Jesus

[Keesyy]

Jesus ---Wikipedia's version

Jesus

 

 

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This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. For other uses, see Jesus (disambiguation).
Jesus of Nazareth

Though depictions of Jesus are culturally important, no undisputed record of what Jesus looked like is known to exist.
Born c. 4 BC/BCE
Bethlehem, Judea, Roman Empire (traditional); Nazareth, Galilee (historical Jesus)
Died c. 30 AD/CE
Calvary, Judea, Roman Empire (According to the New Testament, he rose on the third day after his death.)
Cause of death Crucifixion
Resting place Traditionally and temporarily, a garden tomb located in what is now the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Israel.
Ethnicity Jewish
Occupation itinerant preacher, healer, carpenter
Home town Nazareth, Galilee (modern-day Israel)

Jesus of Nazareth (c 4 BC/BCE – c 30 AD/CE)[1]—also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity, and within most Christian denominations he is venerated as the Son of God and as God incarnate. Christians also view him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament; however, Judaism rejects these claims. Islam considers Jesus a prophet and also the Messiah while several other religions revere him in some way.

The principal sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical gospels, especially the Synoptic Gospels,  though some scholars argue that other texts (such as the Gospel of Thomas) are as relevant as the canonical gospels to the historical Jesus.  Most critical scholars in the fields of history and biblical studies believe that some parts of the New Testament are useful for reconstructing Jesus' life,  agreeing that he was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer. They also generally accept that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire.  Aside from these few conclusions, academic studies remain inconclusive about the chronology, the central message of Jesus' preaching, his social class, cultural environment, and religious orientation.   Scholars offer competing descriptions of Jesus as the awaited Messiah,  as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement.

Christian views of Jesus (see also Christology) center on the belief that Jesus is divine, is the Messiah whose coming was prophesied in the Old Testament, and that he was resurrected after his crucifixion. Christians predominantly believe that Jesus is the "Son of God" (generally meaning that he is God the Son, the second person in the Trinity) who came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God by his death for their sins. Other Christian beliefs include Jesus' virgin birth, performance of miracles, ascension into Heaven, and a future Second Coming. While the doctrine of the Trinity is widely accepted by most Christians, a few groups reject as non-scriptural, wholly or partly, the doctrine of the Trinity.

In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى‎, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets, a bringer of scripture, and a worker of miracles. Jesus is also called "Messiah", but Islam does not teach that he was divine. Islam teaches that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven without experiencing the crucifixion and resurrection, rather than the traditional Christian belief of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

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Jesus' purpose
Jesus said of his divine purpose, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Mark says that Jesus came to "give his life as a ransom for many"; Luke, that he was sent to "preach the good news of the Kingdom of God";and John, that he came so that "those who believed in him would have eternal life".

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Arrest, trial, and death
Main articles: Jesus and the Money Changers, Last Supper, Arrest of Jesus, Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, and Crucifixion of Jesus

In Jerusalem
 
According to the Synoptics, Jesus came with his followers to Jerusalem during the Passover festival where a large crowd came to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!"  Following his triumphal entry,  Jesus created a disturbance at Herod's Temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers who set up shop there, and claiming that they had made the Temple a "den of robbers".  Later that week, Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples—an event subsequently known as the Last Supper — in which he prophesied that he would be betrayed by one of his disciples, and would then be executed. In this ritual he took bread and wine in hand, saying: "this is my body which is given for you" and "this cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood", and instructed them to "do this in remembrance of me.  Following the supper, Jesus and his disciples went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane.

In Mark and Matthew, Jesus is anguished in the face of his fate.  He prays and accepts God's will, but his chosen disciples repeatedly fall asleep on the watch.  In Luke, Jesus prays briefly at the Mount of Olives, and his disciples fall asleep out of grief.

In John, Jesus has already cleansed the temple a few years before and has been preaching in Jerusalem. He raises Lazarus on the Sabbath, the act that finally gets Jewish leaders to plan his death.  At the Last Supper, Jesus washes the disciples' feet and there is no new covenant of bread and wine.  Jesus gives the farewell discourses, discussing the Paraclete, persecution of his followers, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and more.  He says a long, final prayer with his disciples before heading to a garden where he knows Judas will show up.

Betrayal and Arrest
While in the Garden, Jesus is arrested by temple guards on the orders of the Sanhedrin and the high priest, Caiaphas. The arrest takes place clandestinely at night to avoid a riot, as Jesus is popular with the people at large.  Judas Iscariot, one of his apostles, betrays Jesus by identifying him to the guards with a kiss. Simon Peter, another one of Jesus' apostles, uses a sword to attack one of Jesus' captors, cutting off his ear, which, according to Luke, Jesus immediately heals miraculously.  Jesus rebukes the apostle, stating "all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword". After his arrest, Jesus' apostles go into hiding; Judas, distraught by his betrayal of Jesus, commits suicide shortly after.

Trials before the Sanhedrin and Pilate
[improper synthesis?]

Jesus affirms that he is the Messiah before the Sanhedrin, the only time in the Gospel that he makes such a claim.  The Jewish leaders turn him over to Pilate for execution, but Pilate is reluctant to execute Jesus.  In an attempt to spare Jesus' life, Pilate offers the mob a chance to free him, but they choose Barabbas instead, so that the responsibility for Jesus' execution falls on the Jews rather than on the Romans, as expressed in the Gospel of Matthew by the Jewish crowd's proclamation, “His blood be upon us and on our children.”Matthew adds the details that Pilate's wife, tormented by a dream, urges Pilate not to have anything to do with Jesus, and Pilate washes his hands of responsibility. Luke adds the detail that Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Antipas, who has authority over Galileans, but that Herod, like Pilate, finds him guilty of nothing treasonous.  In John, Jesus makes no claim to be the Son of God or the Messiah to the Sanhedrin or to Pilate, even though this gospel proclaims Jesus' divinity from the beginning.

Death

In Mark, Jesus is stripped, flogged, mocked, and crowned with thorns. He is crucified between two thieves, and his cross states that he is being executed for aspiring to be the king of the Jews.  He begins to recite Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me."He utters a loud cry and dies.  According to all four Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon at Calvary, which was also called Golgotha. In Luke, Jesus faces his crucifixion stolidly.  He asks God to forgive those who are crucifying him, possibly the Romans and possibly the Jews.  One of the thieves states that Jesus has done nothing wrong and asks Jesus to remember him in the Kingdom, and Jesus replies that the thief will be with him in Paradise.  The Synoptic Gospels tell of the darkening of the sky from twelve until three that afternoon; Matthew also mentions an earthquake, the earth breaking open and a number of righteous dead people rising out of the grave and going into Jerusalem. John omits the phenomena accompanying Jesus' death.  The tearing of the temple parokhet, upon the death of Jesus, is referenced by Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Resurrection and Ascension
Main articles: Resurrection of Jesus, Resurrection appearances of Jesus, Great Commission, Ascension of Jesus Christ, and Second Coming
The Gospels state that Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday.  All the Gospels portray Jesus' empty tomb. In Matthew, an angel appears near the tomb of Jesus and announces his resurrection to Mary Magdalene and "another Mary" who had arrived to anoint the body.   Jewish elders bribe the soldiers who had guarded the tomb to spread the rumor that Jesus' disciples took his body.  In Luke, there are two angels  and in Mark the angel appears as a youth dressed in white.  The "longer ending" to Mark states that on the morning of his resurrection, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene.  John states that when Mary looked into the tomb, two angels asked her why she was crying; and as she turned round she initially failed to recognize Jesus until he spoke her name.

The Gospels all record appearances by Jesus, including an appearance to the eleven apostles.  In Mark, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, to two disciples in the country, and to the eleven, at which point Jesus commissions them to announce the gospel, baptize, and work miracles.  In Matthew, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the eleven on a mountain, at which point he commissions them to enlist followers, baptize, and teach what Jesus taught.  Although his own mission and his disciples' missions had been to the Jews, here he sends the eleven to the whole world. In Luke, he appears to two disciples in the country and to the eleven.He proves to them that he has a body, opens their minds to understand the scripture about the Messiah, and directs them to wait in Jerusalem until they are invested with power.  In John, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the eleven. He demonstrates his physical reality to doubting Thomas. Later he appears to seven disciples who are fishing, and finally talks with Peter, foretelling Peter's death and assigning him the principal role as shepherd of the new community.

In Mark and Luke, Jesus ascends to the heavens; after these appearances. In Luke, Jesus ascends on Easter Sunday evening when he is with his disciples. In Mark, Jesus' Ascension to heaven, where he sits at God's right hand, is said to have taken place but not described as a visible event. John implies that Jesus will return to his Father but doesn't describe an Ascension.