Jesus Christ (-4 to 30)

Jesus' family was of the Jewish faith and according to the New Testament, Jesus knew the Aramaic language.  

Jesus spent his first three years with his parents in Egypt. It is said that King Herod, who ruled over the whole region of Galilee in Judea, heard from the three wise men from the East that a new king of the Jews had been born in Bethlehem.  

Herod feared the rival and thereupon decided to kill all the boys who were under two years old. In a vision, an angel appeared to Joseph and warned him. Whereupon the family fled to Egypt to save the child from the grasp of the henchmen. After Herod's death, the family returned and Jesus spent the following years of his life in Nazareth, the city where he later learned the trade of a carpenter.

At the age of 12, Jesus came to Jerusalem for the first time with his parents to attend the Jewish Passover festival. When the feast was over and they were about to go home, the parents noticed that Jesus was not there. They went in search of him and found him in the temple, where Jesus amazed the Jewish scribes with his knowledge of the Old Testament.  

The Torah teachers in the Jerusalem Temple were greatly impressed when they heard the youngster's biblical interpretation, especially since Biblical Hebrew was hardly spoken in Palestine during Jesus' lifetime, yet he mastered it.  

The family of Joseph and Mary did not belong to the class that had access to education. Most of them had no scrolls and could have learned it only in synagogues or Torah schools. The astonishment of his listeners is mentioned in John 7:15: "How can this man understand the Scriptures, though he has not learned them?"

The style of his sermons and interpretations cultivated by Jesus, as well as his knowledge, led to his quickly being called a rabbi by the spiritual superiors and thus being recognized as a teacher.

When Jesus was about 30 years old, he received baptism from John the Baptist in the Jordan River. John the Baptist was considered one of the teachers and forerunners of Jesus. After the baptism, Jesus observed a fast of forty days and then began his public ministry. More and more followers joined him. The central content of his sermons was the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the kingship of God. Among his disciples, 12 disciples came into his inner circle and later became known as the twelve apostles. Jesus had made this selection himself.

With the twelve apostles, Jesus went through the country proclaiming the doctrine of the Kingdom of God. Due to his charismatic way of proclaiming as well as the miracle works, which were apparently not questioned, his following grew. Probably his most famous sermon was the so-called Sermon on the Mount

The ruling caste of priests, however, regarded the preacher as a threat, especially since the forgiveness of sins practiced by Jesus was suspect to them. Who could forgive sins except God alone? But by doing just that, Jesus presented himself as the Son of God and ultimately as God. At that time, Jesus was 33 years old.

The Gospel of Mark describes Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey with a large crowd of followers. The crowd, cheering at the sight of him, greeted him with shouts of "Hosanna," a sign that they believed him to be the heralded Messiah.

When Jesus drove the merchants out of the temple, the temple priests planned to end Jesus' ministry. The capture took place a few days later with the help of Judas a disciple of Jesus. An arranged sign, the Judas kiss, made the arrest possible. Some disciples tried to prevent the arrest but Jesus allowed himself to be arrested without resistance. For him, this was an action predetermined by the will of God. But the disciples did not realize this and abandoned Jesus and fled.

The Jews were not authorized to condemn Jesus to death and so he was handed over to the governor Pontius Pilate. Afraid of the spiritual establishment of the Jews, he buckled and decided to condemn Jesus to death on the cross even though he could not actually establish guilt.

Before doing so, he offered the people an alternative. The criminal Barabbas, who was in prison, was available for selection; Pontius Pilate would release him if the people decided in favor of Jesus' death. If the people made a decision against Barabbas, Jesus would have been released. But the Jews incited the people against Jesus, so that he was crucified instead of Barnabas.

Jesus suffered the most horrific manner of death that was common in the Roman Empire, death by cross. Wearing a crown of thorns and a purple robe, Jesus was mocked as the "King of the Jews" at the execution.

With the death of Jesus, all hopes were initially shattered. Jesus was taken down from the cross and his body was laid in a rock tomb. But because Jesus hinted at his resurrection, his tomb was guarded by Roman legionaries. But they could not prevent the tomb from being opened and found empty on the third morning.

On the third day, women brought the news of Jesus' resurrection to the disciples. Christianity stands or falls with the resurrection of Jesus. Is it really the "good news" that Jesus had overcome death or just a fraud with far-reaching consequences for the history of mankind?

According to the Gospels, many people had encounters with the Risen Lord, in different places and in a limited time. The apostle Paul wrote in a letter to the Corinthians that most of the witnesses (once about 500) were still alive and could testify to this. The earthly life of Jesus ended in the ascension and not in the grave!

The last handed down words of the resurrected Jesus were also his testament: "I have received from God all authority in heaven and on earth. Go out into the whole world and call all people to follow me! Baptize them and lead them into the fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! And teach them to live as I have commanded you." Jesus promised his disciples, "You may be sure: I am with you always and everywhere, to the end of this world!" He then ascended into heaven before their eyes of those present.

Ten days later, his followers were filled with the Holy Spirit. In this way, they would always remain in contact with Jesus. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the first Christians launched the most momentous movement in the history of the world so far.  

According to the Christian faith, Jesus had reconciled people with God through his sacrificial death. Through sin, which came into the world with Adam, mankind was separated from God. Jesus, however, was without sin and took upon himself the punishment of God for mankind. By rising from the dead, he proved that he had overcome death. 

What happened was interpreted theologically by Paul (5 to 64) and the theology of the reconciliation of mankind through Jesus, who had taken the guilt of this upon himself through his death, came into being.  

Through the writings of the Old and New Testaments, the Trinity of God can be deduced. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in principle three natures of the one God.

Christianity spread very quickly in the Roman Empire during the lifetime of the apostles, but also reached as far as India and Africa. The Bible is still the most translated book with the largest circulation. In the history of mankind, Christians have always gone through times of discrimination and persecution. However, Christians consider themselves redeemed through faith in Jesus Christ and therefore spread the good news to all peoples and nations to this day.