The Watchman's Index

Jesus Christ

(John 14:6) - Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus was born sometime just before 4 B.C. He grew up in Nazareth, a small village in Galilee, as part of the peasant class. Jesus' father was a carpenter and he became one, too, meaning that they had likely lost their agricultural land at some point. He left Nazareth as an adult, met the prophet John and was baptized by John. During his baptism, Jesus likely experienced some sort of divine vision.

Jesus Christ (c. 6/4 BCE - c. 30 CE), also called the son of Joseph, Jesus of Galilee or simply "Christ", was a Jewish religious leader who became a central figure in, regarded by most Christian branches as God himself. Christ was not originally Jesus' name. It was customary among ancient Jews to have only one name and add either the father's name or the name of their place of origin. This is why during his life, Jesus was called sometimes Jesus of Nazareth and other times Jesus son of Joseph, which is supported by Christian sources (Luke 4.22; John 1.45; 6.42; Acts 10.38). The word Christ is not a name but a title derived from the word christos, a term analogous to the Hebrew expression meshiah, "The anointed one". Many Jews hoped that the former glory of would be restored by a newly anointed son of, and they used the Messiah title to refer to this restorer. Early Christian sometimes combined the name of Jesus and his title using them together as Jesus' name: Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus. The reason for this is that the early followers of Jesus' teachings believed he was the Messiah.

Unlike any other human, Jesus lived in heaven as a spirit person before he was born on earth. (John 8:58) - Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." In John 8:23 - Then He told them, "you are from below, I am from above, you are from this world, I am not of this world". He was God's first creation, and he helped in the creation of all other things. (Hebrew 13:8) - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. He is the only one created directly by Jehovah and is therefore appropriately called God's "only-begotten" Son. Jesus served as God's Spokesman, so he is also called "the Word." (John 1:1) - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

God sent his Son to earth by transferring his life from heaven to the womb of a virgin Jewess named Mary. So Jesus did not have a human father. In Luke 1:30-35 -30 So the angel said to her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you, have found favor with God. 31 And look! you will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32 This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule as King over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end to his Kingdom." 34 But Mary said to the angel: "How is this to be since I am not having sexual relations with a man?" 35 In answer the angel said to her: "Holy Spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. And for that reason the one who is born will be called holy, God's Son.

Jesus came to the earth (1) to teach the truth about God, (2) to set us an example in how to do God's will even when we are in difficulties, and (3) to give his perfect life as "a ransom." In Matthew 20:28 -Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many." 

The miracle stories surrounding Jesus are also important in Christianity. These are supernatural events believed to be the result of the divine condition of Jesus. Luke (7.18-23) describes Jesus referring to his miracles of healing as proof of the fulfillment of the promises in the Hebrew Scriptures of benefits to the outcasts and those in need (Isa. 29.18-19; 35.5-6; 61.1). In the gospel of John, the miracle stories have a symbolic significance, such as Jesus raising Lazarus (11.25-26) from the dead, a symbol of the victory of Jesus over death.

Death and old age were not part of God's original purpose for mankind. How do we know that? God told the first man, Adam, that if he committed what the Bible calls "sin," he would die. So if Adam had not sinned, he would never have died. According to the Bible, death "entered" the world of mankind through Adam. Thus, Adam passed on to all his descendants' sin and its penalty, death. We need a ransom to release us from the penalty of death that we inherited from Adam.Who could pay the ransom to free us from death? When we die, we pay the penalty only for our own sins. No imperfect man can pay for the sins of others.Unlike us, Jesus was perfect. So he did not need to die for his sins—he never committed any. Instead, Jesus died for the sins of others. God expressed extraordinary love for mankind by sending his Son to die for us. Jesus also showed love for us by obeying his Father and giving his life for our sins.

Jesus is also present in the Islamic tradition. In the Quran, Jesus' name is Isa Ibn Maryam (Isa "Jesus" and Ibn Maryam "son of Maryam or Mary"). He is a prophet and precursor of Muhammad, but he is not considered to be God or the son of God. Muslims share the idea of a virgin birth and the performance of miracles. His mission in the Quran is described as a guide to the children of Israel. The Quran says that people were made to believe that Jesus was crucified and killed, but this actually never happened.

The religious perspectives on Jesus vary among world religions. ' teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of human history, and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people, even non-Christians.