Jesus

Proper noun

Jesus

1. Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish man whom Christians name Jesus Christ in belief that he is the Messiah.
2. A male given name in Spanish culture; an anglicized spelling of Jesús.

Derived terms

• Jesus Christ
• Jesus freak
• Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BC/BCE – c. 30 AD/CE), also known as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus, is the central figure of Christianity, which views him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God (in the concept of the Trinity, he is God [as] the Son), who came to provide humankind with salvation and reconciliation with God by his death for their sins. Note however that not all groups that identify with Christianity are Trinitarian, and not all Nicene-based groups believe that he is the Son of God and God incarnate who was raised from the dead. Although Jesus' teachings were first addressed to the Jewish people, Judaism gives Jesus no distinctive status and categorically rejects claims of Jesus as the messiah.

The principal sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical gospels, especially the Synoptic Gospels, though some scholars believe texts such as the Gospel of Thomas are also relevant.

Critical Biblical scholars and historians believe that the New Testament is useful for reconstructing Jesus' life. Most agree that Jesus was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer, that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire.

Academic debate continues regarding the chronology, the central message of Jesus' preaching, his social class, cultural environment, and religious orientation. Critical scholars have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the historical Jesus consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating an imminent apocalypse. Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.

Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, performed miracles, founded the Church, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. While the doctrine of the Trinity is accepted by most Christians, a few groups reject the doctrine of the Trinity, wholly or partly, as non-scriptural. Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah and as God, arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.

Judaism rejects assertions that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh. In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى‎, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets, a bringer of scripture, the product of a virgin birth, and a worker of miracles. It also teaches that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven without experiencing death at the crucifixion. Islam and the Baha'i Faith use the title "Messiah" for Jesus, but do not teach that he was divine.