Jesus of Nazareth became Christianity’s central figure
Jesus (about 6–4 BC to AD 30 or 33) was a first-century Jewish preacher in Roman Judaea. Christianity, now the world’s largest religion, treats him as its center; most churches teach he is God incarnate. Gospel tradition sketches baptism, itinerant teaching, crucifixion and reported resurrection.
His name is the English form, via Latin Iesus and Greek Iēsous, of the Hebrew Yehoshua, which by his day had been shortened to Yeshua and was common among Judean Jews. It means Yahweh saves, and it is the same name borne by Moses's successor Joshua, a parallel commentators have long drawn. Like most Jews of the time he had a single name, so the gospels identify him by his home town, and neighbours in Nazareth called him the carpenter, son of Mary. Christ is not a surname but a title: Greek Christos translates the Hebrew for anointed, the source of the word messiah.
The four canonical gospels are the main sources. On the widely held view that Mark came first, it dates to roughly AD 60–75, Matthew and Luke later, and John last, around 75–100; Matthew and Luke seem to have used Mark. Their authors are generally thought to be anonymous, with traditional attributions added later. Scholars broadly treat the gospels as a form of ancient biography, but opinions on their reliability range from inerrant to supplying little beyond the basics. Texts such as the Gospel of Thomas are usually judged later and less reliable.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are called synoptic because their material lines up side by side. Each stresses something different: Mark shows a tireless worker of wonders who records few long speeches, while John's prologue presents Jesus as the divine Word, present with God from the beginning.
Beliefs about him diverge sharply. Christian doctrine holds that he was born of the virgin Mary, worked miracles, died by crucifixion as an atonement for sin, rose and will return. Mainstream Judaism rejects him as messiah, holding that he fulfilled no messianic prophecies and was neither divine nor raised. Islam honours him as messiah and prophet, born of a virgin and expected to return before Judgement Day.
Source: Jesus
