The historical Jesus
Nearly all historians agree Jesus of Nazareth was a real person, crucified under Pontius Pilate. Paul, the Gospels, Josephus, and Tacitus attest to him.
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth: a Jewish teacher from Galilee, crucified under Pontius Pilate, whom the church proclaims as risen Lord and confesses in the Nicene Creed as God made flesh.
Jesus, fully God and fully human
Christians confess Jesus as God the Son, fully divine and fully human, as John 1, Philippians 2, and the Councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon teach.
The meaning of the cross
Rome crucified Jesus as a threat to order. Christians confess he died for our sins out of love and explain the cross as victory, satisfaction, and love.
What Jesus looked like
Jesus’ exact appearance is unknown. As a first-century Galilean Jew, he most likely had brown eyes, dark hair, and olive to brown skin.
Jesus Christ
Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish teacher from Galilee crucified under Pontius Pilate. Christians confess him as the Christ, the Son of God, and Lord.
The resurrection of Jesus
The church proclaims that God raised Jesus from the dead. Paul’s list of witnesses is the earliest evidence, and Christians hold Easter in different ways.
Jesus the Jew
Jesus was a Jew, circumcised on the eighth day, who worshiped in synagogues, kept Passover, and taught from the Torah. His first followers were Jews.
Christ’s descent to the dead
The Apostles’ Creed says Jesus “descended to the dead”: between Good Friday and Easter he went to the realm of the dead and brought them the gospel.
The death of Jesus and the Jewish people
Roman soldiers crucified Jesus on Pontius Pilate’s orders. Some temple leaders handed him over, but the churches reject blaming the Jewish people.
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was a disciple from Magdala who stood by the cross and, in John’s Gospel, first saw the risen Jesus. The Bible never calls her a prostitute.
The brothers and sisters of Jesus
Mark 6:3 names four brothers of Jesus and mentions sisters. Churches differ on whether they were Mary’s children, Joseph’s by a prior marriage, or cousins.
Was Jesus married?
No ancient source says Jesus had a wife, and most historians think he was single. The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife papyrus was exposed as a forgery in 2016.
The virgin birth
The creeds confess Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. Matthew and Luke tell it differently, and Christians hold it literally or as deeper truth.
