Jesus
Byzantine mosaic emphasizes his divine nature.]]Jesus (c 4 BC – c. AD 30) is the central figure in Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (Greek Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Iēsoûs Khristós). He is also called Jesus of Nazareth.
According to the New Testament, Jesus is the Son of God who served a ministry in Galilee and Judaea and was ultimately crucified in Jerusalem by order of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate before rising from the dead on the third day. Beyond the New Testament, there are many opinions of Jesus' life:
- Most Christians believe Jesus was God incarnate (a man who was also God), who came to earth to save humanity from sin and death through his own blood sacrifice, and who returned from the dead to rejoin his father in heaven.
- Some Christian groups, generally considered to be outside mainstream Christian thought, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians, and Christian Scientists, believe Jesus was a divine man born of God but not God incarnate.
- Many historians and critical Bible scholars accept the existence of the biblical Jesus, but reject his divinity, miracles, and any other supernatural elements in accounts of his life. They believe he was a Jewish apocalyptic teacher and healer who was crucified, and was subsequently the inspiration for Christianity whose adherents proclaimed him to be the sole incarnation of God.
- Some skeptics believe Jesus was not a real person, but a fictional invention of Christians, based on morality stories and fables.
- Other skeptics believe Jesus was nothing more than a Jewish troublemaker who was put to death by the Romans at the behest of the Jewish establishment.