Jesus in History

Most historians (believers and unbelivers) agree that there was a man named Jesus who grew up in a small village called Nazareth in Galilee, working and learning until he was ready to travel and to preach.

Jesus' early years are a mystery. Although there have been many attempts to discover what Jesus did when he grew up or where Jesus learned what he knew, the life of Jesus before his ministry remains a ministry. Some have suggested that Jesus traveled to other countries, others suggest that he learned while working as a carpenter in the local Roman city working with people from many other countries.

Because Jesus was baptized by a desert preacher named John, there is a strong possibility that he followed John the Baptist for some time before he began his own ministry.

When Jesus was around 30 years old he began a ministry of healing, teaching and leading a group of disciples. His popularity grew enough for him to alarm the religious authorities who saw him as a threat to the well-being of their country. Together with the local Roman officials, the leaders of Israel tortured Jesus and hung him on a Roman cross, nailing him to it by his hands and feet.

Several days later rumors traveled around Jerusalem that the body of Jesus was stolen. Weeks later Jesus' followers were making bold claims that God raised Jesus from the dead and that over 500 people had seen him.

SCRIPTURE FOR CONSIDERATION

Although the Gospels are placed first in the New Testament, they are not the earliest writings in the New Testament. Before the Gospels were written, Paul wrote much of what we now call the New Testament.

Less than 20 years after Jesus died, Paul went to Corinth and started a successful church. While he worked with the Corinthians, he shared with them a creed that he learned from the early church in Jerusalem. The creed that Paul taught them was given to him by the first generation Christians of Jerusalem...people who lived with and heard Jesus.

A few years after Paul had been in Corinth, he wrote them a letter reminding them about the creed he once shared with them, saying:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles... (1Corinthians 15:3-7).