Life of Jesus

Jesus was with us for a very short time, and his ministry was only about 3 years long.  It is a wonderful story of the Son of God.

Birth of the Savior

Mary, a virgin, was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. God sent an angel to Mary to tell her that although she was a virgin, she would soon bear a son.

Joseph was also visited by an angel that instructed Joseph to marry Mary, despite her being with child.  We can imagine that the stigma of being an unwed mother was even greater than it is today, so it is important that this message came from God.

Joseph and Mary traveled to the town of Bethlehem to take part in the census (all people were required to return to the place of their birth to be counted.)  While they were there, Mary gave birth to Jesus and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn for them.

Later, the baby Jesus was brought gifts by wise men.  Herod the Great was king, and he was wicked and threatened when the wise men told him that Jesus would be the "King of Israel."  Herod then sent soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the children.  Joseph was pre-warned by an angel that this was happening and he and his family escaped to Egypt until Herod died, when they returned to Nazareth to raise Jesus and the rest of the family.

For more details, the full Christmas Story can be found in: Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:5-2:45

Baptism

Although Jesus never sinned, John baptized him. When Jesus came up from the water, the Holy Spirit descended, and God spoke from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved son."

Disciples

The disciples were: Peter, Andrew, James the son of Zebedee, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot. They traveled with Jesus as he preached. After Jesus died, they went through the land preaching the word to the masses as Jesus had commanded, and started many of the early churches.

Sermon on the Mount

Jesus delivered his most famous sermon on a mountain near Capernaum. In it, Jesus taught: Love your enemies. Do not judge others. Do not be anxious about tomorrow, but trust God. Treat others, as you would have them treat you.

Miracles of Jesus

Jesus did many miracles to show others that he was God's son. God gave Jesus power over nature, power over disease, and even power over death!

The Trial

The Jewish leaders were very threatened by the following that Jesus had in the area.  They decided that the only way to deal with him was to have him put to death.  They accused him of blasphemy.  Pilate, a Roman governor, tried Jesus. Even though he wanted Jesus to be set free, he left the choice up to the people.  Able to either set Jesus free or Barabbas, a murderer, the crowd was persuaded to choose Barabbas.  He was set free and Jesus was flogged and crucified.

Crucifixion

Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion, a horrible death that consisted of flogging, nailing to a wooded cross, until Jesus was dead.  Also crucified at that time were two criminals, one of which asked to be saved before he died.

Burial

His body was placed in a tomb. Jesus had promised the disciples he would come back after he died. His enemies knew this. So, to prevent anyone from stealing the body, they had Roman soldiers guard the tomb of Jesus.  As was customary, there was also a huge stone rolled in front of the tomb.

Resurrection

Three days following his death on the cross, an angel came down on earth to the tomb where Jesus' body lay.  The soldiers guarding the tomb were very frightened and fled.  The angel rolled the stone away and sat upon it, appearing to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary that had come to the tomb.  He told them Jesus was not there for he had risen and would see them in Galilee.  Jesus then appeared several times following this, telling us to go forth and spread the news!

Portions adapted from "Who is Jesus? An Interactive Journey" © 1997 from Campus Crusade for Christ International