Biographical
Sketch:
Life
of Jesus Christ
Jesus
Christ
was
born about 6 B. C. in Bethlehem, an obscure village in the Roman
province of Palestine. It was a time when many Jews were looking for
the long promised
Messiah
spoken
of hundreds of years before by Hebrew prophets. Luke, who documented
the life of Jesus, writes that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, and
that the angel Gabriel proclaimed him as the “Son of the most
High,” the “Savior of men” (Luke
1:26-38).
Jesus
worked as a carpenter in the Galilean town of Nazareth. At age 30 he
began his public ministry by teaching God’s Word and performing
nature-defying miracles. Jesus’ words and miraculous deeds
attracted huge crowds like a magnet. He spoke of God with an
authority that marveled everyone.
Jesus’
sinless life of moral purity amazed both his followers and his
enemies. He also astounded them by turning water into wine, walking
on water, calming storms at sea, giving sight to the blind, healing
paralyzed limbs, and restoring life to the dead. No one had ever
demonstrated such power and authority. And his enemies were unable to
refute Jesus' amazing power over nature.
Not
only did Jesus perform great miracles, but he also spoke words of
such profound wisdom, that it was said of him that “no man has ever
spoken like this.” His words were spoken with authority and
revealed remarkable insight about the human condition. In fact, Jesus
said his words were the words of God Himself.
Although the
crowds that followed Jesus loved and accepted him, Jewish religious
leaders were jealous of his fame and wisdom. In their envy, they
continually sought to trip him up or catch him in a violation of
their law.
But
Jesus’ life was pure and above reproach. Rather than violating
God’s law, Jesus fulfilled every single command by his righteous
life. Jesus continually demonstrated heartfelt compassion for the
poor and downcast. He looked beyond the outward appearances of men
into their hearts. Jesus was always kind, going out of his way to
help people, regardless of how important they were.
Jesus
never boasted about himself. And his humility was blended with
incredible courage and strength. He condemned religious hypocrisy,
and spoke boldly in the face of overwhelming opposition from the
Jewish leaders and Roman rulers. But Jesus also taught forgiveness,
and demonstrated it by forgiving his executioners as he hung on the
cross uttering, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what
they are doing.” (Luke
23:26-49).
Jesus
made claims
that
totally infuriated his enemies. Jesus’ claims make it impossible
that he was simply a prophet, a great religious leader, or merely a
good man. “He was either who he claimed to be, [God] or he was a
liar, or a madman, or something worse.”
Jesus
was betrayed by Judas, one of his 12 disciples, and turned over to
his Jewish enemies. The Romans then crucified Jesus on a cross and
certified his death. After verifing his death, his body was placed
into a rich man’s tomb in Jerusalem.
Jesus
had told his disciples he would rise from the grave three days after
his crucifixion. His disciples didn’t believe his words at first,
and they fled the scene, afraid they would be killed like their
leader.
But three days after Jesus'
crucifixion,
they were suddenly changed. In a dramatic turnaround, they began
proclaiming that Jesus had risen, and eventually died as martyrs for
what they believed to be true.
Before
he ascended, Jesus promised that he would return to earth someday as
Ruler. His followers’ conviction spread like a wildfire, consuming
the entire Roman Empire. Our world has never been the same.
