An explanation from a Christian perspective
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Men have been debating and looking for the historical Jesus for centuries. He is confoundingly hard to find. There were no such thing as “birth certificates” or written records of most ordinary things. The Jewish Priests and scribes kept very detailed records of genealogies of families and tribes in the temple at Jerusalem, but they were destroyed when the temple was burnt and pillaged by the Romans in 70AD. Records kept by the Romans themselves lack mention of the comings and goings of ordinary people. A wandering rabbi ministering to the Jews was of little interest to them. Even his death at their hands would hold little reason for more than a cursory mention. Pontis Pilate was quite proficient in crucifying the Jews for almost any reason.
Yet the actions and activities of the horrible Pilates, Herods and Caesars of his time are all too well documented. Annas and Ciaphas along with many of the scholars, scribes and priests of the time are very well documented. But the ordinary Josephs and Marys and Simons and Andrews who lived their lives and fished, farmed, built and bought and sold were just not worth the paper and ink.
Jesus was very much in many ways one of the “ordinary” people. The son of a carpenter and an ordinary Jewish girl, both from very large families of ordinary folk. He lived most of his life laboring and fellowshipping with the people in a very small village far to the north of the “big city” Jerusalem. Very few people saw him as “special”, and those people generally kept that knowledge to themselves until after his death. Even during the 3 years of his ministry, with all of the miracles and teachings, his cousin John the Baptist was better known than he was. He seldom strayed far from Galilee, Samaria and Judah in all of his travels. Jesus didn’t “found a religion” like Buddha or Mohammad. He wasn’t a “great leader” like Moses. He didn’t fight great battles like David or Joshua (who he was named after FYI).
However, a record was written of him, his life, his death and his resurrection in the “Gospels”. Four short books at the beginning of the “New Testament” of the Christian Bible. Such a record that is as “historical” as any of his contemporaries could write.
It’s not “who” Jesus was from a historical perspective that makes him special. It’s who, what and why he is from a spiritual point of view.
1. Jesus is a man. A very normal human being, that sweated, bled and labored among other ordinary men. He walked everywhere, got tired, got irritable, got angry, felt sadness, felt happiness, laughed and cried and slept and ate and lived his life as an ordinary man. Even though his mother was a virgin until after he was born, he still came out of a woman just as every other man who was ever born. He lived his childhood, and was subject to his father and mother, grew to adulthood, and ultimately died, just like every other human being.
2. Jesus is the son of God. In that, it is very important to note: his mother Mary was a virgin until after he was born. There is little that is known specifically about Jesus’ earthly parents, except Mary was a very young girl, barely an adult. She grew up and lived in a very restrictive time for women. It is likely she never socialized or even talked to men or boys other than very close relatives Joseph was probably older, already established and successful at his business. As was the custom of the time, the marriage was arranged by their families, and Joseph likely as not hadn’t even met Mary, or else just knew her in passing, but was likely very well known to her parents.
According to Luke (1:26-38), the angel Gabriel was sent from God to Mary, to tell her that she would become pregnant and bare a child, and name him Jesus. That night, God Himself came to her, and created a child within her, not through sex, but with His power.
Joseph was probably very disappointed, hurt and confused by this. He probably knew Mary wouldn’t have become pregnant except because something horrible like rape or incest happened, which is why he was of a mind to simply step away from the situation and not make matters worse for the girl or her family. But because of a vision God gave him, he decided to put aside his fears and marry her anyway.
Though there is little in the Gospels about Jesus’ days as a child, he knew who his father was. Because when he was 12 he went “missing” in Jerusalem (Luke 2:40-51). When they found him at the temple confounding all of the smart, educated and scholarly people there, he told his parents: “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”
God Himself testified that Jesus was His son when he was baptized by John at the river Jordan: (Matthew 3:13-17) “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
3. Jesus is alive. Because of the jealousy of the scribes and Pharisees, the political/religious opposition by the Sadducees and Herodians, and the “kill them all and let the gods sort them out” attitude of the Romans. especially Pilate, Jesus was brought before the High Priest and condemned to death. Pilate would have released him, but feared causing a riot by doing so, so he “washed his hands” and sent Jesus away to die.
First he was “scourged” and beaten nearly to death by his Roman captors (Mark 15:15-21). Then a man named Simon was forced to carry the heavy wooden beam he would be crucified on. Nailed to that beam, he was hoisted up, and hung there for hours while he was cursed and reviled by many of the people who had followed him. He died quicker than most, and they didn’t even have to break his legs to end it (Mark 15:22-47).
A rich man that was one of his followers donated a stone “sepulcher” or tomb for his remains (John 19:38). He was quickly washed, shrouded and laid in this tomb by his family and friends. The tomb was sealed and the Sanhedrin (religious council of the Jews) put a guard on it. The next day his followers found the tomb empty, unsealed, and the guards gone. Some of his followers saw an angel that told them Jesus was risen from the dead (Mark 16:1-7).
Later he appeared before his followers, solid, breathing and eating. He stuck around for 40 days talking to them, teaching them and preforming miracles just as he did before he was crucified. At the end of the 40 days, he was taken up into the sky, which was witnessed at the time by hundreds of people (Luke 24:1-53).
4. Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Through all of the history of the Hebrew people, in the Torah (first 5 books of the Old Testament Bible), and in the writings of the prophets, especially Isaiah and Ezekiel, there is a recurring prophesy of a man/king/prophet who would come to establish an eternal kingdom. Who would take away all of the sins of the people making the blood sacrifice unnecessary. Who would “fulfill” the law, and raise the up the Hebrews to become eternal priests to lead the gentile people. While there are many modern Jewish scholars who discount this interpretation of the scriptures, this was a prevailing view among the Essenes and Pharisees at the time of Jesus.
But the Pharisees were looking for an earthly “king” that would overthrow the Romans, and reestablish the Davidian line in the kingdom of Israel.
Jesus was proclaiming a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly one. “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ” (Mat. 4:17). He did not agree with the doctrines of the Pharisees: “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. ” (Mat 5:20). He considered the “religious establishment” to be hypocrites and criticized them as such: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Mat. 23:13-29 and Luke 11:44). Though many came to him and followed him (John 4:1-21), mostly in secret.
Jesus disciples knew him as that Messiah: “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mat. 16:15-20) Jesus himself proclaimed it: “Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” (John 4:25-26). The people knew who he was: “Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.” (John 7:28).
5. Jesus is God. Not just the “son of God”, Jesus is the earthly manifestation of The Creator of the Universe (John 1:1-14). When God revealed Himself to Moses, He told him “I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14). All through his ministry Jesus continually told his followers, and all that would hear him that “I Am”.
Through the writings of the Apostles, and the Gospels, the miracles that were done, and the Revelations of his disciple John, we as Christians believe and know that God the Creator of the Universe came to this earth to be born, live and die as an ordinary human. Specifically to suffer horribly at the hands of his own creations to take on the sins of this world, and die taking the punishment for sin onto himself. He rose from the dead to give proof of resurrection and redemption and ascended back alive to heaven.
That is who Jesus Christ is.