Understanding the Life and Teachings of Jesus

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Jesus of Nazareth, Christ, ​Jesus Christ or, simply, Jesus ( Kingdom of Judea, c.  4 BC ​– Jerusalem, 30–33 AD) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world’s largest religion and one of the most influential in history.

From the 20th century to the present day, most historians who have studied ancient times affirm the historical existence of Jesus. According to the most widely accepted opinion in academic circles, based on a critical reading and study of the texts about him, Jesus was a Jewish preacher who lived in the early 1st century in the regions of Galilee and Judea, was circumcised when he was eight days old, was baptized by John the Baptist as a young man, and then began his own ministry. Being an itinerant teacher, he was often called “rabbi”.

Jesus debated with his fellow Jews about how to better follow God, taught through parables, and gathered followers, most notably his twelve apostles. He was arrested in Jerusalem and tried by the Jewish authorities, handed over to the Roman government, and crucified by order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea. After his death, his community became the early Christian Church, which expanded as a worldwide movement. It is hypothesized that accounts of his teachings and life were initially preserved by oral transmission, which was the source of the written Gospels.

His figure is present in several religions. In Christianity, he is considered the Son of God, and for most Christian denominations, he is the incarnation of God the Son. His importance also lies in the belief that, with his death and subsequent resurrection, he redeemed humanity. In Islam, where he is known as Isa, he is considered one of the most important prophets, while rejecting his divinity. Judaism similarly denies his divinity, as it is incompatible with their concept of God. In Bahá’íism (an Abrahamic monotheistic religion), Jesus is considered a “manifestation of God”, a Bahá’í concept for prophets . Some Hindus consider Jesus to be an avatar or a sadhu . Some Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, consider Jesus to be a bodhisattva who dedicated his life to the well-being of people.

Although he is mentioned in non-Christian sources, what is known about him comes almost exclusively from Christian tradition—although he is mentioned in non-Christian sources —especially from that used in the composition of the Synoptic Gospels, written, according to the majority opinion, at least thirty or forty years after his death. Most scholars believe that by studying the Gospels it is possible to reconstruct traditions dating back to Jesus’s contemporaries, although there is considerable disagreement among researchers regarding the methods of textual analysis and the conclusions that can be drawn from them.

Jesus in the New Testament

The following is an account of the life of Jesus as it appears in the four Gospels included in the New Testament, considered sacred books by all Christian denominations. The Gospel account is the primary source for understanding Jesus and forms the basis for the interpretations of him made by the different branches of Christianity. Although it may contain historical elements, it fundamentally expresses the faith of the Christian communities at the time these texts were written, and the vision they held at that time of Jesus of Nazareth.

Birth and childhood

The accounts of Jesus’ birth and childhood come exclusively from the Gospel of Matthew (1:18–2:23) and Luke (1:5–2:52). There are no such accounts in the Gospels of Mark and John. The accounts of Matthew and Luke differ from each other:

• The Gospel of Matthew does not describe any journey prior to Jesus’ birth, so it could be assumed that Mary and her husband Joseph lived in Bethlehem. Mary became unexpectedly pregnant, and Joseph considered divorce, but an angel announced to him in a dream that Mary’s pregnancy was the work of the Holy Spirit and prophesied, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, that her son would be the Messiah awaited by the Jews. Some wise men from the East arrived in Jerusalem asking for the “newly born king of the Jews,” intending to worship him. This alerted the king of Judea, Herod the Great, who decided to eliminate his potential rival. The wise men, guided by a star, arrived in Bethlehem and worshipped the child. Again, the angel visited Joseph (Mt 2:13) and warned him of the imminent persecution by Herod, so the family fled to Egypt, remaining there until the death of the monarch (again notified to Joseph by the angel, who appeared to him thus for the third time: Mt 2:19-29). Then, Joseph returned and settled with his family in Nazareth, in Galilee.
• In the Gospel of Luke, Mary and Joseph are recorded as living in the Galilean town of Nazareth. The story of Jesus’ conception is intertwined here with that of John the Baptist—since in this Gospel, Mary and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, are related—and Mary is informed of Jesus’ birth by the angel Gabriel (known as the Annunciation: Lk 1:26–38). Emperor Augustus then orders a census in which everyone must be registered in their place of birth, and Joseph must travel to Bethlehem, as he was originally from that place. Jesus is born in Bethlehem while they are traveling and is worshipped by shepherds. Luke also adds brief accounts of Jesus’ circumcision, his presentation at the Temple, and his meeting with the doctors at the Temple in Jerusalem, during a trip made for Passover when he was twelve years old.

The genealogy of Jesus appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (Mt 1:2-16; Lk 3:23-38 ). Matthew’s genealogy goes back to the patriarch Abraham, and Luke’s genealogy goes back to Adam, the first man according to Genesis. These two genealogies are identical between Abraham and David, but differ from the latter onwards, since Matthew’s genealogies make Jesus a descendant of Solomon, while, according to Luke, his lineage would come from Nathan, another of David’s sons. In both cases, what is shown is the ancestry of Joseph, even though, according to the Bible, he would only have been Jesus’ adoptive father.

His birth name in Hebrew was Yē’šūa (ישו) and it means “Yahweh is salvation”. This name was very common, so there are several characters in the Bible called that, among them Joshua (Yehō’šūa), who succeeded Moses, led the conquest of Canaan and served as Judge of the Israelites. This name came to Spanish from the Aramaic Yēšū’a, through the Greek Ἰησοῦς and the Latin Iesvs; therefore, Joshua is a Hebrew-Aramaic adaptation, while Jesus is a Greek approximation. In Galilee Jesus was known as Yēšūa ben Yoséf (Jesus/Joshua son of Joseph).

According to David Flusser and Shmuel Safrai, the name Yēšūa would have been pronounced Yēšú during the 1st century. Apparently, the Galileans did not pronounce the ayin (ע) at the end of the word, hence the Greek transcription omits the “a”, and there are three versions, even with the same evangelist. In the New Testament, Jesus is mentioned as Iēsoû (Ἰησοῦ), Iēsoûn (Ἰησοῦν) and as Iēsoûs (Ἰησοῦς), the final “s” being a Greek particle indicating a male, also showing a Hellenization of the name.

Baptism and temptations

The arrival of Jesus was prophesied by John the Baptist (his cousin, according to the Gospel of Luke), by whom Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. During the baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended upon Jesus, and the voice of God was heard.

According to the Synoptic Gospels, the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, where he fasted for forty days and overcame the temptations to which he was subjected by the Devil. This episode is not mentioned in the Gospel of John. Afterwards, Jesus went to Galilee, settled in Capernaum, and began to preach the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Public life

Accompanied by his followers, Jesus traveled throughout Galilee and Judea preaching the gospel and performing numerous miracles. The order of Jesus’ actions and sayings varies according to the different Gospel accounts. Nor is the length of Jesus’ public life indicated, although the Gospel of John mentions that Jesus celebrated the annual Jewish Passover (Pesach) festival in Jerusalem on three occasions. The Synoptic Gospels, however, mention only the Passover festival on which Jesus was crucified.

Many of the events of Jesus’ public life narrated in the Gospels are set in northern Galilee, near the Sea of Tiberias or Lake Gennesaret, especially the city of Capernaum, but also others, such as Chorazin and Bethsaida. In the south of the region, he also visited towns such as Cana and Nain, and the village where he had grown up, Nazareth, where he was received with hostility by his former neighbors. His preaching also extended to Judea (according to the Gospel of John, he visited Jerusalem three times from the beginning of his public life), and he was in Jericho and Bethany (where he raised Lazarus).

He chose his principal followers (called “apostles” in the Gospels; in Greek, “sent ones”), twelve in number, from among the people of Galilee. The Synoptics mention the following list: Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus; Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, the one who would later betray Jesus (Mt 10:2-4; Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:13-16). Some of them were fishermen, like the two pairs of brothers formed respectively by Peter and Andrew, and John and James. Matthew is generally identified with Levi of Alphaeus, a publican who in the three synoptics is briefly related how he was called by Jesus (Mt 9,9; Mc 2,14; Lc 5,27-28), which brought Jesus numerous reproaches from the Pharisees.

The Gospel of John only mentions the names of nine of the apostles, although in several passages it refers to there being twelve.

He preached both in synagogues and in the open air, and crowds gathered to hear his words. Among his speeches, the so-called Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 5-7) stands out. He often used parables to explain the Kingdom of God to his followers. Jesus’ parables are short stories with enigmatic content (often later explained by Jesus). They generally have an eschatological content and appear exclusively in the Synoptic Gospels. Among the best-known are the parable of the sower (Mt 13:3-9; Mk 4:3-9; Lk 8:5-8), whose meaning Jesus then explains; the parable of the growing seed (Mk 4:26-29); of the mustard seed (Mt 13:31-32; Mk 4:30-32), of the wheat and the tares (Mt 13:24-30), of the lost sheep (Mt 18:12-14; Lk 15:3-7), of the lost coin ( Lk 15:8-10), of the ruthless servant (Mt 18:23-35), of the workers sent into the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16), of the two sons (Mt 21:28-32), of the murderous vine-growers (Mt 21:33-42; Mk 12:1-11; Lk 20:9-18); the parable of the wedding guests (Mt 22:1-14), the parable of the ten virgins (Mt 25:1-13), the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30; Lk 19:12-27), and the parable of the final judgment (Mt 25:31-46). Two of the best-known appear only in the Gospel of Luke: the parable of the Good Samaritan ( Lk 10:30-37) and the parable of the prodigal son ( Lk 15:11-32). In his parables, Jesus frequently uses images related to peasant life.

He had controversies with members of some of the most important religious groups in Judaism, and especially with the Pharisees, whom he accused of hypocrisy and of not caring for the most important things in the Torah: justice, compassion and loyalty (Mt 12:38-40; Lk 20:45-47).

The authenticity of his message lay in his insistence on loving his enemies (Mt 5:38-48; Lk 6:27-36) as well as in his very close relationship with God, whom he called in Aramaic with the familiar expression Abba (Father), which neither Mark (Mk 14:36) nor Paul ( Rm 8:15; Gal 4:6) translate. He is a close God who seeks out the marginalized, the oppressed ( Lk 4:18) and sinners ( Lk 15) to offer them his mercy. The prayer of the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-13; Lk 11:1-4), which he recommended his followers use, is a clear expression of this aforementioned relationship of closeness with God.

Miracles reported in the Gospels

According to the Gospels, Jesus performed several miracles during his ministry. In total, the four canonical Gospels describe twenty-seven miracles, of which fourteen are cures of various illnesses, five exorcisms, three resurrections, two natural wonders, and three extraordinary signs.

The Gospels narrate the following miraculous healings performed by Jesus:

• He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of her fever in her home in Capernaum, taking her by the hand (Mk 1:29-31; Mt 5:14-15; Lk 4:38-39);
• He healed a Galilean leper through words and the touch of his hand (Mk 1:40-45; Mt 8:1-4; Lk 5:12-16);
• He healed a paralytic in Capernaum who was presented to him on a stretcher and whose sins he had forgiven, ordering him to get up and go home (Mk 2:1-12; Mt 9:1-8; Lk 5:17-26);
• He healed a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath day in a synagogue, through the word (Mk 3:1-6; Mt 12:9-14; Lk 6:6-11);
• He healed a woman who was suffering from a flow of blood, who was healed by touching Jesus’ garment (Mk 5:25-34; Mt 9:18-26; Lk 8:40-56);
• He healed a deaf-mute in the Decapolis by putting his fingers in his ears, spitting, touching his tongue and saying: ” Ephphatha” , which means ‘open’ (Mk 7:31-37);
• He healed a blind man in Bethsaida by putting saliva on his eyes and laying his hands on him (Mk 8:22-26);
• He healed Bartimaeus, the blind man of Jericho (Mt 20:29-34; Mk 10:46-52; Lk 18:35-45);
• He healed the centurion’s servant of Capernaum from a distance (Mt 8:5-13, Lk 7:1-10, Jn 4:43-54; Jn 4:43-54);
• He healed a woman who was bent over and could not stand up, by the word and the laying on of hands ( Luke 13:10-17). This healing also took place on a Sabbath day and in a synagogue;
• He healed a man with dropsy on a Sabbath day at the home of one of the leading Pharisees ( Luke 14:1-6).
• He healed ten lepers, whom he met on the way to Jerusalem, by means of the word ( Lk 17:11-19).
• He healed a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years, in Jerusalem, on a Saturday ( Jn 5,1-9).
• He healed a man born blind by anointing him with mud and saliva, after which he ordered him to wash in the pool of Siloam ( Jn 9:1-12).
• He healed the ear of a servant of the high priest ( Luke 22:51).

In the canonical gospels there are five accounts of exorcisms performed by Jesus:

1. He cast out a demon in the synagogue of Capernaum (Mk 1:21-28; Lk 4:31-37);
2. He expelled another in the region of Gerasa (Mt 8,28-34; Mc 5,1-21; Cc 8,26-39);
3. He expelled another who possessed the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman (Mt 15:21-28; Mk 7:24-30);
4. He expelled another who was tormenting an epileptic (Mt 17:20-24; Mk 9:14-27; Lk 9:37-43);
5. He cast out a “mute demon” ( Lk 11:14; Mt 12:22).

In addition, there are several passages that refer in a generic way to exorcisms of Jesus (Mk 1,32-34 ;Mk 3,10-12).

According to the Gospels, Jesus performed three resurrections:

1. He raised a twelve-year-old girl, the daughter of Jairus, from the dead (Mk 5:21-24; Mt 9:18-26; Lk 8:40-56). Jesus affirmed that the girl was not dead, but only asleep (Mt 9:24; Mk 5:39; Lk 8:52).
2. He raised the son of the widow of Nain from the dead ( Luke 7:11-17).
3. He raised Lazarus from Bethany ( Jn 11,1-44).

According to the Gospels, Jesus also performed two natural miracles, which demonstrate the obedience of natural forces (the sea and the wind) to his authority.

1. Jesus ordered the storm to calm down and it obeyed (Mt 8:23-27; Mk 4:35-41; Lk 8:22-25).
2. Jesus walked on water (Mt 14:22-33; Mk 6:45-52; Jn 6:16-21).

Three extraordinary signs, which have a strongly symbolic meaning:

1. Multiplication of the loaves and fishes. This is the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all the Gospels (Mk 6:32-44; Mt 14:13-21; Lk 9:10-17; Jn 6:1-13). It occurs twice, according to the Gospel of Mark (8:1-10) and the Gospel of Matthew (15:32-39);
2. the miraculous catch of fish ( Luke 5:1-11; John 21:1-19);
3. the conversion of water into wine at the wedding at Cana ( Jn 2:1-11).

At that time, the scribes, Pharisees, and others attributed this power to cast out demons to a conspiracy with Beelzebub. Jesus vigorously defended himself against these accusations. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus not only had the power to cast out demons, but also transmitted that power to his followers. There is even the case of a man who, without being a follower of Jesus, successfully cast out demons in his name.

Transfiguration

The Synoptic Gospels recount that Jesus went up onto a mountain to pray with some of the apostles, and while he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became white and dazzling. Moses and Elijah appeared beside him. The apostles were asleep in the meantime, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus with Moses and Elijah. Peter suggested they make three tents: for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Then a cloud appeared, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” The disciples did not tell what they had seen.

Passion

Entry into Jerusalem and purification of the Temple

According to the four Gospels, Jesus went with his followers to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. He entered riding on a donkey, so that the words of the prophet Zechariah might be fulfilled ( Zech 9:9: “Behold, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden”). He was welcomed by a crowd, who acclaimed him as “son of David” (instead, according to the Gospel of Luke, he was acclaimed only by his disciples). In the Gospel of Luke and in the Gospel of John, Jesus is acclaimed as king.

According to the Synoptic Gospels, he then went to the Temple in Jerusalem, and expelled from there the money changers and the sellers of animals for ritual sacrifices (the Gospel of John, on the other hand, places this episode at the beginning of Jesus’ public life, and links it to a prophecy about the destruction of the Temple). He foretold the destruction of the Temple and other future events.

Anointing in Bethany and Last Supper

In Bethany, near Jerusalem, he was anointed with perfumes by a woman. According to the Synoptics, on the night of Passover he dined in Jerusalem with the Apostles, in what Christian tradition calls the Last Supper. During this Passover meal, Jesus predicted that he would be betrayed by one of the Apostles, Judas Iscariot. He took bread, saying “Take and eat, this is my body” and then, taking a chalice of wine, said: “Drink from it all, for this is the blood of the covenant, which will be poured out for the multitude for the forgiveness of sins .” He also prophesied, according to the Synoptics, that he would not drink wine again until he drank it again in the Kingdom of God.

Arrest

After supper, according to the Synoptics, Jesus and his disciples went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. The apostles, instead of praying, fell asleep, and Jesus suffered a moment of deep anguish regarding his fate, although he decided to obey God’s will.

Judas had indeed betrayed Jesus, handing him over to the chief priests and elders of Jerusalem in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. Accompanied by a group armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders, he arrived at Gethsemane and revealed Jesus’ identity by kissing him on the cheek. Jesus was arrested. There was an attempt at resistance from his followers, but eventually they all dispersed and fled.

Judgment

After his arrest, Jesus was taken to the palace of the high priest Caiaphas. There he was tried before the Sanhedrin. False witnesses came forward, but since their testimonies did not agree, they were not accepted. Finally, Caiaphas directly asked Jesus if he was the Messiah, and Jesus said, “You have said it.” The high priest tore his clothes at what he considered blasphemy. The members of the Sanhedrin cruelly mocked Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Jesus was first taken before Annas, Caiaphas’s father-in-law, and then before the latter. Only the interrogation before Annas is detailed, quite different from that described in the Synoptics. Peter, who had secretly followed Jesus after his arrest, was hidden among the high priest’s servants. Recognized as Jesus’ disciple by the servants, he denied him three times (twice according to the Gospel of John), as Jesus had prophesied.

The next morning, Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator. After questioning him, Pilate found him not guilty and asked the crowd to choose between releasing Jesus or a known robber named Barabbas. The crowd, persuaded by the chief priests, demanded that Barabbas be released and that Jesus be crucified. Pilate symbolically washed his hands to express his innocence in Jesus’ death.

Crucifixion

Jesus was flogged, dressed in a purple robe, and a crown of thorns was placed on his head, with a reed in his right hand. The Roman soldiers mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” He was forced to carry the cross on which he was to be crucified to a place called Golgotha, which in Aramaic means “place of the skull.” A man named Simon of Cyrene helped him carry the cross.

They gave Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink. He tasted it but refused to drink it. After they crucified him, the soldiers divided his garments among themselves. On the cross above his head they put a sign in Aramaic (יֵשׁו ּ נָצְרַת מלך [Yeshu’a​​ HaNatzrat Melech HaYehudim’]), Greek (Ἰησοῦς ὁ Να ζωρ αῖος ὁ Bα σιλεὺς ton Ἰουδ αίων) and Latin with the reason for his condemnation: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews”, which in paintings is often abbreviated INRI (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum), literally ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’). He was crucified between two thieves.

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema!” sabactani”, which, according to the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark, in Aramaic means: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The final words of Jesus differ in the other two Gospels. There is also a difference between the Gospels as to which of Jesus’ disciples were present at his crucifixion: in Matthew and Mark, they are various female followers of Jesus; in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ mother and the «disciple whom he loved» are also mentioned (according to Christian tradition, this would be the apostle John, although his name is not mentioned in the Gospel text).

Grave

A follower of Jesus named Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus’ body on the Friday evening of his death. He laid it, wrapped in a linen cloth, in a rock-hewn tomb. He covered the tomb with a large stone. According to the Gospel of Matthew (not mentioned in the other gospels), the next day the “chief priests and the Pharisees” asked Pilate to post an armed guard outside the tomb to prevent Jesus’ followers from stealing his body and spreading the rumor that he had been resurrected. Pilate agreed.

Resurrection and Ascension

All four Gospels report that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his death and appeared to his disciples on several occasions. In all of them, the first to discover Jesus’ resurrection is Mary Magdalene. Two of the Gospels (Mark and Luke) also report his ascension into heaven. The accounts of Jesus’ resurrection vary, however, depending on the Gospel:

• In the Gospel of Matthew, Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” went to the tomb on Sunday morning. An earthquake occurred, and an angel dressed in white rolled the stone away from the tomb and sat on it. The guards, who witnessed the scene, trembled with fear and “became as dead men” (Mt 28:1-4). The angel announced Jesus’ resurrection to the women and instructed them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, where they could see him. Upon their return, Jesus himself met them and told them again to tell the disciples to go to Galilee (Mt 28:5-10). Meanwhile, the guards informed the chief priests of what had happened. The guards bribed them to spread the word that Jesus’ disciples had stolen his body (Mt 28:11-15). The eleven apostles went to Galilee, and Jesus gave them the task of preaching the gospel (Mt 28:16-20).
• In the Gospel of Mark, three followers of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, went to the tomb early on Sunday morning, intending to anoint Jesus with perfumes (Mark 16:1-2). They saw that the stone covering the tomb had been rolled away. Inside the tomb, they found a young man dressed in a white robe, who announced to them that Jesus had risen and instructed them to tell the disciples and Peter to go to Galilee to see Jesus. It is noted that Mary and her companions said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid (Mark 16:3-8). Jesus is then reported to have appeared to Mary Magdalene (without mentioning the other women), and that she told the rest of Jesus’ followers the good news, but they were not believed (Mark 16:9-11). Jesus appeared again, this time to two people who were traveling. When these disciples told him what had happened, they were also disbelieved (Mk 16:12-13). Finally, he appeared to the eleven apostles, whom he rebuked for not believing in his resurrection. He gave them the task of preaching the gospel, and he ascended into heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of God (Mk 16:14-20).
• In the Gospel of Luke, some women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary of James, and others whose names are not mentioned, went to the tomb to anoint Jesus with perfumes. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; they entered it and did not find the body ( Luke 24:1-3). Then two men appeared to them in dazzling clothes and announced the resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24:4-7). The women announced the resurrection to the apostles, but they did not believe them ( Luke 24:8-11), except for Peter, who went to the tomb and found that the body had disappeared ( Luke 24:12). That same day, Jesus appeared to two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, who recognized him at the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:13-35). Shortly afterward, he appeared before the Eleven, who thought he was a spirit, but he revealed to them that he was in the flesh and ate in their presence (Luke 24:36-43). He explained to them the meaning of his death and resurrection (Luke 24:44-49), and later took them near Bethany, where he ascended into heaven (Luke 24:50-53).
• In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb very early in the morning and discovered that the stone had been rolled away. She ran to find Peter and the “disciple whom Jesus loved” to tell them ( Jn 20:1-2). The two ran to the tomb. The beloved disciple arrived first, but did not enter the tomb. Peter entered first and saw the linen wrappings and the burial cloth, but not the body. The other disciple entered later, “and he saw and believed” ( Jn 20:3-10). Mary Magdalene stood outside, and two angels dressed in white appeared to her. They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She replied, “Because they have taken my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” She turned around and saw the risen Jesus, who asked her why she was weeping. Mary Magdalene mistook him for the gardener and asked her where she had laid Jesus. Jesus called her, “Mary!” She recognized him and answered, ” Rabbuni!” Jesus asked her not to touch him, because he had not yet ascended to the Father, and he asked her to tell his brothers that he was going to the Father. Mary Magdalene went to tell the disciples what had happened (Jn 20:11-18). That same day, in the evening, Jesus appeared to the place where the disciples were hiding for fear of the Jews. He greeted them, saying, “Peace be with you,” showed them his hand and his side, and breathed on them and sent the Holy Spirit. One of the eleven, Thomas, was not with the rest when Jesus appeared, and he did not believe that the one who had appeared was really Jesus ( Jn 20:19-25). Eight days later, Jesus appeared again to all the disciples, including Thomas. To overcome their disbelief, Jesus told him to touch his hand and his side. Thomas believed in him (Jn 20:26-29). Later, Jesus appeared again to seven of his disciples while they were fishing by the Sea of Tiberias. They had caught nothing; he asked them to cast the net again, and they drew it full of fish. Then they recognized him and ate with him loaves and fish (Jn 21:1-14). After this, a conversation between Jesus and Peter is recounted, in which the “beloved disciple” also participates (Jn 21:15-23).

Prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus

According to New Testament authors, Jesus’ life fulfilled prophecies formulated in certain Old Testament books. The biblical books most cited in this regard by early Christians were Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Psalms, Zechariah, Micah, and Hosea. For New Testament authors, in a view shared by later Christians, these texts foretold the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, who would be the Messiah awaited by the people of Israel. Gospel writers, especially the author of the Gospel of Matthew, often explicitly cite these texts to emphasize the fulfillment of these prophecies in Jesus’ life and death. Among other things, they consider that the circumstances and place of Jesus’ birth were prophesied (Is 7:14; Mic 5:2); his relationship with Galilee (Is 9:1); his messianic status (Is 9:6-7; Is 11:1-9; Is 15:5); his role as precursor to John the Baptist (Is 40:3) and even his passion and sacrificial death (in this regard, four poems are cited in particular, included in Deutero- Isaiah (or Second Isaiah), which present the figure of a servant of Yahweh, to whose sacrifice a redemptive value is attributed, but also many other passages.

The Jews, who also consider these books sacred, do not accept the Christian belief that these prophecies refer to Jesus of Nazareth. For current historical research, the main question is to what extent these books contributed to shaping the Gospel accounts.

Jesus according to historical research

In the current state of knowledge about Jesus of Nazareth, the prevailing academic opinion is that he was a historical figure whose biography and message were modified by the authors of the sources. However, there is a minority of scholars who, based on a radical critique of the sources, consider it likely that Jesus was not even a real historical figure, but a mythical entity, similar to other cult figures in antiquity.

Sources

It is primarily Christian sources, though obviously biased, that provide information about Jesus of Nazareth. Christian texts primarily reflect the faith of early communities and cannot be considered, without further ado, historical documents.

The texts in which current criticism believes it possible to find information about the historical Jesus are, primarily, the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Secondarily, other New Testament writings (the Gospel of John, the epistles of Paul of Tarsus), some apocryphal gospels (such as those of Thomas and Peter), and other Christian texts also provide information about Jesus of Nazareth.

On the other hand, there are references to Jesus in a few non-Christian works. In some cases, their authenticity has been questioned (Flavius Josephus), or that they refer to the same person whose life is recounted in Christian sources (Suetonius). They provide little information, except that he was crucified during the reign of Pontius Pilate (Tacitus) and that he was considered a fraud by orthodox Jews.

Philological research has been able to reconstruct the history of these texts with a high degree of probability, leading to the conclusion that the earliest texts about Jesus (some of Paul’s letters) date back about twenty years to the probable date of his death, and that the main sources of information about his life (the canonical gospels) were written in the second half of the 1st century . There is a broad consensus about this chronology of the sources, just as it is possible to date some (very few) testimonies about Jesus in non-Christian sources between the last decade of the 1st century and the first quarter of the 2nd century .

Christian sources                 

There are numerous Christian writings from the first and second centuries that contain references to Jesus of Nazareth. However, only a small portion of them contain useful information about him. All of them primarily reflect the faith of Christians of the time, and only secondarily reveal biographical information about Jesus.

The main ones are:

1. The letters of Paul of Tarsus: most likely dated to be written between the 50s and 60s, they are the earliest documents about Jesus, but provide little biographical information.
2. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), included by the Church in the New Testament canon, generally date between the 70s and 90s. They provide a wealth of information, but primarily reflect the faith of early Christians and are fairly late documents.
3. The Gospel of John, also included in the New Testament, was probably written around 90-100 AD. It is generally considered less reliable than the Synoptics, as it presents much more advanced theological concepts. However, it cannot be ruled out that it contains much older traditions about the historical Jesus.
4. Some of the so-called apocryphal gospels, not included in the New Testament canon. A large proportion of these texts are very late documents that provide no information about the historical Jesus. However, some of them, whose dating is quite controversial, may convey information about Jesus’ sayings or deeds: among those generally granted greater credibility are the Gospel of Thomas, the Egerton Gospel, the Secret Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of Peter.

Letters of Paul of Tarsus

The oldest known texts relating to Jesus of Nazareth are the letters written by Paul of Tarsus, considered to predate the Gospels. Paul did not personally know Jesus. His knowledge of him and his message, according to his own statements, may come from two sources: On the one hand, he maintains in his writings that the resurrected Jesus himself appeared to him to reveal his gospel, a revelation to which Paul attached great importance (Gal 1:11-12); on the other hand, also according to his own testimony, he maintained contacts with members of various Christian communities, including several followers of Jesus. He met, as he himself states in the Epistle to the Galatians, Peter (Gal 2:11-14), John (Gal 2:9), and James, whom he refers to as “brother of the Lord” (Gal 1:18-19; 1 Cor 15:7).

Although Christian tradition attributes fourteen epistles to Paul that are included in the New Testament, current researchers only agree on the authenticity of seven of them, generally dated between the 50s and 60s (First Epistle to the Thessalonians, Epistle to the Philippians, Epistle to the Galatians, First Epistle to the Corinthians, Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Epistle to the Romans, and Epistle to Philemon). These epistles are letters addressed by Paul to Christian communities in different parts of the Roman Empire, or to private individuals. They primarily deal with doctrinal aspects of Christianity. Paul is primarily interested in the sacrificial and redemptive meaning that, according to him, the death and resurrection of Jesus have, and he makes few references to the life of Jesus or the content of his preaching.

However, the Pauline Epistles do provide some information. First, they state that Jesus was born “according to the Law” and that he was of the lineage of David, “according to the flesh” (Rom 1:3), and that the recipients of his preaching were the circumcised Jews (Rom 15:8). Second, they relate certain details about his death: he indicates that he died crucified (2 Cor 13:4), that he was buried and that he rose again on the third day (1 Cor 15: 3-8), and they attribute his death to the Jews (1 Thess 2:14) and also to the “powers of this world” (1 Cor 2:8). Furthermore, the First Epistle to the Corinthians contains an account of the Last Supper (1 Cor 11:23-27), similar to that of the synoptic gospels (Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:15-20), although probably older.

Synoptic Gospels

Scholars agree that the primary source of information about Jesus is found in three of the four Gospels included in the New Testament, the so-called Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, generally written between 70 and 100 AD.

The dominant view in current criticism is that the Gospels were not written by personal witnesses of Jesus’ activity. It is believed that they were written in Greek by authors who had no direct knowledge of the historical Jesus. Some authors, however, continue to hold the traditional view on this issue, attributing them to figures cited in the New Testament.

Although not accepted by all critics, the similarities between these gospels are usually explained by the so-called two-source theory, proposed as early as 1838 by C. H. Weisse, and later significantly qualified by B. H. Streeter in 1924. According to this theory, the earliest gospel is Mark (not Matthew, as previously believed). Both Luke and Matthew are later, and used Mark as their source, which explains the common material among the three synoptics, known as the “triple tradition”. However, there was also a second source, called Q, which contained almost exclusively words of Jesus, which explains the so-called double tradition material found in Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark (Q is now considered an independent document, of which there are even critical editions). Finally, both Luke and Matthew contain their own material, which is not found in either of the two hypothetical sources.

The degree of reliability granted to the Gospels depends on the scholars. The most widely held opinion is that they are primarily apologetic texts, that is, religious propaganda, whose main intention is to spread an image of Jesus consistent with the faith of the early Christian communities, but that they contain, to a greater or lesser extent, information about the historical Jesus. It has been shown that they contain several historical and geographical errors, numerous narrative inconsistencies, and abundant supernatural elements that are undoubtedly expressions of faith and whose historical origin is disputed. However, they place Jesus in a credible historical framework, generally consistent with what is known through non-Christian sources, and outline a fairly coherent biographical trajectory.

The research school known as “form history,” led by Rudolf Bultmann and Martin Dibelius , focused primarily on the literary “prehistory” of the Gospels. These authors determined that the Gospels (including Q, considered a “proto-Gospel”) are compilations of smaller literary units, called pericope, which belong to different literary genres (miracle narratives, didactic dialogues, ethical teachings, etc.). These pericope have their ultimate origin in the oral tradition about Jesus, but only some of them refer to true sayings and deeds of the historical Jesus. Later, another school, known as “redaction history” (or redaction criticism), emphasized the fact that the Gospel authors were responding to theological motivations when compiling and unifying the material at their disposal into a narrative.

In dating the Synoptic Gospels, a particularly important aspect is the references to the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. Studying these references, most authors agree that the three Synoptics, in their current form, date from after the destruction of the Temple (70 AD), while Q is most likely earlier.

The Gospel authors respond to specific theological motivations. In their works, they attempt to harmonize received traditions about the historical Jesus with the faith of the communities to which they belong.

• Source Q: The existence of this Protoevangelium , as stated above, has been inferred from textual research into the similarities between the Synoptics. Much progress has now been made in reconstructing this hypothetical text. It is considered to have been written in Greek, to contain mainly sayings of Jesus, and to have probably been written in Galilee​ at a time before the First Jewish-Roman War, probably between the years 40 and 60. As for its content, important parallels have been found between Q and an apocryphal gospel that is difficult to date, the Gospel of Thomas .
• Gospel of Mark: It was written in Greek, possibly in Syria, or perhaps in Rome, and is generally dated around the year 70, making it the oldest surviving gospel. It is considered basically a compilation of materials from written and oral tradition, among which the narrative of the Passion stands out for its structural unity, but which also includes anthologies of miracles, apocalyptic traditions (especially Mark 13) and scholarly disputes and dialogues.
• Gospel of Matthew: It was written in Greek, possibly in Syria, and is later than Mark, which it uses as a source. It was probably written in the 1st century AD . It combines Q, Mark, and other sources, and its main intention is to highlight the figure of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets of the Old Testament, which is why it makes abundant use of quotations from the Jewish Scriptures. The text of Mt 13:44: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he sold all he had and bought that field’, makes sense within the framework of land ownership in Rome, which was, upwards: ‘ad astra’, and downwards: ‘ad inferos’, thus, a treasure found in a field was the property of the owner of the field, so whoever finds it buys the field in order to obtain the treasure.
• Gospel of Luke: This is the first part of a unified work, the second part of which is the text known as the Acts of the Apostles, dedicated to narrating the origins of Christianity. Like Matthew, it uses Q and Mark as sources.

Gospel of john

The Gospel of John is generally considered to be later than the Synoptics (usually dated around 100 AD) and its information about the historical Jesus is less reliable. It displays a more developed theology, presenting Jesus as a pre-existent being, substantially united to God, sent by him to save mankind. However, it appears that its author used older sources, in some cases independent of the Synoptics, for example, regarding the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist, and the trial and execution of Jesus. It recounts few of Jesus’ miracles (only seven), for which he may have used a hypothetical Gospel of Signs as a source. This Gospel contains many scenes from the life of Jesus that have no parallel in the Synoptics (among them some of the best-known, such as the wedding at Cana or the raising of Lazarus of Bethany).

Apocryphal Gospels

Apocryphal gospels are texts about the actions or sayings of Jesus not included in the New Testament canon. Most apocryphal gospels do not provide valid information about the historical Jesus, as they are fairly late texts (after 150 AD) and use the canonical gospels as sources.

There are, however, some notable exceptions: the Gospel of Peter, the Egerton Papyrus 2, the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and, most notably, the Gospel of Thomas. There is no agreement among specialists regarding the dating of these texts, but the majority view is that they may contain authentic information about Jesus. Given their fragmentary nature, however, they have been used primarily to confirm information also conveyed by the canonical gospels.

Other Christian texts

• Sayings attributed to Jesus in other books of the New Testament: these sayings are conventionally called agrapha, that is, ‘not written’. Apart from the letters of Paul, already mentioned, sayings attributed to Jesus are found in the Acts of the Apostles (20:35), in the Epistle of James, and in the First Epistle of Peter.
• References from other Christian writers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, including the First and Second Epistle of Clement; the letters of Ignatius of Antioch; and a lost text, attributed to Papias of Hierapolis, entitled Exposition of the Words of the Lord, which supposedly collected oral traditions about Jesus, and of which only fragments are known from quotations by later authors, such as Irenaeus of Lyons and Eusebius of Caesarea.

The historicity of these references is generally considered quite dubious.

Non-Christian sources

There are hardly any mentions of Jesus in non-Christian sources from the 1st and 2nd centuries. No historian has dealt extensively with his story: there are only passing allusions, some of them ambiguous, and one of those by Flavius ​​Josephus (the so-called ” Flavian Testimony”) possibly contains some later interpolation. However, all together they are sufficient to certify his historical existence.​ In this regard, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica states:

These independent accounts demonstrate that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity did not doubt the historicity of Jesus, which began to be questioned, without any basis, at the end of the 18th century , throughout the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century.

These sources can be divided into:

Jewish sources

Two mentions in a work by the Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus , Jewish Antiquities.

The first passage in the work mentioned above that mentions Jesus is known as the “Flavian testimony.” It is found in Antiquities of the Jews, 18.3.3. It was later interpolated by Christian copyists, and for many years there was even a debate about whether Josephus had in his original version alluded to Jesus. This debate was resolved in 1971, when a 10th-century Arabic manuscript appeared in which Bishop Agapius of Hierapolis quoted this text from Josephus. Since the earliest extant copy of Josephus (the one in the Ambrosiana) dates from the 11th century , a century later, it must be accepted that the earlier Arabic text reproduces Josephus’s text without interpolations.

The second passage has not usually been discussed, since it is closely related to the context of the work and seems unlikely to be an interpolation. It is found in Jewish Antiquities, 20.9.1, and refers to the stoning of James, whom the text identifies as the brother of Jesus, a figure who is also called by that name in some texts by Paul of Tarsus. Although there is no absolute consensus, most authors consider the passage to be authentic.

• Mentions in the Babylonian Talmud’s Sanhedrin tractate: It is unclear whether these passages refer to Jesus of Nazareth. In Sanh. 43 BC, it is said that Yeshu was hanged “on the eve of Passover” for having practiced sorcery and inciting Israel to apostasy. The names of five of his disciples are even mentioned: Matthai, Nakai, Nezer, Buni, and Todah. Most scholars date this reference to a very late date and do not consider it an independent source of information.

Roman and Syrian sources

There are brief references to Jesus in works by Suetonius (c. 70– post -126), Tacitus (61–117), and Pliny the Younger (62–113). Except for Tacitus, these are mostly references to Christian activity:

• Suetonius, around 120 AD, refers to a note apparently taken from a police document of the time of Claudius (41-54 AD), which mentions Christians, and in another passage of the same work he speaks of the same emperor, saying that “the Jews, instigated by Chrestus, were expelled from Rome for their scandalous habits” (De Vita Caesarum. Divus Claudius, 25). From this it follows that the Hebrews were expelled from Rome, guilty of having provoked riots at the instigation of a certain Chrestus. Another version of the same text indicates that Claudius: «expelled the Jews from Rome because of the continuous quarrels caused by a certain “Chrestus”». The name Chrestus has been interpreted as a poor reading of Christus; however, it cannot be excluded that the passage refers to a Jewish agitator in Rome in the 1950s.
• About 116 or 117, the historian Tacitus, in his Annals, speaking of the reign of Nero (54-58 AD), remarks that after the burning of Rome he inflicted severe punishments on the supporters of a certain Christ, who had been put to death under Pontius Pilate: Christians take their name “from a certain Christ, who in the time of Tiberius was put to death by Pontius Pilate” (Annals , 15.44:2-3).
• At the beginning of the 2nd century, Pliny the Younger, in a letter to the Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD), mentions that “these Christians (those whom he summons before himself) who consent to sacrifice to the gods, he absolves. On the other hand, they claim to have done no wrong: they say they have simply raised hymns to Christ, like those who are dedicated to a god,” “they sing hymns to Christ (almost God, they say)” (Epistles 10:96).

There are some more texts, such as that of Lucian of Samosata (second half of the 2nd century), which mentions “that man whom they still worship, who was crucified in Palestine… that crucified sophist”, or another which, although it is doubtful, could be a reference to Jesus of Nazareth: it is a letter, preserved in Syriac, written by one Mara Bar- Serapion, which speaks of a “wise king” condemned to death by the Jews. There is no agreement on whether this letter dates from the 1st, 2nd or 3rd century AD, and it is also not clear whether or not it is a reference to Jesus of Nazareth.

The scarcity of non-Christian sources suggests that Jesus’s activities did not attract attention in his time, although according to Christian sources, his preaching would have attracted large crowds. Non-Christian sources provide only a very sketchy understanding of Jesus as a historical figure.

 Archeology

Archaeology presents no evidence to verify the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. The main explanation given for this fact is that Jesus did not achieve sufficient relevance during his lifetime to be recorded in archaeological sources, given that he was not an important political leader, but rather an itinerant preacher. While archaeological findings cannot be adduced as proof of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, they do confirm the historicity of a large number of people, places, and events described in the sources.

On the other hand, Jesus, like many prominent religious leaders and philosophers of antiquity,​ did not write anything, or at least there is no evidence that he did. All sources for historical research on Jesus of Nazareth are, therefore, texts written by other authors. The oldest document unequivocally concerning Jesus of Nazareth​ is the so-called Papyrus P52, which contains a fragment of the Gospel of John and dates, according to the most widely accepted estimates, from around 125 (that is, almost a century after the possible date of Jesus’ death, around the year 30).

Methodology

Historical research into Christian sources on Jesus of Nazareth requires the application of critical methods that allow us to discern the traditions that go back to the historical Jesus from those that constitute later additions, corresponding to the early Christian communities.

The initiative in this quest came from Christian researchers. During the second half of the 19th century , their main contribution focused on the literary history of the Gospels.

The main criteria on which there is consensus when interpreting Christian sources are, according to Antonio Piñero, the following:

• Dissimilarity criterion: According to this criterion, those facts or sayings attributed to Jesus in the sources that are contrary to the conceptions or interests of Judaism before Jesus or of Christianity after him can be accepted as true. Objections have been raised against this criterion, since by separating Jesus from first- century Judaism, there is a risk of depriving him of the context necessary to understand several fundamental aspects of his activity.
• Difficulty criterion: those facts or sayings attributed to Jesus that are inconvenient for the theological interests of Christianity can also be considered authentic.
• Multiple attestation criterion: Those facts or sayings of Jesus may be considered authentic if they can be said to come from different strata of tradition. In this respect, those usually considered to provide, at least partially, independent sources are Q, Mark, Luke’s own material, Matthew’s own material, the Gospel of John, certain apocryphal gospels (most notably, in relation to sayings, the Gospel of Thomas, but also others such as the Gospel of Peter or the Egerton Gospel), and others. This criterion also refers to the attestation of the same saying or fact in different literary forms or genres.
• Criterion of coherence or consistency: those statements or facts that are consistent with what the previous criteria have allowed to be established as authentic can also be considered true.
• Criterion of historical plausibility: according to this criterion, anything that is plausible in the context of 1st – century Judaism can be considered historical , as well as anything that can help explain certain aspects of Jesus’ influence on early Christians. As Piñero points out, this criterion contradicts the criterion of dissimilarity, stated in the first place.

Not all authors, however, interpret these criteria in the same way, and there are even those who deny the validity of some of them.

Context

Historical framework

The Jewish people, without a state of their own since the destruction of the First Temple in 587 BC, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, had spent several decades successively subjected to the Babylonians, Persians, the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, and the Seleucid Empire, without any serious conflicts. In the second century BC, however, the Seleucid monarch Antiochus IV Epiphanes, determined to impose the Hellenization of the territory, desecrated the Temple. This action triggered a rebellion led by the priestly family of the Maccabees, who established a new Jewish kingdom with complete independence from 134 BC to 63 BC.

In that year, the Roman general Pompey intervened in the civil war between two brothers of the Hasmonean dynasty, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. With this intervention, Roman rule began in Palestine. This rule, however, was not always exercised directly, but rather through the creation of one or more client states that paid tribute to Rome and were obliged to accept its directives. Hyrcanus II himself was kept by Pompey at the helm of the country, not as king, but as ethnarch. Later, after an attempt to reclaim the throne from Aristobulus II’s son, Antigonus, who was supported by the Parthians, Rome’s most trusted man was Herod, who did not belong to the Hasmonean family, but was the son of Antipater, a general of Hyrcanus II of Idumean origin.

Following his victory over the Parthians and the followers of Antigonus, Herod was appointed king of Judea by Rome in 37 BC. His reign, during which, according to most opinion, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth took place, was a relatively prosperous period.

Upon Herod’s death in 4 BC, his kingdom was divided among three of his sons: Archelaus was appointed ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Antipas (called Herod Antipas in the New Testament) was given the territories of Galilee and Perea, which he governed as tetrarch; finally, Philip inherited, also as tetrarch, the more remote regions: Batanea, Gaulanitide, Trachonitis, and Auranitide .

These new rulers would suffer varied fates. While Antipas remained in power for forty-three years, until 39, Archelaus, due to the discontent of his subjects, was deposed by Rome in 6 AD, which took direct control of the territories of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea.

During the period in which Jesus carried out his activity, therefore, his homeland, Galilee, was part of the kingdom of Antipas, who was responsible for the execution of John the Baptist, and whom a late tradition, found only in the Gospel of Luke, makes play a secondary role in Jesus’ trial. Judea, on the other hand, was directly administered by a Roman official belonging to the equestrian order, who first held the title of prefect (until 41) and then (from 44) that of procurator. During Jesus’ activity, the Roman prefect was Pontius Pilate.

The prefect did not reside in Jerusalem, but in Caesarea Maritima, a city on the Mediterranean coast that had been founded by Herod the Great, although he did travel to Jerusalem on occasion (for example, on the occasion of the Passover festival, as reported in the Gospels, since it was during these festivals, which brought together thousands of Jews, that riots often occurred). He had a relatively small military force (about 3,000 men), and his authority was subordinate to that of the legate of Syria. In the time of Jesus, the prefect had the exclusive right to pass death sentences (ius gladii).

However, Judea enjoyed a certain degree of self-government. Jerusalem in particular was governed by the authority of the high priest and his council, or Sanhedrin. The exact powers of the Sanhedrin are controversial, although it is generally accepted that, except in very exceptional cases, they did not have the power to try capital crimes.

Particular character of Galilee       

Although historically separated from Judea, Galilee was a region of Jewish faith in the first century. However, it had some distinctive features, such as the lesser importance of the Temple and the lesser presence of religious sects such as the Sadducees and Pharisees. It was highly exposed to Hellenistic influences and presented significant contrasts between rural and urban areas.

To the east of Galilee were the ten cities of the Decapolis, all of them situated on the other side of the Jordan River, except for one, Scythopolis (also called Beth Shean). To the northwest, Galilee bordered the Syro-Phoenician region, with cities such as Tyre, Sidon, and Achus/Ptolemais. To the southwest lay the city of Caesarea Maritima, the residence of the Roman prefect (later procurator). Finally, to the south lay another important city, Sebaste, named after the Emperor Augustus.

In the heart of Galilee were also two important cities: Sepphoris, very close (5 or 6 km) to Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown; and Tiberias, built by Antipas and named in honor of the Emperor Tiberius. Tiberias was the capital of Antipas’s monarchy and very close to Capernaum, a city that was likely the main center of Jesus’ activity.

It is important to note that cities were centers of influence for Hellenistic culture. The elite resided in them, while the rural areas were inhabited by an impoverished peasantry, from which Jesus most likely came. Cities were generally favorable to Rome, as demonstrated during the First Jewish-Roman War.

Christian sources do not mention Jesus visiting any of the cities in Galilee or its surroundings. However, given Tiberias’ proximity to the main sites mentioned in the Gospels, it is difficult to believe that Jesus was completely immune to Hellenistic influence.

The rural environment from which Jesus came viewed cities with hostility. The peasants of Galilee bore heavy taxes, both from the political powers (Antipas’s monarchy) and the religious powers (the Temple in Jerusalem), and their economic situation must have been quite difficult.

Galilee was the most troubled Jewish region during the 1st century, and the main anti-Roman revolutionary movements, from the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, began in this region. The struggle against the Roman Empire was, according to historian Geza Vermes, “a general Galilean activity in the first century AD.”

Judaism in the time of Jesus                       

In Jesus’ time, as today, Judaism was a monotheistic religion, based on the belief in one God. Jews believed that God had chosen his people, Israel, and had established a covenant with them primarily through Abraham and Moses. For Jews, the fundamental acts of this covenant were the calling of Abraham, the Exodus, and the promulgation of the Law at Sinai. The Jews’ fidelity to this covenant was manifested, not only in their worship of their one God, but also in the strictness with which they followed the commandments and precepts of the Torah, or the so-called Mosaic Law. This regulated all aspects of Jewish life, such as the obligation to circumcise male children, the prohibition of working on the Sabbath, and certain other dietary rules (for example, not eating pork) and purification rules.

In the 1st century, the center of worship was the Temple in Jerusalem. It was necessary to go there three times a year (during the so-called pilgrimage festivals) to perform various sacrifices and offer offerings. The Temple cult was administered by the very numerous priests and Levites, who performed the so-called sacred offices during the festivals, such as guarding and cleaning the Temple, preparing the animals and firewood for the sacrifices, and singing psalms during public celebrations. The priests and Levites were supported by the tributes from the peasants, which were obligatory for all Jews.

But the Temple wasn’t the only place where God was worshipped: in Jesus’ time, there was also the custom of meeting in synagogues every Sabbath. While worship in the Temple was dominated by the priests, the custom of meeting in synagogues promoted the religiosity of the laity. Furthermore, sacrifices were not performed in synagogues, unlike in the Temple; sacred texts were only read and discussed.

In Jesus’ time, divergent sects existed within Judaism. The author who provides the most information on this topic is Flavius Josephus. He distinguishes between three main sects: the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Pharisees. The latter was widely respected by the people and consisted primarily of lay people.

The Pharisees believed in the immortality of the soul and were known for the rigor with which they interpreted the law, considering tradition as its source. As for the Sadducees, a large number of them were part of the priestly caste, but in opposition to the Pharisees, they rejected the idea that tradition was a source of law and also denied the immortality of the soul. Finally, the Essenes are considered by the vast majority of researchers to be the authors of the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls. They constituted a type of monasticism, whose followers were strict adherents of the law, although they differed from other religious groups in their interpretation of it.

Another aspect of utmost importance in first- century Judaism is its apocalyptic conception: the belief in a future intervention by God, which would restore power to Israel and bring about universal peace and harmony. This idea gained great strength during the period in which the Jewish people were subjected to the Roman occupation (although it is already present in several of the prophetic books of the Tanakh , especially the Book of Isaiah), and is closely related to the belief in the arrival of a Messiah. Furthermore, it is frequently mentioned in so-called intertestamental literature : apocryphal books generally attributed to patriarchs or other prominent figures in the Hebrew Bible.

The man

Jesus of Nazareth was most likely born around 4 BC, although the date cannot be determined with certainty. According to the current majority opinion among scholars, his birthplace was the Galilean village of Nazareth, although he could also have been born in Bethlehem, in Judea, near Jerusalem. His parents were named Joseph and Mary, and he likely had siblings. There is no record that he was married; he was probably celibate, although there is no source that confirms this either. When he was about 30, he became a follower of a preacher known as John the Baptist, and when John the Baptist was captured by order of the Tetrarch of Galilee, Antipas (or perhaps earlier), he formed his own group of followers. As an itinerant preacher, he traveled to various towns in Galilee, announcing an imminent transformation that he called the Kingdom of God. He preached in Aramaic, although he very likely also knew Hebrew, the liturgical language of Judaism, both in synagogues and in private homes and outdoors. Among his followers were several women.

He carried out his preaching over a period of time that is impossible to specify, but which in any case did not exceed three years, and was most likely considerably less. During his preaching, he achieved fame in the region as a healer and exorcist. In his view, his activity as a miracle worker also heralded the Kingdom of God. He was accused of being a drunkard and a glutton, a friend of tax collectors and prostitutes (Mt 11:19), and of exorcising with the power of the prince of demons (Mt 12:22-30). His relatives considered him insane (Mk 3:21). He felt compassion for the crowds (Mt 14:14), and the only time he spoke about his personality, he described himself as meek and humble of heart (Mt 11:29), but he refused to be called good, because only God is good (Mk 10:18). The living presence of Jesus generated a liberating joy in his disciples: “Can the bridegroom’s companions fast while the bridegroom is with them? They cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them” (Mk 2:19).

On the occasion of the Passover festival, he went to Jerusalem with a group of followers. Probably for something he did or said related to the Temple of Jerusalem, although other motives cannot be ruled out, he was arrested by order of the city’s Jewish religious authorities, who handed him over to the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate, accused of sedition. As such, he was executed, possibly around the year 30, by order of the Roman authorities in Judea. After his death, his followers dispersed, but soon afterward they collectively experienced something that led them to believe he had been resurrected and would return shortly to establish the Kingdom of God he had preached during his life.

Name

Jesus is the Latinized form of the Greek Ιησοῦς (Iesoûs), with which he is mentioned in the New Testament, written in Greek. The name derives from the Hebrew Ieshu, a shortened form of Yeshúa, the most widespread variant of the name Yehoshúa, which means ‘Yahweh saves’, and which also designates Joshua, a well-known figure in the Old Testament, lieutenant and successor of Moses.

It is known that this was a common name at the time, since some twenty figures of the same name are mentioned in the work of Flavius Josephus. The form of this name in Aramaic ―the language of Judea in the 1st century― is most likely the one used by Jesus: Ieshuá (ישׁו , Yēšûaʿ).

In Mark and Luke, Jesus is called Iesoûs hó Nazarēnós (Ιησοῦς ὅ Ναζα ρηνός); and in Matthew, John and sometimes in Luke is used the form Iesoûs ho Nazoraîos (Ιησοῦς ὅ Να ζωρ αῖος), which also appears in the Acts of the Apostles. The interpretation of these epithets depends on the authors: for the majority, both refer to his place of origin, Nazareth; others interpret the epithet nazoraîos (‘Nazorean’) as a compound of the Hebrew words neser (‘shoot’) and semah (‘germ’); according to this interpretation, the epithet would have a messianic character; Others, however, interpret it as Nazarean (‘separated for Yahweh’). The Dictionary of the Spanish language (of the Royal Spanish Academy) includes for the word “Nazarene” the description: “A Hebrew who dedicated himself particularly to the worship of God, did not drink any liquor that could intoxicate, and did not cut his beard or hair.” Very possibly, in Jesus’ time there were a few more men who acted in this way as a religious service.

Place and date of birth

Jesus was probably born in Nazareth, in Galilee, since most sources refer to him as “Jesus of Nazareth,” and in ancient times the place of birth was usually expressed in this way. However, two gospels (Luke and Matthew), the only ones among the canonical gospels that refer to the infancy of Jesus, report his birth in Bethlehem, in Judea. Although this birthplace is the one commonly accepted by Christian tradition, current researchers have highlighted that the accounts of Matthew and Luke are based on themes from the Davidic tradition, contain several historically unreliable elements, and show a clear intention to demonstrate that Jesus was the Messiah, who, according to Micah 5:2, was to be born in Bethlehem. Many current critics consider that the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was a later addition by the authors of these gospels and does not correspond to historical reality. However, other authors, most of them Catholic, understand that there is no reason to doubt the historical veracity of Matthew and Luke on this point.

Although Nazareth is mentioned 12 times in the Gospels, and archaeological research indicates that the town was continuously occupied from the 7th century BC, “Nazareth” is not mentioned by historians or geographers of the first centuries AD. According to John P. Meier, Nazareth was “an insignificant place located in the hills of Lower Galilee, a town so obscure that it is never mentioned in the Old Testament, Josephus, Philo, nor in the early literature of the rabbis, nor in the pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament.” Although Luke 1:26 calls it a “city,” it is in fact a poor village that owed all its subsequent importance to the Christian fact. The name “Nazarene” given to the Palestinian Christians of the 1st century was undoubtedly ironic and derogatory, and in this sense the name of Jesus was accompanied by the title “of Nazareth,” an obscure place that in no way favored him, as pointed out by Raymond E. Brown.

With the data currently available, it is not possible to specify the year of birth of Jesus of Nazareth. It is considered fairly certain that the death of Herod the Great took place in the year 4 BC. Therefore, when dating the birth of Jesus, the vast majority of authors opt for a range between the years 7 and 4 BC, since there is a probability that the birth occurred in the last years of the reign of Herod the Great. Some authors extend the probable date of his birth to the year 8 BC, or 3-2 BC, although these positions are clearly in the minority today.

Christian sources do not offer an absolute chronology of the events in the life of Jesus, with one exception: Luke 3:1 places the beginning of John the Baptist’s activity in “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius”, which could possibly be interpreted as equivalent to one of these years: 27, 28 or 29. A little later (Luke 3:23), it indicates that Jesus was approximately 30 years old at the beginning of his preaching. In addition to placing ―like Matthew― the birth of Jesus at the end of the reign of Herod the Great, Luke’s account mentions the “census of Quirinius” (whose full and precise name is Publius Sulpicius Quirinius , “Quirinus” or “Cyrinus” probably being deviations of the copyists), which raises an unresolved historical problem. In Jewish Antiquities , 17.13; 18.1, the historian Flavius ​​Josephus alluded to a census under Cyrinus (Quirinius or Quirinus) when Coponius was procurator of Judea. If one compares Luke’s verses with all the historical chronicles concerning Quirinius ‘s rule in Syria and the censuses taken under Caesar Augustus, one finds that a census “covering the whole known world under Augustus” is unknown, and that the census of Judea, which did not include Nazareth, and which took place under Quirinius , would have occurred about ten years after the death of Herod the Great, ​ that is, in 6 or 7 AD ​ and therefore presumably after the birth of Jesus. ​ It is likely that post factum, that is, after the death of Jesus of Nazareth, his birth has been associated with scattered memories of events that occurred a few years before or after the birth itself. On this point, Antonio Piñero noted: “The vast majority of researches believe that Luke refers “by hearsay” to the census of Quirinius in 6 AD, therefore about ten years after the birth of Jesus.”

Conventionally, the date of Jesus’ birth was adopted as that calculated in the 6th century by Dionysius Exiguus, based on erroneous calculations and which today serves as the beginning of the so-called Christian era; also conventionally, in the 4th century his birth began to be celebrated on December 25.

Family origins

Regarding Jesus’ family, all the Gospels agree on the name of his mother, Mary, and his father, Joseph, although two of the Gospels (Matthew and Luke) contain differing accounts of Jesus’ miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. According to these accounts, Joseph was not his real father, but only his legal father, as he was Mary’s husband. Most researchers believe these accounts are quite late: they are not mentioned in the Gospels of Mark and John, and there are indications that suggest that in Jesus’ time he was known as “son of Joseph.”

Jesus’ brothers are mentioned several times in the Gospels and other New Testament books. In Mark 6:3, the names of Jesus’ four brothers are mentioned: James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, and the existence of sisters is also indicated. This mention has been open to different interpretations: Catholics, most Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and Reformed Churches, following Jerome, conclude that these were Jesus’ cousins, sons of the Virgin Mary’s sister, sometimes identified as Mary of Cleophas. While the Eastern Orthodox, following Eusebius and Epiphanius, argue that they were sons of Joseph from a previous marriage. The rest of the other denominations believe that these were children of Joseph and Mary.

There are numerous sources that indicate the Davidic ancestry of Jesus through Joseph (although, as mentioned above, some gospels explicitly state that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus). Several passages in the New Testament show that he was called “son of David”, and that the idea of ​​his Davidic origin was widespread in the early years of Christianity, although he never referred to himself as such. Critics disagree, however, that this Davidic ancestry is true, since it may be an addition by the evangelists to demonstrate Jesus’ messianic status. The genealogies of Jesus that appear in Matthew and Luke (Mt 1, 1-16 and Lk 3, 23-31) are different from each other, although both link Joseph, Jesus’ legal father, to the lineage of David.

Other data: religion, language, profession

Jesus’ activity was part of the Jewish religious tradition. Sources suggest that he generally observed the precepts of the Mosaic Law (although he occasionally disagreed with the interpretations of it by some religious groups) and that he shared beliefs common in first-century Judaism (such as the existence of demons and the resurrection of the dead).

Researchers agree that Jesus’s native language was Aramaic. Although the Gospels are written in Greek, they contain frequent expressions in Aramaic, most of them attributed to Jesus. Furthermore, Aramaic was the common language of the Jews of Galilee. The Aramaic spoken in Galilee was certainly a recognizable dialectal variant, as evidenced by the fact that Peter is recognized by his accent in Jerusalem (see Mt 26:73).

It is unclear whether Jesus spoke Greek or not. It is generally believed that he knew Hebrew, which at the time was solely a religious and cultural language, and that he could read, since on one occasion he is depicted reading the Book of Isaiah (written in Hebrew) in a synagogue.

It seems that both Jesus and his father, Joseph, worked as laborers, artisans, or carpenters. In any case, there is a broad consensus that he came from a rural background. In his preaching, he also made frequent references to agricultural work, and he hardly seems interested in the urban environment (there is no evidence that he ever visited the main cities of Galilee during his preaching, despite the fact that the important city of Sepphoris was located a short distance from Nazareth).

Physical appearance

There is no conclusive evidence to reveal the physical appearance of Jesus that would have been evident in the gospels. Christianity contributed images in its paintings within the catacombs, and during the Renaissance portraits and writings in general present him as a very remarkable man with a very idealized European or Caucasian similarity, and other hypotheses indicate a non-Caucasian appearance, but of a very normal appearance to the average Hebrew of the time, with dark skin, short stature, without greater relevance. A study carried out on the so-called Shroud of Turin, published in March 2023, exhibited a hyperrealistic sculpture of the Christ of the Holy Shroud. The work carried out shows him as a white man, well built, 1.78 m tall, with a beard and abundant hair, prominent nose and white complexion very similar to the 1st century figures found in the catacombs.

Your activity

The exact length of Jesus’ public life is uncertain. The Synoptic Gospels mention a single Passover feast celebrated by him with his disciples in Jerusalem, during which he was arrested and crucified. This seems to suggest that his public life lasted only a year. In the Gospel of John, on the other hand, three Passover feasts are mentioned, all three celebrated by Jesus in Jerusalem, suggesting that Jesus’ ministry lasted two or three years. In all the Gospels, there is only one precise date, given by Luke (Luke 3:1-2), indicating that John the Baptist’s activity began in the 15th year of Tiberius’s reign. This may coincide, according to different calculations, with 27, 28, or even 29 AD, although most authors lean toward the year 28.

According to all the Gospels, Jesus’ public life begins with his baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. It is likely that Jesus began his activity as a follower of the Baptist.

Followed by a group of faithful, from among whom he chose his closest associates, the twelve apostles or envoys, he toured all of Galilee (especially the area around Capernaum) and the surrounding regions of Phoenicia, the Decapolis and the territory of the tetrarchy of Herod Philip.

According to Christian sources, his preaching conveyed a message of hope, especially directed toward the marginalized and sinners (Luke 15). He possibly gathered large crowds (for example, there is talk of five thousand people in reference to the multiplication of the loaves and fishes). He went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with his disciples, and he entered the city triumphantly.

Relationship with John the Baptist

In all four canonical Gospels, the beginning of Jesus’ public life is marked by his baptism by John in the Jordan. John the Baptist is a relatively well-known figure thanks to the information provided about him by Flavius ​​Josephus, who states that he was “a good man who incited the Jews […] to be just with one another and pious toward God, and to go together to baptism” (Jewish Antiquities, 18, 116-119) and relates that Herod Antipas executed him for fear that he would provoke a revolt. John’s message, as reflected in the sources, seems quite similar to that of Jesus; according to Matthew, in his preaching he made reference to the Kingdom of Heaven and insisted on the need for prompt repentance. The fact that Jesus underwent the baptismal rite suggests that he was probably initially part of the Baptist’s religious community.

In the Gospels, John considers himself a forerunner, declaring that he is not worthy to untie the strap of Jesus’ sandals and that Jesus will replace his water baptism with baptism “in the Holy Spirit.” For his part, Jesus speaks with great respect of John, stating that “among those born of women no one greater has risen,” although he adds that “he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” In the Gospel of John, it is suggested that there was some rivalry between the disciples of Jesus and the Baptist, but it is made clear that John always accepted his subordination to Jesus.

It should be noted that the Gospels were written by followers of Jesus, with the aim of gaining new converts. If, as seems to be the case, John the Baptist was a relatively well-known and respected figure in his time (as evidenced by the fact that Flavius Josephus refers to him at length), it is quite understandable that the Evangelists present him as publicly admitting Jesus’ superiority.

Preaching

A study of the sources (especially the Synoptic Gospels) suggests that Jesus preached as an itinerant preacher in the northern part of the West Bank, now Palestine, and primarily in the villages bordering Lake Gennesaret. His followers were primarily of peasant extraction, and he was also accompanied by several women, which is unusual in the context of Jewish religious movements. He chose twelve apostles or messengers, possibly representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Neither the names of the apostles nor the accounts of how they joined Jesus coincide in all the Gospels, but they all agree on the number of twelve.

Critics are virtually unanimous in considering that the core of Jesus’ preaching was the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. However, there are important discrepancies when it comes to interpreting what this expression means in the context of Jesus’ preaching. The “Kingdom of God” is announced as imminent; in this sense, Jesus’ preaching is inserted into the context of Jewish apocalyptic literature, in which there is hope for God’s imminent intervention in human affairs. To enter the Kingdom of God that Jesus prophesies requires an inner transformation (metanoia) that affects all spheres of human existence; thus, whoever does not become like a child will not enter the Kingdom (Mt 18:1-5), and forgiveness is a condition for effective worship (Mt 5:21-26).

Jesus described the Kingdom of God in parables, many of which contrast a small and insignificant beginning with a splendid end (Mt 13:31-34), a generous father with busy and ungrateful banquet guests (Mt 22:1-14), a compassionate king with a ruthless servant (Mt 18:21-35), a trusting vinedresser with unfaithful tenants ( Lk 20:9-19), a careless sower with different types of soil (Mk 4:1-9).

There is a fair amount of consensus among specialists that Jesus’ preaching was directed exclusively to the people of Israel. According to Matthew, he said: “I am sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:24). Among the historians who have not accepted this Jewish exclusivity is Ernest Renan, who expressed himself thus in his controversial work, Life of Jesus (1863):

It is revolutionary in the highest degree; it calls all men to a worship based solely on their status as children of God. It proclaims the rights of man, not the rights of the Jew; the religion of man, not the religion of the Jew; the liberation of man, not the liberation of the Jew.
Ernest Renan, Life of Jesus

In any case, it is recognized that some Gentiles may have shared his message. According to the Gospels, he healed some Gentiles, such as the centurion’s servant at Capernaum or the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman , moved by their faith.

There is no unanimity among scholars as to whether Jesus considered himself the Messiah of Israel, as the canonical Gospels claim, or whether his identification as such belongs to the theology of the early Christian communities. In the Synoptics, and especially in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus implicitly admits that he is the Messiah, but on numerous occasions asks his disciples not to divulge this (“messianic secret”).

It is generally considered historical fact that Jesus called himself “Son of Man”, although it is not clear whether this is an eschatological title, as its use in the Book of Daniel and other intertestamental texts suggests , or a mere Semitic circumlocution referring to the first person singular.

Generally speaking, Jesus’ preaching remained within the framework of the Judaism of his time. In some respects, however, he conflicted with the interpretation of Jewish law held by other religious groups (primarily the Sadducees and Pharisees), especially in two areas: Sabbath observance and ritual purity. There are disagreements about how to interpret these conflicts: as an ethical controversy (priority of human good over the letter of the precept, of the interior over the exterior), as a controversy of authority (Jesus has power received from on high and exercises it), or as an eschatological controversy (a new era is inaugurated).

In Jesus’ preaching, his ethical teachings are of great importance. The center of Jesus’ ethics was love for one’s neighbor, for the helpless from whom one cannot receive anything in return (Luke 14:13), and, very especially, love for one’s enemy (the only way to distinguish oneself from pagans who love those who love them) (Mt 5:44-48; Lk 6:27-38). For some authors, the ethics Jesus preached have a provisional character and are oriented primarily toward the period of preparation for the Kingdom of God. For this reason, too, Jesus’ ethics emphasize the renunciation of material goods. In any case, the sources agree that one cannot serve both God and riches (Mt 6:24).

Jesus and the women

Many experts have drawn attention to the coincidence in the sources regarding the special consideration Jesus seems to have had for women of diverse conditions, especially those marginalized, sick, and public sinners. This was, to a certain extent, novel for a rabbi of his time. There are many examples: the bent-over woman he approaches and heals on the Sabbath, calling her “daughter of Abraham,” a title exclusively for men (Luke 13:11); the woman with a hemorrhage, who suffered from an extreme feminine pathology that made her impure and excluded, and who manages to touch him, but Jesus cannot help but heal her (Mark 5:25-34); the pagan foreigner, the only character in the canonical Gospels who convinces him in an argument, appealing to his heart with a parable about the healing of her daughter (Matthew 15:28); the widow whom Jesus approaches on his own initiative and, moved by compassion, raises her only son from the dead (Luke 7:13); the prostitute who anoints him, to the scandal of those present, and whose sins are forgiven because “she has loved much” (Lk 7:37-47); the poor widow whom Jesus praises for her generosity (Mk 12:41-44); Martha and Mary, the friends who welcome him into their home (Lk 10:38-42); etc.

The synoptic sources also agree that among Jesus’ itinerant disciples were women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, Susanna, Mary Cleophas, among others), something unusual in a patriarchal society. They even claim that they remained at the foot of the cross when everyone else had fled (Mark 15:40-41). It is also paradoxical that women are recognized as the first witnesses of the resurrection, whose testimony had little validity in that social context (Mark 16:11).

On the other hand, in his diatribes against the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus reproaches them for devouring the property of widows under religious pretexts (Luke 20:18), and he even assures the princes of the priests and the elders of the people that prostitutes will precede them into the Kingdom of God (Mt 21:31).

In the Gospel of John, for its part, several female characters stand out: the Samaritan woman, an ethnic enemy with a licentious life who is the interlocutor of the discourse of “living water” and “worship in spirit and truth,” who ends up evangelizing her Samaritan neighbors; Martha of Bethany, the protagonist of a fundamental dialogue on “resurrection and life”; her sister Mary, whom Jesus praises for choosing the better part in listening to him (Lk 10:38-42); and the adulterous woman whom Jesus saves from being stoned to death according to the Law of Moses. Even the most demanding historical and exegetical criticism recognizes that, beyond the kerygmatic nature of these stories, there is a hidden historical background in which the Jewish preacher, Jesus of Nazareth, gave striking consideration to the women of his time.

Miracles

Both the synoptic sources and the Gospel of John present Jesus as a miracle worker. The Flavian Testimony also highlights this aspect of his activity, stating that he “performed surprising deeds” (Jewish Antiquities , XVIII, 63), although it cannot be confirmed that this is not a later Christian interpolation.

Current scholarship generally does not give historical credence to Jesus’ miraculous deeds involving alterations in the laws of nature, which are seen as a projection of early Christian faith and as such require symbolic, not literal, interpretation. Miracle stories may largely have a Hellenistic origin: Rudolf Bultmann found parallels between the miracle stories of Jesus and similar ones in the Hellenistic tradition, leading him to conclude that “it seems likely that miracle stories generally have a Hellenistic origin.”

However, it is generally accepted that Jesus was considered by his contemporaries to be able to cure certain diseases and exorcise demons, which can be interpreted in light of popular beliefs in 1st-century Palestine. The Synoptics, and especially the Gospel of Mark, offer numerous testimonies of this type of activity, and it does not seem likely that these were later additions. These testimonies also coincide with those of Talmudic sources, which report that Jesus was executed as a sorcerer. Some researchers, such as the American Morton Smith, have come to consider these types of practices as the most important in the magisterium of Jesus, to the point of identifying him as a Hellenistic magician, similar to others, roughly contemporary, such as Apollonius of Tyana.

Death

Most sources that refer to the death of Jesus agree that he was crucified by order of the then Roman prefect in Judea, Pontius Pilate.

That the order for Jesus’ execution came from Roman authorities is confirmed by what is known about legal procedures in the provinces of the Roman Empire. Capital sentences were the exclusive jurisdiction of the Roman official, who held the so-called ius gladii (right of the sword). Furthermore, only the Romans used crucifixion as a method of execution. For most historians and biblical scholars, the reference in the four canonical Gospels to the existence of an inscription or titulus —a tablet intended to specify the reason for the crucifixion— containing the condemnatory charge against Jesus of Nazareth constitutes one of the most solid pieces of evidence for the historical nature of his passion. Furthermore, Raymond Edward Brown points out that it is implausible that the charge on which Jesus of Nazareth was condemned (“king of the Jews”) is an invention, because it was never presented as a Christian confession and because it was an inscription visible to all.

There are, however, disagreements among researchers when it comes to determining some of the circumstances of Jesus’ execution. First, regarding the crime of which Jesus was accused and for which he was sentenced to death. Second, regarding the degree of involvement of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem in Jesus’ trial and sentencing.

Chronology

None of the sources offer an exact date for Jesus’ death. However, both the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John agree that Jesus died on a Friday. According to the Synoptics, this Friday coincided with the first day of the Passover festival, celebrated on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan. The Gospel of John, on the other hand, indicates that Jesus’ death occurred the day before the festival (that is, on Nisan 14), the evening when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple in Jerusalem. It has been suggested that John’s information may have been motivated by his intention to identify Jesus as the true Lamb of God, since his death, in the Johannine account, occurs at the same time that the lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple for the Passover feast.

All sources agree that Jesus’ execution took place during the reign of Pontius Pilate (26-36). If the information provided by the Synoptic Gospels is accepted as reliable, Jesus’ death could have occurred in either 27 or 34, since in these two years the 15th of Nisan fell on a Friday. If, however, the most reliable information is that provided by the Gospel of John, the possible dates are 30 and 33, years in which the 14th of Nisan fell on a Friday. Most scholars prefer the years 30 and 33.

Some authors have attempted to harmonize the data provided by the Synoptics and John, appealing to the use of two different calendars (an official lunar calendar and a solar calendar used by the Essenes). There is no evidence, however, that Jesus followed a calendar other than the one that governed the official festivals.

Although Christian tradition generally considers Jesus to have been 33 years old at the time of his death, it is entirely possible that he was older, given that, as has been stated, he was possibly born before 4 BC (the year of Herod the Great’s death).

Minority theories

Theories about the historical character of Jesus

• One theory considers that Jesus was primarily a messianic revolutionary, who sought to redeem Israel and establish a theocratic regime (the Kingdom of God). This theory links Jesus to the Zealot movement and is based primarily on the information, corroborated by non-Christian sources (Tacitus, Flavius Josephus), of his execution on the cross, a punishment reserved for those convicted of sedition. According to these authors, what contradicts this theory in the sources would be the result of a reworking of the history of Jesus by his followers, carried out after his death. The main proponent of this theory theory was S. F. G. Brandon: Jesus and the zealots: a study of the political factor in primitive Christianity (1967).
• Other theories link Jesus to the Essenes sect.
• Some authors, such as Burton Mack or John Dominic Crossan, think that Jesus was primarily an ethical teacher, whose teachings have great affinities with Cynic philosophy.
• Morton Smith, in his book Jesus the magician, identifies Jesus as a magician.
• Several authors, notably Hyam Maccoby, believe that Barabbas is the Greek version of the Aramaic Bar Abba (‘son of the father’), supposedly the nickname of Jesus himself. According to this, by asking Pilate for Barabbas’s release, the people were asking for Jesus’s release.

Theory of Jesus as a mythical character

Some authors absolutely deny the historical validity of Christian sources, and maintain that the figure of Jesus is the result of a conscious falsification by the early Christians. According to this theory, Jesus was not a historical figure, but a mythical entity, a product of syncretism between Hellenistic and Jewish religions. Currently, the main defenders of this theory in academic circles are George Albert Wells, Earl Doherty, Alvar Ellegård , Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy .

The main arguments supporting this position are:

• In first-century Christian literature, excluding the Gospels, there are hardly any references to Jesus’ activities. None of these texts record his teachings, his miracles, or the trial that led to his execution. Earl Doherty ironically calls this “a conspiracy of silence.”
• The fact that many of the events in Jesus’ life narrated in the Gospels have clear parallels in the Jewish Bible has led some to believe that the Gospel accounts were modeled after those of the Old Testament.

Criticism                      

Most scholars consider this theory quite implausible, since the 1920s “it is not considered scientific to deny the historical existence of Jesus because of the amount of direct or indirect evidence for his existence.” As arguments that make the historical existence of Jesus more plausible:

1. the mention of Jesus in the works of two non-Christian authors considered reliable (Tacitus and Flavius Josephus);
2. the set of Christian texts transmitted about his figure, since “although Christian writings manifest themselves as works of followers of Jesus, denying the historical existence of the central character in them presents many more difficulties than admitting it”;
3. the allusions in these texts to historical figures whose existence can be verified with non-Christian documents;
4. The reinterpretations and reworkings of the figure of Jesus by the authors of Christian sources, which would not have been accurate if the character were an invention; and
5. the development of Christianity, difficult to explain without the figure of Jesus.

Murray J. Harris further suggested “institutional evidence and some psychological considerations” in support of the historical character of Jesus; among the latter he highlighted the psychological improbability that a group of first- century Jews, for whom crucifixion was a curse (Deut 21:23), would invent a religion whose founder was crucified by the Romans on charges of sedition and political unrest, and would die for upholding such a deception of their own making.

Historical repercussions of Jesus of Nazareth

The gap between the minimal historical impact that Jesus’ preaching achieved during his lifetime and its subsequent influence on universal history is abysmal. The religious movement initiated by Jesus, splitting from Judaism, ended up becoming a new religion, Christianity, which gained followers throughout the Mediterranean during the first centuries of our era. Despite being harshly criticized, and even persecuted, during the 4th century Christianity became the principal religion (officially the only one after the Edict of Thessalonica) of the Roman Empire. The Christian Church achieved enormous power and maintained its strongly hierarchical structure after the barbarian invasions that marked the end of the Western Roman Empire. In the East, it continued to be the official religion of the Byzantine Empire until the end of this state, in the mid- 15th century, although in much of the former eastern territories of the Roman Empire it was displaced, from the 7th century onwards, by the advance of Islam.

Christianity became part of Europe’s cultural heritage, to the point that it is now considered one of its main identifying features. The English philosopher Sir Anthony Kenny stated in his book A New History of Western Philosophy that “for the long-term development of philosophy, the most important event in the first century was the life of Jesus of Nazareth.” The impact of Christianity on Western philosophy had two major effects: First, it reduced interest in philosophy because it was considered a pagan doctrine; and second, philosophy became the “servant” of theology, with conjectures opposed to the dogmas of faith being rejected. With the expansion of European culture that began in the 15th century, this religion spread to many other parts of the world, especially America, where it is also the most important religion today. Currently, Christianity, in its different denominations, is the religion with the largest number of followers worldwide.

The history of the Christian Church, both in the East and the West, has largely been one of struggle between different conceptions of Christianity, which led to various schisms and the subsequent emergence of new churches. Thus, today there is not just one Christian denomination, but rather a wide variety of denominations. All these variants of Christianity share, however, a vision of Jesus of Nazareth that is essentially relatively unified.

Christianity, and especially the figure of Jesus of Nazareth, has exerted an enormous influence on all aspects of European and American culture to this day.

Jesus in Christianity

The figure of Jesus of Nazareth is the center of all so-called Christian religions, although there are different interpretations of his person. In general, for Christians, Jesus of Nazareth is the protagonist of a unique and inalienable act, through which man acquires the possibility of rising above his fallen nature and achieving salvation. This act is consummated with the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The resurrection is, therefore, the central fact of Christianity and constitutes its soteriological hope. As an act, it is exclusive to divinity and inaccessible to man. More precisely, the incarnation, death, and resurrection compensate in three successive acts for the three obstacles that, according to Christian doctrine, separated God from man: nature, sin, and death. Through the incarnation of the Word, divine nature becomes human. Through Christ’s death, sin is overcome, and through his resurrection, death.

Historically, the core of Christian doctrine was established at the Council of Nicaea, with the formulation of the Nicene Creed. This council is recognized by the main Christian denominations: Catholics, Orthodox, and the various Protestant churches. The text of the Nicene Creed regarding Jesus is as follows:

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; begotten as the only Son of the Father, that is, of the substance of the Father, God of God; Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father; through whom all things were made, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; who for us men and for our salvation came down and became flesh, became human, and suffered, and rose again on the third day, and will come to judge the living and the dead.

There are, however, non-trinitarian churches that did not recognize the existence of a Trinity of persons in God (for example, Arianism, and later Unitarianism).

Jesus of Nazareth is also considered the incarnation of the Son, the second person or hypostasis of the Christian Trinity. He is Son by nature, not by adoption, which means that his divinity and humanity are inseparable. The relationship between divine and human nature was established by the Council of Chalcedon in these terms:

Following the Holy Fathers in unanimity, we teach that there is to be confessed one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in his divinity and perfect in his humanity, true God and true man with a rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; like us in all things but sin, born of the Father before all ages according to his divinity, and in the last days for us and for our salvation, born of Mary, the Virgin (mother) of God, according to his humanity: one and the same Christ the Lord, the only-begotten Son, in two very distinct natures, immutable, indivisible, inseparable; the difference of natures is in no way abolished by the union, but the properties of each nature are preserved and they agree in one person and one subject. He is not divided or split into two persons, but one and the same is the only Son, God, the Word, Jesus the Lord, just as the prophets and Jesus Christ himself taught us from the beginning and handed on the symbol of the fathers. After these things had been thoroughly and accurately regulated by us, this Holy Ecumenical Synod has decided that no one is to be allowed to utter a different faith, or to write it down, or to adapt it, or to think about it, or to teach it to others.

Christian denominations with conciliar disagreements

There are some minority Christian religions that do not share the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Nicaea, the Council of Ephesus, and the Council of Chalcedon.

• Nestorianism: A doctrinal variant inspired by the thought of Nestorius that currently has active churches, such as the Assyrian Church of the East. The core of its doctrine is the rejection of the idea that God the Son could ever have been a child. Consequently, they separate the human and divine persons of Jesus. It was rejected by the Council of Ephesus.
• Monophysitism: This is the doctrinal variant that unifies the two natures of Jesus of Nazareth. It was promoted by Eutyches and rejected at the Council of Chalcedon. The Eastern Orthodox Churches, including the Coptic Church, were accused of being Monophysite, but they too rejected Eutyches’ theology and defended Miaphysitism .

Jesus in the new religious movements of Christian origin

Several religious movements of Christian affiliation, emerging from the second half of the 19th century , depart from the traditional beliefs of mainstream Christian religions regarding the doctrine of the Trinity, the nature of Christ, and his mission. For this reason, traditional groups debate whether these movements can be considered truly Christian.

The Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) believes that Jesus Christ offers salvation in two different aspects, from physical death and from spiritual death. The Mormon church, founded in the United States, also maintains the belief that, after his resurrection, Jesus Christ visited America and continued his teachings there.

Jehovah’s Witnesses consider Jesus to be the only being created directly by God and that he is not a man nor the almighty God, but “a powerful spirit creature” enthroned as king. They also believe that Jesus is not part of a trinity, and that he did not rise again on his own, but that God resurrected him. Jehovah’s Witnesses affirm that Jesus did not die on a cross but on a stake and therefore do not use the cross or any other symbol. Another point that characterizes their beliefs is that Jesus Christ became King in heaven in 1914 and the Archangel Michael is Jesus Christ in his heavenly position.

For Mary Baker Eddy’s Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist), Jesus the Christ has a duality: one is Jesus as man and the other is Christ as the divine idea. Jesus represented Christ, that is, the true idea of ​​God. This “Christ-spirit” ruled the physical Jesus. With the ascension, Jesus disappeared, but the spiritual identity or Christ “continues to exist in the eternal order of Divine Science, redeeming the sins of the world,” since Jesus is not God but the Son of God and one with God in “quality and not in quantity.” God is not a corporeal savior but a “saving Principle.” Salvation is not achieved through forgiveness but through a reformation and recourse of the Spirit.

Seventh-day Adventists, like most Adventist groups, emphasize a millenarian eschatology that considers the Parousia (second coming of Christ) to be imminent, and that it will be realized in a visible and tangible way.

Other movements deviate much further from Christian beliefs, as they flatly deny their saving mission.

Jesus in other religions

Jesus according to Judaism

Judaism, the religion within which Jesus’ preaching developed, rejects the belief that Jesus is God, as it is incompatible with its strict monotheism. It also rejects his identification with the Messiah or as a prophet.

Generally speaking, it can be said that Judaism paid little attention to Jesus of Nazareth. However, a character named Yeshu (alternatively: Jeshu, Yeishu, Hebrew: יש”ו) is mentioned in ancient rabbinic texts, including the Babylonian Talmud, written before the year 600, and midrashic literature, dating from between the years 200 and 700. The name is similar, though not identical, to Yeshua, which is considered by many authors to be the original Aramaic name of Jesus. Furthermore, in several manuscripts of the Babylonian Talmud he appears with the surname Ha- Notztri, which may mean ‘the Nazarene’. For this reason, and because of certain coincidences between the story of Jesus known from the Christian gospels and that of Yeshu cited in the Babylonian Talmud , some authors have identified both characters. There are, however, discrepancies on this point, but on the other hand they also name his mother Mary.

In rabbinic texts, Jesus is portrayed in a very negative light and is vehemently attacked: he appears as a deceiver who pushes Jews to apostatize from their religion; he and his teachings, as well as his mother Mary, are mocked.

Jesus in Gnostic religions

Gnosticism is a set of heterogeneous religions that flourished when the local religions of Asia came into contact with Hellenism. Despite their diverse content, they share some traits, sometimes of style and sometimes of content. For example, it was very common among them to attribute to the world an evil or defective origin. For some Gnostic religions, the world had been created by evil demiurges who kept man locked in earthly existence and ignorant of his condition as prisoners. For others, the world was the fruit of a creative failure or tragedy. Those who knew (gnosis) this truth could attempt to escape. In contact with Christianity, new Gnostic variants appeared. The most prominent leaders of these movements were:

• Marcion of Sinope (2nd century): He is the only Gnostic who recognized Jesus of Nazareth as the one and only true Son of God. However, the God that Marcion advocates is not the God of the Old Testament, and therefore his act is liberating rather than redemptive. That is, the God of the Old Testament creates man, and the God of the New Testament frees or manumittes him by paying the price of his blood.
• Valentine (2nd century): He was the founder of another Gnostic school. For him, Jesus of Nazareth was a divinity created to redeem the divinity itself from an internal defect or disorder suffered during the creation process.
• Simon Magus (1st century): was a Gnostic preacher who proclaimed himself the incarnation of the Father. For him, Jesus of Nazareth had been a previous incarnation of the Son.
• Basilides of Alexandria (2nd century): He was the founder of another Gnostic sect. He considered the death of Jesus to be incompatible with his divine nature and, therefore, to have been an illusory death.
• Mani (III): founder of Manichaeism. Within his system, Jesus of Nazareth, Zoroaster and Buddha had been three predecessors whose teachings he completed and culminated.

Jesus according to Islam

Jesus, called in Arabic ` Īsā or ` Īsā ibn Maryam (‘Jesus, son of Mary’) is one of the main prophets of Islam. According to the Quran, he was one of God’s most beloved prophets, and unlike in Christianity, he is not considered divine by Muslims. There are notable differences between the Gospel accounts and the Quranic retelling of the story of Jesus.

Mary’s virginity is fully acknowledged (Quran 3:41; 5:19; 19:22 ff.) . Jesus is the one who announced the arrival of Muhammad as the final prophet (Quran 3:75; 61:6), although his life and preaching are followed through the texts of the apocryphal gospels. The death of Jesus is treated in a complex way, as his sacrifice is not explicitly acknowledged, but rather before death he is replaced by another being —about whom nothing is said— while Jesus ascends with God and mocks the Jews (Quran 3:48; 4:156). The ignominious death of Jesus is not contemplated, although his return on the Day of Judgment is affirmed (Quran 4:157; 43:61) and the discovery, on that day, that Jesus’ work was true (in the sense of being sent by God). The Quran rejects the Trinity (according to the concept of tawhid), considering it false, and considers Jesus to be the “Word of God”, but not his son.

Jesus in fiction and art

Jesus in art

At first, Christian art avoided depicting Jesus in human form, preferring to evoke his figure through symbols, such as the monogram formed by the Greek letters Χ and Ρ, initials of the Greek name Χριστός (Christ), sometimes combined with Α and Ω, the first and last letters, respectively, of the Greek alphabet, to indicate that Christ is the beginning and the end; the symbol of the fish (ΙΧΘΥΣ, ikhthýs in Greek, acrostic of Ἰησοῦς Chess , Theodore Υἱός , Σωτήρ (Iesoûs Khristós , Theoû Huiós , Sōtḗr: ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior’); the Lamb of God; or even through anthropomorphic symbols, such as that of the Good Shepherd.

Later, representations of Christ appeared, initially presented as a beardless youth. From the 4th century onward, he was almost exclusively depicted with a beard. A number of representations of Jesus became common in Byzantine art, some of which, such as the image of the Pantocrator, were widely developed in medieval European art.

Jesus in literature

Since the late 19th century , numerous literary authors have offered their own personal interpretations of the figure of Jesus. Among the most notable works dealing with this subject are:

• Fyodor Dostoevsky: The Brothers Karamazov (1880).
• Robert Graves: King Jesus (1947).
• Nikos Kazantzakis: Christ Crucified (1948) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1951), on which Martin Scorsese would base his eponymous film.
• Fulton Oursler: The Greatest Story Ever Told (1949), on which George Stevens’ film was based.
• Mikhail Bulgakov: The Master and Margarita (1967, written between 1928 and 1940).
• Fulton Sheen: Life of Christ (1958).
• Vittorio Messori: Hypotheses about Jesus (1978).
• Anthony Burgess: The Man from Nazareth (1979).
• Ignacio Larrañaga: The Poor Man of Nazareth (1990)
• José Saramago: The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1991).
• Gore Vidal: Live from Golgotha (1992); also partially based on the story of Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah (1955).
• Norman Mailer: The Gospel According to the Son (1997).
• Lee Strobel: The Case for Christ (1998).
• Fernando Sánchez Dragó: Letter from Jesus to the Pope (2001).
• Benedict XVI: Jesus of Nazareth (2007).
• Álvaro Bermejo: The Gospel of Tibet (2008).

The figure of Jesus has also been the subject of some works of consumer literature, sometimes in genres such as science fiction or mystery novels:

• Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: Jesus in India (1899).
• Andreas Faber-Kaiser: Jesus lived and died in Kashmir (1976).
• JJ Benítez: Trojan Horse (1984-2006; multi-volume saga).
• Fida Hassnain : The Story of Jesus (1995).

Jesus in the movies

The life of Jesus according to the New Testament accounts, and generally from a Christian perspective, has been a frequent theme in cinema since its very appearance. In fact, he is perhaps the most frequently portrayed character in cinema. As early as 1898, his life was brought to the screen by Georges Hatot and Louis Lumière in a film entitled La Vie et la Passion de Jésus-Christ. In silent cinema, the blockbuster King of Kings (1927) by Cecil B. DeMille stands out .

Subsequently, it has been performed repeatedly, from Hollywood blockbusters such as Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959), King of Kings (Nicholas Ray, 1961) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (George Stevens, 1965) or the European miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (Franco Zeffirelli, 1977) to more austere visions such as that of Pier Paolo Pasolini (The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, 1964). Also giving their personal interpretation of the figure of Jesus were authors such as Griffith (Intolerance, 1916), Wiene (INRI , 1923), Morayta (The Martyr of Calvary , 1952), Dreyer (Ordet, 1954), Dassin (He Who Must Die, 1957), Buñuel (Nazarín, 1958, and The Milky Way, 1969), Wajda (Pilatus and andere, 1971), Rossellini (Messiah, 1975), Arcand (Jesus of Montreal, 1989) or Cuerda (As in Heaven as on Earth, 1995).

Some of the most recent films about his life have not been without controversy. This is the case with Je vous Salue, Marie (1985), by Jean-Luc Godard, or The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), by Martin Scorsese, based on the novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis and widely criticized for its portrayal of Jesus, which deviates from the traditional Christian perspective. Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ (2004), on the other hand, was approved by broad sectors of Christianity, but was criticized as anti-Semitic by some members of the Jewish community. In 2014, the film Son of God was released.

The character of Jesus has been treated in cinema from a wide variety of angles. There is no shortage of, for example, parodic approaches to the figure of the founder of Christianity, such as Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979), musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar (Norman Jewison , 1973) or Godspell (David Greene, 1973), and animated films such as The Miracle Maker (Derek W. Hayes and Stanislav Sokolov, 2000).

Jesus in musical theater

The life of Jesus has also been turned into a musical and brought to the stage in venues such as Broadway. Lyrical approaches to the life and work of Jesus include Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and a book by Tim Rice, first performed in 1970. A much more alternative play is Godspell, with music by Stephen Schartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak , first performed in 1971.

References:          

• Aguirre, Rafael: «Current approach to the Jesus of history», in Cuadernos de Teología Deusto , No. 5.
• Crossan, John Dominic: Jesus, life of a Jewish peasant . Barcelona: Crítica, 1994.
• Guijarro, Santiago: Early Sayings of Jesus. An Introduction to the ” Protoevangelium of Q Sayings”. Salamanca: Sígueme (2nd edition), 2005.
• Meier, JP: A marginal Jew. New vision of the historical Jesus . I, II 1-2, III. Estella: Divine Word, 2001 ff.
• Piñero, Antonio (ed.): Origins of Christianity. Background and First Steps . Madrid: El Almendro, 1991.
• Piñero, Antonio (ed.): Sources of Christianity. Early Traditions about Jesus. Madrid: El Almendro, 1993.
• Piñero, Antonio: Guide to Understanding the New Testament. Madrid: Trotta, 2006.
• Puente Ojea, Gonzalo: The Gospel of Mark. From the Christ of Faith to the Jesus of History. Madrid: Siglo XXI, 1998.
• Puig, Armand: Jesus. A biography. Barcelona: Destino, 2005.
• Sanders, EP: The Historical Figure of Jesus . Estella: Verbo Divino, 2000.
• Theissen, Gerd, and Annette MERZ: The Historical Jesus. Salamanca: Follow me, 2004.
• Vermes, Geza: Jesus the Jew. Barcelona: Muchnik , 1979 (2nd edition)
• Vermes, Geza: The Birth of Jesus. Barcelona: Ares y Mares, 2007.
• Winter, Paul: The Trial of Jesus. Barcelona: Muchnik , 1983.

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