Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is one the most fascinating and enigmatic figures in history. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions calls Jesus "arguably the most important figure in the history of western civilization."
Despite his humble origins (a son of a carpenter from the Judean countryside), short life (about 33 years), and very short public career (between one and three years), Jesus is the central focus of the world's largest religion and has meant many things to many people since his death almost 2,000 years ago.
In addition to mainstream Christianity, Jesus is important in many new religious movements that grew out of Christianity and even in some non-Christian religions such as Islam, the Baha'i Faith, and Cao Dai. Jesus is respected as a wise teacher by many Buddhists, Hindus, some Jews, and even many non-religious people.
The English word "Jesus" comes from the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, a common name which means "savior." "Christ" is not Jesus' last name but a title; it comes from the Greek form of the Hebrew for Messiah, meaning "anointed one." Since the time of the earliest Christians, "Christ" has been used both along with "Jesus" and as a stand-alone to refer to Jesus.
Christians believe, and most modern scholars agree,847 that Jesus of Nazareth was an actual historical figure. The earliest available records of the life of Jesus are the four Gospel narratives, which were written by Jesus' followers within a few decades of his death. A handful of other sources from the first and the second centuries, including Christian, Roman, Jewish, and Gnostic sources, also mention Jesus.
In recent years, both scholarly and popular attention has been focused on the "quest for the historical Jesus," an attempt to distinguish the human Jesus who lived and taught in Galilee from the "Christ of faith" - that is, religious doctrines about who Jesus was.
"Christology" is the branch of Christian theology that seeks to answer the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" from a theological perspective. Today, most Christian denominations agree that Jesus was: a real human being; the Messiah predicted by the Jews; the Son of God; and God made flesh.
The articles in this section explore the life and teachings of Jesus as well as religious beliefs about him.
Table of Contents
- Jesus Image Gallery
- Birth of Jesus
- Baptism of Jesus
- Teachings of Jesus
- Crucifixion of Jesus
- Resurrection of Jesus
- Jesus as Human
- Jesus as Messiah
- Jesus as Son of Man
- Jesus as Son of God
- Divinity of Jesus
- Ascension of Jesus
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- Unitarian Universalism on Jesus
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Sources
- “Jesus Christ.” Cross, F. L. and E. A. Livingstone, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press, USA). "His historical existence was not doubted by early Roman sources (Pliny, Tacitus, Suetonius), by Josephus, or later by the Talmud, and the modern so-called 'Christ myth' theory (that Jesus never lived) has convinced few."
Further Reading
- Sanders, E. P., The Historical Figure of Jesus (Penguin (Non-Classics), 1995).
- Ehrman, Bart D., Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (Oxford University Press, USA, 2000).
- “Jesus Christ.” Herbermann, Charles George (ed.), The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: : Robert Appleton Company).
- “Jesus of Nazareth.” Orr, James; Nuelsen, John; Edgar Mullins; Morris Evans; Melvin Grove Kyle, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co).
- Richard Bauckham, Jesus: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011).
- Pelikan, Jaroslav, The Illustrated Jesus Through the Centuries (Yale University Press, 1996).
- Borg, Marcus J. and N. T. Wright, Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (HarperOne, 2006).
- Borg, Marcus J., Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (HarperOne, 2007).
- Murphy, Catherine M., The Historical Jesus For Dummies (For Dummies, 2007).
- Crossan, John Dominic, Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (HarperOne, 1992).
- Fredriksen, Paula, From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Christ (Yale University Press, 2000).
- Aslan, Reza, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth .
- Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan; E.P. Sanders. “Jesus.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.
- From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians.
- Pelikan, Jaroslav, Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture .
- Yancey, Philip, The Jesus I Never Knew .
- Borg, Marcus J., Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith .
- Strobel, Lee, The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus .







Article Info
Title | Jesus |
---|---|
Published | March 17, 2004 |
Last Updated | February 13, 2021 |
URL | religionfacts.com/ |
Short URL | rlft.co/1543 |
MLA Citation | “Jesus.” ReligionFacts.com. 13 Feb. 2021. Web. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021. <religionfacts.com/jesus> |