The life of Jesus Christ, from a bird’s eye view

Summarizing the life of Jesus Christ in one article is an impossible task. Entire books have been written on specific aspects of the life or death of Jesus and I for one would not dare to have it all in this article. What I am going to do is give a bird’s eye view of the life of Jesus Christ, without going into the deeper meanings (and different interpretations) of his life on earth.

The oldest records of Jesus’ life are those written by his followers in the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There are also Jewish and Roman accounts of his life from the 1st and 2nd centuries. The Roman historian Tacitus referred to the crucifixion of Jesus. Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote about Jesus’ teachings as well as his miracles.

Jesus was born to Mary, a devout Jewish woman, and Joseph, a carpenter. The Gospels of Luke and Matthew say that Jesus was, however, conceived by a miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit. The writings also tell that Jesus was born in Bethlehem where Joseph and Mary traveled by decree from Rome. Caesar Augustus was ruler and Rome was the capital of the civilized world. To meet the census requirements, all families had to register in their places of origin. Joseph, a descendant of the great King, David, was thus forced to register in Bethlehem.

When eight days had passed, the baby Jesus was circumcised and given the name Jesus because an angel had given him this name before he was born. He grew up in Nazareth, a small town at the foot of the Galilee mountains (northern province of Israel).

Little has been written about the childhood of Jesus, except that when he was twelve years old, his parents found him astonishing the elders with his teachings in the Temple.

Jesus began his public ministry when he was thirty years old. In addition to preaching about the afterlife and salvation, Jesus is also said to have performed many miracles and healings. The first recorded miracle of him was at a wedding feast in Cana. Instead of seeing the bride and groom embarrassed because the wine ran out for their celebration, Jesus, at the request of his mother, turned the water in the pitchers into fine wine.

Other miracles included feeding 5,000 people who came to hear him teach using just a few loaves of bread and fish. It is said that those who approached him for cures needed to show faith in him; For example, Jesus asked a man who was seeking the healing of his son if he really believed that Jesus could do this.

Jesus gave many sermons, one of the most famous is known as The Sermon on the Mount. This was a short teaching on morality, emphasizing love of God and love of neighbor. He also used a method of storytelling called parables. In these parables, Jesus used teaching stories that focused on everyday life at the time, such as changes in nature or kindness in a stranger and a despised foreigner (the Good Samaritan).

Jesus’ mission was not political. His message was that He came to free men and women from their sins. He gained a large following during his lifetime and drew crowds. But attitudes towards him would soon change. His teachings offended the political and religious leaders of his day.

During his last week on earth, Jesus would arrive in triumph in Jerusalem on Sunday. On Monday, he would display justified anger by going after the money changers in the Temple. On Tuesday he taught about obligations to the government and religion. He spoke of the generosity of a widow who gave the last of her money to charity. He made predictions about her death. Unbeknownst to him, he was anointed for burial on Wednesday by a repentant woman while in Bethany. He shared his last meal (Last Supper) with his disciples on Thursday. This was the Preparation Day for the Passover. At that time he showed humility by washing the feet of his disciples. At the meal, he received the kiss of betrayal from his apostle, Judas. Before his arrest, Jesus prayed alone and died on the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem, while his disciples slept near him.

Around AD 30, the Friday Christians call Good, Jesus was crucified. Christians believe that he willingly gave us his life to redeem souls and open the gates of heaven to all. The gospel accounts state that he later rose from the dead. Many centuries later, Christians believe that Jesus was the savior of the world and they also believe that he was the son of God.

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