3. Jesus, The Son Of History
Jesus according to the scriptures
According to history books, from birth to death, resurrection and assence, the appearance of Jesus has been carefully planned:
* News announcement (Lk 1, 26-38).
“The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.”
* Jesus was born (Lk 2, 1-12)
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.””
* Growing up and living a secluded life (Lk 2, 21-24)
On the eighth day, Jesus was circumcised according to Jewish law. “When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Lk 2, 21).
“When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord” (Lk 2, 22-24).
And He lived in seclusion. “When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him” (Lk 2, 39-40).
* Preaching
When Jesus was about 30 years old, He began his life of preaching.
He began by being baptized by St. John the Baptist: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him” (Mt 3, 13).
After living for 40 days in the desert and being tempted by the devil, he went to preach to the people. He said: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1, 15).
Jesus traveled through the villages and synagogues, preaching his teachings for three years and performing many miracles to prove that his message came from God.
Knowing that the time was almost up and that his mission to redeem humanity through his painful death was near, Jesus said to his disciples: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise” (Mk 10, 33-34).
* Willing to die
Dying to redeem the world is an important mission of Jesus.
But He foresaw the cruel torture He would endure: being mocked and nailed to the cross. Jesus cried out: “Father, save me from this hour, but for this very hour I have come.”
But He foresaw the cruel torture He had to endure: Crucified on the cross. Jesus woke up: “Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour” (Jn 12, 27).
The gospels all record the trial and the brutal execution that Jesus endured to fulfill the mission entrusted to him by God the Father.
* Jesus resurrected
After dying and being buried in the grave, Jesus was resurrected.
“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me” (1 Co 15, 3-8).
* Jesus ascended to heaven
The book of Acts tells the story of Jesus’ ascending to heaven: “As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven” (Act 1, 9-11).
Jesus according to the church tradition
From the early church to the present, the Christian tradition has believed in the event of Jesus being born, growing up, dying and resurrecting as a real person in history with a clearly defined space and time.
The Nicene Creed (325) professes: Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, crucified under the governor Pontius Pilate, buried in the tomb, rose again after 3 days and ascended into heaven…
The Council of Chalcedon (451): “Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, composed of a rational soul and a body” (47).
“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1, 14).
Jesus and archeology
Scholars, even those who oppose it, no longer doubt the existence of the flesh-and-blood historical figure we are talking about here: Jesus. Archaeological excavations in the Holy Land are increasingly clarifying this portrait.
Eric Meyers, an archaeologist at Duke University (USA), said: “I don’t know of any prominent scholars who doubt the historical figure of Jesus. We have studied it in detail for centuries, but no one seriously doubts His existence.”
The places mentioned such as Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Jerusalem, where He was crucified, the places where He preached such as the Lake of Galilee, Mount Tabor… all retain their original names, leaving traces of Jesus’ life.
In 1962, Israeli archaeologists from the University of Jerusalem found a marble tombstone from the 3rd century BC in Judea and on the stone was engraved the name of a town called ‘Nazareth’ where Jesus lived his childhood and grew up. This place name is almost never mentioned anywhere, thought to be just a symbol, but unexpectedly it was proven to be real.
Jesus and non-Christian historical documents
What do non-Christian historians say about Jesus?
In 112, Tacitus, investigating Nero’s brutal persecution of Christians, said: “The origin of the word ‘Christian’ is the name of a man named Jesus Christ who was executed under the emperor Tiberius, by order of the governor Pontius Pilate” (Annals XV, 44).
Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian (born 37 AD, died 100 AD in Rome) said: “At that time there was a wise man named Jesus. He was well educated and highly esteemed for his virtue. Many became his disciples among the inhabitants of Judea and other nations. Pilate condemned him to death by crucifixion. But his disciples did not cease to follow his teachings. They said that he appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and was alive. Perhaps this was the Messiah, with many wonders, of whom the prophets had spoken” (Antiquity XVIII, 3, 3).