Jesus Christ: The Story of Christianity's Central Figure

Jesus Christ was a Jewish prophet of the 1st century AD. W. known for having brought a message of liberation for Israel. Historians know that Jesus existed, but what is known about him is very limited because there are no contemporary sources on his life—everything about the prophet was written decades after his death.

According to the biblical narrative, Jesus would have been born of Mary, a virgin woman who miraculously became pregnant by the action of the Holy Spirit. He would have acted as a prophet in Palestine, preaching from region to region and performing miracles. His actions would have upset Jewish and Roman authorities, and he was sentenced to death via crucifixion.

Read too: Mohammed - the prophet responsible for the rise of Islam

Topics of this article

  • 1 - Summary about Jesus Christ
  • 2 - Who was Jesus Christ?
  • 3 - Birth of Jesus Christ
  • 4 - Events about the life of Jesus Christ
  • 5 - Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

Summary about Jesus Christ

  • Jesus Christ was a Jewish prophet of the 1st century AD. W.

  • It is believed that he was born around the year 6 a. W. and 4 a. W.

  • His performance as a religious prophet led to the emergence of a new religion: the christianity.

  • Some historians believe that he would have been the leader of a revolutionary movement in Palestine.

  • He was crucified between the years of 30 AD. W. and 33 d. W.

Who was Jesus Christ?

Historically, Jesus Christ was a Jewish prophet who lived in Palestine in the 1st century AD. W. During his lifetime, he brought a message of deliverance to Israel, promising the formation of a kingdom of God on earth. This message would have led him to be crucified by the Romans, the rulers of Palestine at the time.

There are no contemporary written sources on the deeds of Jesus Christ, so everything that exists about him is posthumous. The biblical gospels, for example, were written decades after Christ's death. You historians therefore know very little about the life of Jesus, and the historical veracity of the facts narrated in the gospels is questioned.

Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)

You historiographic studies point to three possible roles of Jesus Christ during his lifetime:

  • He may have been a religious prophet who brought an apocalyptic message.

  • He may also have been a revolutionary leader who was active in the Jewish struggle against Roman rule and who wanted to make himself King of the Jews.

  • It could have been a healer.

The fact is that, although Jesus was Jewish and his message was aimed directly at this people, a new religion emerged based on his work as a prophet. This religion is Christianity, to this day the largest on the planet.

Birth of Jesus Christ

 Fresco on the birth of Jesus Christ.[1]
 Fresco on the birth of Jesus Christ.[1]

The life of Jesus is covered in mysteries, largely because of the limited amount of sources available. Traditionally, we learn that the birth of Jesus would have happened in the year 1 AD. C., but the historians point out that he was probably born between the years 6 a. W. and 4 a. W. Religious tradition consolidated the idea that Jesus was born of Mary, a virgin woman who miraculously became pregnant by the action of the Holy Spirit.

your birth it happened in Bethlehem, a Roman province in Palestine. The birth of Jesus would have been revealed to Mary through the angel Gabriel. Mary would have given birth in a manger, and there, according to Christian tradition, the newborn Jesus was visited by three wizards — wise men coming from the East with the intention of presenting and revering him.

Analyzing the situation in a temporal way, the mother of Jesus Christ was really Mary and the one who played the role of her father was Joseph, a carpenter married to her. Both Joseph and Mary were from Nazareth, where Jesus eventually lived, and for this reason he is known as Jesus of Nazareth.

Just as we are not sure of the year of Christ's birth, we do not know the day on which he was born, for the Bible and no other document mentionsmthat date. Christian tradition determined the December 25th as the day to celebrate the birth of Christ, but it is believed that, most likely, he was not born on that day.

Until the second century, the followers of Jesus did not celebrate the leader's birth, and this practice began to gain strength exactly from that century. An important record held by Clement of Alexandria mentions different dates for the supposed birth of Jesus and none of them refer to December 25th.

Read too: Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25th?

Events About the Life of Jesus Christ

Nothing is known about Jesus' childhood and adolescence other than that he would have lived in Nazareth.Some historians point out that, during his youth, Jesus would have been influenced by the Essenes, a sect Jew who lived apart from society, advocated a communal way of life and followed the commandments of Moisés.

It is understood that the work of Jesus Christ as an early prophetor if from the moment in that he he was baptized by John the Baptist, a famous preacher from Palestine. Baptism was understood symbolically as a moment of remission of sins. The biblical narrative states that Jesus would have attended the place where John the Baptist performed his baptisms - the Jordan River - and asked him to be baptized.

From there, Jesus began his work as a prophet. He practiced fasts; went to different parts of Palestine, preaching the word of God; and it also brought an important social message about love and the need to help those most in need. A performance of Christ had the collaboration of 12 disciples, also called apostles. The 12 apostles of Christ were as follows:

  • Pedro;

  • Andrew;

  • Tiago;

  • James, son of Alphaeus;

  • John;

  • Philip;

  • Simon;

  • Thomas;

  • Bartholomew;

  • Mateus;

  • Judas Tadeu;

  • Judas Iscariot.

Last Supper painting, with Jesus and his twelve disciples.
According to the biblical narrative, Jesus Christ had 12 apostles.[1]

Throughout its trajectory, the biblical narrative presents that Jesus carried his message through parables, performed miracles, performed exorcisms and helped those in need. Throughout the biblical text, Jesus would have performed 35 miracles.

Read too: Hebrews — peoples of Semitic origin mentioned in the Old Testament

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

A performance of Jesus Christ would have bothered the great religious leaders Jewish, attentive to the preaching, and the Roman authorities, concerned with the prophet's performance as a potential for the Jewish revolt against Roman rule. Judas Iscariot then betrayed Jesus, denouncing him to the authorities.

After Jesus' arrest, he was led through a series of trials that led to his being sentenced to death by crucifixion. Jesus was tortured and forced to carry his own cross in the direction of Calvary. He was Crucified alongside two common criminals, and, after his death, his body was deposited in a tomb closed by a large rock.

The biblical text narrates that, days later, Maria Madalena went to visit the tomb of Jesus, finding it open and the body missing. Then Jesus appeared to his apostles and ascendedu to the heavens. Christian tradition understands this event as the resurrection of Jesus Christ, attesting to his divinity.

Historians believe that the death of Jesus Christ would have happened sometime between the years 30-33 AD. W. Some theories also point out that the betrayal of Judas Iscariot would have happened because he was disappointed with the leader. Judas was part of a Jewish sect that sought to expel the Romans from Palestine. He expected Jesus to take part in this movement as a leader, but when he realized that this would not happen, he betrayed him.

image credits

[1] meunierd It is Shutterstock

[2] Renata Sedmakova It is Shutterstock

By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher

Know the origin and foundations of Christianity.

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Click on the link to access this text by Brasil Escola about the history of Christmas, a festival celebrated annually on December 25th in honor of the birth of Jesus. Learn about the festival's historical origins and see its association with pagan winter solstice celebrations.

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Visit and understand why we celebrate Christmas on December 25th. See when the practice emerged and the motivation for this choice.

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