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Who was Jesus of Nazareth?
Time magazine calls Jesus the most influential figure in history. “Regardless what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries." And for the 2.3 billion Christians in the world, the gospels tell the remarkable story of God coming to earth to rescue humanity.
The gospels of Luke and Matthew offer some fascinating details about him.
1. Jesus gets his name from an angel
“The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end’ (Luke 1:28–33)
2. Jesus was born of a virgin
Matthew’s gospel claims that Jesus’ conception was miraculous, & points to this miracle as a fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, & will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Not only was Jesus born to a virgin, but Matthew saw this as a critical piece of evidence that Jesus was actually the Messiah.
3. Jesus’ family tree has some pretty shady characters
Jesus chose a pretty inauspicious family line:
Jacob: Habitual schemer
Judah: Collaborated with his brothers to sell the youngest sibling into slavery
Rahab: A prostitute
David: Had a man killed to cover up an adulterous affair
Solomon: Married 700 women and turned his heart away from the Lord
Rehoboam: “Did evil bc he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord” (2 Chron. 12:14)
Abijah: “Committed all the sins his father had done before him” (1 Kings 15:3)
4. Jesus had several (half) siblings
The gospels tell us that Jesus had brothers (Matt. 12:46, Lk. 8:19, Mk. 3:31). Matthew even tells us the brother’s names, and mentions His sisters:
“Isn’t his mother’s name Mary & aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” (Matthew 13:55–56)
5. Jesus claimed to be God
Since the beginning, the Christian church has considered Jesus to be God in the flesh. Did Jesus claim to be God? Yes!
In one instance, Jesus called himself by the very name God used when he spoke to Moses from the burning bush (Ex. 3:14):
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58)
The Pharisees clearly understood Jesus’ claims: “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him."
6. Jesus was worshipped as God
Not only did Jesus claim to be God, but the disciples worshipped Jesus as God: “Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14:33)
Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:27–28)
7. Jesus raised three people from death
It’s hard to think of a more dramatic miracle than raising someone from death. The gospels record three times that Jesus performed this feat:
The widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11–17) This is the first resurrection Jesus performed. her only son. Jesus spoke to the man in the coffin, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” He turned the whole town’s mourning into dancing.
Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:52–56)
Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, wants the Lord to come to his house. Jairus’ daughter dies. Jesus raises her. Lazarus (John 11).
8. God spoke to Jesus audibly three times
There are three moments in the gospels where God spoke out loud to Jesus. At His baptism, At the Transfiguration, before the crucifixion.
9. Only one miracle is recorded in all four gospels
There are more than 40 miracles recorded in the gospels: Jesus feeding 5000 ppl w only two fish and one loaf of bread.
@e_britannica🍁️