Historical Jesus and his Message to the World

Who is the historical Jesus? Jesus is a huge part of history and will always be. There is a large amount of information about Jesus’ life and the legacy he created. Jesus is written about in almost all history books; he is taught about in many history classes, and he is constantly referenced among his followers.

The pursuit of historical Jesus started in the 1800s. Historians believe that Jesus was a real person. There are multiple references to Jesus in non-Christian sources.

According to sources, we believe Jesus was born around 3 or 4 BC, but there is no accurate information regarding his early life up until the age of 30. Jesus’s father is told to have been a carpenter, which gives clues to the fact that Jesus was most likely raised in a middle-class family. Jesus spoke multiple languages and went to school up until the age of 12; his education was concentrated on the Torah.

The Old Testament/Hebrew Bible was created several hundred years before Jesus. But the information that we know now comes from the New Testament. Although he was born Jewish, Jesus is a messiah figure for Christians, while Jews disagree with the new statement and the image of Jesus as anything but a human being like everyone else. In connection to the New Testament, the most famous books were the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Gospels gave us insight into Jesus’ message. Due to the way Jesus would often speak, which was in allegories and parables, Jesus’s message was not well-defined, clear, or simple. He mentions several key ideas, some of which are about forgiveness, love, God, worship, money, and societies/communities. For example, in regard to Love, Jesus said, “Love your neighbor and love your enemy.” In regards to judgment, Jesus said, “Don’t be judgmental. Let God judge. Judge not unless you want to be judged.

Jesus associated with prostitutes, thieves, and lepers”. In regard to money and materialism, Jesus said, “Don’t worship money. Money leads to hatred. Material possessions aren’t important”. In regards to society/communities, Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Jesus then said that he would return and judge the living and dead. He had 12 disciples, and they were intended to spread his message around. In addition to Jesus’ message, the Romans feared political turmoil because they did not like or believe what Jesus preached. Similarly, the Jews also did not like or believe what Jesus preached. Jesus criticized the Jewish leaders for being too “materialistic;” the leaders were also upset that Jesus would work on the Sabbath because that meant he was going against the Jewish religion and Sabbath laws.

Jesus went against the Sabbath because he didn’t believe that it should be a day of rest but rather that it should be a day for man. However, Jesus’s rebellious actions led him to be sentenced to death the night before he had his famous “Last Supper.” During his last meal, Jesus told his apostles not to worry because he had them in mind and will always love them and that he is the way to God. He reassured them that if they listened and followed his message, they would find God. The term “Holy Grail” comes from that night when Jesus had bread and wine from the “Holy Grail.” Three days after Jesus’s death, the Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead. That day is now a Christian holiday called “Easter,” which is the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection.

In addition, a man named Paul, who was also known as “Saul,” was one of Jesus’ main critics at first. Paul was a dedicated Jew who criticized Christianity and had the urge to destroy it. After Jesus was executed, Paul suddenly said that he saw the risen of Jesus, according to the Christian Forefathers. The New Testament has a descriptive conversation with Paul. Ironically, Paul then became Christianity’s greatest advocate. He tried to spread Christianity by traveling all around the Roman Empire, and he succeeded. He established and ran a large number of the first Christian Churches around the east side of the Mediterranean. Paul “formulated ideas that represented a fundamental break with Judaism and became the heart of this new religion” (108). Slowly, Christianity started to distinguish and disconnect itself from Jewish ancestry. Furthermore, Paul stated that Jesus’ teachings are more important than the Torah and its laws. The name “first Christian” was given to Paul for being responsible for expanding and somewhat creating this distinct religion, Christianity.

At this point, Christianity was expanding, and nothing would stop or get in the way of it. Paul played an important role in history and is an important figure in Christianity for all his doings and for expanding Christianity. He took all the fundamentals of Christianity and widely spread it. In Conclusion, although Jesus promised to return, by the second century AD, the Christians realized he was not returning soon. Christian leaders figured that a structure and some organization dedicated to teachings was what they needed to keep them all together and to continue to spread Jesus’ message.

Jesus’s message has had a profound effect on society and people’s morals and ethics and continues to affect communities even today. Paul put in a profound amount of effort and determination to spread a belief. Paul has undoubtedly affected people all around the world. Both Jesus and Paul will forever be a large part of history and a large part of the responsibility for the way society and the world is today and will forever be.

Did you like this example?

358

15