to by his Quranic name {{transliteration|ar|ISO|''ʿĪsā''}}) is considered the penultimate prophet of [[Religion:God in Islam|God]] and the [[Religion:Messiah#Islam|messiah]], who [[Religion:Second Coming#Islam|will return]] before the [[Religion:Judgement Day in Islam|Day of Judgement]]. [[Religion:Muslims|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 [[Religion:Islamic views on Jesus' death|was killed or crucified]] but that God [[Religion:Entering heaven alive|raised him into Heaven while he was still alive]].{{efn|Some medieval Muslims believed that Jesus was crucified, as do the members of the modern Ahmadiyya movement; see § Islamic perspectives.}} In contrast, Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill messianic prophecies, was not lawfully anointed and was neither divine nor resurrected.

== Name ==

[[File:JesusYeshua2.svg|thumb|Counter-clockwise from top-right: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and English transcriptions of the name ''Jesus''|upright=1.2]]

=== Naming conventions ===
A typical Jew in Jesus' time had only one name, sometimes followed by the phrase "son of [father's name]", or the individual's hometown.<ref name="Britannica" /> Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is commonly referred to as "Jesus of [[Place:Nazareth|Nazareth]]".{{efn|This article uses quotes from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.}} Jesus' neighbors in Nazareth referred to him as "the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of [[Biography:James, brother of Jesus|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".

===Etymology===
The English name ''Jesus'', from Greek ''Iēsous'', is a rendering of ''Joshua'' (Hebrew ''Yehoshua'', later ''Yeshua''), and was not uncommon in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus. Popular etymology linked the names ''Yehoshua'' and ''Yeshua'' to the verb meaning "save" and the noun "salvation".{{sfn|Hare|1993|p=11}} The Gospel of Matthew tells of an [[Unsolved:Angel|angel]] that appeared to Joseph instructing him "to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins".<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|1:21}}.</ref>

===Jesus Christ===
Since the early period of [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]], Christians have commonly referred to Jesus as "Jesus Christ".{{sfn|Doninger|1999|p=212}} The word ''[[Religion:Christ (title)|Christ]]'' was a [[Religion:Threefold office|title or office]] ("the Christ"), not a given name.{{sfn|Pannenberg|1968|pp=30–31}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Theology of the New Testament| first=Rudolf K.|last= Bultmann |year=2007 |isbn= 978-1-932792-93-5 |page= 80 |publisher=Baylor University Press}}</ref> It derives from the Greek {{lang|grc|Χριστός}} (''Christos''),<ref name="CE name">{{CathEncy |wstitle= Origin of the Name of Jesus Christ |first= Anthony J. |last= Maas}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Heil |first=John P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4u42_PsPNsC&pg=PA66 |title=Philippians: Let Us Rejoice in Being Conformed to Christ |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-58983-482-8 |page=66 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907173832/https://books.google.com/books?id=i4u42_PsPNsC&pg=PA66 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> a translation of the Hebrew ''mashiakh'' ({{lang|he| משיח}}) meaning "anointed", and is usually transliterated into English as "[[Religion:Messiah|messiah]]".{{sfn|Vine|1940|pp=274–75}} In biblical Judaism, [[Chemistry:Holy anointing oil|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 [[Religion:Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bible]] and Old Testament. In postbiblical usage, ''Christ'' became viewed as a name—one part of "Jesus Christ". Etymons of the term ''[[Religion:Christians|Christian]]'' (meaning a follower of Christ) have been in use since the 1st century.{{sfn|Mills|Bullard|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&pg=PA142 142]}}

==Life and teachings in the New Testament==
{{Main|Religion:Life of Jesus}}

===Canonical gospels===
{{Main|Gospel|Gospel harmony|Historical reliability of the Gospels}}[[File:P. Chester Beatty I, folio 13-14, recto.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A 3rd-century Greek [[Engineering:Papyrus|papyrus]] of the Gospel of Luke|alt=A four-page papyrus manuscript, which is torn in many places]]
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 [[Religion:Last Supper|Last Supper]] in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|11:23–26|9}}.</ref>{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=441–42}}<ref name="Fahlbusch52" />{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=465–77}} Acts of the Apostles<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|10:37–38|9}} and {{bibleverse|Acts|19:4|9}}.</ref> refers to Jesus' early ministry and its anticipation by [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]].<ref name="Bruce1988">{{cite book|title=The Book of the Acts|first=Frederick F.|last= Bruce|year= 1988 |isbn= 978-0-8028-2505-6 |page= 362 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing}}</ref>{{sfn|Rausch|2003|p=77}}{{sfn|Vermes|1981|pp=20, 26, 27, 29}} Acts 1:1–11<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|1:1–11|9}}.</ref> says more about the [[Unsolved:Ascension of Jesus|Ascension of Jesus]]<ref>also mentioned in {{bibleverse|1 Timothy|3:16}}.</ref> than the canonical gospels do.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=521–30}} In the [[Religion:Pauline epistles#Authenticity|undisputed Pauline letters]], which were written earlier than the Gospels, Jesus' words or instructions are cited several times.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians 7:10–11, 9:14, 11:23–25|multi=yes}}, {{bibleverse|2 Corinthians|12:9}}.</ref>{{efn|Powell writes: "[Paul] does cite words or instructions of Jesus in a few places,<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Cor. 7:10–11; 9:14; 11:23–25|multi=yes}}; {{bibleverse|2 Cor.|12:9}}; cf. {{bibleverse|Acts|20:35}}</ref> but for the most part he displays little interest in the details of Jesus' earthly life and ministry."<ref>{{cite book |last= Powell |first= Mark A. |title= Introducing the New Testament |url=https://archive.org/details/introducingnewte00powe |url-access= limited |date= 2009 |publisher= Baker Academic |page= [https://archive.org/details/introducingnewte00powe/page/248 248]|isbn= 978-0-8010-2868-7 }}</ref>}}

Some [[Religion:Early Christianity|early Christian]] groups had separate descriptions of Jesus' life and teachings that are not in the New Testament. These include the [[Religion:Gospel of Thomas|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.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=835–40}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=C. A. |title=Exploring the Origins of the Bible |date=2008 |publisher=Baker Academic |page=154 |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Keener|2009|p=56}}

====Authorship, date, and reliability====

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:{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|p=3}} Mark by John Mark, an associate of Peter;<ref name="May Metzger Mark" /> Matthew by one of Jesus' disciples;{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|p=3}} Luke by a companion of [[Biography:Paul the Apostle|Paul]] mentioned in a few epistles;{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|p=3}} and John by another of Jesus' disciples,{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|p=3}} the "beloved disciple".{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=John, St.}}

According to the [[Unsolved:Marcan priority|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>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2sloGWzzV8C&pg=PA58 | title=Can We Trust the Gospels?: Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John | publisher=Crossway | year=2007 | page=58 | isbn=978-1-4335-1978-9 | first=Mark D. | last=Roberts | access-date=14 August 2015 | archive-date=7 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907174109/https://books.google.com/books?id=l2sloGWzzV8C&pg=PA58 | url-status=live }}</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 "[[Religion:Q source|Q source]]") in addition to Mark.{{sfn|Licona|2010|pp=210–21}}

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, England: 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 recent studies suggest that the genre of the Gospels ought to be situated within the realm of ancient [[History:Biography|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, England: 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>{{cite book |author=Stanton |first=Graham N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7wNGMrAiD0C |title=Jesus and Gospel |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-00802-0 |page=192 |language=en |access-date=22 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226005236/https://books.google.com/books?id=A7wNGMrAiD0C |archive-date=26 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rogerson |first1=J. W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKZYMifS1fAC |title=The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies |last2=Lieu |first2=Judith M. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-925425-5 |page=437 |language=en |access-date=22 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225204746/https://books.google.com/books?id=eKZYMifS1fAC |archive-date=25 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Concerning the accuracy of the accounts, viewpoints run the gamut from considering them [[Religion:Biblical inerrancy|inerrant]] descriptions of Jesus' life,{{sfn|Grudem|1994|pp=90–91}} to doubting whether they are historically reliable on a number of points,{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=3}} to considering them to provide very little historical information about his life beyond the basics.{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|pp=117–25}}{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=22–23}} According to a broad scholarly consensus, the [[Religion:Synoptic Gospels|Synoptic Gospels]] (the first three—Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are the most reliable sources of information about Jesus.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=71}}{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=17–62}}<ref name="Britannica" />

====Comparative structure and content====
{{Christianity sidebar}}
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the [[Religion:Synoptic Gospels|Synoptic Gospels]], from the Greek σύν (''syn'' "together") and ὄψις (''opsis'' "view"),<ref name="Synoptic" /><ref name="Synoptic2" /><ref>{{OED|synoptic}}</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="Synoptic">{{cite book|title=New Testament Theology|first=Paul |last=Haffner|year=2008 |isbn= 978-88-902268-0-9 |page= 135|publisher=Gracewing }}</ref><ref name="Synoptic2">{{cite book|title=A Guide to the Gospels|first=W. Graham|last= Scroggie |year=1995 |isbn= 978-0-8254-9571-7 |page= 128 |publisher=Kregel Publications}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Synoptic Gospels {{!}} Definition & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Synoptic-Gospels|access-date=26 October 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> Scholars generally agree that it is impossible to find any direct literary relationship between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John.<ref name="Moloney3">{{cite book|title=The Gospel of John|first1=Francis J.|last1=Moloney|first2=Daniel J.|last2=Harrington|year=1998|isbn=978-0-8146-5806-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/gospelofjohn0004molo/page/3 3]|publisher=Liturgical Press|url=https://archive.org/details/gospelofjohn0004molo/page/3}}</ref> While the flow of many events (e.g., Jesus' baptism, [[Religion:Transfiguration of Jesus|transfiguration]], crucifixion and interactions with his [[Religion:Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]]) are shared among the Synoptic Gospels, incidents such as the transfiguration and Jesus' exorcizing demons{{sfn|Witherington|1997|p=113}} do not appear in John, which also differs on other matters, such as the Cleansing of the Temple.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ladd|first=George E.|title=A Theology of the New Testament|year=1993|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-0680-2|page=251|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eIdkM00EdlAC&pg=PA251|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907103156/https://books.google.com/books?id=eIdkM00EdlAC&pg=PA251|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Synoptics emphasize different aspects of Jesus. In Mark, Jesus is the [[Religion:Son of God (Christianity)|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 few of Jesus' 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 name="May Metzger Matthew">May, Herbert G. and Bruce M. Metzger. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. 1977. "Matthew" pp. 1171–1212.</ref> He is the "[[Religion:Davidic line|Son of David]]", a "king", and the messiah.<ref name="ThompsonPortraits" />{{sfn|McGrath|2006|pp=4–6}} Luke presents Jesus as the divine-human savior 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, come 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 [[Religion:John 1:1|prologue to the Gospel of John]] identifies Jesus as an incarnation of the divine Word ([[Religion:Logos (Christianity)|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.{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=302–10}} In the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals his divine role publicly. Here he is the Bread of Life, the [[Physics:Light of the World|Light of the World]], the True Vine and more.<ref name="ThompsonPortraits" />

In general, the authors of the New Testament showed little interest in an absolute [[Religion:Chronology of Jesus|chronology of Jesus]] or in synchronizing the episodes of his life with the secular history of the age.{{sfn|Rahner|2004|pp=730–31}} As stated in John 21:25, the Gospels do not claim to provide an exhaustive list of the events in Jesus' life.<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Collins |first=Gerald |title=Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-955787-5 |location=Oxford, England |pages=1–3 |language=en-uk}}</ref> The accounts were primarily written as theological documents in the context of [[Religion:Early Christianity|early Christianity]], with timelines as a secondary consideration.<ref name="Wiarda75">{{cite book|title=Interpreting Gospel Narratives: Scenes, People, and Theology|first=Timothy |last=Wiarda |year=2010 |isbn= 978-0-8054-4843-6 |pages= 75–78 |publisher= B&H Publishing Group}}</ref> In this respect, it is noteworthy that the Gospels devote about one third of their text to the last week of Jesus' life in [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], referred to as the Passion.<ref name="Turner613">{{cite book|title=Matthew|first=David L. |last=Turner|year= 2008| isbn= 978-0-8010-2684-3 |page= 613 |publisher= Baker Academic}}</ref> The Gospels 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' life story.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=3}}{{sfn|Rahner|2004|pp=730–31}}<ref name="Wiarda75" />

===Genealogy and nativity===
{{Main|Religion:Genealogy of Jesus|Religion:Nativity of Jesus}}

Jesus was Jewish,{{sfn|Vermes|1981|pp=20, 26, 27, 29}} born to Mary, wife of Joseph.<ref>Matthew 1; Luke 2.</ref> The Gospels of Matthew and Luke offer two accounts of his [[Religion:Genealogy of Jesus|genealogy]]. Matthew traces Jesus' ancestry to [[Biography:Abraham|Abraham]] through David.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|1:1–16}}.</ref>{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=80–91}} Luke traces Jesus' ancestry through [[Biography:Adam|Adam]] to God.<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|3:23–38}}.</ref>{{sfn|Brown|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ML1mnUBwmhcC&pg=PA163 163]}} 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.{{efn|Compare {{bibleref2|Matthew|1:6–16|NIV}} with {{bibleref2|Luke|3:23–31|NIV}}. See also {{section link|Genealogy of Jesus|Comparison of the two genealogies}}.}}<ref>{{cite book |last=France |first=R. T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttTgacXnLV8C&pg=PA72 |title=The Gospel According to Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary |publisher=Eerdmans |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-8028-0063-3 |page=72 |language=en |access-date=15 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229004519/https://books.google.com/books?id=ttTgacXnLV8C&pg=PA72 |archive-date=29 February 2020 |url-status=live}} "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.{{efn|For an overview of such theories, see {{section link|Genealogy of Jesus|Explanations for divergence}}.}}

[[File:Gerard van Honthorst - Adoration of the Shepherds (1622).jpg|thumb|left|''Adoration of the Shepherds'' by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622|alt=A Nativity scene; men and animals surround Mary and newborn Jesus, who are covered in light]]

Matthew and Luke each describe Jesus' birth, especially that Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary in [[Religion:Bethlehem|Bethlehem]] in fulfilment of [[Unsolved:Prophecy|prophecy]]. Luke's account emphasizes events before the [[Religion:Nativity of Jesus|birth of Jesus]] and centers on Mary, while Matthew's mostly covers those after the birth and centers on Joseph.{{sfn|Mills|Bullard|1998|p=556}}<ref name="marsh37">{{cite book |title=Jesus and the Gospels |last=Marsh |first=Clive |author2=Moyise, Steve |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-567-04073-2 |page=37 |publisher=Clark International |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecHpPzDLkhcC&pg=PA37 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907095218/https://books.google.com/books?id=ecHpPzDLkhcC&pg=PA37 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Morris|1992|page=26}} Both accounts state that Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, his betrothed, in Bethlehem, and both support the doctrine of the [[Religion:Virgin birth of Jesus|virgin birth of Jesus]], according to which Jesus was miraculously conceived by the [[Religion:Holy Spirit|Holy Spirit]] in Mary's womb when she was still a virgin.<ref name="Jeffrey">{{cite book |last=Jeffrey |first=David L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7R0IGTSvIVIC |title=A Dictionary of biblical tradition in English literature |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-85244-224-1 |pages=538–540 |language=en |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008221946/https://books.google.com/books?id=7R0IGTSvIVIC |archive-date=8 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=30–37}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Who's Who in the New Testament |last=Brownrigg |first= Ronald |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-415-26036-7 |pages=96–100 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</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>{{Cite journal |last=Lincoln |first=Andrew T. |date=2013 |title=Luke and Jesus' Conception: A Case of Double Paternity? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23487891 |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |volume=132 |issue=3 |pages=639–658 |doi=10.2307/23487891 |jstor=23487891 |issn=0021-9231}}</ref> By taking him as his own, Joseph will give him the necessary Davidic descent.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thesevernforum.org.uk/palette/lecture_lincoln_2015.pdf |title=Lincoln, Andrew T., "Conceiving Jesus: re-examining Jesus' conception in canon, Christology, and creed", Th Severn Forum, 5 March 2015, p. 4 |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-date=10 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510100248/http://www.thesevernforum.org.uk/palette/lecture_lincoln_2015.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Bellini-circumcision-NG1455-fm.jpg|thumb|alt=74.9 x 102.2 cm|''The Circumcision'' by Giovanni Bellini, {{Circa|1500}}. The work depicts the circumcision of Jesus.]]

In Matthew, Joseph is troubled because Mary, his betrothed, is pregnant,<ref>Matthew 1:19–[[Religion:Matthew 1:20|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">{{cite book |title=Matthew |first=Charles H. |last=Talbert |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8010-3192-2 |publisher=Baker Academic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbmoR2j0-sgC |pages=29–30 |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008221946/https://books.google.com/books?id=tbmoR2j0-sgC |url-status=live }}</ref> In Matthew 2:1–12, wise men or [[Unsolved:Magi|Magi]] from the East bring gifts to the young Jesus as the [[Religion:Jesus, King of the Jews|King of the Jews]]. They find him in a house in Bethlehem. Herod the Great hears of Jesus' 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 [[Place:Nazareth|Nazareth]].<ref name="Talbert" />{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=272–85}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Schnackenburg |first=Rudolf |title=The Gospel of Matthew |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8028-4438-5 |publisher=Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pvR39Z9O01kC&pg=PA9 |pages=9–11 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907052207/https://books.google.com/books?id=pvR39Z9O01kC&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In Luke 1:31–38, Mary learns from the angel [[Biography:Gabriel|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 [[Religion:Manger|manger]].<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|2:1–7}}.</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>{{bibleref2|Luke|2:8–20}}.</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>{{bibleref2|Luke|2:21}}.</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 profession===
[[File:William Holman Hunt - The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple'', by William Holman Hunt, 1860|alt=Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the Temple]]

Jesus' childhood home is identified in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew as the town of Nazareth in [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]], where he lived with his family. Although Joseph appears in descriptions of Jesus' childhood, no mention is made of him thereafter.<ref>{{cite book |last=Perrotta |first=Louise B. |title=Saint Joseph: His Life and His Role in the Church Today |publisher=Our Sunday Visitor Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-87973-573-9 |pages=21, 110–112 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Reverend Archdeacon Kinane|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EmUhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT138|title=Saint Joseph: His Life, His Virtues, His Privileges, His Power|page=138|chapter=Section VI - The perpetual virginity os St. Joseph|publisher=Aeterna Press|oclc=972347083|access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref> His other family members—his mother, Mary, [[Religion:Brothers of Jesus|his brothers]] [[Biography:James, brother of Jesus|James]], Joses (or Joseph), Judas and Simon and his unnamed sisters—are mentioned in the Gospels and other sources.<ref name="Aslan2013">{{cite book|title= Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth|last= Aslan|first= Reza|year= 2013|publisher= Random House|page= [https://archive.org/details/zealotlifetimeso00reza/page/756 36]|isbn= 978-1-4000-6922-4|url=https://archive.org/details/zealotlifetimeso00reza/page/756}}</ref> Jesus' maternal grandparents are named [[Biography:Joachim|Joachim]] and Anne in the [[Religion:Gospel of James|Gospel of James]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Brownrigg|first=Ronald|title=Who's Who in the New Testament|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JXqBAgAAQBAJ&q=joachim|page=194|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=978-1-134-50949-2}}</ref> The Gospel of Luke records that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Luke|1:5, 36|KJV}}.</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 neighbors and family.{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=270–72}} Jesus' mother and brothers come to get him<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|3:31–35}}.</ref> because people are saying that [[Medicine:Mental health of Jesus|he is crazy]].<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|3:21}}.</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>{{bibleref2|John|3:1–11}}.</ref> Later, she follows him to his crucifixion, and he expresses concern over her well-being.<ref>{{bibleref2|John|19:25–27}}.</ref>

Jesus is called a τέκτων (''tektōn'') in Mark 6:3, a term traditionally understood as [[Engineering:Carpenter|carpenter]] but could also refer to makers of objects in various materials, including builders.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Liddell|first1=Henry G.|last2=Scott|first2=Robert|title=An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon: The Seventh Edition of Liddell and Scott's Greek–English Lexicon |publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1889|page=797}}</ref>{{sfn|Dickson|2008| pp= 68–69}} The Gospels indicate that Jesus could read, paraphrase, and debate scripture, but this does not necessarily mean that he received formal scribal training.<ref name="literacy">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2001 |title=Context, family and formation |encyclopedia=Cambridge companion to Jesus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSehrtQpcYcC&pg=PA14 |access-date=14 August 2015 |last=Evans |first=Craig A. |editor-last=Bockmuehl |editor-first=Markus N. A. |pages=14, 21 |isbn=978-0-521-79678-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907175830/https://books.google.com/books?id=vSehrtQpcYcC&pg=PA14 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Gospel of Luke reports two journeys of Jesus and his parents in [[Place:Jerusalem|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>{{bibleref2|Luke|2:22–35}}.</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>{{bibleref2|Luke|2:41–52}}.</ref>

===Baptism and temptation===
[[File:El bautismo de Jesús, por José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|''[[Religion:Baptism of Jesus|The Baptism of Christ]] by John the Baptist'', by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior, 1895|alt=Jesus is baptised by John. The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove is overhead.]]

The synoptic gospels describe [[Religion:Baptism of Jesus|Jesus' baptism]] in the Jordan River and the temptations he received while spending forty days in the Judaean Desert, as a preparation for his public ministry.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sheen|first=Fulton J.|title=Life of Christ|year=2008|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-385-52699-9|page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KyqQKohpVR4C&pg=PA65|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=10 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910165309/https://books.google.com/books?id=KyqQKohpVR4C&pg=PA65|url-status=live}}</ref> The accounts of Jesus' baptism are all preceded by information about [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]].{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=224–29}}{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|pp=141–43}}{{sfn|McGrath|2006|pp=16–22}} They show John preaching penance and repentance for the remission of sins and encouraging the giving of alms to the poor<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke||3:11}}.</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>{{bibleref2|Luke|3:16}}.</ref><ref name="EerRoger">{{cite book|title=Eerdmans commentary on the Bible|first1=James D. G.|last1= Dunn|first2= John W. |last2=Rogerson|year= 2003 |isbn= 978-0-8028-3711-0 |page= 1010 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing}}</ref>
[[File:Ary_Scheffer_-_The_Temptation_of_Christ_(1854).jpg|left|thumb|Jesus and the devil depicted in ''The Temptation of Christ'', by Ary Scheffer, 1854|upright=.75]]
In the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, and as he comes out of the water he sees the [[Religion:Holy Spirit|Holy Spirit]] descending to him like a dove and a voice comes from heaven declaring him to be God's Son.<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|1:9–11}}.</ref> This is one of two events described in the Gospels where a voice from Heaven calls Jesus "Son", the other being the [[Religion:Transfiguration of Jesus|Transfiguration]].{{sfn|Lee|2004|pp=21–30}}<ref name="Nobbs" /> The spirit then drives him into the wilderness where he is tempted by [[Biography:Satan|Satan]].<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|1:12–13}}.</ref> Jesus then begins his ministry in [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]] after John's arrest.<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|1:14}}.</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>{{bibleref2|Matthew|3:14}}.</ref> Jesus instructs him to carry on with the baptism "to fulfill all righteousness".<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|3:15}}.</ref> Matthew details three temptations that Satan offers Jesus in the wilderness.<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|4:3–11}}.</ref>

In the Gospel of Luke, the Holy Spirit descends as a dove after everyone has been baptized and Jesus is praying.<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|3:21–22}}.</ref> Later John implicitly recognizes Jesus from prison after sending his followers to ask about him.<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|7:18–23}}.</ref> Luke also describes three temptations received by Jesus in the wilderness, before starting his ministry in Galilee.<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|4:1–14}}.</ref>

The Gospel of John leaves out Jesus' baptism and temptation.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Jesus Christ}} Here, John the Baptist testifies that he saw the Spirit descend on Jesus.<ref>{{bibleref2|John|1:32}}.</ref>{{sfn|Boring|Craddock|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=N0tLXRIiIe0C&pg=PA292 292]}} John publicly proclaims Jesus as the sacrificial [[Religion:Lamb of God|Lamb of God]], and some of John's followers become disciples of Jesus.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=17–62}} Before John is imprisoned, Jesus leads his followers to baptize disciples as well,<ref>{{bibleref2|John|3:22–24}}.</ref> and they baptize more people than John.<ref>{{bibleref2|John|4:1}}.</ref>

==={{anchor|Ministry}} Public ministry===
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[[File:Bloch-SermonOnTheMount.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''Sermon on the Mount'', by Carl Bloch, 1877, depicts Jesus' important discourse.|alt=Jesus sits atop a mount, preaching to a crowd]]
The Synoptics depict two distinct geographical settings in Jesus' ministry. The first takes place north of Judea, in [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]], where Jesus conducts a successful ministry, and the second shows Jesus rejected and killed when he travels to [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]].<ref name="ISBEO" /> Often referred to as "rabbi",<ref name="ISBEO" /> Jesus preaches his message orally.<ref name="Dunn2013" /> Notably, Jesus forbids those who recognize him as the messiah to speak of it, including people he heals and demons he exorcises (see [[Religion:Messianic Secret|Messianic Secret]]).{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=285–96}}

John depicts Jesus' ministry as largely taking place in and around Jerusalem, rather than in Galilee; and Jesus' divine identity is openly proclaimed and immediately recognized.{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=302–10}}

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 [[Biography:Satan|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.{{sfn|McGrath|2006|pp=16–22}}{{sfn|Redford|2007|pp=117–30}} This period includes the Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus' major discourses,{{sfn|Redford|2007|pp=117–30}}<ref>{{cite book|title=The Sermon on the mount: a theological investigation|first=Carl G.|last= Vaught|year=2001 |publisher=Baylor University Press |isbn =978-0-918954-76-3 |pages= xi–xiv}}</ref> as well as the [[Earth:Calming the storm|calming of the storm]], the feeding of the 5,000, walking on water and a number of other miracles and parables.{{sfn|Redford|2007|pp=143–60}} It ends with the [[Religion:Confession of Peter|Confession of Peter]] and the Transfiguration.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Transfiguration, The | encyclopedia=The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Thought: Son of Man-Tremellius V11 | isbn=978-1-4286-3189-2 | publisher=Funk & Wagnalls Company | year=1909 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=js5-eDk13TcC&pg=PA493 | page=493 | last=Nash | first=Henry S. | editor-first=Samuel M. | editor-last=Jackson | access-date=14 August 2015 | archive-date=7 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907052036/https://books.google.com/books?id=js5-eDk13TcC&pg=PA493 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Barton132">{{cite book |last=Barton |first=Stephen C. |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00bart_994 |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Gospels |date=23 November 2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-80766-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00bart_994/page/n138 132]–133 |url-access=limited}}</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 River.<ref>John 10:40–42.</ref>{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|p=137}}{{sfn|Redford|2007| pp= 211–29}} The final ministry in Jerusalem begins with Jesus' triumphal entry into the city on Palm Sunday.{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=155–70}} 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 [[Religion:Last Supper|Last Supper]] and the Farewell Discourse.{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=224–29}}{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=155–70}}{{sfn|Redford|2007|pp=257–74}}

====Disciples and followers====
[[File:Brooklyn Museum - The Exhortation to the Apostles (Recommandation aux apôtres) - James Tissot.jpg|thumb|right|''The Exhortation to the Apostles'', by James Tissot, portrays Jesus talking to his 12 disciples.]]
Near the beginning of his ministry, Jesus appoints twelve apostles. In Matthew and Mark, despite Jesus only briefly requesting that they join him, Jesus' 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' first two apostles were disciples of John the Baptist. The Baptist sees Jesus and calls him the [[Religion:Lamb of God|Lamb of God]]; the two hear this and follow Jesus.{{sfn|Brown|1988|pp= 25–27}}{{sfn|Boring|Craddock|2004|pages= 292–93}} 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 [[Religion:Seventy disciples|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 [[Religion:Kingship and kingdom of God|Kingdom of God]] is coming.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=The Gospel According to Luke | encyclopedia=New Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament | publisher=Liturgical Press | year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdooTRyPMCwC&pg=PA255 | page=255 | first=Michael F. | last=Patella | editor-first=Daniel | editor-last=Durken | isbn=978-0-8146-3260-4 | access-date=14 August 2015 | archive-date=10 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910044704/https://books.google.com/books?id=sdooTRyPMCwC&pg=PA255 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In Mark, the disciples are notably obtuse. They fail to understand Jesus' miracles,<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|4:35–41}}, {{bibleref2|Mark|6:52}}.</ref> his parables,<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|4:13}}.</ref> or what "rising from the dead" means.<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|9:9–10}}.</ref> When Jesus is later arrested, they desert him.{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=285–96}}

===={{anchor|Teachings and preachings}} Teachings and miracles====
[[File:Hoffman-ChristAndTheRichYoungRuler.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''Jesus and the rich young man'' by Heinrich Hofmann, 1889]]

In the Synoptics, Jesus teaches extensively, often in [[Social:Parable|parable]]s,{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=316–46}} about the Kingdom of God (or, in Matthew, the [[Religion:Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew)|Kingdom of Heaven]]). The Kingdom is described as both imminent<ref>Mark 1:15.</ref> and already present in the ministry of Jesus.<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|17:21}}.</ref> Jesus promises inclusion in the Kingdom for those who accept his message.<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|10:13–27}}.</ref> He talks of the "[[Religion:Son of man|Son of Man]]", an [[Unsolved:Apocalypse|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">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303091/Jesus-Christ | title=Jesus Christ | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica | access-date=10 June 2015 | first1=E.&nbsp;P. | last1=Sanders | first2=Jaroslav J. | last2=Pelikan | archive-date=3 May 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503100711/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303091/Jesus-Christ | url-status=live }}</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.{{'"}}<ref>Matthew 22:37–39.</ref> Other ethical teachings of Jesus include loving your enemies, refraining from hatred and lust, [[Philosophy:Turning the other cheek|turning the other cheek]], and forgiving people who have sinned against you.<ref>Matthew 5–7.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stassen |first1=Glen H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LlMVrmA-b-4C |title=Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context |last2=Gushee |first2=David P. |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8308-2668-1 |pages=102–103, 138–140, 197–198, 295–298 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226062140/https://books.google.com/books?id=LlMVrmA-b-4C |archive-date=26 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

John's Gospel presents the teachings of Jesus not merely as his own preaching, but as divine [[Unsolved:Revelation|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="autogenerated98" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Köstenberger |first=Andreas J. |title=The missions of Jesus and the disciples according to the Fourth Gospel |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8028-4255-8 |pages=108–109 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Pompeo Batoni 003.jpg|left|upright=.75|thumb|''The Return of the Prodigal Son'' by Pompeo Batoni, 1773]]
Approximately 30 parables form about one-third of Jesus' recorded teachings.<ref name="autogenerated98">{{cite book|first=Eric F.|last= Osborn|year= 1993 |title=The emergence of Christian theology|url=https://archive.org/details/emergencechristi00osbo|url-access=limited| isbn= 978-0-521-43078-4 |page= [https://archive.org/details/emergencechristi00osbo/page/n115 98] |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=J. Dwight|last= Pentecost|year= 1998 |title=The parables of Jesus: lessons in life from the Master Teacher| isbn= 978-0-8254-9715-5 |page= 10 |publisher=Kregel Publications}}</ref> The parables appear within longer sermons and at other places in the narrative.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Sermons of Jesus the Messiah|first= E. Keith|last= Howick|year= 2003 |publisher= WindRiver Publishing |isbn= 978-1-886249-02-8| pages= 7–9}}</ref> They often contain symbolism, and usually relate the physical world to the [[Philosophy:Spirituality|spiritual]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Friedrich G. |last= Lisco |year=1850 |title=The Parables of Jesus |publisher= Daniels and Smith Publishers| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OoIuAAAAYAAJ/page/n12 9]–11 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OoIuAAAAYAAJ }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Ashton |last=Oxenden|year= 1864 |title=The parables of our Lord? |publisher=William Macintosh Publishers| page= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5bUCAAAAQAAJ/page/n15 6] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5bUCAAAAQAAJ }}</ref> Common themes in these tales include the kindness and generosity of God and the perils of transgression.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dPdANFaNgagC&pg=448 |title=Interpreting the Parables |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2012 |page=448 |isbn=978-0-8308-3967-4 |first=Craig L. |last=Blomberg |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910175429/https://books.google.com/books?id=dPdANFaNgagC&pg=448 |url-status=live }}</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>{{cite web | first=Madeleine I. | last=Boucher |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/parables.html | title=The Parables | publisher=BBC | access-date=3 June 2013 | archive-date=10 August 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810144100/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/parables.html | url-status=live }}</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>

[[File:Christ cleans leper man.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Jesus cleansing a leper, medieval mosaic from the Monreale Cathedral, late 12th to mid-13th centuries|alt=Jesus, his head surrounded by a halo, puts his hands on a leper, thereby healing him]]
In the gospel accounts, Jesus devotes a large portion of his ministry to performing [[Philosophy:Miracle|miracle]]s, especially healings.{{sfn|Green|McKnight |Marshall|1992|p=299}} The miracles can be classified into two main categories: healing miracles and nature miracles.{{sfn|Twelftree|1999|p=350}}{{sfn|Levine|2006|p=4}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Charlesworth |first1=James H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTIGy5t45WgC&pg=PT113 |title=The Historical Jesus: An Essential Guide |date=2008 |publisher=Abingdon Press |isbn=978-1-4267-2475-6 |page=113 |access-date=29 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008221947/https://books.google.com/books?id=YTIGy5t45WgC&pg=PT113 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The healing miracles include cures for physical ailments, [[Unsolved:Exorcism|exorcism]]s,{{sfn|Witherington|1997|p=113}}{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=298}} and resurrections of the dead.{{sfn|Green|McKnight|Marshall|1992|p=300}}<ref name="Oxford Companion" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Tabor |first=James |date=22 March 2013 |title=What the Bible Says About Death, Afterlife, and the Future |url=https://clas-pages.uncc.edu/james-tabor/ancient-judaism/death-afterlife-future/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823115040/https://clas-pages.uncc.edu/james-tabor/ancient-judaism/death-afterlife-future/ |archive-date=23 August 2016 |access-date=13 June 2015 |publisher=UNCC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hoekema |first=Anthony A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c2yT_7xw35sC |title=The Bible and the Future |publisher=Eerdmans Publishing |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-85364-624-2 |pages=88–89 |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008221946/https://books.google.com/books?id=c2yT_7xw35sC |archive-date=8 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The nature miracles show Jesus' 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 suddenly accuse him of performing exorcisms by the power of Beelzebul, 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; furthermore, he asks his opponents that if he exorcises by [[Biology:Beelzebub|Beelzebub]], "by whom do your sons cast them out?"<ref>Luke 11:20.</ref><ref name="Britannica2">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Jesus Christ|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303091/Jesus-Christ|access-date=10 June 2015|first1=E.&nbsp;P.|last1=Sanders|first2=Jaroslav J.|last2=Pelikan|archive-date=3 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503100711/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303091/Jesus-Christ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Js9nFESO0VAC&pg=PA100|title=Zondervan King James Version Commentary: New Testament|last2=Mitchell|first2=Daniel R.|publisher=Zondervan|year=2010|isbn=978-0-310-25150-7|page=100|first1=Edward E.|last1=Hindson|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=10 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910171333/https://books.google.com/books?id=Js9nFESO0VAC&pg=PA100|url-status=live}}</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 [[Religion:Holy Spirit|Holy Spirit]]") shall never be forgiven; they carry the guilt of their sin forever.

In John, Jesus' miracles are described as "signs", performed to prove his mission and divinity.<ref name="Sign" />{{sfn|Ehrman|2009|page=[https://archive.org/details/jesusinterrupted00ehrm_0/page/84 84]}} 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">{{cite book|title=Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology|year=2001|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-3717-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/introducingnewte00paul/page/198 198] |url=https://archive.org/details/introducingnewte00paul/page/198|first1=Paul J.|last1=Achtemeier|first2=Joel B.|last2=Green|first3=Marianne M.|last3=Thompson}}</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' 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.{{sfn|Twelftree|1999|p=236}} 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>{{cite book |last=van der Loos |first=Hendrik |title=The Miracles Of Jesus |year=1965 |publisher=Brill |page=197 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4geAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910165838/https://books.google.com/books?id=n4geAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 |url-status=live }}</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 name="WPent212">{{cite book |title=The words and works of Jesus Christ |first=J. Dwight |last=Pentecost |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-310-30940-6 |page=212 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bh3M_AfgXZAC&pg=PA212 |publisher=Zondervan |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910063513/https://books.google.com/books?id=bh3M_AfgXZAC&pg=PA212 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Twelftree|1999 |p=95}} Many of the miracles teach the importance of faith. In the [[Philosophy:Cleansing ten lepers|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.{{sfn|Donahue|Harrington |2002|p=182}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Lockyer|first= Herbert|year= 1988 |title=All the Miracles of the Bible| isbn= 978-0-310-28101-6 |page= 235 |publisher=Zondervan}}</ref>

====Proclamation as Christ and Transfiguration====
{{Main|Religion:Confession of Peter|Religion:Transfiguration of Jesus}}
[[File:Transfigurationbloch.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|right|The [[Religion:Transfiguration of Jesus|Transfiguration of Jesus]], depicted by Carl Bloch, 19th century]]
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 name="KingsburyMark">{{cite book|title=The Christology of Mark's Gospel|url=https://archive.org/details/christologyofmar0000king|url-access=limited|first= Jack D. |last= Kingsbury |year=1983 |isbn= 978-1-4514-1007-5 |publisher= Fortress Press|pages= [https://archive.org/details/christologyofmar0000king/page/91 91]–95}}</ref>{{sfn|Lee|2004|pp=21–30}}<ref name="Nobbs" /> These two events are not mentioned in the Gospel of John.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=John, Gospel of}}

In his Confession, Peter tells Jesus, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."<ref name="Karris">{{cite book |last=Karris |first=Robert J. |title=The Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament |publisher=Liturgical Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8146-2211-7 |pages=885–886 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Who do you say that I am? Essays on Christology|first1=Jack D.|last1= Kingsbury| first2=Mark A.|last2= Powell|first3= David R. |last3=Bauer |year=1999 |isbn= 978-0-664-25752-1 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |page= xvi}}</ref>{{sfn|Donahue|Harrington|2002|p= 336}} Jesus affirms that Peter's confession is divinely revealed truth.<ref name="OneTeacher">{{cite book |last=Yieh |first=John Y. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0-NaraCrAoC |title=One teacher: Jesus' teaching role in Matthew's gospel |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2004 |isbn=978-3-11-018151-7 |pages=240–241 |language=en |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008221947/https://books.google.com/books?id=g0-NaraCrAoC |archive-date=8 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Pannenberg|1968|pp=53–54}} 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>{{sfn|Lee|2004|pp=21–30}}<ref name="Nobbs">{{cite book |last1=Harding |first1=Mark |title=The Content and the Setting of the Gospel Tradition |last2=Nobbs |first2=Alanna |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8028-3318-1 |pages=281–282 |language=en}}</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".{{sfn|Lee|2004|pp=72–76}} 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>{{sfn|Lee|2004|pp=21–30}}

===Passion Week===
The description of the last week of the life of Jesus (often called [[Religion:Passion Week|Passion Week]]) occupies about one-third of the narrative in the canonical gospels,<ref name="Turner613" /> starting with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ending with his Crucifixion.{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=224–29}}{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=155–70}}

====Activities in Jerusalem====
[[File:Gérôme - L'entrée du Christ à Jérusalem - cadre.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A painting of Jesus' final entry into Jerusalem, by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1897|alt=Jesus, riding a donkey colt, rides towards Jerusalem. A large crowd greets him outside the walls.]]

In the Synoptics, the last week in Jerusalem is the conclusion of the journey through Perea and Judea that Jesus began in Galilee.{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=155–70}} 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>{{Bibleverse|Zechariah|9:9|HE}}.</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 branch|palm fronds]]) in front of him and sing part of Psalms 118:25–26.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Psalms|118:25–26|HE}}.</ref>{{sfn|Boring|Craddock|2004|pages=256–58}}{{sfn|Majerník|Ponessa|Manhardt|2005|pp=133–34}}{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=381–95}}

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>{{bibleref2|Mark|13:1–23}}.</ref> The mysterious "Son of Man", he says, will dispatch angels to gather the faithful from all parts of the earth.<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|13:24–27}}.</ref> Jesus warns that these wonders will occur in the lifetimes of the hearers.<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|13:28–32}}.</ref>{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=285–96}} In John, the Cleansing of the Temple occurs at the beginning of Jesus' ministry instead of at the end.<ref>John 2:13–16.</ref>{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=302–10}}

Jesus comes into conflict with the Jewish elders, such as when they question his authority and when he [[Religion:Woes of the Pharisees|criticizes them and calls them hypocrites]].{{sfn|Boring|Craddock|2004|pages=256–58}}{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=381–95}} Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, secretly strikes a bargain with the Jewish elders, agreeing to betray Jesus to them for [[Finance:Thirty pieces of silver|30 silver coins]].<ref name="Lockyer106">{{cite book |last=Lockyer |first=Herbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Q7l-_UFHmYC |title=All the Apostles of the Bible |publisher=Zondervan |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-310-28011-8 |pages=106–111 |language=en |access-date=11 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229044027/https://books.google.com/books?id=-Q7l-_UFHmYC |archive-date=29 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Synoptic Gospels and the Book of Acts|first=Doremus A. |last= Hayes |year=2009 |isbn= 978-1-313-53490-1 |page= 88 |publisher=HardPress}}</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>{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=270–72}} In Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. This potent sign{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=302–10}} increases the tension with authorities,{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=155–70}} who conspire to kill him.<ref>John 11.</ref>{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=270–72}} Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus' feet, foreshadowing his entombment.{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|pp=401–70}} Jesus then makes his messianic entry into Jerusalem.{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=270–72}} The cheering crowds greeting Jesus as he enters Jerusalem add to the animosity between him and the establishment.{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=155–70}} In John, Jesus has already cleansed the Second Temple during an earlier Passover visit to Jerusalem. John next recounts Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples.{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=270–72}}

====Last Supper====
{{Main|Religion:Last Supper}}
[[File:Última Cena - Juan de Juanes.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Last Supper, depicted by Juan de Juanes, {{circa|1562}}|alt=A depiction of the Last Supper. Jesus sits in the center, his apostles gathered around on either side of him.]]
The Last Supper is the final meal that Jesus shares 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">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity|volume=4|first=Erwin|last=Fahlbusch|year=2005|isbn=978-0-8028-2416-5|pages=53–56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C5V7oyy69zgC&pg=PA53|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907101720/https://books.google.com/books?id=C5V7oyy69zgC&pg=PA53|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=465–77}}{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=180–91}} During the meal, Jesus predicts that one of his apostles will betray him.{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|p=182}} 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 specifically identify Judas as the traitor.<ref name="Fahlbusch52" />{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=465–77}}{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|p=182}}

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" />{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Eucharist}} The Christian [[Religion:Sacrament|sacrament]] or ordinance of the [[Religion:Eucharist|Eucharist]] is based on these events.<ref>{{CathEncy| wstitle=The Blessed Eucharist as a Sacrament |first=Joseph |last=Pohle}}</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 [[Religion:Bread of Life Discourse|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.{{sfn|Freedman|2000|p=792}}

In all four gospels, Jesus predicts that Peter will deny knowledge of him three times before the rooster crows the next morning.<ref name="Denial">{{cite book|title=Peter: apostle for the whole church|first= Pheme |last=Perkins |publisher=Fortress Press |year=2000 |isbn= 978-1-4514-1598-8 |page= 85}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Gospel according to Matthew, Volume 1|first= Johann P.|last= Lange|year= 1865| publisher= Charles Scribner Co| page= 499}}</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>{{sfn|Walvoord|Zuck|1983|pp=83–85}} The Gospel of John provides the only account of Jesus washing his disciples' feet after the meal.{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=272–85}} 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 [[Religion:Christology|Christological]] content.<ref name="Gail142">{{cite book |last1=O'Day |first1=Gail R. |title=John |last2=Hylen |first2=Susan |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-664-25260-1 |pages=142–168 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name="Herman546">{{cite book |last=Ridderbos |first=Herman |title=The Gospel according to John |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8028-0453-2 |pages=546–576 |language=en}}</ref>

====Agony in the Garden, betrayal, and arrest====
[[File:The Taking of Christ-Caravaggio (c.1602).jpg|thumb|A depiction of the kiss of Judas and arrest of Jesus, by Caravaggio, {{circa|1602}}|alt=Judas kisses Jesus, and soldiers rush to seize the latter.]]

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' arrest, his disciples go into hiding, and Peter, when questioned, thrice denies knowing Jesus. After the third denial, Peter hears the rooster crow and recalls Jesus' prediction about his denial. Peter then weeps bitterly.{{sfn|Walvoord|Zuck|1983|pp=83–85}}{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=285–96}}<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.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Jesus}} The people who arrest him are Roman soldiers and Temple guards.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Michaels|first1=J. Ramsey|title=John (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series)|date=2011|publisher=Baker Books|page=187|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGr-amBm4PUC&pg=PT187|isbn=978-1-4412-3659-3|access-date=7 September 2017|archive-date=26 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226071102/https://books.google.com/books?id=zGr-amBm4PUC&pg=PT187|url-status=live}}</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 Pilate====

After his arrest, Jesus is taken late at night to the private residence of the high priest, [[Religion:Caiaphas|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.{{sfn|Brown|1997|p= 146}} The gospel accounts differ on the [[Religion:Sanhedrin trial of Jesus|details of the trials]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bromiley |first=Geoffrey W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yklDk6Vv0l4C&pg=PA1050 |title=International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: E–J |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8028-3782-0 |pages=1050–1052 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907182833/https://books.google.com/books?id=yklDk6Vv0l4C&pg=PA1050 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53 and Luke 22:54, Jesus is taken to the house of the high priest, [[Religion:Caiaphas|Caiaphas]], where he is mocked and beaten that night. Early the next morning, the chief priests and scribes lead Jesus away into their council.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=487–500}}{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=396–400}}<ref name="Holman608">{{cite book |title=Holman Concise Bible Dictionary |publisher=B&H Publishing Group |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-8054-9548-5 |pages=608–609 |language=en}}</ref> John 18:12–14 states that Jesus is first taken to Annas, Caiaphas's father-in-law, and then to the high priest.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=487–500}}{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=396–400}}<ref name="Holman608" />

[[File:Ecce homo by Antonio Ciseri (1).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''Ecce homo!'' Antonio Ciseri's 1871 depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting Jesus to the public|alt=A depiction of Jesus' public trial]]
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' unresponsiveness leads Caiaphas to ask him, "Have you no answer?"{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=487–500}}{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=396–400}}<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 [[Religion:Son of man (Christianity)|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' answer is more ambiguous:<ref name="Britannica" />{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=495}} in Matthew 26:64 he responds, "You have said so", and in Luke 22:70 he says, "You say that I am".{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=396–98}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Luke's presentation of Jesus: a christology|first=Robert F.|last= O'Toole|year= 2004| isbn= 978-88-7653-625-0|page= 166 |publisher=Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico}}</ref>

The Jewish elders take Jesus to Pilate's Court and ask the Roman governor, [[Religion:Pontius Pilate|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>{{cite book|publisher=Twenty-Third Publications|title=The Names of Jesus|first= Stephen J.|last= Binz |year=2004 |isbn= 978-1-58595-315-8| pages= 81–82}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ironside |first=H. A. |title=John |publisher=Kregel Academic |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8254-9619-6 |page=454 |language=en}}</ref> In Luke 23:7–15, Pilate realizes that Jesus is a Galilean, and thus comes under the jurisdiction of [[Religion:Herod Antipas|Herod Antipas]], the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea.{{sfn|Niswonger|1992|p=172}}{{sfn|Majerník|Ponessa|Manhardt|2005|p=181}} Pilate sends Jesus to Herod to be tried,{{sfn|Carter|2003|pp=120–21}} 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,{{sfn|Niswonger|1992|p=172}} who then calls together the Jewish elders and announces that he has "not found this man guilty".{{sfn|Carter|2003|pp=120–21}}

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 ({{lang|he| בר-אבא}} or ''Bar-abbâ'', "son of the father", from the common given name ''Abba'': 'father').{{sfn|Evans|2012b|p=453}} Persuaded by the elders,<ref>Matthew 27:20.</ref> the mob chooses to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus.{{sfn|Blomberg|2009| pp=400–01}} 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' cross,<ref>John 19:19–20.</ref>{{sfn|Brown|1988|p=93}} then scourges Jesus and sends him to be crucified. The soldiers place a [[Religion:Crown of thorns|crown of thorns]] on Jesus' head and ridicule him as the King of the Jews. They beat and taunt him before taking him to Calvary,<ref name="Senior">{{cite book|title=The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew|first= Donald |last=Senior |year=1985| isbn= 978-0-8146-5460-6 |publisher=Liturgical Press |page= 124}}</ref> also called Golgotha, for crucifixion.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=487–500}}<ref name="Holman608" />{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|p=402}}

====Crucifixion and entombment====
[[File:Pietro Perugino 040.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Pietro Perugino's depiction of the Crucifixion as ''Stabat Mater'', 1482|alt=A depiction of Jesus on the cross]]
Jesus' 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 [[Religion:Via Dolorosa|Via Dolorosa]]. The three Synoptic Gospels indicate that Simon of Cyrene assists him, having been compelled by the Romans to do so.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=509–20}}{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|pp=211–14}} 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.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=509–20}} At Calvary, Jesus is offered a sponge soaked in a concoction usually offered as a [[Biology:Analgesic|painkiller]]. According to Matthew and Mark, he refuses it.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=509–20}}{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|pp=211–14}}

The soldiers then crucify Jesus and cast lots for his clothes. Above Jesus' head on the cross is Pilate's 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.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=509–20}}{{sfn|Doninger|1999|p=271}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2009|page=[https://archive.org/details/jesusinterrupted00ehrm_0/page/82 82]}} 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' side with a [[Religion:Holy Lance|lance]], and [[Religion:Five Holy Wounds|blood and water]] flow out.{{sfn|Doninger|1999|p= 271}} The Synoptics report a [[Religion:Crucifixion darkness|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 [[Religion:Son of God (Christianity)|Son of God]].{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=509–20}}{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|pp=213–14}}

On the same day, Joseph of Arimathea, with Pilate's permission and with Nicodemus's help, removes Jesus' body from the cross, wraps him in a clean cloth, and buries him in his new rock-hewn tomb.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=509–20}} 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.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=509–20}}{{sfn|Morris|1992|page=727}}

===Resurrection and ascension===
{{Main|Religion:Resurrection of Jesus|Religion:Empty tomb|Unsolved:Ascension of Jesus}}

[[File:Alexander Ivanov - Christ's Appearance to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection - Google Art Project.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene after his [[Religion:Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection from the dead]], depicted by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov.|''Appearance of Jesus Christ to Maria Magdalena'' by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, 1835]]

The Gospels do not describe the moment of the [[Religion:Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection of Jesus]]. They describe the discovery of his [[Religion:Empty tomb|empty tomb]] and several appearances of Jesus, with distinct differences in each narrative.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vermes |first=Geza |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PYcnn9WxVcC |title=The Resurrection |publisher=Penguin |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-14-191263-9 |place=London, England |page=141 |language=en-uk}}</ref>

In the four Gospels, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb on Sunday morning, alone or with one or several other women.{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp= 308–09}} 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>{{bibleref2|Mark|16:5–6}}, {{bibleref2|Matthew|28:5–6}}, and {{bibleref2|Luke|24:4–6}}.</ref> In Mark and Matthew, the angel also instructs them to tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee.<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|16:7}}, {{bibleref2|Matthew|28:7}}.</ref> In Luke, Peter visits the tomb after he is told it is empty.<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|24:12}}.</ref> In John, he goes there with the beloved disciple.<ref>{{bibleref2|John|20:2–8}}.</ref> Matthew mentions Roman guards at the tomb,<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|28:7}}.</ref> who report to the priests of Jerusalem what happened. The priests bribe them to say that the disciples [[Unsolved:Stolen body hypothesis|stole Jesus' body]] during the night.<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|28:11–15}}.</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>{{bibleref2|Mark|16:9}}, {{bibleref2|John|20:14–17}}.</ref> along with "the other Mary" in Matthew 28:9,<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|28:9–10}}.</ref> while in Luke the first reported appearance is to two disciples heading to Emmaus.<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|24:13–31}}.</ref> Jesus then reveals himself to the eleven disciples, in Jerusalem or in Galilee.<ref>{{bibleref2|Mark|16:14}}, {{bibleref2|Matthew|28:16–17}}, and {{bibleref2|John|20:19–23}}.</ref> In Luke 24:36–43, he eats and shows them his [[Religion:Five Holy Wounds|tangible wounds]] to prove that he is not a spirit.<ref>{{bibleref2|Luke|24:36–43}}.</ref> He also shows them to Thomas to end [[Philosophy:Doubting Thomas|his doubts]], in John 20:24–29.<ref>{{bibleref2|John|20:24–29}}.</ref> In the Synoptics, Jesus [[Religion:Great Commission|commissions the disciples]] to spread the gospel message to all nations,{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=272–85}}{{sfn|Harris|1985|pp=297–301}} while in [[Religion:John 21|John 21]], he tells Peter to take care of his sheep.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=521–30}}{{sfn|Cox|Easley|2007|pp=216–26}}

Jesus' [[Religion:Entering Heaven alive|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".{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=521–30}}

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>{{cite book |last=Bruce |first=Frederick F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2lN0ibbLOHEC&pg=PA210 |title=The Acts of the Apostles |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-8028-0966-7 |page=210 |language=en |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222000/https://books.google.com/books?id=2lN0ibbLOHEC&pg=PA210 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> On the road to [[Place:Damascus|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 name="HarringtonActs">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Luke T. |title=The Acts of the Apostles |last2=Harrington |first2=Daniel J. |publisher=Liturgical Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8146-5807-9 |pages=164–167 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Religion:Book of Revelation|Book of Revelation]] includes a revelation from Jesus concerning the [[Religion:Christian eschatology|last days of Earth]].<ref>{{CathEncy |wstitle=Apocalypse |last=Van den Biesen |first= Christian}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Early Christianity==
{{Main|Religion:Early Christianity}}
[[File:Good shepherd 02b close.jpg|thumb|A 3rd-century depiction of Jesus as the Good Shepherd|upright=.8]]
After Jesus' life, his followers, as described in the first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, were all [[Religion:Jews|Jews]] either by birth or conversion, for which the biblical term "[[Social:Proselyte|proselyte]]" is used,<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12481c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Proselyte] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610204154/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12481c.htm |date=10 June 2017 }}: "The English term 'proselyte' occurs only in the New Testament where it signifies a convert to the Jewish religion ({{bibleverse||Matthew|23:15|NAB}}; {{bibleverse||Acts|2:11|NAB}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|6:5|NAB}}; 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 [[Religion:Apostolic Age|New Testament epoch]]."</ref> and referred to by historians as [[Religion:Jewish Christian|Jewish Christian]]s. The early Gospel message was spread [[Social:Oral gospel traditions|orally]], probably in Aramaic,{{sfn|Ehrman|2012|pp=87–90}} but almost immediately also in [[Social:Koine Greek|Greek]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jaeger |first1=Werner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kYfAUnFMhPMC&pg=PA108 |title=Early Christianity and Greek Paideia |date=1961 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-22052-2 |pages=6, 108–109 |language=en |access-date=26 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217042345/https://books.google.com/books?id=kYfAUnFMhPMC&pg=PA108 |archive-date=17 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Religion:New Testament|New Testament]]'s Acts of the Apostles and Epistle to the Galatians record that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included Peter, James, the brother of Jesus, and [[Religion:John the Apostle|John the Apostle]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Galatians|2:9|NIV}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|1:13|NIV}}; See Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles for details.</ref>

After his conversion, [[Biography:Paul the Apostle|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>{{cite book |title=The Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3 |editor1-last=Cross |editor1-first=F. L. |edition=3rd rev. |location=Oxford, England |language=en |chapter=Paul}}</ref> By the end of the [[Religion:Christianity in the 1st century|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 [[Biology:Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction]] of the Second Temple.<ref>Cohen, Shaye J.D. (1988). ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah,'' {{ISBN|978-0-664-25017-1}}, pp. 224–225.</ref>

Numerous quotations in the New Testament and other Christian writings of the first centuries, indicate that early Christians generally used and revered the [[Religion:Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bible]] (the Tanakh) as [[Religion:Religious text|religious text]], mostly in the Greek (Septuagint) or Aramaic (Targum) translations.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fee|first1=Gordon|last2=Stuart|first2=Douglas|author-link2=Douglas Stuart (biblical scholar)|title=How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: Fourth Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGBtAgAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Zondervan|isbn=978-0-310-51783-2|access-date=1 May 2018|archive-date=26 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626225710/https://books.google.com/books?id=sGBtAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</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 name="Ehrman120ce">{{cite book |author=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpoNAQAAMAAJ |title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-19-508481-8 |page=8 |quote=The New Testament contains twenty-seven books, written in Greek, by fifteen or sixteen different authors, who were addressing other Christian individuals or communities between the years 50 and 120 C.E. (see box 1.4). As we will see, it is difficult to know whether any of these books was written by Jesus' own disciples. |access-date=1 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416082406/https://books.google.com/books?id=xpoNAQAAMAAJ |archive-date=16 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Historical views==
{{Main|Religion:Historical Jesus|Religion:Quest for the historical Jesus|Religion:Scholarly interpretation of Gospel elements}}
Prior to the [[Philosophy:Age of Enlightenment|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.{{sfn|Levine|2006|p=5}} 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.{{sfn|Witherington|1997|p=113}}{{sfn|Powell|1998|pp=19–23}} While there is widespread scholarly agreement on the existence of Jesus,{{efn|name=exist}} and a basic consensus on the general outline of his life,{{efn|Amy-Jill Levine writes: "There is a consensus of sorts on a basic outline of Jesus' life. Most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John, debated with fellow Jews on how best to live according to God's will, engaged in healings and exorcisms, taught in parables, gathered male and female followers in Galilee, went to Jerusalem, and was crucified by Roman soldiers during the governorship of Pontius Pilate"<ref>Amy-Jill Levine in ''The Historical Jesus in Context'' edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. Princeton University Press {{ISBN|978-0-691-00992-6}} p. 4</ref>}} the portraits of Jesus constructed by various scholars often differ from each other, and from the image portrayed in the gospel accounts.{{sfn|Theissen|Winter|2002|p=5}}<ref>James H. Charlesworth, Petr Pokomy (15 September 2009)''. Jesus Research: An International Perspective (Princeton-Prague Symposia Series on the Historical Jesus),'' {{ISBN|978-0-8028-6353-9}}, pp. 1–2.</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.{{sfn|Keener|2012|p=163}} 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.{{sfn|Chilton|Evans|1998|p= 27}}{{sfn|Evans|2012a|pp=4–5}} Although a belief in the [[Religion:Biblical inerrancy|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' life are "historically probable".{{sfn|Chilton|Evans|1998|p= 27}}<ref>{{cite book|title= Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship|first= Marcus J.|last= Borg|year= 1994|isbn= 978-1-56338-094-5|publisher= Continuum|pages= [https://archive.org/details/jesusincontempor00borg/page/4 4–6]|url=https://archive.org/details/jesusincontempor00borg/page/4}}</ref>{{sfn|Theissen|Winter|2002|pp=142–143}} Modern scholarly research on the historical Jesus thus focuses on identifying the most probable elements.<ref>{{cite book|title= John, Jesus, and History, Volume 1: Critical Appraisals of Critical Views|first1= Paul N.|last1= Anderson|first2= Felix|last2= Just|first3= Tom|last3= Thatcher|year= 2007|isbn= 978-1-58983-293-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC|publisher= Society of Biblical Lit|page= 131|access-date= 14 August 2015|archive-date= 18 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418011840/https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC|url-status= live}}</ref>{{sfn|Meier|2006|p=124}}

===Judea and Galilee in the 1st century===
[[File:The Ministry of Jesus.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Judea, Galilee and neighbouring areas at the time of Jesus|alt=Topographical map of Palestine in the First Century highlighting places mentioned in the canonical gospels.]]
In AD 6, Judea, [[History:Edom|Idumea]], and [[Place:Samaria|Samaria]] were transformed from a Herodian client kingdom of the Roman Empire into an imperial province, also called Judea. A Roman [[Social:Prefect|prefect]], rather than a client king, ruled the land. The prefect ruled from Caesarea Maritima, leaving [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] to be run by the High Priest of Israel. As an exception, the prefect came to Jerusalem during religious festivals, when religious and patriotic enthusiasm sometimes inspired unrest or uprisings. Gentile lands surrounded the Jewish territories of Judea and [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]], but Roman law and practice allowed Jews to remain separate legally and culturally. Galilee was evidently prosperous, and poverty was limited enough that it did not threaten the social order.<ref name="Britannica" /> <!-- Is Encyclopedia Brittanica really the best source to be using here? There are much more subject-focused encyclopaedias written by University Presses that we could use instead. -->

This was the era of Hellenistic Judaism, which combined [[Religion:Judaism|Jewish religious tradition]] with elements of Hellenistic Greek culture. Until the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Muslim conquests of the Eastern Mediterranean, the main centers of Hellenistic Judaism were [[Place:Alexandria|Alexandria]] (Egypt) and Antioch (now Southern Turkey), the two main Greek urban settlements of the [[Finance:MENA|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 [[Religion:Judaizers|Judaizers]]). The [[Religion:Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bible]] was translated from [[Social:Biblical Hebrew|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>{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=James |title=The Cambridge history of Judaism. Volume 2: The Hellenistic Age |date=1989 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-05512-3 |editor1-last=Davies |editor1-first=W. D. |edition=1. publ. |location=Cambridge |pages=79–114 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 3 – Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek in the Hellenistic age |editor2-last=Finkelstein |editor2-first=Louis}}</ref>

Jews based their faith and religious practice on the Torah, five books said to have been given by God to [[Biography:Moses|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 that God would deliver them from their pagan rulers, possibly through war against the Romans.<ref name="Britannica" />

===Sources===
{{Main|Religion:Sources for the historicity of Jesus}}
[[File:WorksJosephus1640TP.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A 1640 edition of the works of Josephus, a 1st-century Roman-Jewish historian who referred to Jesus{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=431–36}}]]

New Testament scholars face a formidable challenge when they analyse the canonical Gospels.{{sfn|Harris|1985|p=263}} The Gospels are not biographies in the modern sense, and the authors explain Jesus' theological significance and recount his public ministry while omitting many details of his life.{{sfn|Harris|1985|p=263}}

The reports of supernatural events associated with Jesus' death and resurrection make the challenge even more difficult.{{sfn|Harris|1985|p=263}}
Scholars regard the Gospels as compromised sources of information because the writers were trying to glorify Jesus.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=3}}
Even so, the sources for Jesus' life are better than sources scholars have for the life of Alexander the Great.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=3}}

Scholars use a number of criteria, such as the [[Religion:Criterion of multiple attestation|criterion of independent attestation]], the [[Religion:Biblical criticism#Coherence|criterion of coherence]], and the criterion of discontinuity to judge the historicity of events.{{sfn|Rausch|2003|pp=36–37}} The historicity of an event also depends on the reliability of the source; indeed, the Gospels are not independent nor consistent records of Jesus' life. Mark, which is most likely the earliest written gospel, has been considered for many decades the most historically accurate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Paul N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC&pg=PA291 |title=John, Jesus, and History |last2=Just |first2=Felix |last3=Thatcher |first3=Tom |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58983-293-0 |volume=2 |page=291 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910170334/https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC&pg=PA291 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Paul N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC&pg=PA291 |title=John, Jesus, and History |last2=Just |first2=Felix |last3=Thatcher |first3=Tom |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58983-293-0 |volume=2 |page=292 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910170334/https://books.google.com/books?id=ryybidJYMAQC&pg=PA291 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Some scholars (most notably the Jesus Seminar) believe that the non-canonical [[Religion:Gospel of Thomas|Gospel of Thomas]] might be an independent witness to many of Jesus' 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 [[Religion:Q source|Q source]].{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|pp=471–532}} However, the majority of scholars are sceptical about this text and believe it should be dated to the 2nd century AD.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Casey|first=Maurice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXK0auknD0YC|title=Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching|date=30 December 2010|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-567-64517-3|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ehrman|first=Bart D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpoNAQAAMAAJ|title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings|date=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-508481-8|language=en}}</ref>

Other select non-canonical Christian texts may also have value for historical Jesus research.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=17–62}}

Early non-Christian sources that attest to the historical existence of Jesus include the works of the historians Josephus and Tacitus.{{efn|Tuckett writes: "All this does at least render highly implausible any far-fetched theories that even Jesus' very existence was a Christian invention. The fact that Jesus existed, that he was crucified under Pontius Pilate (for whatever reason) and that he had a band of followers who continued to support his cause, seems to be part of the bedrock of historical tradition. If nothing else, the non-Christian evidence can provide us with certainty on that score."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|editor-last=Bockmuehl |editor-first= Markus N.A. |title=Sources and methods |first=Christopher |last=Tuckett |year=2001|encyclopedia= Cambridge Companion to Jesus|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-79678-1|pages=123–24}}</ref>}}{{sfn|Blomberg|2009|pp=431–36}}{{sfn|Van Voorst|2000|pp=39–53}} 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.{{sfn|Van Voorst|2000| p= 83}}<ref>{{cite book|last= Maier|first= Paul L.|year= 1995|title= Josephus, the essential works: a condensation of Jewish antiquities and The Jewish war|isbn= 978-0-8254-3260-6|page= 285|publisher= Kregel Academic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c2Tu1Yp3n0EC&pg=PA285|access-date= 14 August 2015|archive-date= 7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907111405/https://books.google.com/books?id=c2Tu1Yp3n0EC&pg=PA285|url-status= live}}</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>{{cite book|title=Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies|first=Craig A.|last=Evans|year=2001|isbn=978-0-391-04118-9|page=42|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRcQ2bkLxc8C&pg=PA42|publisher=Brill|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=10 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910175221/https://books.google.com/books?id=DRcQ2bkLxc8C&pg=PA42|url-status=live}}</ref>

Non-Christian sources are valuable in two ways. First, they show that even neutral or hostile parties never show any doubt that Jesus actually existed. Second, 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.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998}}

Archaeology helps scholars better understand Jesus' social world.{{sfn|Reed|2002|p=18}} Recent archaeological work, for example, indicates that Capernaum, a city important in Jesus' ministry, was poor and small, without even a forum or an [[Social:Agora|agora]].<ref name="Gowler">{{cite book |title=What are they saying about the historical Jesus?|first=David B. |last=Gowler |year=2007| isbn= 978-0-8091-4445-7|publisher=Paulist Press| page= 102}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Jesus and archaeology |editor-first=James H. |editor-last=Charlesworth |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8028-4880-2 |page=127 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoIS7VApH6cC&pg=PA127 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |title=Archived copy |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907182047/https://books.google.com/books?id=QoIS7VApH6cC&pg=PA127 |url-status=live }}</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" />

===Chronology===
{{Main|Religion:Chronology of Jesus}}
{{See also|Anno Domini{{!}}''Anno Domini''|Saturnalia#Influence}}
Jesus was a Galilean Jew,{{sfn|Vermes|1981|pp=20, 26, 27, 29}} born around the beginning of the 1st century, who died in 30 or 33 AD in Judea.{{sfn|Humphreys|Waddington|1992|p=340}} The general scholarly consensus is that Jesus was a contemporary of [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]] and was crucified as ordered by the Roman governor [[Religion:Pontius Pilate|Pontius Pilate]],{{sfn|Levine|2006|p=4}} who held office from 26 to 36 AD.{{sfn|Levine|2006|p=4}}

The Gospels offer several indications concerning the year of Jesus' 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,{{sfn|Maier|1989|pp=115–18}}{{sfn|Niswonger|1992|pp=121–22}} although this gospel also associates the birth with the [[Religion:Census of Quirinius|Census of Quirinius]] which took place ten years later.{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|pp=137–38}}{{sfn|Niswonger|1992|pp=122–24}} 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 (28 or 29 AD).{{sfn|Niswonger|1992|pp=121–22}}<ref name="Vermes2006">{{cite book | first = Géza | last = Vermes | title = The Nativity: History and Legend | publisher = Random House Digital | year = 2010 | pages = 81–82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a9EiEU_Yz_kC&pg=PA81 | isbn = 978-0-307-49918-9 | access-date = 25 January 2016 | archive-date = 3 May 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503100006/https://books.google.com/books?id=a9EiEU_Yz_kC&pg=PA81 | url-status = live }}</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="Vermes2006" />{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=324}} but some propose estimates that include a wider range.{{efn|For example, John P. Meier states that Jesus' birth year is ''c.'' 7/6 BC,{{sfn|Meier|1991|p=407}} while Finegan favours ''c.'' 3/2 BC.<ref name=Finegan />}}

The date range for Jesus' ministry has been estimated using several different approaches.{{sfn|Köstenberger |Kellum|Quarles|2009|p=140}}{{sfn|Freedman|2000|p=249}} 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' ministry.{{sfn|Maier|1989|pp=120–21}} 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' ministry, together with Josephus's statement<ref>{{Citation |last=Josephus |title=Book XV |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Book_XV |work=The Antiquities of the Jews |access-date=24 July 2023}}.</ref> that the temple's reconstruction was started by Herod the Great in the 18th year of his reign.{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|p=140}}{{sfn|Maier|1989|p=123}} A further method uses the date of the death of John the Baptist and the marriage of [[Religion:Herod Antipas|Herod Antipas]] to Herodias, based on the writings of Josephus, and correlates it with Matthew 14:4 and Mark 6:18.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2006 |title=Josephus on John the Baptist |encyclopedia=The Historical Jesus in Context |publisher=Princeton University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMbEyeDSQQgC&pg=PA55 |access-date=25 January 2016 |last=Evans |first=Craig |editor-last1=Levine |editor-first=Amy-Jill |publication-place=Princeton, New Jersey, USA |pages=55–58 |isbn=978-0-691-00992-6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503120729/https://books.google.com/books?id=wMbEyeDSQQgC&pg=PA55 |archive-date=3 May 2016 |editor-last2=Allison |editor-first3=John D. |editor-last3=Crossan |editor2-first=Dale C. |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Herodias: at home in that fox's den|first= Florence M.|last= Gillman |year=2003| isbn= 978-0-8146-5108-7| pages=25–30 |publisher= Liturgical Press}}</ref> Given that most scholars date the marriage of Herod and Herodias as AD 28–35, this yields a date about 28–29 AD.{{sfn|Freedman|2000|p=249}}

A number of approaches have been used to estimate the year of the crucifixion of Jesus. Most scholars agree that he died in 30 or 33 AD.{{sfn|Humphreys|Waddington |1992|p=340}}{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles |2009|p=398}} The Gospels state that the event occurred during the prefecture of Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea from 26 to 36 AD.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=81–83}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=Joel B. |title=The gospel of Luke: New International Commentary on the New Testament Series |year=1997 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-2315-1 |page=168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wzRVN2S8cVgC |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=25 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425204312/https://books.google.com/books?id=wzRVN2S8cVgC |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Carter|2003|pp=44–45}} The date for the conversion of Paul (estimated to be 33–36 AD) acts as an upper bound for the date of Crucifixion. The dates for Paul's conversion and ministry can be determined by analysing the [[Religion:Pauline epistles|Pauline epistles]] and the Acts of the Apostles.{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum |Quarles |2009|pp=398–400}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Barnett|title=Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times|year=2002|isbn=978-0-8308-2699-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NlFYY_iVt9cC&pg=PA21|publisher=InterVarsity Press|page=21|access-date=25 January 2016|archive-date=3 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503144441/https://books.google.com/books?id=NlFYY_iVt9cC&pg=PA21|url-status=live}}</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 [[History:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar]]. The most widely accepted dates derived from this method are 7 April 30 AD, and 3 April 33 AD (both [[Julian calendar|Julian]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pratt |first=J. P. |year=1991 |title=Newton's Date for the Crucifixion |url=http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/newton.html |url-status=live |journal=Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=32 |pages=301–304 |bibcode=1991QJRAS..32..301P |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116085454/http://johnpratt.com/items/docs/newton.html |archive-date=16 January 2010 |access-date=17 May 2013}}</ref>

===Historicity of events===
{{Main|Religion:Historicity of Jesus}}
{{multiple image
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Nearly all historians (both modern and historical) agree that Jesus was a real person who historically existed.{{efn|name=exist}} Scholars have reached a limited consensus on the basics of Jesus' life.<ref name="White">{{cite book |title=Scripting Jesus: The Gospels in Rewrite |first=L. Michael |last=White |year=2010 |publisher=HarperOne}}</ref>

====Family====
Many scholars agree that Joseph, Jesus' father, died before Jesus began his ministry. Joseph is not mentioned in the Gospels during Jesus' ministry. Joseph's death would explain why in Mark 6:3, Jesus' neighbors refer to Jesus as the "son of Mary" (sons were usually identified by their fathers).{{sfn|Brown|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ML1mnUBwmhcC&pg=PA64 64]}}

According to Theissen and Merz, it is common for extraordinary charismatic leaders, such as Jesus, to come into conflict with their ordinary families.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=194}} In Mark, Jesus' 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 likely not have invented it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Funk |first=Robert W. |author2=The Jesus Seminar |title=The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus |publisher=HarperSanFrancisco |year=1998 |chapter=Mark |pages=51–161}}</ref> After Jesus' death, many members of his family joined the Christian movement.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=194}} Jesus' brother [[Biography:James, brother of Jesus|James]] became a leader of the Jerusalem Church.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=James, St.}}

Géza Vermes says that the doctrine of the [[Religion:Virgin birth of Jesus|virgin birth of Jesus]] arose from theological development rather than from historical events.{{sfn|Vermes|1981|p=283}}
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 [[Religion:Criterion of multiple attestation|attested]] by two separate gospels, Matthew and Luke.<ref>Bromiley, Geoffrey (1995) ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'', Eerdmans Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-8028-3784-4}}, p. 991.</ref>{{sfn|Keener|2009b|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8C2Y_HaL5W0C&pg=PA83 83]}}<ref>Donald A. Hagner, ''Matthew 1–13'' (Paternoster Press 1993 {{ISBN|978-0-8499-0232-1}}), pp. 14–15, cited in the preceding.</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PbBz6-XcssC&pg=PA761 |page=761 |title=Christian Theology |isbn=978-1-4412-0010-5 |last1=Erickson |first1=Millard J. |date=August 1998 |publisher=Baker Publishing |access-date=4 July 2016 |archive-date=13 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913031951/https://books.google.com/books?id=0PbBz6-XcssC&pg=PA761 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Christmas – Philosophy for Everyone: Better Than a Lump of Coal |first=Scott C. |last=Lowe |publisher=Wiley |date=20 September 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2hYEngEACAAJ |page=28 |isbn=978-1-4443-3090-8 |access-date=4 July 2016 |archive-date=13 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913014940/https://books.google.com/books?id=2hYEngEACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bruner |first=Frederick Dale |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jZlfg1yxIEC&pg=PA41 |title=Matthew a Commentary: The Christbook, Matthew 1–12, Volume 1 |date=30 April 2004 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-1118-9 |page=41 |language=en |access-date=4 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913024157/https://books.google.com/books?id=5jZlfg1yxIEC&pg=PA41 |archive-date=13 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to E. P. Sanders, the [[Religion:Nativity of Jesus|birth narratives]] in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke are the clearest case of invention in the Gospel narratives of Jesus' life. Both accounts have Jesus born in [[Religion:Bethlehem|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 like a new [[Biography:Moses|Moses]], and the historian Josephus reports Herod the Great's brutality without ever mentioning that he massacred little boys.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=85–88}} The contradictions between the two Gospels were probably apparent to the early Christians already, since attempts to harmonize the two narratives are already present in the earlier apocryphal [[Religion:Infancy gospels|infancy gospels]] (the [[Religion:Infancy Gospel of Thomas|Infancy Gospel of Thomas]] and the [[Religion:Gospel of James|Gospel of James]]), which are dated to the 2nd century AD.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cousland|first=J. R. C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rMw6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3|title=Holy Terror: Jesus in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas|date=16 November 2017|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-0-567-66817-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Gambero|first=Luigi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dsZzsAtggnUC&q=L.+Gambero,+Mary+and+the+Fathers+of+the+Church|title=Mary and the Fathers of the Church: The Blessed Virgin Mary in Patristic Thought|date=1999|publisher=Ignatius Press|isbn=978-0-89870-686-4|language=en}}</ref>

Sanders says that the genealogies of Jesus are based not on historical information but on the authors' desire to show that Jesus was the universal Jewish savior.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=80–91}} 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.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=196}} The Gospel of Luke reports that Jesus was a [[Social:Consanguinity|blood relative]] of [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]], but scholars generally consider this connection to be invented.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=80–91}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Funk |first=Robert W. |author2=The Jesus Seminar |title=The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus |publisher=HarperSanFrancisco |year=1998 |chapter=Birth & Infancy Stories |pages=497–526}}</ref>

====Baptism====
[[File:ဗတ္တိဇံ.jpg|thumb|Baptism in the Jordan River, the river where Jesus was baptized]]
Most modern scholars consider Jesus' baptism to be a definite historical fact, along with his crucifixion.{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=339}} 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.{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=339}} Scholars adduce the [[Religion:Criterion of embarrassment|criterion of embarrassment]], saying that early Christians would not have invented a baptism that might imply that Jesus committed [[Philosophy:Sin|sin]]s and wanted to [[Religion:Repentance|repent]].{{sfn|Powell|1998|p=47}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Murphy|first=Catherine|title=John the Baptist: Prophet of Purity for a New Age|year=2003|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-5933-5|pages=29–30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=so_G78SBXAoC&pg=PA29|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907065554/https://books.google.com/books?id=so_G78SBXAoC&pg=PA29|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Theissen and Merz, Jesus was inspired by [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]] and took over from him many elements of his teaching.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=235}}

====Ministry in Galilee====
Most scholars hold that Jesus lived in [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]] and Judea and did not preach or study elsewhere.<ref name="Dunn303">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2006 |title=The Spirit-Filled Experience of Jesus |encyclopedia=The Historical Jesus in Recent Research |publisher=Eisenbrauns |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=37uJRUF6btAC&pg=PA303 |access-date=14 August 2015 |last=Borg |first=Marcus J. |editor-last1=Dunn |editor-first=James D. G. |page=303 |isbn=978-1-57506-100-9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910073549/https://books.google.com/books?id=37uJRUF6btAC&pg=PA303 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |editor2-last=McKnight |editor2-first=Scot |url-status=live}}</ref> They agree that Jesus debated with Jewish authorities on the subject of God, performed some healings, taught in [[Social:Parable|parable]]s and gathered followers.{{sfn|Levine|2006|p=4}} Jesus' 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.{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|p=3}} 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.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=205–23}}

According to Ehrman, Jesus taught that a coming kingdom was everyone's proper focus, not anything in this life.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=167–70}} He taught about the Jewish Law, seeking its true meaning, sometimes in opposition to traditions.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=164–67}} Jesus put love at the center of the Law, and following that Law was an apocalyptic necessity.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=164–67}} His ethical teachings called for forgiveness, not judging others, loving enemies, and caring for the poor.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=171–76}} Funk and Hoover note that typical of Jesus were [[Philosophy:Paradox|paradox]]ical or surprising turns of phrase, such as advising one, when struck on the cheek, [[Philosophy:Turning the other cheek|to offer the other cheek]] to be struck as well.<ref>Luke 6:29.</ref>{{sfn|Funk|Hoover|The Jesus Seminar|1993|p=294}}

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.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=17–62}} While Jesus' [[Philosophy:Miracle|miracle]]s fit within the social context of [[History:Ancient history|antiquity]], he defined them differently. First, he attributed them to the faith of those healed. Second, he connected them to [[Unsolved:Eschatology|end times]] prophecy.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=310}}

Jesus chose [[Religion:Apostles in the New Testament|twelve disciples]] (the "Twelve"),{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=10}} evidently as an [[Unsolved:Apocalypticism|apocalyptic]] message.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=186–87}} 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.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=186–87}} The twelve disciples might have represented the twelve original tribes of Israel, which would be restored once God's rule was instituted.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=186–87}} The disciples were reportedly meant to be the rulers of the tribes in the coming Kingdom.<ref>Matthew 19:28, Luke 22:30.</ref>{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=186–87}} According to Bart Ehrman, Jesus' 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.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=186–87}}

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.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=123–24}} They serve as a foil to Jesus and to other characters.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=123–24}} The failings of the disciples are probably exaggerated in Mark, and the disciples make a better showing in Matthew and Luke.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=123–24}}

Sanders says that Jesus' mission was not about [[Religion:Repentance|repentance]], although he acknowledges that this opinion is unpopular. He argues that repentance appears as a strong theme only in Luke, that repentance was [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]]'s message, and that Jesus' ministry would not have been scandalous if the sinners he ate with had been repentant.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=230–36}} According to Theissen and Merz, Jesus taught that God was generously giving people an opportunity to repent.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=336}}

====Role====
Jesus taught that an apocalyptic figure, the "[[Religion:Son of man (Christianity)|Son of Man]]", would soon come on clouds of glory to gather the elect, or chosen ones.<ref>Mark 13:24–27, Matthew 24:29–31, and Luke 21:25–28.</ref> He referred to himself as a "[[Religion:Son of man|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". [[Biography:Paul the Apostle|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 [[Unsolved:Eschatology|eschatological]] role as that of the messiah.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Messiah}} The Jewish messianic tradition included many different forms, some of them focused on a messiah figure and others not.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=533–40}} Based on the Christian tradition, Gerd Theissen advances the hypothesis that Jesus saw himself in messianic terms but did not claim the title "Messiah".{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=533–40}} 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>{{cite web|last=Ehrman|first=Bart|url=http://ehrmanblog.org/judas-and-the-messianic-secret/|title=Judas and the Messianic Secret|website=The Bart Ehrman Blog|date=1 December 2015|access-date=15 February 2016|archive-date=23 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223091403/http://ehrmanblog.org/judas-and-the-messianic-secret/|url-status=live}}</ref> not in the sense that most people today think of the term.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ehrman|first=Bart|url=http://ehrmanblog.org/jesus-claim-to-be-the-messiah/|title=Jesus' Claim to be the Messiah|website=The Bart Ehrman Blog|date=1 December 2015|access-date=15 February 2016|archive-date=23 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223082758/http://ehrmanblog.org/jesus-claim-to-be-the-messiah/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Passover and crucifixion in Jerusalem====
Around AD 30, Jesus and his followers travelled from [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]] to [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] to observe Passover.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=10}} Jesus caused a disturbance in the Second Temple,{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=11}} which was the center of Jewish religious and civil authority. Sanders associates it with Jesus' prophecy that the Temple would be totally demolished.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=254–62}} Jesus held a last meal with his disciples, which is the origin of the [[Religion:Eucharist|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' 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.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=263–64}}

The Gospels say that Jesus was betrayed to the authorities by a disciple, and many scholars consider this report to be highly reliable.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Jesus Christ}} He was executed on the orders of [[Religion:Pontius Pilate|Pontius Pilate]], the Roman [[Social:Prefect|prefect]] of Judaea.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=11}} Pilate most likely saw Jesus' reference to the Kingdom of God as a threat to Roman authority and worked with the Temple elites to have Jesus executed.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=465–66}} The Sadducean high-priestly leaders of the Temple more plausibly had Jesus executed for political reasons than for his teaching.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Jesus Christ}} They may have regarded him as a threat to stability, especially after he caused a disturbance at the Second Temple.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Jesus Christ}}<ref name="JE1906">{{cite web |last1=Jacobs |first1=Joseph |last2=Kohler |first2=Kaufmann |last3=Gottheil |first3=Richard |last4=Krauss |first4=Samuel |title=Jesus of Nazareth |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8616-jesus-of-nazareth |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226102548/http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8616-jesus-of-nazareth |archive-date=26 February 2016 |website=Jewish Encyclopedia}} See ''Avodah Zarah 17a:1'', ''Sanhedrin 43a:20'', ''Gittin 57a:3–4'', and ''Sotah 47a:6''.</ref> Other factors, such as Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, may have contributed to this decision.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=269–73}} Most scholars consider Jesus' crucifixion to be factual, because early Christians would not have invented the painful death of their leader.{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=339}}{{sfn|Meier|2006|pp=126–28}}

====After crucifixion====
[[File:The Resurrection Beaufort arms in border (f. 131) Cropped.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The Resurrection of Christ from a 16th-century manuscript of ''La Passion de Nostre Seigneur'']]
After Jesus' death, his followers said he was restored to life, although 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.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|pp=276–81}} 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.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|p=11}}

===Portraits of Jesus===
{{Main|Religion:Historical Jesus|Religion:Quest for the historical Jesus}}

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.{{sfn|Theissen|Winter|2002|pp=4–5}} 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.{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|pp=117–25}}{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=22–23}} The portraits of Jesus constructed in these quests often differ from each other, and from the image portrayed in the Gospels.{{sfn|Theissen|Winter|2002|p=5}}{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Historical Jesus, Quest of the}}

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' Jewish context and to his influence on Christianity. A disagreement in contemporary research is whether Jesus was [[Unsolved:Apocalypticism|apocalyptic]]. Most scholars conclude that he was an apocalyptic preacher, like [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]] and [[Biography:Paul the Apostle|Paul the Apostle]]. In contrast, certain prominent North American scholars, such as Burton Mack and John Dominic Crossan, advocate for a non-[[Unsolved:Eschatology|eschatological]] Jesus, one who is more of a Cynic [[Philosophy:Sage|sage]] than an apocalyptic preacher.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=1–15}} In addition to portraying Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, a charismatic healer or a [[Philosophy:Cynicism|cynic philosopher]], some scholars portray him as the true messiah or an [[Philosophy:Egalitarianism|egalitarian]] prophet of [[Social:Social change|social change]].<ref name="CambHist23">{{cite book|title=The Cambridge History of Christianity|volume=1|first1=Margaret M.|last1=Mitchell|first2=Frances M.|last2=Young|year=2006|isbn=978-0-521-81239-9|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTfmw_zStsC&pg=PA23|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907180601/https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTfmw_zStsC&pg=PA23|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|pp=124–25}} However, the attributes described in the portraits sometimes overlap, and scholars who differ on some attributes sometimes agree on others.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Why Study the Historical Jesus? | encyclopedia=Handbook for the Study of the Historical Jesus | publisher=Brill | year=2011 | first=Colin | last=Brown | page=1416 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LuKMmVu0tpMC&pg=PA1416 | isbn=978-90-04-16372-0 | editor1-first=Tom | editor1-last=Holmen | editor2-first=Stanley E. | editor2-last=Porter | access-date=14 August 2015 | archive-date=10 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910170524/https://books.google.com/books?id=LuKMmVu0tpMC&pg=PA1416 | url-status=live }}</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.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Jesus Christ}}

===Language, ethnicity, and appearance===
{{further|Unsolved:Language of Jesus|Religion:Race and appearance of Jesus}}
[[File:CompositeJesus.JPG|thumb|The ethnicity of Jesus in art has been influenced by cultural settings.{{sfn|Houlden|2006|pp=63–99}}<ref name="Erricker44" />|alt=Twelve depictions of Jesus from around the world]]
Jesus grew up in Galilee and much of his ministry took place there.{{sfn|Green|McKnight|Marshall|1992|p=442}} The languages spoken in Galilee and Judea during the 1st century AD include [[Social:Jewish Palestinian Aramaic|Jewish Palestinian Aramaic]], [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]], and [[Social:Koine Greek|Greek]], with Aramaic being predominant.<ref name="BarrLang">{{cite journal|first=James|last=Barr|title=Which language did Jesus speak|journal=Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester|year=1970|volume=53|issue=1|pages=9–29|url=https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:1m2973|doi=10.7227/BJRL.53.1.2|access-date=27 July 2011|archive-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203184449/https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:1m2973|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Porter110">{{cite book |last=Porter |first=Stanley E. |url=https://archive.org/details/handbooktoexeges00port |title=Handbook to exegesis of the New Testament |publisher=Brill |year=1997 |isbn=978-90-04-09921-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/handbooktoexeges00port/page/n124 110]–112 |language=en |url-access=limited}}</ref> There is substantial consensus that Jesus gave most of his teachings in Aramaic{{sfn|Dunn|2003|pp=313–15}} in the Galilean dialect.<ref name="Allen C. Myers">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1987 |title=Aramaic |encyclopedia=The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary |publisher=William B. Eerdmans |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |url=https://archive.org/details/eerdmansbibledic00myer/page/72 |editor=Myers |editor-first=Allen C. |page=[https://archive.org/details/eerdmansbibledic00myer/page/72 72] |isbn=978-0-8028-2402-8 |quote=It is generally agreed that Aramaic was the common language of Israel in the first century AD. Jesus and his disciples spoke the Galilean dialect, which was distinguished from that of Jerusalem (Matt. 26:73).}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/32043/Aramaic-language |title=Aramaic language |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=27 June 2019 |archive-date=27 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427072726/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/32043/Aramaic-language |url-status=live }}</ref> Other than Aramaic and Hebrew, it is likely that he was also able to speak in [[Social:Koine Greek|Koine Greek]].<ref>{{Cite book | last=Porter | first=Stanley E. |  title=Handbook to exegesis of the New Testament | publisher=Brill | year=1997 | isbn=90-04-09921-2 | pages=110–112 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last=Hoffmann | first=R. Joseph | title=Jesus in history and myth | publisher=Prometheus Books | year=1986 | isbn=0-87975-332-3 | page=98 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Interpretation of Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity: Studies in Language and Tradition|first=Craig A.|last=Evans|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1841270760|date=1 June 2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WbbUAwAAQBAJ&dq=G.R.+Selby,+Jesus,+Aramaic+and+Greek&pg=PA244}}</ref>

Modern scholars agree that Jesus was a Jew of 1st-century Judea.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|p= 96}} ''Ioudaios'' in New Testament Greek{{efn|In the New Testament, Jesus is described as Jewish / Judean (''Ioudaios'' as written in Koine Greek) on three occasions: by the Magi in Matthew 2, who referred to Jesus as "King of the Jews" (''basileus ton ioudaion''); by both the Samaritan woman at the well and by Jesus himself in John 4; and (in all four gospels) during the Passion, by the Romans, who also used the phrase "King of the Jews".<ref>{{cite journal|first=John |last=Elliott|journal= Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus |year=2007|volume= 5|issue= 119|title=Jesus the Israelite Was Neither a 'Jew' nor a 'Christian': On Correcting Misleading Nomenclature|page=119|doi=10.1177/1476869007079741|doi-access=free}}</ref>}} is a term which in the contemporary context may refer to religion (Second Temple Judaism), ethnicity (of Judea), or both.<ref>{{cite book |last=Garroway |first=Rabbi Joshua |url=https://archive.org/details/jewishannotatedn0000unse/page/524 |title=The Jewish Annotated New Testament |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-529770-6 |editor=Levine |editor-first=Amy-Jill |pages=[https://archive.org/details/jewishannotatedn0000unse/page/524 524–526] |chapter=Ioudaios |editor2=Brettler |editor-first2=Marc Z. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZRJ5zXUI2QC&pg=PA524}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=David M.|last=Miller|title=The Meaning of ''Ioudaios'' and its Relationship to Other Group Labels in Ancient 'Judaism'|journal=Currents in Biblical Research|volume=9|issue=1|date=2010|pages=98–126|doi=10.1177/1476993X09360724|s2cid=144383064}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Steve |last=Mason |title=Jews, Judaeans, Judaizing, Judaism: Problems of Categorization in Ancient History |journal=Journal for the Study of Judaism |volume=38 |issue=4 |date=2007 |pages=457–512 |url=http://www.stevemason.eu/resources/SMason-JSJ-2007-Jews-Judaism.pdf |doi=10.1163/156851507X193108 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325062826/http://www.stevemason.eu/resources/SMason-JSJ-2007-Jews-Judaism.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2015}}</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".{{sfn|Levine|2006|p=10}}

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>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Robin M. |last=Jensen |title=Jesus in Christian art|encyclopedia=The Blackwell Companion to Jesus|editor-first=Delbert|editor-last= Burkett|year= 2010 |isbn= 978-1-4443-5175-0 |pages= 477–502 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons}}</ref><ref name="Perkinson30">{{cite book |last=Perkinson |first=Stephen |title=The likeness of the king: a prehistory of portraiture in late medieval France |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-226-65879-7 |location=Chicago, Illinois, USA |page=30 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name="Kidd48">{{cite book|title=The forging of races: race and scripture in the Protestant Atlantic world|url=https://archive.org/details/forgingracesrace00kidd|url-access=limited|first= Colin|last= Kidd|year= 2006| isbn =978-1-139-45753-8 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages= [https://archive.org/details/forgingracesrace00kidd/page/n57 48]–51}}</ref> Jesus probably looked like a typical Jewish man of his time and place; standing around {{convert|166|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} tall with a thin but fit build, olive-brown skin, brown eyes and short, dark hair. He also likely had a beard that was not particularly long or heavy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Joan E. |title=What did Jesus look like? |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |location=London |page=168|isbn=978-0-567-67150-9 |edition=1st |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/what-did-jesus-look-like-9780567671509/ |access-date=20 May 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222012/https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/what-did-jesus-look-like-9780567671509/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His clothing may have suggested poverty, consisting of a mantle (shawl) with tassels, a knee-length basic tunic and sandals.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Joan |title=What Did Jesus Wear? |url=https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-did-jesus-wear |website=Pocket |publisher=Mozilla |access-date=20 May 2020 |archive-date=20 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520060147/https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-did-jesus-wear |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Christ myth theory===
{{Main|Biography:Christ myth theory}}
The Christ myth theory is the hypothesis that Jesus of Nazareth never existed; or if he did, that he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity and the accounts in the gospels.{{efn|Ehrman writes: "In simpler terms, the historical Jesus did not exist. Or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity." Further quoting as authoritative the fuller definition provided by Earl Doherty in ''Jesus: Neither God Nor Man''. Age of Reason, 2009, pp. vii–viii: it is "the theory that no historical Jesus worthy of the name existed, that Christianity began with a belief in a spiritual, mythical figure, that the Gospels are essentially allegory and fiction, and that no single identifiable person lay at the root of the Galilean preaching tradition."{{sfn|Ehrman|2012|p=12}}}} Stories of Jesus' birth, along with other key events, have so many mythic elements that some scholars have suggested that Jesus himself was a [[Social:Myth|myth]].{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=113–15}}

[[Biography:Bruno Bauer|Bruno Bauer]] (1809–1882) taught that the first Gospel was a work of literature that produced history rather than described it.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=90}}
According to Albert Kalthoff (1850–1906), a social movement produced Jesus when it encountered Jewish messianic expectations.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=90}}
Arthur Drews (1865–1935) saw Jesus as the concrete form of a myth that predated Christianity.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|p=90}}

Despite arguments put forward by authors who have questioned the existence of a [[Religion:Historical Jesus|historical Jesus]], virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Jesus was a historical figure and consider Christ myth theory fringe.<ref>Bart Ehrman: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees, based on certain and clear evidence." B. Ehrman, 2011 ''Forged: writing in the name of God,'' {{ISBN|978-0-06-207863-6}}. pp. 256–257.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gullotta |first=Daniel N.|title=On Richard Carrier's Doubts: A Response to Richard Carrier's On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt|journal=Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus|year=2017|volume=15|issue=2–3|pages=312|quote=[Per Jesus mythicism] Given the fringe status of these theories, the vast majority have remained unnoticed and unaddressed within scholarly circles.|doi=10.1163/17455197-01502009}}</ref><ref name="DunnPaul35">James D. G. Dunn "Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus" in ''Sacrifice and Redemption'' edited by S. W. Sykes (3 December 2007) Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|978-0-521-04460-8}} pp. 35–36.</ref><ref name="Then' 2004 page 34">Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (1 April 2004)''. Jesus Now and Then,'' {{ISBN|978-0-8028-0977-3}} p. 34.</ref><ref name="Jesus' page 200">Michael Grant (2004)''. Jesus'' {{ISBN|978-1-898799-88-7}} p. 200.</ref><ref name="Jesus' page 145">Graham Stanton (1989), ''The Gospels and Jesus''. {{ISBN|978-0-19-213241-3}} Oxford University Press, p. 145.</ref><ref name="voorst16">Robert E. Van Voorst. ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence.'' Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-4368-5}} p. 16.</ref>

==Religious perspectives==
{{Main|Religion:Religious perspectives on Jesus}}
Jesus' teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of [[History:Human history|human history]], and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people, even non-Christians.<ref>''The Cambridge companion to Jesus'' edited by Markus N. A. Bockmuehl 2001 {{ISBN|0-521-79678-4}} pp. 156–157.</ref><ref>C. Stephen Evans (1996)''. The historical Christ and the Jesus of faith'', Oxford University Press {{ISBN|0-19-826397-X}} p. v.</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>{{cite book|last1=Bauckham|first1=Richard|title=Jesus: A Very Short Introduction|date=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=United States|isbn=978-0199575275|pages=1–2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Steven |last1=Skiena |first2=Charles B. |last2=Ward |date=10 January 2014 |title=Who's the most significant historical figure? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/30/whos-most-significant-historical-figure |newspaper={{wipe|The Guardian}} |access-date=10 August 2023}}</ref>

Apart from his own disciples and followers,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Jewish believers in Jesus: the early centuries |last1=Skarsaune |first1=Oskar |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-56563-763-4 |page=55 |last2=Hvalvik |first2=Reidar |url=https://archive.org/details/jewishbelieversi0000unse/page/55}}</ref> the Jews of Jesus' day generally [[Religion:Rejection of Jesus|rejected him as the messiah]],{{sfn|Levine|2007|p=61}} as does [[Religion:Judaism|Judaism]] today.{{sfn|Levine|2007|p=17}} Christian theologians, [[Religion:Ecumenical council|ecumenical council]]s, 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, [[Unsolved:Manichaeism|Manichaeans]], [[Philosophy:Gnosticism|Gnostics]], [[Religion:Muslims|Muslims]], [[Philosophy:Druze|Druze]]s,<ref name=Hitti>{{cite book|title=The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings| first= Philip K.|last= Hitti|year= 1928| isbn= 978-1-4655-4662-3| page =37 |publisher=Library of Alexandria}}</ref> the [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí Faith]], and others, have found prominent places for Jesus in their religions.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2001 |title=The quest for the real Jesus |encyclopedia=Cambridge companion to Jesus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSehrtQpcYcC&pg=PA156 |access-date=14 August 2015 |last=Watson |first=Francis |editor-last=Bockmuehl |editor-first=Markus N. A. |pages=156–157 |isbn=978-0-521-79678-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910064807/https://books.google.com/books?id=vSehrtQpcYcC&pg=PA156 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The historical Christ and the Jesus of faith|first= C. Stephen|last= Evans |year=1996|publisher= Oxford University Press| isbn= 978-0-19-152042-6 |page= v}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Blackwell Companion to Jesus|last= Delbert|first= Burkett|year= 2010| isbn= 978-1-4443-5175-0 |page= 1 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons}}</ref>

===Christian===
{{Main|Religion:Jesus in Christianity|Religion:Christ (title)|Religion:Christology}}
[[File:Shield-Trinity-Scutum-Fidei-English.svg|thumb|right|The Trinity is the belief in Christianity that God is one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.]]
[[File:Christ with beard.jpg|thumb|right|Jesus is depicted with the [[Alpha and Omega|Alpha and Omega]] letters in the Catacombs of Rome from the 4th&nbsp;century.]]

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity.{{sfn|McGrath|2006|pp=4–6}} Although Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to summarize the key beliefs shared among major denominations, as stated in their [[Religion:Catechism|catechetical]] or [[Religion:Confessionalism|confessional]] texts.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jackson|first= Gregory L. |title= Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant: a doctrinal comparison|year= 1993 |isbn= 978-0-615-16635-3| pages= 11–17 |publisher=Christian News}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Its History, Doctrine|first= John A.|last= McGuckin |year=2010| pages= 6–7 |isbn=978-1-4443-9383-5 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Basic Christian doctrine|last=Leith|first=John H.|year= 1993 |isbn= 978-0-664-25192-5 |pages= 1–2 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press}}</ref> Christian views of Jesus are derived from the texts of the [[Religion:New Testament|New Testament]], including the canonical gospels and letters such as the [[Religion:Pauline epistles|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 [[Religion:Son of God (Christianity)|Son of God]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Schreiner|first=Thomas R.|title=New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ|year=2008|publisher=Baker Academic|isbn=978-0-8010-2680-5|pages=23–37|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elw8xkVeTTUC&pg=PA23|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=10 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910052649/https://books.google.com/books?id=elw8xkVeTTUC&pg=PA23|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite their many shared beliefs, not all Christian denominations agree on all doctrines, and both [[Religion:East–West Schism|major and minor differences]] on teachings and beliefs have persisted throughout Christianity for centuries.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Great Schism}}

The New Testament states that the [[Religion:Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection of Jesus]] is the foundation of the Christian faith.<ref>1 Corinthians 15:12–20.</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/137622/The-Letter-of-Paul-to-the-Corinthians | title=The Letter of Paul to the Corinthians | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica | access-date=26 June 2013 | archive-date=12 May 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512045839/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/137622/The-Letter-of-Paul-to-the-Corinthians | url-status=live }}</ref> Christians believe that through his sacrificial death and resurrection, humans can be [[Religion:Reconciliation (theology)|reconciled with God]] and are thereby offered [[Religion:Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] and the promise of [[Religion:Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]].<ref name="Oxford Companion">{{cite book|title=Oxford Companion to the Bible|first1=Bruce M.|last1= Metzger|first2= Michael D.|last2= Coogan| page= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458/page/649 649]| publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458 |url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-19-974391-9|year=1993}}</ref> Recalling the words of [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]] in the gospel of John, these doctrines sometimes refer to Jesus as the [[Religion:Lamb of God|Lamb of God]], who was crucified to fulfill his role as the servant of God.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Christology of the New Testament|first= Oscar |last=Cullmann |year=1959 |isbn= 978-0-664-24351-7| page= 79 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Christology of Anselm of Canterbury|first= Dániel|last= Deme|year= 2004| isbn= 978-0-7546-3779-0 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |pages= 199–200}}</ref> Jesus is thus seen as the new and last Adam, whose obedience contrasts with [[Religion:Fall of man|Adam's disobedience]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Systematic Theology| volume= 2|first= Wolfhart |last=Pannenberg |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-567-08466-8 |pages= 297–303 |publisher=Continuum}}</ref> Christians view Jesus as a role model, whose God-focused life believers are encouraged to imitate.{{sfn|McGrath|2006|pp=4–6}}

At present, most Christians believe that Jesus is both human and the Son of God.{{sfn|Ehrman|2014}} While there has been theological debate over his nature,{{efn|Following the [[Religion:Apostolic Age|Apostolic Age]], there was fierce and often politicized debate in the [[Religion:Early centers of Christianity|early church]] on many interrelated issues. [[Religion:Christology|Christology]] was a major focus of these debates, and was addressed at every one of the [[Religion:First seven ecumenical councils|first seven ecumenical councils]]. Some early beliefs viewed Jesus as ontologically subordinate to the Father ([[Religion:Subordinationism|Subordinationism]]), and others considered him an aspect of the Father rather than a separate person ([[Religion:Sabellianism|Sabellianism]]), both were condemned as heresies by the Catholic Church.<ref name=Britannica />{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Antitrinitarianism}} The Church resolved the issues in ancient councils, which established the Holy Trinity, with Jesus both fully human and fully God.<ref name=Britannica />}} Trinitarian Christians generally believe that Jesus is the Logos, God's incarnation and [[Religion:God the Son|God the Son]], both fully divine and fully human. However, the doctrine of the Trinity is not universally accepted among Christians.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Antitrinitarianism|url=http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/A597.html|last=Friedmann|first=Robert|encyclopedia=Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia|access-date=24 October 2012|archive-date=20 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020232847/http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/A597.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Blessed Trinity|first=George H. |last= Joyce}}</ref> With the Reformation, Christians such as [[Biography:Michael Servetus|Michael Servetus]] and the Socinians started questioning the ancient creeds that had established Jesus' two natures.<ref name="Britannica" /> Nontrinitarian Christian groups include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,<ref>{{citation |title= Mormonism 101: What is Mormonism |url=http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-101 |work= MormonNewsroom.org |publisher= LDS Church |access-date= 21 October 2014 |date= 13 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021175426/http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-101 |archive-date= 21 October 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Religion:Unitarianism|Unitarians]] and Jehovah's Witnesses.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005 |loc=Antitrinitarianism}}

Christians revere not only Jesus himself, but also his name. Devotions to the [[Unsolved:Holy Name of Jesus|Holy Name of Jesus]] go back to the earliest days of Christianity.<ref>{{cite book|title=Outlines of dogmatic theology | volume=2 |first= Sylvester |last=Hunter|year= 2010| isbn= 978-1-177-95809-7 |page= 443 |publisher=Nabu Press}}</ref>{{sfn|Houlden|2006|p=426}} These devotions and feasts exist in both [[Religion:Eastern Christianity|Eastern]] and [[Religion:Western Christianity|Western Christianity]].{{sfn|Houlden|2006|p=426}}

===Jewish===

[[Religion:Judaism|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>{{cite web|last=Kessler|first=Ed|title=Jesus the Jew|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/thepassion/articles/jesus_the_jew.shtml|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 June 2013|archive-date=7 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207081354/http://www.bbc.co.uk/thepassion/articles/jesus_the_jew.shtml|url-status=live}}</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>{{cite book |first=Asher |last=Norman |title=Twenty-six reasons why Jews don't believe in Jesus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tx5qrKz6dRMC&pg=PA59 |publisher=Feldheim Publishers |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-9771937-0-7 |pages=59–70 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910065007/https://books.google.com/books?id=tx5qrKz6dRMC&pg=PA59 |url-status=live }}</ref> Jews argue that Jesus did not fulfill prophecies to build the Third Temple,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|37:26–28|HE}}.</ref> gather Jews back to Israel,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|43:5–6|HE}}.</ref> bring world peace,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|2:4|HE}}.</ref> and unite humanity under the God of Israel.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Zechariah|14:9|HE}}.</ref><ref name="simmons">{{Cite web |last=Tzvi |date=9 May 2009 |others=Simmons, Rabbi Shraga |title=Do Jews Believe In Jesus? {{!}} Aish |url=https://aish.com/why-jews-dont-believe-in-jesus/ |access-date=24 July 2023 |website=Aish.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Furthermore, according to Jewish tradition, there were no prophets after Malachi,<ref>{{cite web |last= Simmons |first= Shraga |url=http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Why_Jews_Dont_Believe_In_Jesus.asp |title= Why Jews Do not Believe in Jesus |date= 6 March 2004 |publisher= Aish.com |access-date= 24 February 2006 |archive-date= 16 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316040138/http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Why_Jews_Dont_Believe_In_Jesus.asp |url-status= live }}</ref> who delivered his prophecies in the 5th century BC.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Malachi, Book of | encyclopedia=Jewish Encyclopedia | access-date=3 July 2013 |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10321-malachi-book-of | archive-date=18 May 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518045350/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10321-malachi-book-of | url-status=live }}</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>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Talmud | encyclopedia=Jewish Encyclopedia | access-date=3 July 2013 |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14213-talmud | archive-date=6 September 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906061120/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=32&letter=T | url-status=live }}</ref> In one such story, ''[[Religion:Yeshu|Yeshu]] HaNozri'' ("Jesus the Nazarene"), a lewd apostate, is executed by the Jewish high court for spreading idolatry and practising magic.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations |first1=Edward |last1=Kessler |first2=Neil |last2=Wenborn |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-44750-8 |page=416 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QkI_JNv3rIwC&pg=PA416 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907090106/https://books.google.com/books?id=QkI_JNv3rIwC&pg=PA416 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to some, the form Yeshu is an acronym which in Hebrew reads: "may his name and memory be blotted out".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Neuhaus |first=David M. |title=How Israeli Jews' Fear of Christianity Turned Into Hatred |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-02-06/ty-article/.highlight/how-israeli-jews-fear-of-christianity-turned-into-hatred/0000017f-dbd5-d3ff-a7ff-fbf562150000 |access-date=24 July 2023 |quote=The religious public in Israel is in many cases aware of the traditional interpretation of the term "Yeshu": an acronym in Hebrew for "may his name and memory be blotted out.}}</ref> The majority of contemporary scholars consider that this material provides no information on the historical Jesus.{{sfn|Theissen|Merz|1998|pp=74–75}} The ''Mishneh Torah'', a late 12th-century work of [[Religion:Halakha|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>{{cite book|last=Jeffrey|first=Grant R.|title=Heaven: The Mystery of Angels|year=2009|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-0-307-50940-6|page=108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xCW8fjiE-DYC&pg=PA108|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=14 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914213327/https://books.google.com/books?id=xCW8fjiE-DYC&pg=PA108|url-status=live}}</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 [[Religion:Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera|Pandera]] (see: ''Episode of Jesus''). The account portrays Jesus as an impostor.<ref name="Sutcliffe2005">{{cite book |author=Sutcliffe |first=Adam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vjilDDXfmqEC&pg=PA141 |title=Judaism and Enlightenment |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-67232-0 |pages=141– |access-date=11 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208000728/https://books.google.com/books?id=vjilDDXfmqEC&pg=PA141 |archive-date=8 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Manichaeism===
[[Unsolved:Manichaeism|Manichaeism]] was the first organized religion outside of Christianity to venerate Jesus.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=57nFeeC3GKoC&q=Mani+declared+he+was+an+apostle+of+Jesus&pg=PA315 |title=The Manichean Debate |access-date=18 August 2012|isbn=978-1-56548-247-0|year=2006|author=Augustine of Hippo|publisher=New City Press |editor=Ramsey, Boniface |editor-link=Boniface Ramsey}}</ref><ref name="Reeves1996">{{cite book |author=Reeves |first=John C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewM1xTuRQaoC&pg=PA6 |title=Heralds of That Good Realm: Syro-Mesopotamian Gnosis and Jewish Traditions |publisher=Brill |year=1996 |isbn=978-90-04-10459-4 |pages=6– |access-date=27 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=1930 |title=Manichaeism |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |last=Bevan |first=A. A. |editor-last=Hastings |editor-first=James |volume=8 |isbn=978-0-7661-3666-3}}</ref> He is considered one of the four prophets, along with [[Biography:Zoroaster|Zoroaster]], [[Biography:Gautama Buddha|Gautama Buddha]], and [[Biography:Mani (prophet)|Mani]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gulácsi |first=Zsuzsanna |date=2015 |title=Mani's Pictures: The Didactic Images of the Manichaeans from Sasanian Mesopotamia to Uygur Central Asia and Tang-Ming China |series=Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies |volume=90 |place=Leiden |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-30894-7 |url=https://gnosis.study/library/%D0%94%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE/%D0%9A%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B8/ENG/Gul%C3%A1csi%20Z.%20-%20Mani's%20Pictures.pdf}}</ref><ref name="SNC Lieu">{{cite book |title=Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China |first=Samuel N. C. |last=Lieu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hmNPz9teHqUC&q=manichaeism+divinity+of+Jesus&pg=PA161 |isbn=978-3-16-145820-0 |date= 1992 |publisher=J.C.B. Mohr }}</ref>

===Islam===

{{Main|Biography:Jesus in Islam}}
[[File:Virgin Mary and Jesus (old Persian miniature).jpg|thumb|upright=.9|Persian miniature of Mary and Jesus]]
A major figure in Islam,<ref name="uscsite">{{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/verses/004-qmt.php#004.157 |title=Quran 3:46–158 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501064500/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/verses/004-qmt.php |archive-date=1 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Siddiqui">{{cite book |last=Siddiqui |first=Mona |title=Christians, Muslims, and Jesus |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2013 |url=https://archive.org/details/christiansmuslim0000sidd |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-300-16970-6 }}</ref><ref name="CEI" /> Jesus (often referred to by his Quranic name {{transliteration|ar|ISO|''ʿĪsā''}})<!--Yasūʿ is in Christian contexts, never in Islam called Yasūʿ--> is considered to be a messenger of [[Religion:God in Islam|God]] and the messiah ([[Religion:Masih (title)|{{transliteration|ar|ISO|al-Masīḥ}}]]) who was sent to guide the Children of Israel ({{transliteration|ar|ISO|Banī Isrāʾīl}}) with a new scripture, the Gospel (referred to in Islam as [[Religion:Gospel in Islam|{{transliteration|ar|ISO|Injīl}}]]).<ref name="CEI" /><ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam|year=2003|first=John L.|last=Esposito|page=158|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E324pQEEQQcC&pg=PA159|isbn=978-0-19-975726-8|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907105909/https://books.google.com/books?id=E324pQEEQQcC&pg=PA159|url-status=live}}</ref> Muslims regard the gospels' accounts in the New Testament as partially authentic, and believe that Jesus' original message was altered ([[Religion:Tahrif|{{transliteration|ar|ISO|taḥrīf}}]]) and that Muhammad came later to revive it.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Bockmuehl |editor-first=Markus N.A. |title=Quests for the historical Jesus |first=James C. |last=Paget |year=2001 |encyclopedia=Cambridge companion to Jesus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSehrtQpcYcC&pg=PA183 |isbn=978-0-521-79678-1 |page=183 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910045903/https://books.google.com/books?id=vSehrtQpcYcC&pg=PA183 |url-status=live }}</ref> Belief in Jesus (and all other messengers of God) is a requirement for being a [[Religion:Muslim|Muslim]].<ref>{{cite AV media | title=The Muslim Jesus | publisher=ITV Productions | date=19 August 2007 | people=Ashraf, Irshad (Director) | medium=Television production}}</ref> The Quran mentions Jesus by name 25 times—more often than Muhammad<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1196|title=Jesus, Son of Mary|publisher=Oxford Islamic Studies Online|access-date=3 July 2013|archive-date=2 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702042354/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1196|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Aboul-Enein|first=Youssef H.|title=Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat|year=2010|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-61251-015-6|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tX3suVDTJz0C&pg=PA20|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=14 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914213353/https://books.google.com/books?id=tX3suVDTJz0C&pg=PA20|url-status=live}}</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 [[Religion:Son of God (Christianity)|son of God]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah Al-Kahf – 4 |url=https://quran.com/al-kahf?locale=en&font=v1&reading=false&translations=20%2C131 |access-date=24 June 2021 |website=quran.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah Al-Kahf – 5 |url=https://quran.com/al-kahf?locale=en&font=v1&reading=false&translations=20%2C131 |access-date=24 June 2021 |website=quran.com}}</ref><ref name="Morgan" /> Islamic texts emphasize a strict notion of [[Philosophy:Monotheism|monotheism]] ({{transliteration|ar|ISO|tawḥīd}}) and forbid the association of partners with God, which would be [[Religion:Shirk (Islam)|idolatry]].<ref>{{cite book|last=George|first=Timothy|title=Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad?: Understanding the Differences Between Christianity and Islam|year=2002|publisher=Zondervan|isbn=978-0-310-24748-7|pages=150–51|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5uVfN5xT3YC&pg=PA150|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907174156/https://books.google.com/books?id=A5uVfN5xT3YC&pg=PA150|url-status=live}}</ref> <!--<ref>{{cite book|last1=Caner|first1=Emir F.|first2=Ergun M.|last2= Caner |title=More Than a Prophet: An Insider's Response to Muslim Beliefs About Jesus and Christianity|year=2003|publisher=Kregel Publications|isbn=978-0-8254-9682-0|page=114|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkcooJC8Q9EC&pg=PA114 }}</ref>-->

The Quran describes the annunciation to Mary ({{transliteration|ar|ISO|Maryam}}) 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 ({{qref|21|91}} and {{qref|66|12}}) states that God breathed his spirit into Mary while she was chaste.<ref name="RobB32" /><ref name="Peters23">{{cite book|title=Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians |first=F. E. |last=Peters |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-11553-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/islamguideforjew00fepe/page/23 23] |url=https://archive.org/details/islamguideforjew00fepe/page/23 }}</ref> Jesus is called a "spirit from God" because he was born through the action of the Spirit,<ref name="RobB32">{{cite book|title= Christianity, Islam, and the West|first= Robert A.|last= Burns|year= 2011|isbn= 978-0-7618-5560-6|page= 32|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=akWUGyN7fwEC&pg=PA32|publisher= University Press of America|access-date= 14 August 2015|archive-date= 10 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910174421/https://books.google.com/books?id=akWUGyN7fwEC&pg=PA32|url-status= live}}</ref> but that belief does not imply [[Religion:Pre-existence of Christ|his pre-existence]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cooper|first1=Anne|first2=Elsie A.|last2=Maxwell|title=Ishmael My Brother: A Christian Introduction To Islam|year=2003|publisher=Monarch Books|isbn=978-0-8254-6223-8|page=59|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X4J-p1E1OkwC&pg=PA59|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907085409/https://books.google.com/books?id=X4J-p1E1OkwC&pg=PA59|url-status=live}}</ref>

To aid in his ministry to the Jewish people, Jesus was given the ability to perform [[Philosophy:Miracle|miracle]]s, by permission of God rather than by his own power.<ref name="Morgan">{{cite book|last=Morgan|first=Diane|title=Essential Islam: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice|year=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-36025-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/essentialislamco0000morg/page/45 45]–46|url=https://archive.org/details/essentialislamco0000morg|url-access=registration}}</ref><!--{{sfn|Ankerberg|Caner |2009|p=19}}--> Through his ministry, Jesus is seen as a precursor to Muhammad.<ref name="comparative">{{cite book |last1=Fasching |first1=Darrell J. |url=https://archive.org/details/comparativerelig0000fasc/page/241 |title=Comparative Religious Ethics: A Narrative Approach |last2=deChant |first2=Dell |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-631-20125-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/comparativerelig0000fasc/page/241 241, 274–275] |language=en}}</ref> In the Quran ({{qref|4|157–159}}) it is said that Jesus was not killed but was merely made to appear that way to unbelievers,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=3&verse=54 |title=The Quranic Arabic Corpus – Translation |publisher=Corpus.quran.com |access-date=20 May 2016 |archive-date=18 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418170132/http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=3&verse=54 |url-status=live }}</ref> and that he was raised into the heavens while still alive by God.<ref>{{qref|4|157|b=y}}: "''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 [[Unsolved:Substitution hypothesis|substitute]] (most often one of the apostles), who was crucified in Jesus' stead.<ref>{{harvnb|Robinson|2005}}; {{harvnb|Lawson|2009}}. The substitution theory was criticized and rejected by the Sunni Quran commentator [[Biography:Fakhr al-Din al-Razi|Fakhr al-Din al-Razi]] (1150–1210); see {{harvnb|Lawson|2009|pp=156–162}}. According to [[Biography:Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi|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 {{harvnb|De Smet|2016|pp=98–99}}.</ref> However, some medieval Muslims (among others, the {{transliteration|ar|ISO|ghulāt}} writing under the name of al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi, the [[Biography:Brethren of Purity|Brethren of Purity]], various Isma'ili philosophers, and the Sunni mystic [[Biography:Al-Ghazali|al-Ghazali]]) affirmed the historicity of Jesus' crucifixion. These thinkers held the docetic view that, although Jesus' human form (his body) had died on the cross, his true divine nature (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 {{harvnb|De Smet|2016|p=93}}. On the Brethren of Purity, see {{harvnb|Robinson|1991|pp=55–57}}, {{harvnb|Lawson|2009|pp=129–133}} and especially {{harvnb|De Smet|2016|pp=100–101}}. On the Isma'ili philosophers (who include [[Biography:Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi|Abu Hatim al-Razi]], Abu Tammam, Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman, [[Biography:Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani|Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani]] and Ibrahim al-Hamidi), see {{harvnb|Lawson|2009|pp=123–129}} and especially {{harvnb|De Smet|2016|pp=101–107}}. On al-Ghazali, see {{harvnb|Lawson|2009|pp=117–118}}. This type of interpretation of Quran 4:157–159 was specifically rejected by the Sunni Quran commentator al-[[Biography:Qadi Baydawi|Baydawi]] (d. 1319); see {{harvnb|Lawson|2009|p=155}}.</ref> Nevertheless, to Muslims it is the ''[[Unsolved:Ascension of Jesus|ascension]]'' rather than the ''[[Religion:Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]]'' that constitutes a major event in the life of Jesus.<ref name="Khalidi">{{Cite book| publisher = Harvard University Press| isbn = 978-0-674-00477-1| last = Khalidi| first = Tarif| title = The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature| year = 2001| page = [https://archive.org/details/muslimjesussayin00/page/12 12]|url=https://archive.org/details/muslimjesussayin00/page/12}}</ref> There is no mention of his resurrection on the third day, and his death plays no special role in [[Religion:Soteriology#Islam|Islamic theories of salvation]].<ref>{{harvnb|Robinson|2005}}.</ref> However, Jesus is a central figure in [[Religion:Islamic eschatology|Islamic eschatology]]: Muslims believe that [[Religion:Second Coming#Islam|he will return to Earth]] at the [[Unsolved:Eschatology|end of time]] and defeat the [[Unsolved:Antichrist|Antichrist]] (''ad-Dajjal'') by killing him.<ref name="CEI">{{cite book |last=Glassé |first=Cyril |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D7tu12gt4JYC&pg=PA270 |title=Concise Encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7425-6296-7 |pages=270–271 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907070905/https://books.google.com/books?id=D7tu12gt4JYC&pg=PA270 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Garrett |first=James L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WZEhBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA766 |title=Systematic Theology, Volume 2, Second Edition: Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-62564-852-5 |page=766 |access-date=5 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125164743/https://books.google.com/books?id=WZEhBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA766 |archive-date=25 January 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Grudem|1994|pp=568–603}}<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=The Nicene Creed |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11049a.htm |access-date=11 April 2016 |last=Wilhelm |first=Joseph |date=1911 |volume=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417055109/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11049a.htm |archive-date=17 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the Quran, the coming of [[Biography:Muhammad|Muhammad]] (also called "Ahmad") was predicted by Jesus:
{{blockquote|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."|{{qref|61|6|c=y}}}}
Through this verse, early Arab Muslims claimed legitimacy for their new faith in the existing religious traditions and the alleged predictions of Jesus.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Virani|first=Shafique N.|title=Taqiyya and Identity in a South Asian Community|url=https://www.academia.edu/36996009|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|year=2011|volume=70|issue=1|pages=99–139|doi=10.1017/S0021911810002974|s2cid=143431047|issn=0021-9118}} p. 128.</ref>

====Ahmadiyya Islam====
{{Main|Religion:Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam}}
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has several [[Religion:Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam|distinct teachings]] about Jesus.<ref>{{harvnb|Friedmann|1989|pp=111–118}}.</ref> Ahmadis believe that he was a mortal man who survived his crucifixion and died a natural death at the age of 120 in [[Place:Kashmir|Kashmir]], {{wipe|India}}, and is buried at Roza Bal.<ref>{{harvnb|Friedmann|1989|p=114}}; {{harvnb|Melton|2010|p=55}}.</ref>

===Druze faith===
In the [[Philosophy:Druze|Druze]] faith,<ref name="Hitti" /> Jesus is considered and revered as one of the seven spokesmen or prophets (''natiq''), defined as messengers or intermediaries between God and mankind, along with [[Biography:Adam|Adam]], Noah, [[Biography:Abraham|Abraham]], [[Biography:Moses|Moses]], [[Biography:Muhammad|Muhammad]] and Muhammad ibn Isma'il, each of them sent in a different period of history to preach the message of God.<ref name=Hitti/><ref name="Dana47">{{cite book|title=The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status| first= Nissim |last= Dana|year= 2008| isbn= 978-1-903900-36-9| page =47 |publisher=Michigan University press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Druse, a Religious Community in Transition| first= Nissim |last= Dana|year= 1980| isbn=978-965-200-028-6| page =11|publisher=Turtledove}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Betts |first=Robert Brenton |title=The Druze |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-300-04810-0 |location=New Haven, Connecticut, USA |page=21 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The A to Z of the Druzes| first= Samy |last=Swayd|year= 2019| isbn=978-0-8108-7002-4| page =xxxviii |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield}}</ref>

===Baháʼí Faith===
{{Infobox religious biography
| name               = Jesus
| religion           = [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]]
| title              = 
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = 
| birth_place        = 
| background         = silver
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| death_cause        = 
| resting_place      = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| occupation         = 
| nationality        = 
| spouse             = 
| children           = 
| parents            = 
| honorific prefix   = 
| known_for          = 
| honorific suffix   = 
| office1            = Manifestation of God
| predecessor1       = Buddha
| predecessor        = 
| successor1         = [[Biography:Muhammad|Muhammad]]
| term_start1        = 
| term_end1          = 
}}

In the [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí Faith]], Jesus is considered one of the Manifestations of God,<ref>{{cite web |date=13 June 2014 |title=Who is Christ to Baha'is? |url=https://bahaiteachings.org/who-is-christ-to-bahais/}}</ref> defined as divine messengers or prophets sent by God to guide humanity, along with other religious figures such as [[Biography:Abraham|Abraham]], [[Biography:Moses|Moses]], [[Religion:Krishna|Krishna]], Zarathushtra, Buddha, [[Biography:Muhammad|Muhammad]] and [[Biography:Baháʼu'lláh|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>{{Cite book |title=Baha'i Faith |last=Hartz |first=Paula |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60413-104-8 |location=New York |pages=14–15 |url=https://archive.org/details/bahaifaith0000hart/page/14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=William McElwee |url=https://archive.org/details/bahaifaithitshis0000mill/page/355 |title=The Baha'i faith: its history and teachings |publisher=William Carey Library |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-87808-137-0 |location=South Pasadena, California, USA |pages=355 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = Jesus Christ in the Baháʼí Writings | first = Robert | last = Stockman | journal = Baháʼí Studies Review | volume = 2 | issue = 1 | year = 1992 |url=http://bahai-library.com/stockman_jesus_bahai_writings | access-date = 4 July 2010 | archive-date = 7 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607061448/http://bahai-library.com/stockman_jesus_bahai_writings | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first = Juan | last = Cole | title = The Concept of Manifestation in the Bahaʼi Writings | year = 1982 | journal = [[Social:Baháʼí studies#Journals|Études Baháʼí Studies]] | volume = 9 | pages = 1–38 |url=http://bahai-library.com/cole_concept_manifestation | access-date = 4 July 2012 | archive-date = 17 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517105145/http://bahai-library.com/cole_concept_manifestation | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Smith |first = Peter |year = 2008 |title = An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith |publisher = Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7zdDFTzNr0C&pg=PA107|isbn = 978-0-521-86251-6 |page = 107}}</ref> As a Manifestation of God, Jesus is believed to reflect God's qualities and attributes, but is not considered the only savior of humanity nor the incarnation of God.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adamson |first=Hugh C. |url=https://archive.org/details/atozofbahaifaith0000adam/page/188 |title=The A to Z of the Baháʼí Faith |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8108-6853-3 |location=Lanham, Maryland, USA |pages=188 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Beckwith |first=Francis |url=https://archive.org/details/bahai0000beck/page/14 |title=Bahaʼi |publisher=Bethany House |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-87123-848-1 |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |pages=13–15 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Garlington |first=William |url=https://archive.org/details/bahaifaithinamer0000garl_r5j0/page/175 |title=The Baha'i Faith in America |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7425-6234-9 |location=Westport, Connecticut, USA |page=175 |language=en-us}}</ref> Baháʼís believe in the virgin birth,<ref>{{cite book | title = In the Glory of the Father: The Baháʼí Faith and Christianity | first = Brian D. | last = Lepard | year = 2008 | publisher = Baháʼí Publishing Trust | isbn = 978-1-931847-34-6 | page = 118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v2ob2Tw2k3MC&pg=PA118 | access-date = 14 August 2015 | archive-date = 10 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910050221/https://books.google.com/books?id=v2ob2Tw2k3MC&pg=PA118 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Cole">{{cite journal|last=Cole|first=Juan R. I.|title=Behold the Man: Baha'u'llah on the Life of Jesus|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |year=1997|volume=65|issue=1|pages=51, 56, 60}}</ref> but see the resurrection and the miracles of Jesus as symbolic.<ref name="Smith-jesus">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith |title= peace |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |isbn= 978-1-85168-184-6 |page= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/214 214] |url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/214 }}</ref><ref name="Cole" />

===Other===
[[File:The_Liberator_masthead,_1861_Jan_11.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Jesus depicted as the liberator of Black slaves, on the masthead of the abolitionist paper ''The Liberator'']]
[[File:Jesus Image on a Manichaean Temple Banner.jpg|thumb|Enthroned Jesus image on a [[Unsolved:Manichaeism|Manichaean]] temple banner from {{circa|10th-century}} Qocho]]
In [[Philosophy:Gnosticism|Christian Gnosticism]] (now a largely extinct religious movement),<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhpKxQT8n74C&pg=PA27 | title=The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2001 | page=27 | isbn=978-0-19-285439-1 | first=John | last=McManners | access-date=14 August 2015 | archive-date=7 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907102122/https://books.google.com/books?id=DhpKxQT8n74C&pg=PA27 | url-status=live }}</ref> Jesus was sent from the divine realm and provided the secret knowledge ([[Philosophy:Gnosis|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' body during the crucifixion but was rejoined to him when he was raised from the dead. Some Gnostics, however, were [[Religion:Docetism|docetics]], believing that Jesus did not have a physical body, but only appeared to possess one.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URdACxKubDIC&pg=PA124 |title=Lost Christianities: The Battles For Scripture And The Faiths We Never Knew |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-518249-1 |pages=124–125 |language=en |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222010/https://books.google.com/books?id=URdACxKubDIC&pg=PA124 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Some [[Religion:Hinduism|Hindus]] consider Jesus to be an [[Philosophy:Avatar|avatar]] or a [[Philosophy:Sadhu|sadhu]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/beliefs/jesus_1.shtml | title=Jesus in Hinduism | publisher=BBC | date=24 March 2009 | first=Shaunaka | last=Rishi Das | access-date=4 June 2013 | archive-date=25 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125233747/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/beliefs/jesus_1.shtml | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Biography:Paramahansa Yogananda|Paramahansa Yogananda]], an Indian [[Biography:Guru|guru]], taught that Jesus was the reincarnation of Elisha and a student of [[Biography:John the Baptist|John the Baptist]], the reincarnation of Elijah.<ref>{{cite book |first=Paramahansa |last=Yogananda |title=Autobiography of a Yogi |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-902562-0-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xsIi4ePN4hYC&pg=PA319 |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910173606/https://books.google.com/books?id=xsIi4ePN4hYC&pg=PA319 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, regard Jesus as a [[Philosophy:Bodhisattva|bodhisattva]] who dedicated his life to the welfare of people.<ref>{{cite web|last=Beverley|first=James A.|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/june11/15.64.html?paging=off|title=Hollywood's Idol|publisher=Christianity Today|date=11 June 2011|access-date=15 May 2013|archive-date=29 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329222548/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/june11/15.64.html?paging=off|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Philosophy:New Age|New Age]] movement entertains a wide variety of views on Jesus.<ref name="other views">{{cite book | last =Hutson | first =Steven | title =What They Never Taught You in Sunday School: A Fresh Look at Following Jesus | publisher =City Boy Enterprises | year =2006 | page =57 | isbn =978-1-59886-300-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sVnT_hSpSBAC&pg=PA57 | access-date =14 August 2015 | archive-date =7 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907100719/https://books.google.com/books?id=sVnT_hSpSBAC&pg=PA57 | url-status =live }}</ref> [[Philosophy:Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophists]], from whom many New Age teachings originated,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/newageneopaganre00pike/page/56 | title=New Age and neopagan religions in America | publisher=Columbia University Press | year=2004 | page=[https://archive.org/details/newageneopaganre00pike/page/56 56] | isbn=978-0-231-12402-7 | first=Sarah M. | last=Pike }}</ref> refer to Jesus as the [[Philosophy:Master Jesus|Master Jesus]], a spiritual reformer, and they believe that Christ, after [[Philosophy:Reincarnation|various incarnations]], occupied the body of Jesus.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Treatise on Cosmic Fire|first1=Alice|last1=Bailey|first2=Djwhal|last2=Khul|isbn=978-0-85330-117-2|publisher=Lucis Publishing Company|pages=678, 1150, 1193|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3FAZi674omIC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222027/https://books.google.com/books?id=3FAZi674omIC|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Religion:The Urantia Book|The Urantia Book]]'' teaches Jesus is one of more than 700,000 heavenly sons of God.<ref>{{cite book |last=House |first=Wayne |title=Charts of Cults, Sects and Religious Movements |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rRbKQwAACAAJ |publisher=Zondervan |year=2000 |page=262 |isbn=978-0-310-38551-6 |access-date=12 May 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222014/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Charts_of_Cults_Sects_Religious_Movement/rRbKQwAACAAJ?hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Antony Theodore in the book ''Jesus Christ in Love'' writes that there is an underlying oneness of Jesus' teachings with the messages contained in [[Religion:Quran|Quran]], [[Religion:Vedas|Vedas]], [[Religion:Upanishads|Upanishads]], Talmud and [[Social:Avesta|Avesta]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Theodore |first=Antony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-cwcEAAAQBAJ&q=jesus+christ+in+love+antony |title=Jesus Christ in Love |publisher=Kohinoor Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-8-194-28353-9 |location=New Delhi, India |translator-last=Pradhan |translator-first=Tapan Kumar |access-date=13 June 2021}}</ref> Atheists reject Jesus' divinity, but have different views about him – from challenging [[Medicine:Mental health of Jesus|his mental health]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Schweitzer |first=Albert |url=https://archive.org/details/psychiatricstudy00schw |title=The Psychiatric Study of Jesus: Exposition and Criticism |publisher=Beacon Press |year=1948 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |language=en-us |translator-last=Joy |translator-first=Charles R. |lccn=48006488 |oclc=614572512 |ol=6030284M |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bundy |first=Walter E. |title=The Psychic Health of Jesus |publisher=The Macmillan Company |location=New York |year=1922 |lccn=22005555 |oclc = 644667928 |ol=OL25583375M |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/psychichealthofj00bund }}</ref> to emphasizing his "moral superiority" ([[Biography:Richard Dawkins|Richard Dawkins]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yq1xDpicghkC&pg=PA284 |title=The God Delusion |page=284 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |access-date=13 December 2014 |isbn=978-0-547-34866-7 |date=2008 |archive-date=27 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327215018/http://books.google.com/books?id=yq1xDpicghkC |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Artistic depictions==
[[File:Christ Healing the Paralytic - Dura-Europos circa 232.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Jesus healing a paralytic in one of the first known images of Jesus from Dura Europos in the 3rd&nbsp;century<ref>{{cite web|title=Dura-Europos: Excavating Antiquity {{!}} Yale University Art Gallery|url=http://media.artgallery.yale.edu/duraeuropos/dura.html|website=media.artgallery.yale.edu|access-date=3 March 2017|archive-date=5 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505112511/http://media.artgallery.yale.edu/duraeuropos/dura.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>|alt=An ancient wall painting depicting Jesus|left]]
<!-- The info from here should probably be cited.
The depiction of Jesus in art took several centuries to reach a conventional standardized form for his physical appearance, which has subsequently remained largely stable since that time. Most images of Jesus have in common a number of traits which are now almost universally associated with Jesus, although variants are seen.

The image of a fully bearded Jesus with long hair did not become established until the 6th century in [[Religion:Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christianity]], and much later in the West. Earlier images were much more varied. Images of Jesus tend to show ethnic characteristics similar to those of the culture in which the image has been created. Beliefs that certain images are historically authentic, or have acquired an authoritative status from Church tradition, remain powerful among some of the faithful, in Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, and Roman Catholicism. The [[Unsolved:Shroud of Turin|Shroud of Turin]] is now the best-known example, although the Image of Edessa and the [[Religion:Veil of Veronica|Veil of Veronica]] were better known in medieval times.!-->

Some of the earliest depictions of Jesus at the Dura-Europos church are firmly dated to before 256.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=1992 |title=Early Christian and Jewish Art |encyclopedia=Eusebius, Christianity, and Judaism |publisher=Wayne State University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVyzbHAJ_hAC&pg=PA283 |access-date=14 August 2015 |last=Gutmann |first=Joseph |editor-last1=Attridge |editor-first=Harold W. |pages=283–284 |language=en-us |isbn=978-0-8143-2361-8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910060007/https://books.google.com/books?id=jVyzbHAJ_hAC&pg=PA283 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |editor-first2=Gohei |editor-last2=Hata |url-status=live}}</ref> Thereafter, despite the lack of biblical references or historical records, a wide range of depictions of Jesus appeared during the last two millennia, often influenced by cultural settings, political circumstances and theological contexts.{{sfn|Houlden|2006|pp=63–99}}<ref name="Erricker44">{{cite book|title=Teaching Christianity: a world religions approach|first= Clive|last= Erricker|year= 1987 |isbn= 978-0-7188-2634-5 |page= 44 |publisher=James Clarke & Co}}</ref><ref name="Perkinson30" /> As in other Early Christian art, the earliest depictions date to the late 2nd or early 3rd century, and surviving images are found especially in the Catacombs of Rome.<ref>{{cite book|title=The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History|first= Robert |last=Benedetto|year= 2006| isbn= 978-0-664-22416-5 |pages= 51–53 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press}}</ref>

The depiction of Christ in pictorial form was highly [[Religion:Aniconism in Christianity|controversial]] in the early Church.<ref name="phschaff">{{cite book | last= Schaff | first= Phillip | title= History of the Christian Church,8 volumes, 3rd edition | publisher= Hendrickson Publishers | location= Massachusetts | date= 1 July 2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NV8sAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA381 | isbn= 978-1-56563-196-0 | access-date= 14 August 2015 | archive-date= 10 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910074209/https://books.google.com/books?id=NV8sAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA381 | url-status= live }}</ref>{{efn|Philip Schaff commenting on Irenaeus, wrote, 'This censure of images as a Gnostic peculiarity, and as a heathenish corruption, should be noted'. Footnote 300 on Contr. Her. .I.XXV.6. ANF}}<ref name="Elvira36">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 onward, flat painted [[Religion:Icon|icon]]s became popular in the Eastern Church.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Icons}} The Byzantine Iconoclasm acted as a barrier to developments in the East, but by the 9th century, art was permitted again.{{sfn|Houlden|2006|pp=63–99}} The Protestant Reformation brought renewed [[Religion:Aniconism in Christianity|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>{{cite book|title=Reformation and the Visual Arts|first= Sergiusz|last= Michalski |year= 1993| isbn= 978-1-134-92102-7 |publisher=Routledge |page= 195}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Payton |first=James R. |title=Light from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8308-2594-3 |pages=178–179 |language=en-us}}</ref> The use of depictions of Jesus is advocated by the leaders of denominations such as Anglicans and Catholics<ref name="RWilliams83">{{cite book|title=The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ |last=Williams|first=Rowan|year= 2003 |isbn= 978-0-8028-2778-4|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing| page= 83}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Karol J.|last=Wojtyła|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1997/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_29101997_en.html|publisher=Vatican Publishing House|title=General audience 29 October 1997|access-date=20 April 2013|archive-date=3 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303020028/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1997/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_29101997_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20090506_en.html|publisher= Vatican Publishing House|title= General audience 6 May 2009|access-date= 20 April 2013|first= Joseph A.|last= Ratzinger|archive-date= 3 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303064734/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20090506_en.html|url-status= live}}</ref> and is a key element of the Eastern Orthodox tradition.{{sfn|Doninger|1999|p=231}}<ref>{{cite book|title=The Orthodox Christian World|first= Augustine|last= Casiday|year= 2012 |isbn= 978-0-415-45516-9| page= 447 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref>

In Eastern Christian art, the Transfiguration was a major theme, and every Eastern Orthodox monk who had trained in [[Religion:Icon|icon]] painting had to prove his craft by painting an icon depicting it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bigham |first=Steven |title=The image of God the Father in Orthodox theology and iconography |publisher=St Vladimir's Seminary Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-879038-15-8 |pages=226–227}}</ref> Icons receive the external marks of veneration, such as kisses and prostration, and they are thought to be powerful channels of divine grace.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=Icons}}

In Western Europe, the [[Philosophy:Renaissance|Renaissance]] brought forth a number of artists who focused on depictions of Jesus; Fra Angelico and others followed Giotto in the systematic development of uncluttered images.{{sfn|Houlden|2006|pp=63–99}} Before the Protestant Reformation, the [[Religion:Crucifix|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.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005 |loc=Crucifix}}

==Associated relics==
[[File:Shroud of Turin 001.jpg|thumb|The Shroud of Turin, Italy, is the best-known claimed relic of Jesus and one of the most studied artefacts in human history.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ball |first=P. |title=Material witness: Shrouded in mystery |doi=10.1038/nmat2170 |journal=Nature Materials |volume=7 |issue=5 |page=349 |year=2008 |pmid=18432204 |bibcode=2008NatMa...7..349B |doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
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 through the 2nd century.{{sfn|Levine|2006|pp=24–25}}<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>{{efn|Flavius Josephus writing (about 5 years later, c. AD 75) in ''The Jewish War'' (Book VII 1.1) stated that Jerusalem had been flattened to the point that "there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited".<ref>Flavius Josephus, ''The Jewish War'' Book VII, section 1.1"</ref> And once what was left of the ruins of Jerusalem had been turned into the Roman settlement of Aelia Capitolina, no Jews were allowed to set foot in it.<ref name=Koester382 />}} Margaret M. Mitchell writes that although [[Biography:Eusebius|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 first-hand Christian items from the early Jerusalem Church have reached us.<ref>Margaret M. Mitchell "The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine" Cambridge University Press 2006, p. 298.</ref> [[Biography:Joe Nickell|Joe Nickell]] writes, "as investigation after investigation has shown, not a single, reliably authenticated relic of Jesus exists".<ref>{{cite book|last=Nickell|first=Joe|title=Relics of the Christ|year=2007|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-3731-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/relicsofchrist00joen/page/191 191]|url=https://archive.org/details/relicsofchrist00joen|url-access=registration}}</ref>{{efn|Polarized conclusions regarding the Shroud of Turin remain.<ref>Habermas, Gary R. "Shroud of Turin". ''The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization'' (2011). {{doi|10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc1257}}</ref> According to former ''Nature'' editor Philip Ball, "it's fair to say that, despite the seemingly definitive tests in 1988, the status of the Shroud of Turin is murkier than ever. Not least, the nature of the image and how it was fixed on the cloth remain deeply puzzling".<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Ball | first1 = P. | title = Material witness: Shrouded in mystery | doi = 10.1038/nmat2170 | journal = Nature Materials | volume = 7 | issue = 5 | page = 349 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18432204 | bibcode = 2008NatMa...7..349B | doi-access = free }}</ref>}}

However, throughout the history of Christianity, a number of relics attributed to Jesus have been claimed, although doubt has been cast on them. The 16th-century Catholic theologian [[Biography:Erasmus|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 [[Religion:True Cross|cross used in the Crucifixion]].{{sfn|Dillenberger|1999|p=5}} Similarly, while experts debate whether Jesus was crucified with three nails or with four, at least thirty holy nails continue to be venerated as relics across Europe.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle =Holy Nails|title=Holy Nails|first= Herbert|last=Thurston}}</ref>

Some relics, such as purported remnants of the [[Religion:Crown of thorns|crown of thorns]] placed on the head of Jesus, receive only a modest number of [[Religion:Christian pilgrimage|pilgrims]], while the [[Unsolved:Shroud of Turin|Shroud of Turin]] (which is associated with an approved Catholic devotion to the [[Religion:Holy Face of Jesus|Holy Face of Jesus]]), has received millions,<ref>{{cite news|last=Delaney|first=Sarah|title=Shroud exposition closes with more than 2 million visits|url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1002157.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100608223917/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1002157.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 June 2010|agency=Catholic News Service |date=24 May 2010}}</ref> including [[Religion:Pope|pope]]s John Paul II and [[Biography:Pope Benedict XVI|Benedict XVI]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Wojtyła|first=Karol J.|title=Pope John Paul II's address in Turin Cathedral|url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/travels/1998/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_24051998_sindone.html|publisher=Vatican Publishing House|date=24 May 1998|access-date=18 February 2017|archive-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219114758/https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/travels/1998/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_24051998_sindone.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Squires|first=Nick|title=Pope Benedict says Shroud of Turin authentic burial robe of Jesus|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0503/Pope-Benedict-says-Shroud-of-Turin-authentic-burial-robe-of-Jesus|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|date=3 May 2010|access-date=19 June 2013|archive-date=1 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401072455/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0503/Pope-Benedict-says-Shroud-of-Turin-authentic-burial-robe-of-Jesus|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Biography:Outline of Jesus|Outline of Jesus]]
* [[Religion:Jesuism|Jesuism]]
* Jesus in comparative mythology
* [[Biography:Jesus in Islam|Jesus in Islam]]
* Jesus in the Talmud
* [[Unsolved:Language of Jesus|Language of Jesus]]
* [[Religion:Last Adam|Last Adam]] – title of Jesus
* [[Religion:Liminal deity|Liminal deity]] – a deity who is a crosser of boundaries
* List of books about Jesus
* [[Biography:List of founders of religious traditions|List of founders of religious traditions]]
* List of messiah claimants
* [[Religion:List of people claimed to be Jesus|List of people claimed to be Jesus]]
* List of people who have been considered deities
* List of statues of Jesus
* [[Unsolved:Sexuality of Jesus|Sexuality of Jesus]]
* [[Religion:Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera|Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera]] – Roman soldier,  hypothesized to be connected to Jesus
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{notelist|30em}}

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

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* {{cite book|last1=Mills|first1=Watson E.|last2=Bullard|first2=Roger A.|year=1998|title=Mercer dictionary of the Bible|publisher=Mercer University Press|isbn=978-0-86554-373-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018095243/https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Morris|first=Leon|year=1992|title=The Gospel according to Matthew|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-85111-338-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-pwaSKcHyEEC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802002134/https://books.google.com/books?id=-pwaSKcHyEEC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Niswonger|first=Richard L.|title=New Testament History|year=1992|isbn=978-0-310-31201-7|publisher=Zondervan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyAXaNnz9sUC}}
* {{cite book|last=Pannenberg|first=Wolfhart|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWfvlpURwiIC|title=Jesus – God and Man|year=1968|isbn=978-0-334-00783-8|publisher=S.C.M. Press|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222035/https://books.google.com/books?id=zWfvlpURwiIC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Powell |first=Mark A. |title=Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-664-25703-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/jesusasfigureinh0000powe |url-access=registration |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press }}
* {{cite book|last=Rahner|first=Karl|title=Encyclopedia of theology: a concise Sacramentum mundi|year=2004|isbn=978-0-86012-006-3|publisher=Continuum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WtnR-6_PlJAC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727115653/https://books.google.com/books?id=WtnR-6_PlJAC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|title=Who is Jesus?: an introduction to Christology|first=Thomas P.|last=Rausch|year=2003|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-5078-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OJCa6euw5gC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222036/https://books.google.com/books?id=8OJCa6euw5gC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Redford|first=Douglas|title=The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7847-1900-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDMQz5BVFbEC|publisher=Standard Publishing|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222036/https://books.google.com/books?id=dDMQz5BVFbEC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|title=Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: a re-examination of the evidence|first=Jonathan L.|last=Reed|year=2002|isbn=978-1-56338-394-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xrav1ge-A_sC|publisher=Continuum|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=4 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504050031/https://books.google.com/books?id=Xrav1ge-A_sC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Neal|year=1991|title=Christ in Islam and Christianity|location=Albany|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-0559-8}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Robinson|first=Neal|year=2005|title=Jesus|editor1-last=McAuliffe|editor1-first=Jane Dammen|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān|publisher=Brill|doi=10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00099}}
* {{cite book|last=Sanders|first=E.&nbsp;P.|title=The Historical Figure of Jesus|publisher=Allen Lane Penguin Press|year=1993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkbTL36ZgPIC|isbn=978-0-14-192822-7|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=18 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418040039/https://books.google.com/books?id=lkbTL36ZgPIC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last1=Theissen|first1=Gerd|last2=Merz|first2=Annette|author-link2=Annette Merz|year=1998|title=The Historical Jesus : a Comprehensive Guide|isbn=978-1-4514-0863-8|publisher=Fortress Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZU97DQMH6UC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805091805/https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZU97DQMH6UC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|title=The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria|first1=Gerd|last1=Theissen|first2=Dagmar|last2=Winter|year=2002|isbn=978-0-664-22537-7|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qB5ulgKx4OUC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222036/https://books.google.com/books?id=qB5ulgKx4OUC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |first=Graham H. |last=Twelftree |title=Jesus the miracle worker: a historical & theological study |isbn=978-0-8308-1596-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/jesusmiraclework00grah/page/95 |year=1999 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/jesusmiraclework00grah/page/95 95] }}
* {{cite book|last=Van Voorst|first=Robert E|year=2000|title=Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence|publisher=Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-4368-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lwzliMSRGGkC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=19 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819143206/https://books.google.com/books?id=lwzliMSRGGkC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|title=Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words|last= Vine | first= William E. | year= 1940|publisher= Fleming H. Revell Company|isbn= 978-0-916441-31-9}}
* {{cite book|title= Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels|last= Vermes|first= Geza|year= 1981|publisher= First Fortress|location= Philadelphia|isbn= 978-0-8006-1443-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RvSEK2HALnwC|access-date= 8 October 2020|archive-date= 8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222037/https://books.google.com/books?id=RvSEK2HALnwC|url-status= live}}
* {{cite book|title=The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament|first1=John F.|last1=Walvoord|first2=Roy B.|last2=Zuck|year=1983|isbn=978-0-88207-812-0|publisher=David C. Cook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DP4UiA4gQNMC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222037/https://books.google.com/books?id=DP4UiA4gQNMC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|title=The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth|first=Ben|last=Witherington|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8308-1544-9|publisher=InterVarsity Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IE_T3Xh2fyUC|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008222039/https://books.google.com/books?id=IE_T3Xh2fyUC|url-status=live}}
{{refend}}

==External links==

*''LatinVulgate.com'', [http://www.latinvulgate.com/christverse.aspx The Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ] in parallel Latin and English, provided by Mental Systems, Incorporated.

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