Jesus of Nazareth was a man born around 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. He was born of His virgin mother Mary. He was a carpenter until His ministry started at around age 30.
Jesus was born roughly 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, Israel. His mother was Mary of Nazareth. Mary despite being pregnant was still a virgin. In human history, there are 4 recordings of women becoming pregnant without a male seed. 3 of the 4 women became pregnant with female children. Mary is the only woman in human history to become pregnant with a male child without the seed of a man. Bethlehem was very busy when Mary went into labor, there was no room for her within the city; Jesus was born in a barn. Shepherds came from a far distance claiming, and the angel of God appeared to them, telling them to come to the place where Jesus was just born. Even kings came to see the baby, also claiming to have been told to come under divine instructions. This certainly was no ordinary birth.
There is only one historical record of Jesus as a young boy. When Jesus was around 12 years old He, Mary and His adopted father Joseph went to Jerusalem for Passover. As they began their journey home, Jesus stayed behind, without His parent's notice. Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus for 3 days, and when they found Him he was seen talking with the Jewish religious teachers in the temple. The religious teachers were astounded the the young boy's knowledge of God and His profound wisdom. When the boy was questioned why He had done this, He responded "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?". Though His parents did not understand.
John was a man known for preaching the word of God. He was baptizing people in the Jordan River, speaking of the Messiah who is to come and save the world from their sins. Jesus was there, and He wanted to be baptized. When John saw Jesus, he was recorded saying "See! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!". John said Jesus is the one whom he was preaching about; The Messiah.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus taught profound ethics and morals. Even those who did not believe could not deny the amazing teaching of this man. Never a man spake like Jesus. Jesus also performed many historically verifiable miracles such as: Casting out demons, making the blind see, the lame walk, the mute speak, and the dead alive. What man has such power over these things? The Bible is not the only mention of these miracles. We have many eyewitness testimonies of these miracles. Secular and Christian scholars agree Jesus did perform these miracles.
Obviously teaching and rising the dead in such a fashion as Jesus did, He created a very large following and was growing in popularity. This disrupted and angered the religious Pharisees whom Jesus had debated many a time. The Pharisees are recorded many times trying to trap Jesus in an argument while He was teaching. The Pharisees would leave embarrassed and angered every time. The only way they could suppress Jesus was to kill Him. The Pharisees collected a good amount of false witnesses and built a plan to finnaly do away with Jesus. So they set their plan into action.
Jesus and His followers were alone in the dead of night in a garden. It was there that Jesus was met with a group of officers, Pharisees, and a follower of His, Judas. Judas had sold out Jesus for money. Though he knew he has berayed an innocent man, he followed through. Jesus was turned over to the Pharisees, where He was beaten and thrashed. The Pharisees then held a trial for Jesus very late at night. Though the trial completely unethical, clearly fabricated, and virtually illegal, they were able to sentence Jesus as guilty on all accounts though He was innocent. The Pharisees were able to manipulate the crowds and the Roman leader Pontius Pilate into turning Jesus' sentence over to the Pharisees. Jesus was to be crucified. Pilate could not find a reason to kill Jesus. In an attempt to satisfy the anger of the people, Jesus was to be brutally beaten. The men who had the responsibility to beat Jesus took it further than they ever had on anybody before. Jesus was beaten nearly to death and was unrecognizable people are recorded saying.
The anger of the people was still unsatisfied. They needed Him dead. Pilate succeeded and had Jesus put to death for crimes He hadn't done. Jesus was brought to Golgotha/ Place of the Skull. He was put on the cross and hoisted into place. Crucifixion was the worst way a human being could die. The torture the person had to endure was a promised demise. The Romans were the masters at prolonging and making the torture as bad as possible. As the people mocked Jesus, He is recorded saying "Father, forgive them they know not what they do!". Despite Jesus having to use all His might and talking through blood-filled lungs, He shouted that God may forgive them for the things they are doing. He prayed for the people torturing Him. In His final breath, Jesus is recorded saying "It is finished.". What did He mean by that? Why would somebody say that before they die? He meant that my plan and your plan of salvation were complete. The Roman guards confirmed Jesus had died on the cross. When Jesus died, there was an earthquake in the land of a magnitude nobody had felt before. The Roman soldier overseeing Jesus' crucifixion is recorded saying "Surely... This was the Son of God.". Jesus' body was claimed by Joseph of Arimethia. Joseph and Jesus' followers brought His body to a prepared tomb where they placed Him. A stone was rolled in front of the tomb, which took the power of many many people. The Pharisees demanded that the tomb be sealed and guarded by the Romans. So the several-ton stone was sealed with rope and other seals so that it may never be opened. Guards were stationed at the tomb so that nobody was to interfere with the tomb by any means. 3 days after Jesus had died, that night the romans were there as usual. The Roman soldiers record the stone bursted open and they were blinded by the light coming from the tomb. The soldiers scattered in fear knowing they would be killed for letting something happen to their post. The stone had been moved and the body of Jesus was gone.
Over 40 days over 500 people say they saw the risen Jesus. People claim it was a mass hallucination or mistaken identity. Is it likely that 500 people some of which had no idea other people saw what they saw would all record the same sighting over the course of 40 days? After these sightings and the stories being told all over, thousands of mono-theistic Jews converted from the Jewish religion to believing in Jesus as the Messiah.Â