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Jesus Christ as the Messiah


Image of Jesus Christ from Agia Sophia, Istanbul (12th century)
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 This article is part of the
Jesus series.
 Historical view of Jesus
 Islamic view of Isa (Jesus)
 Jewish view of Jesus
 Other perspectives on Jesus
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 Historicity of Jesus
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Jesus Christ as the Messiah is the Christian account of Jesus' life (which is represented both in texts and in images). Jesus is the central focus of attention and worship in Christianity and is held by most Christians to be the Messiah foretold in the Hebrew Bible. He is believed to be the saviour of mankind, the son of God the Father, and God himself.

Table of contents
1 Belief in the divinity
2 Life biography
3 Miracles performed
4 Quotes
5 Differences in interpretation
6 See also

Belief in the divinity

The vast majority of self-described Christians regard belief in the divinity of Jesus to be part of what defines Christianity. According to traditional Christian theology, Jesus is one of the three persons of the Trinity, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, who are one and the same.

Some relatively new denominations do not believe in the Trinity, believing that Jesus is in fact a separate and distinct being from God the Father and the Holy Ghost, and that Biblical references to the Father and the Son being one do not indicate a unity of being. These groups, such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses refer to themselves as Christian. Most other Christians reject them as being part of Christianity. This subject is discussed in the article on Christology.

Christians see many passages in the Gospels and other parts of the New Testament affirming the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Life biography

Detailed timeline of Christ
of important years from
biblical and historical sources.

(see also brief timeline)
   

c. 6 BC -
Suggested birth (Earliest) : Bethlehem

c. 5 BC -
Visit by shepherdss : Bethlehem
Presentation in the temple : Jerusalem
Visit by the Magi : Bethlehem
Escape to Egypt : Nile Delta
Return to Nazareth : Lower Galilee

c. 4 BC -
Herod's death
John the Baptist born.

c. 1 AD -
Suggested birth : Bethlehem

c. 6 AD -
Suggested birth (Latest). [Quirinius census]

c. 7 AD -
Visit to temple as a boy : Jerusalem

c.25 AD -
Baptized : Jordan River

26 AD -
Pilate appointed Judea governor

c.26 AD -
Tempted by Satan : Negev Desert
Cleansing of the temple : Jerusalem
Jesus and Nicodemus : Jerusalem

c.27 AD -
Talks to Samaritan woman : Samaria
Heals nobleman's son ("first miracle") : Cana
4 fishermen become followers : Sea of Galilee
Heals Peter's mother-in-law : Capernaum
Town attempts to kill Jesus : Nazareth
First preaching trip : Galilee
Matthew joins Jesus : Capernaum
Suggested death (Earliest) : Golgotha

c.28 AD -
Chooses 12 disciples : Capernaum
Ministry begins : Galilee
Preaches "Sermon on the Mount" : Capernaum
Sinful woman anoints Jesus : Capernaum
Travels through Galilee : Galilee
Teaches parables about kingdom : Galilee
Calms the storm : Sea of Galilee
Jairus's daughter back to life : Capernaum
Sends disciples to preach and heal : Capernaum
John the Baptist killed by Herod : Machaerus

c.29 AD -
Feeds 5,000 people : Bethsaida
Walks on water : Bethsaida
Travels to Tyre/Sidon
Feeds 4,000 people : Tyre/Sidon
Peter states Jesus is "Son of God" : Tyre/Sidon
States soon he will die : Caesarea Philippi
Transfigured : Caesarea Philippi
Pays temple taxes : Capernaum
Attends the Feast of the Tabernacles : Jerusalem
Heals a man who was born blind : Jerusalem

c.30 AD -
Second preaching trip : Galilee
Begins last trip : Jerusalem
Blesses little children : Jordon
Talks to rich and young man : Jordon
Tells about death and resurrection : Jordon
Heals blind Bartimaeus : Jericho
Talks to Zacchaeus : Jericho
Visits Martha and Mary : Bethany
Raises Lazarus from the dead : Bethany
The Triumphal Entry : Jerusalem
Curses the fig tree : Jerusalem
Cleanses the temple : Jerusalem
Authority of Jesus questioned : Jerusalem
Teaches in the temple : Jerusalem
Anointed : Bethany
The plot against Jesus : Bethany
The Last Supper : Bethany
Comforts the disciples : Bethany
Gethsemane : Bethany
Possible Arrest and trial : Bethany
Possible Crucifixion and death : Golgotha
The burial of Jesus : Josheph's Tomb
The empty tomb : Jerusalem
Mary Magdalene : Jerusalem
Appears to the two travelers : Emmaus
Appears to 10 disciples : Jerusalem
Appears to the 11 disciples : Jerusalem
Talks with some disciples : Sea of Galilee
Possible Resurrection : Mount of Olives

c.33 AD -
Suggested death (Friday, April 3rd, 3:00 pm). [1]
Possible Resurrection : Mount of Olives

c.36 AD -
Suggested death (Latest); Pilate removed
Possible Resurrection : Mount of Olives

     

''Lazarus raised from the grave by Jesus
painting by the Swedish artist Karl Isakson (c. 1920)''

Birth and childhood

Of the four Gospels, the Nativity (birth) is mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. Both infancy accounts support the doctrine of the Virgin Birth, in which Jesus was miraculously conceived in his mother's womb by the Holy Spirit, when his mother was still a virgin. According to these accounts, Jesus was born as Joseph and Mary, his betrothed, were visiting Bethlehem from their native Nazareth. Mary is also commonly referred as "the Virgin Mary" or, as the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox call her, "Mother of God" (see Theotokos).

Details of the two accounts appear to be at variance with each other. For example, Luke reports that the parents lived at Nazareth, but, according to Matthew, they settled in Nazareth after their return from Egypt, an event that Luke does not mention. Matthew further explained that Joseph and Mary fled with the baby Jesus to Egypt after they had been warned by an angel of the Massacre of the Innocents.

While Mark reports that Jesus had brothers, that he was "Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon," and also suggests that Jesus had sisters, some churches reject this interpretation, saying that they were all either Jesus' cousins, or else half brothers, children of Joseph and Joseph's previous wife. This latter tradition sees Joseph as a much older man than Mary, a widower at the time of his betrothal to Mary, with their planned marriage being primarily a social arrangement to ensure Mary was economically provided for.

The New Testament tells little more about Jesus's childhood or young adulthood. However, by the time he reached his 30s, the gospels all report that he had become known as a religious teacher.

The ministry and message of Jesus

Although the synoptic gospels focus mainly on the last year of Jesus's ministry, the Gospel of John indicates that his ministry spanned at least three Passovers from the time he was baptized by John the Baptist until his crucifixion. In his ministry, Jesus traveled as wandering rabbi and performed miracles.

Jesus advocated universal love between people, and adherence to the will of God. His message seems to have been that universal love is a more direct fulfilling of God's will, rather than observing the laws which were contained in the Hebrew Bible.

Jesus' message was sometimes taught by him through the use of paradox. He taught that the first would be last, and that non-violence was the best way to combat violence. He said that he gives peace to those who believe in him, yet he warned that he was bringing strife to the world, setting family members against one another (due to disagreement regarding belief in him). The use of paradox is a recognised form of attempting to break through established forms of thinking to allow new insight. For example, the use of koans in some branches of Buddhism, which seek to transcend harmful or false ways of thinking, is similar.

Jesus preached an apocalyptic message, saying that the end of the current world would come unexpectedly; as such, he called on his followers to abandon their worldly concerns, make disciples, and to wait for the immanent coming of the kingdom of God on Earth.

The early fathers of the church further expanded on his message, and much of the rest of the New Testament is concerned with the meaning of Jesus's death and resurrection, and its implications for humanity. One idea that has remained constant through Christian theology is the idea that humanity was redeemed, saved, or given an opportunity to achieve salvation through Jesus's death. "Jesus died for our sins" is a common Christian aphorism.

However, the idea of "salvation" has been interpreted in many ways, and a wide spectrum of Christian viewpoints exist and have existed throughout history up to the present day.

Some especially important or well-known events in the ministry of Jesus, recounted in the Gospels, include:

Some contemporary scholars are focusing on Jesus' parables, a unique type of teaching story found only in the three synoptic gospels. Much of this work gained a foothold in America during the early 1980s by a group of biblical scholars known as the Jesus Seminar.

There is renewed interest in the teachings of Jesus, after decades of decline in Church membership in the developed world.The Alpha Course has allowed many people to study the message of Jesus in non-evangelistic settings.

Arrest, sentencing, and crucifixion

According to the Gospels, Jesus, riding a colt, entered Jerusalem on a Sunday—celebrated now as Palm Sunday—and was greeted by throngs of people waving palm branches, and shouting "Hosanna".

On Thursday of that week, he shared the Last Supper, and afterward took a walk to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he felt overwhelming sadness and anguish, and said "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it." Then, a little while later, he said, "If this cup cannot pass by, but I must drink it, your will be done!"

Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' twelve disciples, who had left in the middle of the Last Supper, had in the meantime betrayed Jesus by informing the Jewish authorities of his location. The authorities had decided to arrest Jesus, since some of them had come to consider him a threat to their power due to his growing popularity, his new interpretations of scripture, and his revelations of their hypocrisy. Judas and a group of men armed with swords and clubs then appeared, and Judas helped to identify Jesus by kissing him, a pre-arranged signal. Although one of the bystanders drew a sword, cutting off the ear of one of the armed men, Jesus rebuked the follower, saying, "Put your sword back, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." Then the disciples deserted him and ran away. Jesus was brought before the Jewish authorities, and, after implying the affirmative when asked if he was the son of God, was handed over to Pontius Pilate, the local governor in the occupying Roman government.

Pilate asked Jesus whether he considered himself the "king of the Jews", which would have been considered an attempt at usurping Roman authority, and either received no answer from Jesus, or the reply, "It is you who say it". Pilate then allowed a crowd that had gathered to decide whether Jesus or another prisoner should be released. The crowd decided that Jesus should not be released, so Pilate, attempting to placate the crowd, had Jesus scourged, and some Roman soldiers fashioned a crown out of thorns and placed it on Jesus' head. But the crowd demanded that Jesus be crucified, and Pilate relented. That same day, having carried his own cross, he was crucified on Golgotha, with a sign reading (in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek) "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews" placed on the cross upon the direction of Pilate. According to the Gospel of Luke, as he was crucified, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing." As he hung on the cross, he was mocked by passersby, and, according to the Gospel of John, was visited by his mother and others, then died; his death was confirmed by a Roman soldier piercing his side with a sword.

While hanging on the cross, the Gospel of Mark has Jesus asking,"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Many readers find this theologically perplexing, believing that God left him to die on the cross. According to a common interpretation of the scriptures, God the Father was turning away from Jesus at this time because He was suffering in the place of sinners. Others recognise this as an exact quotation of the first verse of Psalm 22, a common way at the time to refer to an entire Psalm. That Psalm begins with cries of despair, but ends on a note of hope and trust in God's triumph and deliverance. It also contains several details that have been taken to apply to Jesus' crucifixion, such as the soldiers casting lots for Jesus' garments and leaving his bones unbroken.

The Gospel of John, on the other hand, has Jesus in total control from the cross, saying "It is finished" upon his death, and instead of asking the "bitter cup" to be taken away from him while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before, he actually asks for it in John's account.

Resurrection, Ascension, and Second Coming

According to the New Testament, he rose from the dead on the third day following his crucifixion and appeared to his disciples; the Acts of the Apostles reports that forty days later he ascended bodily into Heaven. Paul's letters to the Romans, Ephesians and Colossians, as well as the letter to the Hebrews (traditionally attributed to Paul) claim that Jesus presently exercises all authority in heaven and on earth for the sake of the Church, until all of the earth is made subject to his rule through the preaching of the Gospel. Based on the New Testament, Christians believe that Jesus will return bodily from heaven at the end of the age, to judge the living and the dead.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) believe that Jesus appeared in the Western Hemisphere after his resurrection. Church members believe that Jesus taught the ancestors of modern Native Americans, whom they believe to be one of the lost tribes of Israel.

Miracles performed

Miracles performed by Jesus, as recounted in the Gospels, include:

- Turning water into wine for a wedding feast.
- Curing a sick child who was near death.
- Curing a lame man, a man with a virulent skin disease, a paralyzed man.
- Feeding a crowd of five thousand using only fives loaves of bread and two fish.
- Walking on water to reach his disciples who were in a boat, (and enabling Peter to walk on water, also).
- Giving sight to a man born blind.
- Bringing a man (Lazarus) who had been dead for four days back to life.
- Appearing to Peter, James, and John in a transfigured state, with unearthly, brilliant white clothes, and with Elijah and Moses.

Quotes

Well-known quotations of Jesus include:

- The Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12)
- The Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13)
- No one can be the slave of two masters... You cannot be the slave of both God and money. (Matt. 6:24)
- Do not judge, and you will not be judged. (Matt. 7:1)
- Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs... (Matt. 7:6)
- ''Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find." (Matt. 7:7)
- ''Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and many take it." (Matt. 7:13)
- Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword... A person's enemies will be the members of his own household. (Matt. 10:34)
- It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven. (Matt. 19:24)
- Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. (Matt. 22:21)
- The spirit is willing enough, but human nature is weak. (Matt. 26:41)
- Love your enemies, do good to those who treat you badly. To anyone who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek as well. (Luke 6:27)
- Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the great log in your own? (Luke 6:41)
- I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)
- I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
- Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give to you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. (John 14:27)

Differences in interpretation

Adherents of Judaism, as well as some modern Bible scholars, reject the idea that the Hebrew Bible ever prophetically referred specifically to Jesus. One reason for these differences of interpretation is the use of different versions of the Bible. Christians have historically relied on the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. In it, many prophecies have a much clearer correlation to Jesus than in the Masoretic Hebrew text we have now available. For instance, one passage says in the Septuagint that the Messiah would be born of a "virgin", while in the Hebrew it says "young woman." The Septuagint was translated by a group of about 70 Jews more than 200 years before the birth of Jesus Christ; the oldest surviving complete manuscript dates to the third or fourth century A.D. It was widely accepted among the Alexandrian Jewish community, but was not accepted by the Jewish community elsewhere. The text accepted by the rest of the Jewish world was known as the Tanakh, and had a number of differences, none of which had anything to do with the messiah. The oldest surviving Hebrew Masoretic text dates to the eighth or ninth century A.D., although parts of it have been corroborated by the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Jesus of Nazareth came to be seen as a possible Messiah (or Greek Khristos, thus the appellation "Jesus the Christ") to the Jews, some believed and followed him. This caused a division in the Jewish religion; those who followed Jesus were eventually called (at first pejoratively) Christians. Jews then and now interpreted the prophecies to mean a great political or military leader, who would liberate them from the oppressive Roman rule. The reason that Jesus was not accepted by the majority of the Jewish community was that he did not fulfill any of the conditions that moshiach is required to fulfill by Jewish law and tradition. Jesus was accepted as a messiah mainly by non-Jewish converts in the Roman Empire, though there was for a time a Jewish Christian sect, sometimes called the Ebionites.

See also

Lists
List of Bible stories | List of Biblical figures | List of Biblical names starting with C | List of Latin phrases | List of famous suicides | List of people by name: J | List of political entities named after people | List of religious topics |

General
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Jesus
Jesus Christ Superstar | Jesus Movement | Jesus Only doctrine | Jesus and John the Baptist | Jesus of Nazareth |

Religious
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Gospels, Epistle, and acts
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