Jesus or the Jesus of Nazareth is mostly known to all as:’Jesus Christ’ where Christ means “Anointed One”. He is regarded as the savior of the people, the Messiah. Not only in Christianity but in Islam as well he is called as important prophet. Jesus was born to a virgin, Mary. Mary was to be married to Joseph, a carpenter. She was visited by an angel Gabriel who told her that she was chosen to give birth to the Son of God. Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem and his childhood home is represented as Nazareth in Galilee. The actual birth date of Jesus is not known or determined and was calculated as somewhere between 7 and 5 B.C. After almost 500 years, 25 December was fixed as his date of birth.
Jesus was baptized by John, the son of Zechariah in his early 30s. After being baptized, a holy spirit descended upon him declaring that he was Gods Prophet. It is believed that Jesus withdrew into the desert to pray and fast and to prepare him for the prophetic task. Jesus began to spread the teachings to those who had the time and an open mind and will to learning a new way. He gave lessons to people through stories which had some symbolic meaning behind them. Amongst Jesus’ large number of followers and disciples, a group of twelve was chosen to spread his teachings to others.
Christ’s miraculous feats include turning water into wine, walking on water and raising the dead. Christ’s preaching was based on love and he asked his followers to love their enemies equally as you do those who love you. He was one of the social reformers and opposed many Jewish leaders. As he became famous amongst people, he had enemies also. Jesus performed several healing miracles and nature miracles and many crowds flocked to hear him. After preaching in Galilee and Jordan he proceeded to Jerusalem. Jesus and his followers created a disturbance while arriving in Jerusalem during the Passover. Pharisees and Sadducees got together and got him arrested on the charges of claiming to be the Messiah and thereby equal to God. Judas turned in Jesus for the price of a few pieces of silver. Jesus was accused of blasphemy and handed over to the Romans for punishment.
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Jews not only punished him severely but ordered for him to be crucified. Jesus was nailed and crucified on the cross which later became a holy symbol for Christians. The method of execution restricted the airflow to his lungs, killing him in three hours. Jewish temple that he had planned to destroy was unfortunately ripped apart by an earthquake soon after his death. Jesus’ followers took his body to a tomb from where he apparently rose three days after his death, called as ‘Resurrection of Christ’. Authorities always feared Jesus’ power over the crowds and his ability to invoke a religious rebellion and this fear is what lead to his crucifixion.
A little background about Jesus’ burial shows that Jesus was wrapped in a linen cloth as is followed in Jewish custom. After he was placed in the solid, rock tomb, an extremely large stone was put in the opening. This stone nearly weighed about two tons which would have been rolled using some kind of lever. Perhaps Jesus’ death was a way to warn others of the circumstances of social disobedience, which was very tragic for those who believed in the ideas that Jesus Christ represented. There are huge stories around Jesus’ kind deeds and preaching which are still followed and heard with enthusiasm and respect by his believers and followers. It is also said that Jesus came to Kashmir in search of lost sheep of the house of Israel. A tomb exists at Mohalla Khanyar in Srinagar, Kashmir which marks the death of Jesus at an age of 120 years. Jesus’ key messages included the following:
1. God loves you and is with you
2. Love one another
3. Immense value of each person
4. Good news: kingdom of God has come to earth
5. Reality of judgment to heaven or hell
6. God forgives those who ask
