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Jesus , Istanbul
(12th century)'']]
Jesus (c. 4 BC – c. 30) is the central figure in Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (Greek Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Iēsoûs Khristós, Aramaic ישׁוע משׁיח Yēšûaʿ Māšîaḥ). He is also called Jesus of Nazareth.
According to the New Testament, Jesus is the Son of God who served a ministry in Galilee and Judaea and was ultimately crucified in Jerusalem by order of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate before rising from the dead three days later. Beyond the New Testament, there are many opinions of Jesus' life:
- Most Christians believe Jesus was God incarnate (a man who was also God), who came to earth to save humanity from sin and death through his own blood sacrifice, and who returned from the dead to rejoin his father in heaven.
- Some Christian groups, generally considered to be outside mainstream Christian thought, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians, and Christian Scientists, believe Jesus was a divine man born of God but not God incarnate.
- Many historians and critical Bible scholars accept the existence of the biblical Jesus, but reject his divinity, miracles, and any other supernatural elements in accounts of his life. They believe he was a Jewish religious teacher and healer who was crucified, and was subsequently the inspiration for Christianity whose adherents proclaimed him to be the sole incarnation of God.
- Some skeptics believe Jesus was not a real person, but a fictional invention of Christians, based on morality stories and fables.
- Other skeptics believe Jesus was nothing more than a Jewish troublemaker who was put to death by the Romans at the behest of the Jewish establishment.
There are different accounts and perspectives of Jesus within the religions of Islam, Judaism, Gnosticism, Manichaeism and Mandaeanism. (See later in this article). He is regarded as a prophet by Muslims and Manichaeists, as a false Messiah by Judaism and Mandaeanism, as a manifestation of God by the Baha'is, a manifestation of Maitreya by some Buddhists, as a yogi, guru or even avatar by some Hindus, as the savior and bringer of gnosis by various Gnostic sects and as a guru by many New Agers.
The names and titles of Jesus
Personal name
Jesus is derived from the Latin Iesus, which in turn comes from the Greek Ἰησοῦς Iēsoûs). The Greek form is a transliteration of the Aramaic name Yeshua (ישוע), a short form of Hebrew Yehoshua (יהושע), the name that Moses gave to his successor as leader of the Israelites, who is known in English as Joshua. The Name means the Lord is salvation, literally Yahweh saves.
Direct English transliterations from the Aramaic Yehoshua/Yeshua include Joshua, Jeshua, Yahshua, Yahoshua and Yaohushua. These variations in English spelling can only approximate the sound of the Hebrew or Aramaic original. Jesus was transliterated via Greek and thereby lost the "sh" sound, which Greek lacks.
Christ
Christ is not a name but a title, and comes, via Latin, from the Greek Christos (Χριστός Khristós), which means "anointed" (to anoint is to rub with perfumed oil). The Greek form is a literal translation of Messiah from Hebrew mashiyakh (משיח) or Aramaic m'shikha (משיחא), a word which occurs often in the Old Testament and typically signifies "high priest" or " king" – a man, chosen by God or descended from a man chosen by God, to serve as a religious, civil, and/or military authority. Other sources suggest the title Christ is linked to Latin crestus, 'good'. To Muslims, Jesus is known as the prophet Isa al Masih (عيسى المسيح ), from the aforementioned Aramaic for Jesus the Messiah.
Other titles
In the Gospels, Jesus has many titles besides "messiah": prophet, lord, son of man, and son of God. Together Christians understand these titles as attesting to Jesus' divinity. Some historians argue that when used in other Hebrew and Aramaic texts of the time, these titles have other meanings, and therefore may have other meanings when used in the Gospels as well. The material in the next four subsections, on prophet, lord, son of man, and son of god, is taken from Geza Vermes' review of these arguments in Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels.
Prophet
According to such verses as Matthew 21:11 and Luke 7:16, Jews of the time thought of Jesus as a prophet; according to such verses as Mark 6:4, Matthew 13: 57, and Luke 4:24, Jesus considered himself to be a prophet. In the Hebrew Bible, prophets were generally men who spoke with God and proclaimed God's words to the people, often criticizing political and economic elites in the process. The Pharisees seem to have believed that the age of the prophets ended with Malachi (Daniel, for example, was not considered a prophet, and the sages claimed that they had succeeded the prophets as transmitters of God's law); the author of 1 Maccabees, however, believed that prophets would one day reappear in Judea. Ecclesiasticus 48: 10 identifies the reappearance of a prophet with the messenger who will arrive as a harbinger of the end of time – Acts 3: 17–26 suggests that some early Christians may have identified the second coming of Jesus (rather than his original earthly career) with
this type of prophet. Nevertheless, neither the Gospels nor other early Christians seemed to have favored this title, perhaps because 1st and 2nd century Roman Judea saw many charlatans who claimed to be prophets announcing the end of days, and who were executed by the Romans.
Prophets in the Hebrew Bible were also advocates of monotheism, and healers. In Luke 4: 25–27, Jesus specifically refers to two such prophets, Elijah and Elisha. In this and in other contexts, historians conclude that the Gospels seem to use the term "prophet" as synonymous with miracle-worker and healer.
Lord
The Gospels and Acts frequently use "Lord" as a title for Jesus. Jesus himself never seems to have claimed the title – it is only ascribed to him by others, which has led to various interpretations. Different scholars have come up with various explanations: some believe that Jesus' disciples called him lord, but not because he was divine; this was merely a title used when students addressed their teachers. Some believe that the New Testament uses the term lord to mean divine, but that it was only after Jesus' death and resurrection that his followers ascribed to him divinity. Others argue that neither Jesus nor his disciples used the Aramaic term for lord, mara, and that the Greek term kyrios (meaning, "the Lord") was borrowed from pagan Hellenic usage by early Gentile converts to Christianity. The Hebrew Bible distinguishes between "lord" (adon) and "God"; the word "lord" does not necessarily imply divinity, although God is often described as "the Lord". Surviving
inter-testamental Aramaic texts frequently use the Aramaic mara to mean "the Lord", that is, God – but they also provide evidence of people using mara and kyrios as personal titles (for example, used to address a husband, father, or king). There is little evidence that either term was used specifically to mean "teacher", but there is much evidence of students using the term "mar" to refer to their teachers respectfully, or to refer to an especially respected and authoritative teacher. A close reading of the Gospels suggests to historians that most people addressed Jesus as lord as a sign of respect for a miracle-worker (especially in Mark and Matthew) or as a teacher (especially in Luke). In most cases one can substitute the words "sir" or "teacher" for "lord", and the meaning of the passage in question will not change.
Son of Man
Jesus is rarely described as "son of man" (bar nasha, in Aramaic) outside of the Gospels, but in the Synoptic Gospels Jesus refers to himself as using this title over sixty times. Some take this as an allusion to Daniel 7:13, which associates "one like a son of man" with a messianic vision. Six Gospel uses of the title directly refer to, and many others allude to, Daniel. However, most of the uses in Mark, the oldest Gospel, and many examples from the other Gospels, are non-Danielic. Indeed, other Aramaic texts reveal that the phrase was used frequently to mean simply "man", or as a way by which a speaker may refer to himself. Thus, many historians conclude that it is possible that this phrase was actually not a title.
Son of God
The New Testament frequently refers to Jesus as the son of God; Jesus seldom does, but often refers to God as his father. Christians universally understand this to mean that Jesus was literally God's son – according to the Nicene Creed, God's only begotten son, one with the father. The phrase itself is thus taken to be synonymous with divinity. The Hebrew Bible, however, uses the phrase "son of God" in other senses: to refer to heavenly or angelic beings; to refer to the Children of Israel, and to refer to kings. There is no New Testament evidence to suggest that early Christians thought of Jesus as an angel, so the first two usages seem not to apply. However, Mark identifies Jesus as the son of King David, and Matthew and Luke provide lineages linking Jesus to King David. II Samuel 7: 14, Psalms 2: 7 and 89: 26–27, refer to David as the son of God, although historians find no evidence that the authors of the Bible believed David to be divine or literally God's son. (Many
Christians interpret these and other Psalms as referring prophetically to Jesus, the "seed" referred to in Psalm 89. See Christ in the Psalms by Father Patrick Reardon.)
In post-Biblical Judaism, the title was often applied to righteous men: Ecclesiasticus 4: 10 and the Wisdom of Solomon 2: 17–18 use the term to refer to just men, and Jubilees 1: 24–25 has God declaring all righteous men to be his sons. Philo too wrote that good people are sons of God, and various rabbis in the Talmud declare that when Israelites are good, they are sons of God. The Talmud provides one example that parallels that of Jesus: Rabbi Hanina, whom God referred to as "my son", was also a miracle worker, and was able to resist Agrat, queen of the demons. Some scholars thus suggest that "son of God" was a title used in the Galilee by miracle-workers. Other scholars have suggested that the identification of "son of God" with divinity is pagan in origin; the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt referred to themselves as sons of Zeus or of Helios; Roman emperors used the title divi filius, or son of God.
They suggest that the belief that Jesus was in fact the "son of God", and the association of his divine paternity with his being "messiah", were added after Christianity broke with Judaism.
Date of birth and death
Brief timeline of Jesus
of important years from empirical sources.
(see also detailed Christian timeline)
c. 6 BC -
c. 4 BC -
c. AD 6 -
c. 26 -
c. 27 -
c. 36 -
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Suggested birth (Earliest)
Herod's death
Suggested birth (Latest). Quirinius census
Pilate appointed Judea governor
Suggested death (Earliest).
Suggested death (Latest);
Pilate removed from office
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The exact month or day or even the year of Jesus' birth cannot be exactly ascertained. Due to a mistaken calculation based on the Roman Calendar by Dionysius Exiguus in 525, it was long held that Jesus was born in the year 1 BC (making the following year, AD 1, the first throughout which he was alive).
The Gospels are problematic, because they offer two accounts that chronologists find incompatible. Matthew states that Jesus was born while Herod the Great was still alive and that Herod ordered the slaughter of infants two years old and younger (Matt. 2:16), and based on the date of Herod's death in 4 BC (contra Dionysius Exiguus), many chronologists conclude that the year 6 BC is the most likely year of Jesus' birth. Consequently, Jesus would have been about four to six years old in the year AD 1.
On the other hand, Luke's account places Jesus' birth during a census conducted under the governorship of Quirinius, who, according to Josephus, conducted a census in AD 6. In order to reconcile the two Gospel accounts, some have suggested that Josephus was mistaken or that Quirinius had a separate period of rule under Herod. In any case, the actual date of his birth remains historically unverifiable.
In recent years, East Asian historians have attempted to match the birth of Jesus with special events in their history. They found that, according to the oldest record of the Comet Halley during the Han Dynasty, "The comet heads east with its tail pointing west at night, and was appearing in the sky for more than 70 days". in 6 BC. This has been suggested as an independent record of the "Star" described in Matthew 2. If accepted, this suggestion would place the birthday of Jesus in summer rather than winter.
In the 6th century, Dionysius Exiguus proposed to make the birth of Jesus the basis of the calendar but he miscalculated the death of Herod. Years reckoned in this way are labelled "B.C." and "A.D.", which stand for Before Christ and Anno Domini (meaning "in the year of the Lord" in Latin). Since many non-Christians have come to use this calendar, an alternative notation "B.C.E." and "C.E." is also used. While the "B." indicates "Before", it is presently uncertain what the original meaning of the latter abbreviation was, although today it is taken to mean either the Common Era or the Christian Era: many references cite both.
Based on inferences from Gospel accounts, Jesus was executed by crucifixion on a Friday, and on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan under the administration of Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate held his position from 26-36 and the only years in which Nisan 14 fell on a Friday are 27, 33, and 36 and possibly in 30 depending on when the new moon would have been visible in Jerusalem. Scholars have defended all of the dates.
This understanding of the Gospels is difficult to reconcile with the tradition that holds the Last Supper took place on the first night of Passover which is defined in the Torah to be the 14th of Nisan. Furthermore, at that time, the date of Passover was set by the court in Jerusalem based upon testimony of witnesses. It was not until after 500 that the calendar was changed to be based upon calculation. Therefore, it is not possible to state on which day of the week the 14 of Nisan occurred for any year before 500 without historical documents that attest to a particular day of the week.
Jesus' life and teaching according to the New Testament
Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Galilee was his childhood home.
Jesus' mother was Mary. Two of the Gospels (Matthew and Luke, but not Mark or Source | Copyright
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Ancient Jewish Accounts of Jesus
Collection of ancient Jewish documents which possibly refer to Jesus.
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/JewishJesus/
The Law and the Spirit
Website of the book, propounding a new theory of the crucifixion.
http://www.thelawandthespirit.com
Atheists for Jesus
Designed to provide a method of communication between religious and non-religious people who believe in the message of Jesus with information on an alternative way of looking at his life and message.
http://www.atheists-for-Jesus.com/
Jesus Through Buddhist Eyes
Christianity Today reviews varying Buddhist approaches to Jesus.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/9b2/9b2046.html
The Gnostic Jesus
Attempts to reinterpret Jesus based on the site author's understanding of ancient Gnosticism.
http://members.tripod.com/cryskernan/gnostic_jesus.htm
The Jesus of the New Age Movement (by Ron Rhodes)
Analyzes new age beliefs regarding Jesus.
http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/JesusNAM.html
Beliefnet: The Search for Jesus
Presents scholarly articles on Jesus spanning the liberal to conservative continuum and viewpoints from non-Christian religions. Provides forums for readers to express themselves.
http://www.beliefnet.com/features/searchforjesus/overview.asp
Jesus of Nazareth
New Age interpretation of the life and work of Jesus Christ.
http://www.holyorderofmans.org/Jesus-of-Nazareth/jesus_of_nazareth-Contents.htm
Proving the Historic Jesus
An essay by journalist Harry V. Martin, publisher of the Napa Sentinel and the North American Investigative Journal.
http://www.sonic.net/sentinel/naij3.html
Jesus Seminar
Organized under the Westar Institute to renew the quest for the historical Jesus and to report the results of its research.
http://religion.rutgers.edu/jseminar/
The Quest of the Historical Jesus
Online English text of the 1906 book on the historical Jesus by Albert Schweitzer, who took the non-Christian position that Jesus was a failed eschatological prophet.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/schweitzer/
Frontline: From Jesus to Christ
Frontline explores the life of Jesus and the rise of Christianity. Includes interviews with some of the nation's leading liberal New Testament scholars.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/
The First Church of Historical Jesus
Promotes belief in the example of Jesus without requiring belief in his divinity or even in God. Recommended reading, mailing list, merchandise, and links.
http://www.fchj.com/
Radical Faith
Exploring fundamentals of faith in a changed world with an emphasis on new ways of viewing Jesus. Also includes thoughts on theism, articles, book reviews, and a timeline of influential twenty-first century thinkers.
http://homepages.which.net/~radical.faith
Journey Through The Bible
Charles Davis' examination of the message of Jesus, his life and times, and the disciples' interpretation of Jesus.
http://www1.appstate.edu/~davisct/temenos/home/jesusPath.htm
Matthew Arnold and the Jesus Seminar
Compares and contrasts the Jesus scholarship of the 18th century theologian, Matthew Arnold, with Rudolf Bultmann. The site explains that Arnold's approach was the precursor to the general approach taken by the Jesus Seminar.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6354/ma2.html
New Testament Gateway: Historical Jesus
An annotated gateway to internet resources on the Historical Jesus. Part of the New Testament Gateway by Dr. Mark Goodacre, Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
http://www.ntgateway.com/Jesus/
The Isaiah 53 Controversy
A personal site that explores in depth whether Isaiah 53 isreally about Jesus, as the Christians say, why the Rabbis think it's about the people of Israel, and why some Muslims think it proves the Quran right.
http://isaiah53.ifrance.com
The Mystic Christ
Book interpreting the teachings of Jesus from the world's mystical traditions.
http://www.devipress.com/michome.html
Historical Jesus Quest
A quest for the historical Jesus - useful internet resources in the study of the historical Jesus
http://www.historicaljesusquest.com/
The Gnostic Aramaic Gospel Page
A collection of Gnostic teaching stories of Jesus extracted from a collection translated from Aramaic by the Sufi Gnostic and scholar Al-Ghazali (died 1111).
http://geocities.com/metaco8nitron/gosp.html
Who killed Jesus?
A Straight Dope Staff Report.
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mjesuskill.html
Jesus, a Historical Reconstruction
On the life of Jesus and the beginning of Christianity, with frequent quotes from primary source material.
http://www.geocities.com/b_d_muller/index.html
Mystical teachings of Jesus
The mystical teachings of Jesus (Jeshua ben Joseph), offered as a spiritual pathway of love and mastery for awakening the Christ within each of us.
http://www.thejeshuatranscripts.com
Divus Julius
Argues that Jesus Christ was actually Divius Julius, the god to which Julius Caeser was elevated.
http://www.carotta.de/subseite/texte/esumma.html
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