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External Websites
- McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus Christ
- LiveScience - Who was Jesus Christ?
- JewishEncyclopedia.com - Jesus of Nazareth
- Jewish Virtual Library - Jesus
- Ancient Origins - Tammuz and Jesus: More Than a Distant Connection?
- World History Encyclopedia - Jesus Christ
- Royal Society of Chemistry - Nickel
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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Jesus Christ - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- Jesus Christ - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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External Websites
- McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus Christ
- LiveScience - Who was Jesus Christ?
- JewishEncyclopedia.com - Jesus of Nazareth
- Jewish Virtual Library - Jesus
- Ancient Origins - Tammuz and Jesus: More Than a Distant Connection?
- World History Encyclopedia - Jesus Christ
- Royal Society of Chemistry - Nickel
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Jesus Christ - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- Jesus Christ - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
Also known as: ʿIsā, ʿIsā ibn Maryam, Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus of Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus son of Joseph, Jesus the Nazarene
Written by
E.P. Sanders,
Jaroslav Jan PelikanAll
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Jesus
See all media
- Also called:
- Jesus Christ, Jesus of Galilee, or Jesus of Nazareth
- Born:
- c. 6–4 bce, Bethlehem
- Died:
- c. 30 ce, Jerusalem
- Notable Family Members:
- mother Mary
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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 belief in him, which eventually led to a new religion, Christianity.
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