Jesus Jesus was born approximately 5 B.C. in the town of Bethlehem, Israel, to a virgin named Mary, who was descended from King David. Raised in Nazareth by Mary and her husband, Joseph, Jesus lived the ordinary life of a carpenter's son. Those who knew him didn't yet know that he was also God's Son. At age 30, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and tempted by the devil into the desert. He then began healing, teaching and performing miracles throughout Judea. He called people to believe in him as the only way to God. Jesus personally chose 12 men to live, work and minister with him, but many others, including women, believed in, and even traveled with, him. He engaged people at every level of society - and usually was welcomed most by the poor, the sinful and the outcasts. The Jewish religious leaders, who eventually arrested Jesus when Judas betrayed him, rejected Jesus. They used false witnesses, rigged a trial and put political pressure on Pilate to condemn Jesus to death. Hung on a Roman cross to die, Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all humankind. Buried in a borrowed tomb, he rose on Sunday morning as proof that his mission to conquer sin and death had been accomplished. Jesus appeared to his disciples and then returned to heaven 40 days later with the promise that he would return again someday. Jesus' words and life show us how to live life, but his message was that humanity should respond to God's love. Jesus claimed to be much more than a wise man or great teacher. He claimed to be God - a God willing to die for his creation so that their love relationship could be restored. How will you respond to Jesus' life and love? Through his birth , life, death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the hundreds of prophecies in the Jewish Scriptures (the Old Testament) that foretold of a coming Messiah, a Savior not only for the nation of Israel, but for the whole world. Jesus is born to Mary, a virgin. |