Who was Jesus?

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Historians constantly ask themselves questions like who was the greatest general who ever lived? what led to the rise and downfall of a particular empire? and who was the most important thinker in a given era? There are many and varied answers to these particular questions, but when historians ask for the name of the most influential person of all time they give only one reply – Jesus Christ. With over one billion Christians professing to follow him and a role granted to him in several other world religions, Jesus is the most beloved and famous person to have ever walked the earth.

Jesus was born in 4 B.C. in Bethlehem of Judea, a territory that was under the control of the Roman Empire. He came into a society that was tired of being under the thumb of the Caesar even though the Jews in Judea had only been subject to Roman rule for about sixty years when Jesus was born. Before he walked the earth and during his earthly ministry, the citizens of Judea were restless, expecting a Messiah or anointed ruler to throw off their Roman shackles and restore the glory that was the kingdom of Israel under king David. This Messianic expectation took a variety of forms. Some Jews were looking for a mere political leader. Others, such as the sect that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, seemed to have expected two Messianic figures — one who would be a effective monarch and one who would serve as a holy priest.

The messianic expectations with which Jesus allied himself most closely were those that were looking for a figure who would deliver them from the sin that had put the Jews under Babylonian, Persian, and then Roman rule. Throughout his ministry, Jesus would encourage his followers to rethink his role along these lines, promising that he would indeed redeem his people from political enslavement but not until he had rescued them from the penalty they deserved for breaking God’s law (Matt. 16:21–23; Mark 10:45; John 10:11).

When studying the life of Jesus, there are many sources that purport to give the true history of this remarkable man. The best known of these are the four Christian gospels found in the New Testament — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Scholars agree that these books are the place to find the most accurate information about Jesus. Anyone who wants to understand this remarkable man must be thoroughly acquainted with these writings, all of which were produced within fifty years of his life and death.

Aside from these four gospels, there are several non-Christian resources that provide only a brief glimpse of Jesus’ work. Josephus, perhaps the most important source for Jewish history in the first century, recorded history under the patronage of the Roman emperors. In his Antiquities of the Jews he briefly mentions the death and resurrection of Jesus. The secular Roman historian named Tacitus also refers to the death of Jesus. Mention of five of Jesus’ disciples and his death is also found in the Talmud, a Jewish religious source. Lucian of Samosata and Suetonius also refer to Jesus by name and/or affirm his crucifixion. Gospel-like works that were rejected by the Christian church and the Qur’an also refer to Jesus, but these works are not historically reliable and are rejected as legitimate sources for Jesus study.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all contain testimony from eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry for either the gospel authors themselves were disciples of Jesus (Matthew and John) or interviewed Jesus’ earliest followers (Mark and Luke). According to these documents, Jesus was born of Mary in Bethlehem by the supernatural conception of the Holy Spirit and raised by His adoptive father Joseph (along with Mary) in Nazareth of Galilee in the northern part of the modern state of Israel. He engaged in a largely itinerant ministry of teaching and healing before being crucified around the year 30 AD.

Jesus’ teaching was remarkable for the identity that He claimed for Himself. In several ways, both indirectly and directly, He actually claimed to be the very God of the universe himself. One of his most important indirect claims to deity is found in his practice of forgiving sins. Matthew 9:1–8, for example, records an incident in which Jesus forgave the sins of a paralyzed man and then healed the man to prove that he had authority to pardon transgressions. Many of the people who originally saw the miracle understood what he was doing because they charged Jesus with blasphemy, and his pardoning of sins would have been blasphemy indeed if he was not God. The New Testament evidence, however, favors the conclusion that he was (and is) in fact God incarnate. Another way Jesus claimed indirectly to be God is seen in the Sermon on the Mount in which he repeatedly purported to give the true interpretation of the law of God. Even those who heard him speak were amazed at the authority – the divine authority – with which He spoke (Matt. 5:27–30; 7:28–29).

John’s gospel records most of Jesus’ direct claims to being God himself. Perhaps the most important of these is found in John 8:58 wherein Jesus says, “before Abraham was, I am.” This is a direct echo of the Old Testament’s record of God’s words to Moses in Exodus 3:14 wherein God reveals His name as “I AM.” That Jesus was asserting his own deity is seen clearly in that his opponents tried to kill him (John 8:59), which is how a blasphemer was to be treated (Lev. 24:10–16). Again, Jesus would have been guilty of blasphemy if He were lying, but the New Testament clearly understands that He professed to be God incarnate in the flesh.

Besides the words of Jesus, his miracles were also seen as divine proofs of his identity and power. Mark 4:35–41 gives us the episode when Jesus calmed the stormy sea, which in the Jewish mind of the day was something that only God could do (Job 38:8–11). Jesus miraculous works also involved raising people to life, such as when he resurrected the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:40–56). He also healed people on the Jewish day of rest — the Sabbath (Matt. 12:9–14) — which is remarkable. By this act Jesus claimed the authority to decide what was lawful and what was not on the last day of the rest, since this is something that only God has the right to do because He is the one who created the Sabbath (Gen. 2:1–3). Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand with only a few loaves and fishes is another well-known miracle recorded in the gospels (John 6:1–15).

In the course of his ministry, Jesus’ popularity grew and the authorities in Judea increasingly perceived him as a threat. After Jesus cast the moneychangers and merchants who sold sacrificial animals from the temple in Jerusalem, the stage was set for the authorities to have him executed (Luke 19:45–48). This was probably done for political expediency, out of a fear that Jesus would incite the crowd to rebel or that the crowd would choose to rebel anyway since so many of them acclaimed him as king. Yet the New Testament sees the death of Jesus as part of God’s eternal plan to solve the problem of sin and death (Rom. 8:1–4; 1 Peter 2:24–25; see also Isaiah 53). Crucified under Pontius Pilate, Jesus was raised to life three days later and will come again to separate his people from those who hate him and do not believe in him, the former group to inherit eternal life and the latter to be subject to punishment forever (Matt. 25:31–46). Along with his resurrection, the natural phenomena that attended his death and the confession of the Roman centurion that Jesus was the true Son of God (Mark 15:33–39) all testify to Jesus’ deity and the truth that he will return to judge all people.

The church that was born with the death and resurrection of Jesus has had enormous influence on world history. During the Middle Ages, monks helped to preserve the learning of the ancient world and the bishop of Rome held sway over the kings of Europe. The Protestant Reformation made widespread literacy possible as people were taught to read so that they could read the Bible. The good works of Christians are conspicuous everywhere in the founding of hospitals, schools, and societies that aid people in distress all around the world. Many lives have been transformed, addictions cured, and cultures enhanced as ordinary people across the globe repent and believe the gospel.

Jesus Christ continues to have his most powerful influence on the lives of individuals who believe on him for the forgiveness of sins and by his spirit seek to follow his way. Unfortunately, many claim to be followers of Jesus but show that they actually deny him by their unrepentant evil. Joy, peace, and love, however, are the inevitable fruit in the lives of everyone who truly confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead.

Are Christians Narrow-Minded? – Dr. R. C. Sproul on Jesus as the only way of salvation

Assessment of the Gospel of Thomas – analysis of the Gospel of Thomas, the most famous apocryphal gospel, and why it should be rejected as historically sound

Bible Gateway – searchable concordance of the four Gospels and the entire Bible

Biblical and Historical Testimony the Preexistence and Deity of Christ – Dr. James White surveys biblical and historical testimony to Jesus’ deity

Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith – basic truths about Jesus by Dr. B. B. Warfield

Evidences for Jesus Outside the New Testament – quotes from Josephus, Tacitus, and the Talmud on the life and death of Jesus

Fundamentalist Liberalism – Dr. D. A. Carson on the work of Jesus Seminar and its denial of gospel historicity

Historical Reliability of the Gospels – Dr. Craig Blomberg defends the historicity of the Gospels

The Resurrection of Jesus – Dr. Al Mohler on why the resurrection matters

Is the Bible Inerrant? – Professor John Frame on the truth of the Bible

Misogyny of the Gospel of Thomas – Rev. Tim Keller on how the Gospel of Thomas degrades women

World Magazine – publication focusing on the impact of Christ on culture and society

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Get more facts and information about Jesus from A Dictionary of the Bible at Encyclopedia.com.