Jesus of Nazareth

The source for Jesus 's life and career are the Gospels of the New Testament. The Gospels mean "Good News". They are attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They were written in Greek many years after the death of Jesus. These are not biographies in the strict sense, but theological accounts of his ministry.

Jesus of Nazareth is a Jewish teacher and prophet who are considered the Messiah traditionally in Christian beliefs. Jesus was born during the reign of Augustus Caesar. This was before the death of Herod the Great, who was the Roman appointed king of the Jews in 4 BC. In the Gospels it speaks of a census being called by Augustus that required Joseph and Mary to travel to Jerusalem. They must stop in Bethlehem because of Mary being with child and Jesus will be born there. He is born in a stable due to the inns being filled. Three wise men visit bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The family flees to Egypt to escape the proclamation of the ruler, Herod. This proclamation was that all children under the age of two are to be killed.

Jesus is named Yeshua, which means “He who helps”; this is a common Hebrew name of the time. Little is known of Jesus’ childhood. Jesus is also believed to be Greek for the Hebrew name, Joshua which means “Yahweh saves.” Little is revealed in the Gospels about his early years. The one story comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter two, verses 41 through 51, a twelve-year-old Jesus is found in the temple answering the questions of the teachers. As he grew up, he would have apprenticed with his family. Joseph, his father would have been a Techtone, which in Greek means stonecutter, stonemason or construction worker. In modern times this has been interpreted as carpenter, though the primary building material in Judea is stone.

At the age of 30, Jesus seeks out John the Baptist who has been teaching in the wilderness. Jesus will present himself for baptism. At the baptism the Holy Sprit in the form of a dove appears and a voice proclaims from Heaven, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." The Holy Spirit then drives Jesus into the wilderness and he will fast for 40 days and nights. Jesus will face temptation from Satan. Matthew: chapter four will state that the first temptation faced is the challenge from Satan to turn rocks into bread. Jesus replies,” No! For the scripture tells us that bread won’t feed men’s souls: obedience to every word of God is what we need.” Satan then takes Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. He suggests that Jesus throw himself from the temple. Satan states that angels will bear him up and the people will then believe. Jesus replies” It is also says not to put the Lord your God to a foolish test.” Satan then offers dominion over all kingdoms in exchange for Jesus’ worshiping him. Jesus states, “Worship only the Lord God. Obey only him.” It is after banishing the devil that Jesus will began his public ministry.

Jesus will first attempt to teach in his hometown of Nazareth. The people there reject him. In Matthew: chapter 13, after his rejection Jesus says,” A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” The Gospels do not indicate whether Jesus ever returned to Nazareth. Jesus will be a huge success at the city of Capharnaum, the second place he preaches. In the gospel of Mark, it states that news of his arrival spread quickly, that the house he stayed in was packed with listeners and later he preached to a crowd on the seashore.

The ministry of Jesus may have been short. Scholars debate whether his mission lasted three or four years. He will have many followers, but twelve men were his closest followers. None of these men were trained theologians, some were fishermen, and Matthew was a tax collector before becoming a follower of Jesus.

Jesus’ 12 disciples.

Simon Peter Bartholomew

Andrew Phillip

John Thaddeus

James the Greater Simon the Canaanite

Matthew Judas Iscariot

Thomas James the Lesser

The first selected will be the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew.

Matthias is selected as Judas' replacement after Judas commits suicide.

Jesus is believed by some to be the Messiah, God's anointed one. Christos is Greek for Messiah.

Miracles of Jesus

1. Turns jars of water to wine at wedding feast at Cana

2. Jesus feeds the multitudes by producing bread and fish from 7 loaves of bread and two fish.

3. Jesus walks on water. At the Sea of Galilee Jesus walks out to Disciples who are on a boat.

4. Numerous examples of Jesus healing the sick, and disabled.

5. The Raising of Lazarus - Jesus' raising of Lazarus from the dead that took place during the last year of his life, is an event that truly reveals the nature of Jesus’ miracles and displays the power of the Son of God (Jn. 11). Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha, who were personal friends of Jesus (Jn. 11: 1, 2). Jesus had a very special relationship with these people (vs. 5). Lazarus and his sisters lived in Bethany, which was about two miles from Jerusalem (vs. 18). The miraculous raising of Lazarus, as was the case with Jesus' miracles in general, was acknowledged as real even by his enemies (Jn. 11: 47). Jesus is notified of Lazarus illness, but doe not travel to Bethany till four days later. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus, then called for him to come forth. Lazarus walks out still covered in his burial grab.

Teachings of Jesus

1. He teaches compassion for others and care for the poor.

2. He teaches loving your neighbor as a person loves oneself.

3. Loving one's enemy

Page 96 -97 has other components of his teaching.

Radical aspects of Jesus’ ministry.

1. Jesus breaks diet laws by eating with disreputable people such as tax collectors, prostitutes and gentiles.

2. Jesus accepts women into his ministry and allows them to travel with him.

Jesus’ most famous female follower is Mary Magdalene, a woman Jesus

Frees of seven demons. She is not a prostitute as is sometimes stated.

Enemies of Jesus: The Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees. These groups are all strict adherents to church law. They often debate with Jesus on his teachings or try to trick him into making statements against the law. Most famous example the woman caught in adultery. The law stated she was to be stoned; Jesus states "let he who is without sin cast the first stone." The crowd faced with this merely walks away. Jesus forgives the woman and tells her to sin no more.

Final days of Jesus

The murder of John the Baptist by Herod leads Jesus to make the decision to travels to Jerusalem for Passover.

Jesus arrives to the cheers of the crowd. He rides a donkey colt and branches and clothes were laid in his path. Jesus will bring about the confrontation with the leaders of Jerusalem when’s he drives out the moneychangers and sellers of animals from the temple.

Judas will go to the leaders and offer to betray Jesus. He is paid 30 pieces of silver for his betrayal. Thursday, at what is known as the Last Supper, Jesus reveals that he will be betrayed and conducts the Eucharist ceremony. At the Mount of Olives he tells the disciples that they will fall away from him. Peter says he will not. Jesus tells Peter that he will deny knowing him three times before the cock crows. Jesus will go to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray on events to come. His disciples fall asleep three times. Judas appears with soldiers to arrest him. Judas will kiss Jesus as a signal to the soldiers.

Jesus is tried before the court of the Sanhedrin. There is a parade of false witnesses and finally he is convicted of falsely claiming to be the Messiah.

The penalty is death, but the court cannot carry out the death sentence. Only the Romans may carry out a death penalty.

Jesus is taken to the Roman governor of Judah, Pontius Pilate. Pilate wants to establish whether Jesus claims any earthy power. He asks him "Are you king of the Jews. "Jesus replies "you have said so." Pilate says he can find no fault in Jesus and wants to release him. The leaders insist something be done. So Pilate gives the crowd a choice free Jesus or a man named Barabbas. The crowd calls for Barabbas to be freed and Jesus to be crucified.

The crucifixion is to take place on Friday at a place called Golgotha, which means place of the skull. Jesus is nailed through his wrists to the cross. It begins at 9 am. Darkness occurs at noon. Jesus dies at 3 pm. The body is removed and quickly prepared. It is placed in a cave and has a rock rolled in front.

How do you die when you are crucified?

In slow, brutal agony. the Roman method of crucifixion was no Sunday spent hanging around. The arms are pulled back and up. This makes it hard to breathe. Legs are broken by guards for good measure. The crucified would hold selves up by pierced hands. Breathing produced searing pain.

It triggered cramps and set nerves on fire. Most victims grew exhausted and died of suffocation. Shock, heart failure and dehydration could also cause death. The death usually took 24 to 36 hours. If you lived three days on the cross you were set free.

Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb Friday morning and finds the soldiers asleep and the rock pushed aside. Jesus will appear for the next 40 days to his disciples and others. One disciple Thomas says that he will not believe until he touches the wounds. On the 40th day Jesus ascends to Heaven.

Sources

Grolier Electronic Publishing 1993

Jesus -his Life Arts and Entertainment Video 1997

The Living Bible, Tyndale House Publishers (Wheaton, Illinois) 1972

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press (New York) 1998