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“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
(Romans
8:2)
Jesus –
Britannica
The following is the article “Jesus” from encyclopedia
Britannica:
Jesus
Jesus (born c. 6–4 BCE, Bethlehem—died c. 30 CE, Jerusalem)
was a religious leader revered in Christianity, one of the world’s major
religions. He is regarded by most Christians as the Incarnation of God. The
history of Christian reflection on the teachings and nature of Jesus is
examined in the article Christology.
Name and title
Ancient Jews usually had only one name, and, when greater
specificity was needed, it was customary to add the father’s name or the place
of origin. Thus, in his lifetime Jesus was called Jesus son of Joseph (Luke
4:22; John 1:45, 6:42), Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 10:38), or Jesus the Nazarene
(Mark 1:24; Luke 24:19). After his death he came to be called Jesus Christ.
Christ was not originally a name but a title derived from the Greek word
christos, which translates the Hebrew term meshiah (Messiah), meaning “the
anointed one.” This title indicates that Jesus’ followers believed him to be
the anointed son of King David, whom some Jews expected to restore the fortunes
of Israel. Passages such as Acts of the Apostles 2:36 show that some early
Christian writers knew that the Christ was properly a title, but in many
passages of the New Testament, including those in the letters of the Apostle
Paul, the name and title are combined and used together as Jesus’ name: Jesus
Christ or Christ Jesus (Romans 1:1; 3:24). Paul sometimes simply used Christ as
Jesus’ name (e.g., Romans 5:6).
Summary of Jesus’ life
Although born in Bethlehem, according to Matthew and Luke,
Jesus was a Galilean from Nazareth, a village near Sepphoris, one of the two
major cities of Galilee (Tiberias was the other). He was born to Joseph and
Mary sometime between 6 BCE and shortly before the death of Herod the Great
(Matthew 2; Luke 1:5) in 4 BCE. According to Matthew and Luke, however, Joseph
was only legally his father. They report that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was
conceived and that she “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit”
(Matthew 1:18; cf. Luke 1:35). Joseph is said to have been a carpenter (Matthew
13:55)—that is, a craftsman who worked with his hands—and, according to Mark
6:3, Jesus also became a carpenter.
Luke (2:41–52) states that Jesus as a youth was
precociously learned, but there is no other evidence of his childhood or early
life. As a young adult, he went to be baptized by the prophet John the Baptist
and shortly thereafter became an itinerant preacher and healer (Mark 1:2–28).
In his mid-30s Jesus had a short public career, lasting perhaps less than one
year, during which he attracted considerable attention. Sometime between 29 and
33 CE—possibly 30 CE—he went to observe Passover in Jerusalem, where his
entrance, according to the Gospels, was triumphant and infused with
eschatological significance. While there he was arrested, tried, and executed.
His disciples became convinced that he rose from the dead and appeared to them.
They converted others to believe in him, which eventually led to a new
religion, Christianity.