Jesus Christ

The Story of Jesus

The Historical Jesus

Jesus Christ

Jesus- a late form of a Hebrew name Joshua, Yehoshua The literal translation of the name is “Yahweh is Salvation.”

Christ – is a title which means Messiah or the anointed one

1.) Jesus from Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene

2.) Jesus the Carpenter

3.) Jesus the son of Joseph

Historical Evidence for the existence of Jesus

Pagan Roman Sources

1.) Suetonius –the Roman author who compiled biographies of the first 12 Roman Emperors

2.) Tacitus-A Roman historian who wrote in s Annals the great fire which swept through the City of Rome.

3.) Pliny the Younger- known to history as master letter writer. He advised the Emperor Trajan how to treat the rapidly spreading religious group known as Christians.

Jewish Source

1.) Josephus- composed a 20 volume history of the Jews known as the Jewish Antiquities. He mentioned Jesus in his writings.

The Gospels

-Our primary source of knowledge about Jesus Christ.

-The Gospels are neither biography nor autobiography of Jesus. Their primary purpose is not to give detailed account of Jesus historical early life.

-Gospels are faith summaries. They describe what the early Christians held to be most significant about Jesus, namely that He is the gospel, he is the Good News.

Formation of the Gospels

1.) The Historical Jesus- Jesus came to live among us. His whole life was a revelation of God.

2.) The Oral Preaching- After the disciples received the Holy Spirit they started to preach about Jesus all he has said and done.

3.) The Written Gospel- In order to preserve the message of Jesus as preached by the first Christian communities some disciples wrote it down. The authors were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit to do this work.

The Four Gospels

1.) The Gospel of Mark- Mark wrote this Gospel in the year 64; he joined the disciples with their missionary tours first with St. Paul and later with St. Peter

* Purpose: His gospel is for the persecuted...