Jesus

Jesus Christ was a real person who lived in Palestine about 2000 years ago. His life, death and rising from the dead are documented in the Bible books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These books are known as the Gospels. His final days on earth and ascension back to heaven are in the Bible book Acts.All the gospels are based on the eye witness testimony of the apostles, who knew Jesus extremely well. They were his 12 closest followers and spent three years on the road with him listening to his teaching watching him miraculously heal people and meeting with him when he was raised from the dead. There are other sources of information about Jesus too. He is mentioned in texts written by non Christian historians from that era: Josephus, a Jewish man, Tacitus, a Roman senator, and Suetonius. Thousands of people heard Jesus teach during his lifetime and the Bible has stories of many who were healed by him. A number of others saw him die, including a Roman centurion. So there were many eyewitnesses who were able to give personal accounts to the Bible writers.But Jesus was, and is, much more than just a man. In the Bible, Jesus often refers to God as his Father. But in the Bible book, John, he goes further, suggesting the uniqueness and closeness of their relationship saying I and the Father are one…, and ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father’. Such statements of apparent blasphemy infuriated some of the Jewishl eaders who heard them. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God but he is also God himself. Christianity teaches that God exists in three forms at the same time: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (It is rather like how water can exist as steam, water and ice – each has the same chemical formula, but looks different). An excerpt from the Bible book, Colossians, tries to capture the awesomeness of Jesus, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…by him, all things were created on heaven and earth, visible and invisible… he is before all things and in him all things hold together.he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creationJesus is also an intermediary he is humanitys route to God. Also in the Bible book, John, Jesus says I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The implication was that this offer was not just for a lifetime but for eternity.Jesus birth in around 4BC was foretold by ancient Hebrew writers known as prophets hundreds of years beforehand. Devout Jewish believers were waiting for the arrival of a Messiah a great man who would lead the Jewish people to freedom and greatness again. The story of Jesus conception is miraculous his mother Mary a virgin fell pregnant by the influence of the Holy Spirit. But his birth was very humble surrounded by animals in a stable. Little is known of his life before the age of 30 when he began travelling around teaching in synagogues and outdoors. But the Bible tells us that as a 12 year old boy he went to the temple in Jerusalem and amazed the religious teachers with his knowledge and understanding. And the Bible book, Mark, suggests that as a young man in the town of Nazareth Jesus was a carpenter, like his human father, Joseph. It also tells us he had four brothers and some sisters too.