Jesus

The most important person in the Bible. The name Jesus is the same as the Old Testament name Joshua, meaning “the Lord is my salvation.” The word Christ comes from the word anointed in Greek. Jesus is called Christ and Messiah because He was anointed or chosen by God for His special work as Savior of the world.

Though He was born on earth, many passages in the Bible say He existed before that, because He is both God and man. His mother was Mary, who was engaged to marry Joseph, a carpenter.

When Jesus was about thirty years old, He began to preach and teach. His teachings were different from those of other Jewish teachers and priests. He told interesting stories and used plain words. He became very popular, especially when the people learned that He could perform miracles. He healed people who had terrible diseases, fed thousands of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish, and made a terrible storm go away.

Because of these wonderful works, many people wanted to make Jesus king. But that was not the kind of king Jesus came to be. His kingdom was one in which God ruled the hearts of people. The religious leaders of His time, the Pharisees and scribes, became angry with Jesus and jealous of His popularity. So they began to figure out ways to have Jesus put to death by the Romans.

Finally one of Jesus’s disciples betrayed Jesus, which led to His arrest, trials, and crucifixion. On the day we now call Good Friday, Jesus was put to death as a criminal along with two thieves. Even on the cross, He thought about others. He asked John to take care of His mother. He told one of the thieves that the thief would be in heaven with Him. He prayed for the soldiers and for the people who wanted Him to die. After six hours of suffering, He died. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared again to women who were His followers, and to the disciples. For forty days, Jesus appeared occasionally to His followers, talked with them, and taught them. Then He returned to heaven before the startled eyes of His disciples. Angels soon appeared, telling the disciples that Jesus would return the same way He left.