Jesus

This article is about the central figure in Christian theology. For other uses of the name Jesus see Jesus (disambiguation)

This 11th Century image is one of many Images of Jesus in which a halo is used to represent divinity.

Jesus (c. 6–4 BC to c. AD 29–33) is the central figure in Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from the Hebrew יהושע [Yĕhošūa‘], and Greek Χριστός [Christos]), and an important prophet in Islam. He is also called Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene.

The main account of his life is the four Gospels, which form the first books of the New Testament of the Bible. According to these, Jesus was the Jewish Messiah (annointed one) and the Son of God, who preached a religious message in Galilee and Judaea (in Israel), and was ultimately sentenced to death and crucified in Jerusalem by order of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate before rising from the dead on the third day. Jesus's acts and words, as presented in the New Testament, constitute Christianity's basic teachings. These teachings were spread by a small group of followers or disciples known as Apostles. The most prominent of the disciples was Paul of Tarsus a Christian Saint and putative author of several of the New Testament books, most notably the "Epistles" which he is believed to have written while imprisoned.

Basic views on Jesus

There are many, widely differing, views of Jesus:

Most groups identifying themselves as Christians believe Jesus was God Incarnate (a man who was the earthly aspect of God, as part of the Holy Trinity), who came to earth to save humanity from sin and death through the shedding of his own blood in sacrifice, and who returned from the dead to rejoin his Father in Heaven.

Some groups identifying themselves as Christian, generally considered to be outside mainstream Christian thought, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians, and Christian Scientists, believe Jesus was the son of God but not God incarnate.

Many historians and other critical scholars of the Bible accept the existence of the biblical Jesus, but reject his divinity, miracles, and any other 'supernatural' elements in accounts of his life. They believe he was a Jewish apocalyptic teacher and healer who was crucified, and was subsequently the inspiration for Christianity.

Some skeptics, including some academics, believe Jesus was a Jewish troublemaker who was put to death by the Romans at the behest of the Jewish establishment. It has also been suggested that Jesus did not die on the cross, with a variety of theories being suggested (see below).

Some skeptics, including some academics, see no evidence for Jesus as a real person, but think the evidence suggests he is a fictional invention of Christians, based on morality stories, previous religions and fables.

There are also many different accounts and perspectives of Jesus within a variety of 'non-Christian' religions (See later in this article).

Date of birth and death

Main Article: Chronology of Jesus' birth and death Template:Timeline for Jesus The most detailed historical information about Jesus's birth and death is contained in the Gospels, but they were written to promote a philosophy and religion rather than to teach history. As a result, there is considerable debate about the exact date of birth and death of Jesus, even among Christian scholars.

Dionysius Exiguus attempted to pinpoint the year of Jesus's birth, which resulted in our current calendar system. According to his calculations, Jesus was born in December of the year 1 BC. However, based on a lunar eclipse that Josephus reports shortly before the death of Herod the Great, the birth of Christ must have been at some time before the year 4 BC, probably 5 or 6 BC. Allowing for the time of the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate and the dates of the Passover in those years, his death can be placed most probably in AD 30 or AD 33, and his birth was probably not in December, based on the accounts of the shepherds and parts of the gospels, the time of year depicted was in spring or summer.

Life and teaching according to the New Testament

Main articles: Jesus as Christ and Messiah and Messiah

This section presents a description of Jesus' life, as based on the four gospels. It does not take a critical view.

Childhood and family background

File:Joyful3.jpg

This traditional image shows Jesus' birth in Bethlehem

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, while Nazareth in Galilee was his childhood home.

Jesus' mother was Mary. Two of the Gospels (Matthew and Luke), say that Jesus' father was God, whose Holy Spirit miraculously caused Mary to conceive, giving rise to a virgin birth, meaning that Joseph was Jesus' foster father. The other two Gospels, Mark and John, make no mention of Joseph at all, but in their first chapters refer to Jesus as the Son of God. The focus of each of the gospel accounts is primarily found in his later life with special emphasis on the 3 year period of ministry prior to the crucifixion; events following his baptism; his teachings and ministry; and the events leading up to his death.

Mark (6:3) reports that Jesus was "Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon," and also states that Jesus had sisters. The Jewish historian Josephus and the Christian historian Eusebius (who wrote in the 4th century but quoted much earlier sources now unavailable to us) refer to James as Jesus' brother (See Desposyni). However, Epiphanius argued that they were Joseph's children by his (unrecorded) first wife, while Jerome argued that they were Jesus' cousins, which the Greek word for "brother" used in the Gospels would allow. These alternatives were to support the Roman Catholic tradition that Mary remained a perpetual virgin, thus having no biological children after Jesus.

The Acts of Thomas, from the Gnostic Bible identifies the Apostle Thomas as Jesus' twin brother. The Protevangelion of James, traditionally ascribed to James the Just and dating to the late 1st and middle of the 2nd century supports Epiphanius' theory.

Early life

The Evangelists do not describe much of Jesus' life between birth and the beginning of his ministry, except that as a young teen he instructed the scholars in the temple. The apocryphal Infancy Gospels describe the child Jesus performing miraculous works. The 19th century Russian scholar Nicolai Notovich suggested, based on a document he saw and copied in a Ladakh monastery in the Kashmir region, that Jesus traveled the world, including India, as an adolescent and youth, and was exposed to religious traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. While the monastery Jesus is alleged to have studied at by Notovich in India was not built until the 16th century, and there is no independent evidence confirming that particular story (in particular, there is no evidence of the existence of the document Notovich studied), there are still persisting minorities in some circles who say that references to a man named something like Issa place Jesus even in the holy Hindu city of Kashi. However, the evidence proffered here, too, has been deemed by most to be unreliable. These theories are not considered orthodox by any major Christian church.

Works and miracles

According to the Gospels, Jesus began his public ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing soon after he was baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus' precise relationship to John, a major figure whose activities required the intervention of King Herod Antipas, is not clearly established in the gospels. Though the gospel of Matthew portrays John attempting to decline baptizing Jesus, the earlier gospel of Mark says nothing of his reluctance, and the fact that John continued to maintain his own group of disciples indicates that he did not believe Jesus' prophetic career superseded his own.

The Gospel of John mentions three separate Passovers during Jesus' ministry, so it is reasonable to conclude that it was a period of approximately three years. However, the other Gospels only mention one.

Jesus used a variety of methods in his teaching. He made extensive use of illustrations in his teaching. (Compare Matthew 13:34, 35) The detailed nature of Jesus' spiritual teaching cannot be fully agreed upon because accounts are fragmentary and because he made extensive use of paradox, koans, metaphor and parable, leaving it unclear how literally he wished to be taken and precisely what he meant.

According to the Bible, Jesus performed various miracles in the course of his ministry. These ranged from cures to exorcisms, with several others that show a dominion over nature. Scholars in mainstream Christian traditions as well as many secular scholars view these as claims of supernatural power. Scholars employing various methods of higher criticism have sought to explain biblical events without recourse to supernatural occurrances, such as explaining the text as allegory.

Jesus also preached the imminent end of the current era of history, in some sense a literal end of the world as people of his time knew it; in this sense he was an apocalyptic preacher bringing a message about the imminent end of the world the Jews knew.

Jesus opposed stringent interpretations of Jewish law, and preached a more flexible understanding of the law. His teachings show an inclination to following a teleological approach, in which the spirit of the law is more important than the letter of the law, and the Gospels record him as having many disagreements with the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Among the various discussions with religious leaders include question and answer debates common between religious teachers of the period. In a conversation with a group of Sadducees, Jesus makes use of the Law of Moses to answer a question posed by the Sadducees regarding the resurrection of the dead (in which they did not believe). A few modern scholars thus believe that Jesus may have been a liberal Pharisee in some respects, or an Essene (a sect with whom he shared many views). In this view Jesus was later cast as an enemy of the Pharisees because by the time Christians transcribed the Gospels, the Pharisees had become the dominant sect of Judaism. This view receives some support in the Acts of the Apostles, where Jesus' apostles were generally attacked by Sadducees but were sometimes protected by Pharisees with more liberal interpretations of Jewish law. Evidence against this view is found in the understanding that some of the gospel material were compiled before the destruction of the temple in 70. It was around this time in which the Pharisees came to power.

Jesus had by the time of his death taught a number of his disciples or apostles to preach his teachings and perform healing to both Jews and Gentiles alike after they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit which he was to send to them following his Ascension.

In his role as a social reformer Jesus threatened the status quo. He was unpopular with many Jewish religious authorities, though following his death it is cited that numerous members of the priests and the Pharisees became followers of his teachings. According to the Gospels, his unpopularity among the leadership of the area was because he criticised it, and, moreover, because Jesus' followers held the controversial and inflammatory view that he was the Messiah/

Preaching the kingdom of God

According to the Bible, the theme of Jesus' preaching was: "Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near." (Matthew 4:17) Jesus' commission from God was to preach about his father's Kingdom, and he trained his disciples to do the same work. "Let us go somewhere else," he told his first disciples, "that I may preach there also, for it is for this purpose I have gone out." (Mark 1:38; Luke 4:43) Later, after extensively training twelve apostles, Jesus instructed them: "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.'" (Matthew 10:7) Some months later, after training 70 others, he sent them forth with the command: "Go on telling them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" (Luke 10:9) Clearly, Jesus wanted his disciples to be preachers and teachers.

Then Jesus "designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come." These were not just to preach in public places but were also to contact people at their homes. Jesus instructed them: "Wherever you enter into a house say first, 'May this house have peace.'"(Luke 10:1-7).

And toward the end of his ministry, he explained: "For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth." (John 18:37) So he occupied himself with preaching the kingdom of God.

Sexuality and love

The Bible does not explicitly indicate that Jesus had any romantic relationships, and most scholars and Christians think that he had none. Jesus is reported to have praised the value of celibacy, saying that some have made themselves "eunuchs" for the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:12). This was not uncommon at the time; although most Jews married (including those who were Pharisees), others, like the Essenes, promoted celibacy.

Some contrary interpretations are based on the references in the Gospel of John to "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23, 19:26, 21:7,20). The most common interpretation of this phrase is that it refers to John the Apostle, and that it simply refers to an especially close friendship. This is supported by the particular verbs chosen in the Greek text, φιλέω or ἀγαπάω, which refer, respectively, to human friendship, and to spriritual, divine love—the love that God has for people. (Greek has a separate word for romantic love). However, from at least the 17th century a minority of people have used these references to argue that Jesus was homosexual. For example, defending his relationship with George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, when it came to trouble the Privy Council, King James I of England allegedly said "Jesus had his John, and I have my George."

Advocates of this theory also point to the almost naked youth who follows as Jesus is led away from Gethsemene, after being arrested following his moment of anguish (Mark 14:51-52). It has also been argued the phrase refers to Lazarus, given Jesus' statement in John 21:21, which seems to imply that the "disciple whom Jesus loved" would not die. Support for this theory was bolstered by the discovery of part of the Secret Gospel of Mark.

Alternatively, it has been suggested in a number of pseudohistories, including Holy Blood, Holy Grail and Jesus the Man (by Barbara Thiering) that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. The Gnostic Gospel of Philip (believed to be late by many scholars) states that Jesus kissed her on the mouth.

None of these alternative theories are supported by mainstream scholars (Wilson Jesus: the evidence, p. 87) or by mainstream Christian churches.

Final days

File:Michelangelo.pieta.350pix.jpg

Michelangelo's Pietà shows Mary holding the dead body of Jesus.

According to the Bible, Jesus came with his followers to Jerusalem during the Passover festival. He was involved in a public disturbance at the Temple in Jerusalem when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers there. At some point later, he was betrayed to the Jewish religious authorities of the city — either the full council (Sanhedrin) or perhaps just the High Priest — by one of his apostles, Judas Iscariot. The High Priest of the city was appointed by the government in Rome and the current holder of the post was Joseph Caiphas. The Romans ruled the city through the High Priest and Sanhedrin, so often the Jewish authorities of the city had to arrest people in order to obey Roman orders to maintain the peace. Jesus' disciples went into hiding after he was arrested.

Jesus was crucified by the Romans on the orders of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect of Judea in Jerusalem. The Gospels state that he did this at the behest of the Jewish religious leaders, but it may have been simply that Pilate considered Jesus' ability to incite public disturbance as a potential Messiah to be a threat to Roman order. Pilate was known as a harsh ruler who ordered many executions for lesser reasons during his reign (then again, he'd been in trouble twice with his Roman superiors for being too harsh in his rule). Furthermore, the plaque placed on the cross was used by the Romans to detail the crime of the crucified individual. In the case of Jesus the plaque reads IESVS NAZARENVS REX IVDAEORVM (INRI) — meaning either "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" or "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews", indicating that Jesus was crucified for the crime of rebelling against the authority of Rome by being declared the "King of the Jews". In the Aramaic it would have been Yeshua HaNazarei v Melech HaYehudim: Jesus the Nazarei, King of the Jews.

All the Gospel accounts agree that Joseph of Arimathea, variously a secret disciple or sympathiser to Jesus, and possible member of the Sanhedrin, arranged with Pilate for the body to be taken down and entombed. According to most accounts Jesus' mother, Mary, and other women, notably a female follower of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, were present during this process.

The resurrection

Main article: Resurrection of Jesus

According to the Christian Gospels, Jesus' disciples encountered him again on the third day after his death, raised to life. No one was a witness of the actual resurrection event, though all four Gospels report that women who went to anoint the body found the tomb empty. After the resurrection, the Gospels give various accounts of Jesus meeting various people in various places over a period of forty days before "ascending into heaven".

This belief is the basis of Christianity, and so has been frequently challenged. For example, the Qur'an says "they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so" (Qur'an 4:156). Furthermore, various problems with the Gospel narrative have been pointed out by critics. For example, the resurrection narrative in Mark (the oldest Gospel) is taken by some to be a late addition (see Mark 16). Also, various details in the resurrection narratives are difficult to reconcile from Gospel to Gospel. Finally, the Gospels indicate that the disciples were unable to recognize Jesus at first after the resurrection. (Some Christians consider this a validation of authenticity because they say a manufactured report would have the disciples recognise him immediately.) There have also been a number of theories seeking to disprove the resurrection, which are discussed in the article Resurrection of Jesus.

Names and titles

Main article: Names and titles of Jesus

Besides Jesus' personal name, many other titles have been either by him or to describe him, many of which emphasise different aspects of theological understanding of Jesus.

Personal name

Jesus is derived from the Biblical Latin Iesus, which in turn comes from the Greek Ιησους (Iēsoûs). The earliest use of Iēsoûs is found in the Septuagint, where it is used to transliterate the Hebrew name Yehoshua (יהושע — known in English as Joshua), and also Yeshua (ישוע); the latter is used in the Hebrew Bible either as short form or an Aramaic equivalent of Yeshoshua. The original Aramaic form of Jesus' name is not reported by ancient sources, though modern scholars have suggested ישׁוע / Yēšûaʿ. Yeshoshua means "Yahweh saves", while Yeshua means "salvation." It was a fairly common name at the time. His patronymic would have been, ben Yusef, for "son of Joseph."

Christ

Christ is not a name but a title, and comes from the Latin Christus, which comes from the Greek Χριστός (Christos), which means anointed with chrism. The Greek form is a liberal translation of Messiah from Hebrew mashiyakh (משיח) or Aramaic m'shikha (משיחא), a word which occurs often in the Old Testament and typically signifies "high priest" or "king"—a man, chosen by God or descended from a man chosen by God, to serve as a religious, civil, and/or military authority. Jesus is reported, by the bible, to have first told a Samaritan woman that he was the Messiah (John 4:25-26). To Muslims, Jesus is known as the prophet Isa al Masih (عيسى المسيح ), the equivalent of Jesus the Messiah.

Various people have been called by Jews as their Messiah, for example, Joshua (from the Old Testament book Joshua), John the Baptist, and most 1st century rebel leaders, and the Hebrew term may be regarded as not having great significance when used to describe a 1st century rebel leader such as Jesus. However, to most Christians it takes on an extra meaning of being Saviour from Sin, though the details vary between, and inside, denominations.

Son of God

Some Early Christians believed that Jesus was divine, and some scholars suggest that Paul did too. It is debated whether it is clear from an analysis of the Gospel texts that Jesus made this claim about himself. It is argued that the Gospels record Jesus referring to himself both as "Son of Man" and as "Son of God.", but not as "God the Son." (Compare John 10:36; 1 John 4:15; 5:5,13). This has been taken by some as meaning that all men have within them some portion of the divine.

However, it is unclear what "Son of Man" and "Son of God" meant. Some scholars have argued that "Son of Man" was an expression that functioned as an indirect first person pronoun. Scholars have also suggested that "Son of God" was an expression that signified "a righteous person.". Evidence for these positions is provided by similar use by other persons than Jesus at a similar time to the writing of the Gospels. "Son of God" has been used by many Jewish Priests and judges to refer to themselves.

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity was developed by the early Church, holding that, at the same time, the one God each was three "persons": God the Father, God the Son (i.e. Jesus) and the Holy Spirit, sometimes referred to as the "Holy Ghost". This was at early times quite controversial, spawning Arianism amongst many other alternative views. This remains a contentious doctrine, although it is accepted by the majority of churches.

Other titles

In the Gospels, Jesus has many titles besides "Messiah," including Prophet, Lord, Son of man and King of the Jews. Together, the majority of Christians understand these titles as attesting to Jesus' divinity. Some historians argue that when used in other Hebrew and Aramaic texts of the time, these titles have other meanings, and therefore may have other meanings when used in the Gospels as well. See: Names and titles of Jesus

Historicity

See: Historicity of Jesus, Sources about Jesus

Debates concerning Jesus as a historical figure center on two issues: the role of God in natural and human history, and the veracity of the New Testament as a historical source.

The question of God's role in natural and human history involves not only assumptions about God, but about how humans acquire knowledge. This subject is discussed in the disciplines of epistemology and metaphysics.

The 19th century was particularly marked by a movement toward higher criticism, where previously universally accepted tenets were closely inspected to determine their veracity. One of the major centers of this study with respect to the Bible and the life of Jesus was Eberhard Karls university in Tübingen, Germany. Some scholars in this group reached the conclusion that there was no historical Jesus at all.

As might be expected, opinions about the historicity of Jesus run the gamut from "myth" (Earl Doherty) to "demythologized" (Rudolf Bultmann) to "basically historical, with additions" (Will Durant) to "fully historical" (most conservative Christians).

Consensus on such an issue is particularly hard to reach, given that the subject touches on deeply held beliefs. The majority of Christian theologians and historians and some non-Christian theologians and historians acknowledge that a person named Jesus did exist in the first century. Beyond that, little has been absolutely agreed upon.

Cultural and historical background

Main Article: Cultural and historical background of Jesus

To understand Jesus properly it is generally agreed by scholars of the Bible that it is necessary to understand the world in which he lived. This was a volatile period marked by cultural and political dilemmas. Culturally, Jews had to grapple with the values of Hellenism and Hellenistic philosophy. Moreover, as many Jews lived in the Diaspora, and Judea itself was populated by many Gentiles, Jews had to confront a paradox in their own tradition: their Torah applied only to them, but revealed universal truths. This situation led to new interpretations of the Torah, influenced by Hellenic thought and in response to Gentile interest in Judaism.

All of Palestine belonged to the Roman empire at the time of Jesus' birth, but it was indirectly ruled by King Herod the Great. After Herod's death in 4 BC, Judea and Samaria were combined into the Roman province of Palestina, ruled by a procurator. Galilee, where Jesus grew up remained under the jurisdiction of Herod's son, Herod Antipas, who held the title of tetrarch.

Within Judaism, there were several parties, primarily the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were closely connected with the priesthood and the temple, and tended to cooperate with the Roman authorities. The Pharisees were the leaders of the synagogues and teachers of the people. They resented Roman occupation, but at Jesus' time were not particularly political.

The Essenes were another religious group closely connected with the priesthood. However, they lived in isolation in small communities. Many scholars think that Jesus and/or John the Baptist had contact with such a community. It is debated whether the Zealots, who later rebelled against the Romans, leading to the destruction of the temple, were an active party at the time of Jesus. Some scholars think the founder of the Essene sect was Jesus ben Pandira, whom there is more information about in Yeshu.

Many Jews hoped that the Romans would be replaced by a Jewish king (or Messiah, see above) of the line of David — the last legitimate Jewish regime. However, Jews were divided over how this might occur. Most Jews (like the sage and High Priest Joshua ben Gamala) believed that their history was governed by God, meaning that even the conquest of Judea by the Romans was a divine act. Therefore the Romans would be replaced by a Jewish king only through divine intervention; thus, the majority of Jews accepted Roman rule. Some like John the Baptist during Jesus' life, and Joshua ben Ananias after Jesus' crucifiction, claimed that a messianic age was at hand. Others believed that the kingdom should be restored immediately, through violent human action.

Although there were no violent uprisings during the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate, militants did lead the Great Jewish Revolt from AD 66 to 70. One such leader was named Joshua ben Saphat, and should not be confused with Jesus of Nazareth.

Alleged relics

Main article: Alleged relics of Jesus Christ

There are many items that are purported to be authentic relics of the Gospel account, which are listed in the main article. The most famous alleged relic of Jesus is the Shroud of Turin, which is claimed to be the burial shroud used to wrap the body of Jesus. Many modern Christians, however, do not accept any of these as true relics. Indeed, this skepticism has been around for centuries, with Erasmus joking that so much wood formed parts of the True Cross, that Jesus must have been crucified on a whole forest.

Perspectives of other religions

Main article: Non-Christian perspectives on Jesus

There has been a wide range of reactions to Jesus from adherents of other faiths, from ignoring him completely to seeing him as an important figure, while rejecting the exclusive claims of Christianity.

Judaism has deemed Jesus a false messiah, and religious Jews are still awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, many Jews minimize Jesus' role as miracle worker, but a small number consider him a great teacher. Muslims believe that Jesus was one of the prophets of Israel and the Messiah, but that the miracles were performed by God on Jesus' behalf, and consider any belief that he is divine to be a heresy irreconcilable with monotheism. The Bahá'í Faith consider Jesus to be a manifestation of God. Hinduism is divided on the issue of Jesus - some hold that he was just a man, others say he was a great guru and/or yogi, others still equate Jesus with an avatar. Many atheists, agnostics, and deists believe that Jesus was an ordinary human, a traveling Jewish teacher who performed no miracles and made no claims of being God or of having supernatural abilities.Some faiths, on studying the origins of Christianity, believe there is not enough evidence to support that Jesus Christ was a real person.

Dramatic portrayals

Main article: Dramatic portrayals of Jesus Christ

Jesus has been featured in many films and media, sometimes as a serious portrayal, and other times as satire. Many of these portrayals have attracted controversy, whether they were intended to be based on the Biblical accounts (such as Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Pier Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew) or intentionally added extra material (such as The Last Temptation of Christ). Another recurring theme is the up-dating of aspects of the life of Jesus, or imagining his Second Coming (for example, The Seventh Sign).

In many portrayals Jesus himself is a minor character, used to develop the overall themes. For example, in Ben Hur and The Life of Brian Jesus only appears in a few scenes.

Sources and further reading

• The New Testament of the Bible, especially the Gospels.
• Albright, William F. Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: An Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths, ISBN 0931464013
• Ehrman, Bart Jesus: apocalyptic prophet of the new millennium, ISBN 019512474X
• Ehrman, Bart The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, ISBN 0195154622
• Fredriksen, Paula Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity ISBN 0679767460
• Fredriksen, Paula From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Christ ISBN 0300084579, ISBN 0300040180
• Mendenhall, George E. The Tenth Generation: The Origins of the Biblical Tradition, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973. ISBN 0-8018-1654-8. A study of the earliest traditions of Israel from linguistic and archaeological evidence which also treats the teachings and followers of Jesus in that context.
• Mendenhall, George E. Ancient Israel's Faith and History: An Introduction to the Bible in Context, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. ISBN 0-664-22313-3. Another, less technical, study of the earliest traditions of Israel from linguistic and archaeological evidence which also treats the teachings and followers of Jesus in that context.
• Pelikan, Jaroslav Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture, Yale University Press, 1985, hardcover, 270 pages, ISBN 0300034962; trade paperback, HarperCollins reprint, 304 pages, ISBN 0060970804; trade paperback, Yale University Press, 1999, 320 pages, ISBN 0300079877
• Sanders, E.P. The historical figure of Jesus, Penguin, 1996, ISBN 0140144994. An up-to-date, popular, but thoroughly scholarly book.
• Sanders, E.P. Jesus and Judaism, Fortress Press, 1987, ISBN 0800620615. More specialistic than the previous book, still not inaccessible though.
• Theissen, Gerd & Annette Merz, The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide, Fortress Press, 2003, ISBN 0800631226. An amazing book, tough but rewarding, exceptionally detailed.
• Theissen, Gerd The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form. Fortress Press.
• Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity
• Vermes, Geza Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels ISBN 0800614437
• Vermes, Geza, The Religion of Jesus the Jew ISBN 0800627970
• Vermes, Geza, Jesus in his Jewish context ISBN 0800636236
• Walvoord, John F. Jesus Christ Our Lord. Moody Press, 1969. ISBN 0802443265
• Wilson, Ian Jesus: The evidence ISBN 0297835297
• Yogananda, Paramahansa: The Second Coming of Christ, ISBN 0876125550
• In Quest of the Hero:(Mythos Series) — Otto Rank, Lord Fitzroy Richard Somerset Raglan and Alan Dundes, Princeton University Press, 1990, ISBN 0691020620
• On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History — Thomas Carlyle
• The Superhuman life of Gesar of Ling — Alexandra David-Neel (A divine hero still in oral tradition)
• The Jewish historian Josephus wrote about Jesus in Antiquities, Book 18, chapter 3, paragraph http://www.josephus-1.com/
• Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Laurence Gardner. A popular book, but with a hypothesis that would not be accepted by mainstream scholars.
• Jesus and the Victory of God N.T.Wright, SPCK (London), 1996 ISBN 0281047170. Second in a projected massive five or six volume series on Christian origins, dealing with the life and death of Christ from a very open Evangelical perspective. The author is now Bishop of Durham (Church of England).
• Michael H. Hart, The 100, Carol Publishing Group, July 1992, paperback, 576 pages, ISBN 0806513500

See also

• Abraham, a key figure in Christianity, Judaism and Islam
• Buddha, the founder of Buddhism
• Muhammad, the founder of Islam
• List of songs which refer to Jesus
• List of people believing themselves deities
• Miracles of Jesus
• Jesus H. Christ

External links

General

• Directory of sites about Jesus
• 864 pictures
• Jesus Christ Only — Articles, Sermons & Quotes Dedicated to Jesus Christ

Historical

• The Jewish Roman World of Jesus
• Into His Own: Perspective on the World of Jesus
• A Portrait of Jesus: From Galilean Jew to the Face of God
• University of Birmingham: The Historical Jesus

• Historical context of Jesus' time
• Jewish sects during Jesus' time
• Christ and the Other Religions

Views of religious groups

• From Jesus to Christ
• Jesus Christ (Christology)Essays on the Deity of Jesus, Jesus' Offices of Prophet, Priest & King & The Historic Jesus.
• Christ Notes
• Jesus Christ Catholic Encyclopedia article
• EWTN's Jesus Christ webpage
• The Words: website that organises Jesus' sayings by topic
• Jesus' birth (Jehovah's Witnesses official site)
• Latter-day Saint (Mormon) beliefs about Jesus
• A Jewish response to Christian missionaries

Other views

• The Jesus Puzzle
• The Jesus Puzzle
• Skeptic's Guide to Jesus
• The Creation of Christ The theory that Jesus was a myth based on Julius Caesar.
• The theory that the story of Jesus is based on the older Hindu story of Krishna
• Religious Tolerance website about Jesus
• Unitarian Universalist Views of Jesus: prophet; dissident; one of many Christs
• The theory and evidence of Jesus having lived in Ladakh, in the Himalaya from 12 to 29 years
• The Original Teaching of Jesus Christ Online book purporting to reconstruct the original teachings of Jesus.
• Jesus was actually called Yahushua
• Jesus never existed
• Various articles related to the natural death of Jesus