The Life of Jesus Christ: A Look into the Center of the Christian Faith

The entire Christian faith is centered by their savior Jesus Christ who, according to them, was born on this earth, crucified and then resurrected for our sins. In the book Faces of Jesus: A Life Story, Frederick Beuchner says it perfectly with, "You did not have to make yourself righteous first in order to quality for admission [into heaven], in fact by their very effort to fulfill the letter of the Law, the Pharisees were continually missing its spirit, but if you would only accept the gift of God's love in humility and faith, God himself would make you loving, which was, Jesus said, the fulfillment of all law and prophets.(Buechner 40-41)"

In otherwords, it is not by good deed of which we're accepted into heaven, but through faith in God and the only way to get to God is through his son, Jesus Christ. In John 3:16 of The Holy Bible you will find the following verse: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

As you can plainly see, it is believed that because of Jesus is why we are able to be washed of our sins thus making Jesus Christ the center of the Christian belief. Who was Jesus when he walked amongst us, though? What impact has he had around the world then and today? I will be discussing just this throughout this essay.

Jesus has been known as the "Anointed One" which is also what Christos means in Greek and what Messiah means in Hebrew. In the book called, "The Illustrated Jesus Through the Centuries" by Jaroslav Pelikan, it says:

The New Testament was written in Greek, but the language that Jesus

and his disciples usually spoke seems to have been Aramaic, a Semitic

tongue related to the Hebrew, but not identical with it. Aramaic words and

phrases are scattered throughout the Gospels and other early Christian

books, reflecting the language in which various sayings and liturgical

formulas had been repeated from the transition to Greek became

complete. These include words such as Hosanna, as

well as the cry for dereliction of Jesus on the cross, Eloi Eloi, lama sbachthani (Mark 15:34)--"My God, My God, what hast thou forsaken

me?(Pelikan 11)

With that said, there are words in Armiac which were also titles for Jesus like Rabbi which means teacher, Amen which means Prophet, Messias or Chris, and Mar which means Lord. It is believed that he was referred to as Rabbi, though for it was the least controversial of them all. On the cross that he was nailed to, it said "Jesus of Nazareth: King of Jews" in three different languages. There are many arguments about what exactly who he was. He was known as a Rabbi, but he was also known as The King of Kings, a comic Being, a Son of Man then later the Son of God. He's been seen as a Monk, The Bridegroom of the Soul, A Divine and Human Model, The Universal Man, The Prince of Peace, The Poet of the Spirit, The Savior.

He also has just as many faces as he does names. There were no pictures painted or sketched of him while he was alive since because it is said: "You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" Exodus 20:4. It was believed that by creating a physical object of Jesus, people would lost focus of what was really important which was his spirit. The Christian faith is strongly against shrines and worshiping something that is physical so because of this is why there were no visual documentations of what Jesus actually looked like. Instead, we have written documents of his life while on earth.

Even then, people had made no historical sites of where he was born or even crucified because it was still frowned upon so all we have to look at for reference to learning about Jesus Chris is The Holy Bible which tells the infamous tale of when he walked amongst us.

It is unclear if he was born in Bethlehem for sure for he may might have been born in Nazareth, but still that is the main theory that everyone sticks to because it doesn't matter where he was born, but that he was. In Story: Recapture the Mystery, Steven James mentions the impact of Jesus' birth in the following passage:

Mary's tiny baby would separate light from darkness. This child would cause a line to be drawn in the sands of eternity and in the heavens of all

people everywhere. He would shine into, and then through, the lives of all

who would choose to follow him later. As Jesus said later, "I am the light

of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. . .I have

come as a light to shine in the dark world, so that all who put their trust in

me will no longer remain in the darkness." (John 8:12) (James 78)

As you can clearly see that according the Christian belief, Jesus brought the lightness in the dark of the world. This is a lot of the reason why he was and still is considered the savior. Even now, believers are expecting for him to return to Earth once again to bring them all back to Heaven soon. Mary Magdalene has become just as important in the faith, especially to Catholics and sometimes even believed to be a holy being herself. She was a virgin when she was pregnant with the son of God and an angel came down to her and told her the following:

The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor

with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and

you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of

the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom

there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and

the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be

born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative

Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth

month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible

with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it

be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

(Luke 1:30-39)

Jacob eventually finds out that Mary is pregnant and gets angry with her. Eventually an angel comes to him in a dream and informs him of how Mary's in a special position for God has chosen her to bare his son. This fixes the problem between the two immediately and Jacob becomes more sympathetic to her pregnancy. Jesus is born and as he walks around Earth he performs all kinds of miracles and teachers all sorts of messages to everyone who will listen.

It is said in the book of Luke that when Jesus was a child, Mary and Joseph couldn't find him and they looked all over the town for him and they finally found him in the temple talking with the teachers of The Mosaic Law. He was answering all of their philosophical questions with such solid answers that they were in utter awe and admiration of such a young child being filled with such knowledge. When his parents questioned what he was doing he responded with, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" It was like Jesus always knew what his purpose was the moment he learned to speak and that purpose was to spread the word of God.

In the books Matthew,Mark, Luke, and John there are parts written about two occurrences where Jesus was teaching over four thousand people not counting women and children and when he was done, he got five loaves of bread and two fish and multiplied them enough to feed everyone there. The book of John talks about a time where Jesus was at a wedding and they ran out of wine and he turned the water into wine so that they could continue to celebrate.

It also says in the books of John that Jesus walked on water and his disciple Peter walked on water too but the moment he questioned and doubted, he was no longer walking on it. Jesus used that as a message to where if you believe in the things he can do, they can be done, but the moment you have doubt, they no longer can be done. This message is still being taught throughout all churches today.

There was another time when Jesus and his disciples were fishing and weren't having any luck. Finally, Jesus told him to put their nets over the boat which resulted in a catching of 153 fish. As well as these miracles, Jesus also cured the blind and the ill just by a single touch. He performed exorcisms and even raised people from the dead.

Throughout his life on Earth, Jesus had a lot of followers and this got the ruler of Rome to be very jealous of him. People began to place their loyalty more-so on Jesus than him and this lead to his arrest and then execution. A lot of people may have followed Jesus, but a lot also persecuted him and despised him. It is also parallel with the discrimination Christians get for believing these stories which are from the Bible which is considered to be a dated and irrational book. Another Christian teaching is to turn your other cheek just the way Jesus did. Meaning, when someone is persecuting you or scoffing against your personal beliefs, you're to simply turn the other cheek and not bite back. According to Christian belief, by turning the other cheek and being loving toward your enemies the way Jesus was, you will be blessed in both life and in the afterlife.

Before Jesus' arresting, the infamous Last Supper took place where Jesus had his last supper with his disciples. During this supper, Jesus breaks apart bread and passes it around to everyone as remembrance of his body, and they all drink wine in remembrance of his blood which was going to be shed for them and the rest of us later the next day. They all knew it was a farewell dinner and what was to come and Jesus also informed them that one was going to betray him and one was going to deny him three times within the next night. Even to this day, thousands of churches around the world still commemorate this by what is called communion where they pass around bread or crackers and grape juice or wine in remembrance and acknowledgment of what Jesus did for them and all of us.

After this, Jesus goes to pray in the garden where Judas betrays him by leading the Roman guards to Jesus' location. In Faces of Jesus, Frederick Beuchner also mentions how Dante Alighieri writes about Judas in his Divine Comedy which is what most Christians believe to be what hell is like.

It was Judas who led the authorities to the garden a little way east of

Jerusalem, and it was Judas who signaled them which of the men

standing there in the dark was Jesus. The way he signaled of course, was by going up to him and
kissing him, and when Dance came to write his Inferno, it was because of this kiss that he placed Judas in the nethermost circle of hell, his torment being to spend eternity in the icy Lake of Cocytus while Satan, winged like a bad, gnaws at his frozen flesh. (Beuchner 65)

Once Judas betrays him, the Roman soldiers take Jesus custody. Jesus went through trial with Pontius Pilate just as it says in the book of Mark:

And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering

said unto them, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things:but he answered nothing.And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against

thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marveled.

(Mark 15:1-5)

This was a big deal for people who believed for Christ was on trial along with actual murderers and thieves and instead of being honored like the way he should have been, he was arrested and crucified as if her were a criminal too. When really, all he did was teach the word of God and perform miracles but just because the Romans found that as a threat, a divergence, a distraction from the ruler; they crucified him.

Before the actual crucification, Jesus was sentenced to be scourged which was a typical thing to be done to criminals who were to be crucified. Beuchner describes what this form of punishment was:

The Greek word found in the Gospels for scourge suggest that what was

used may have been flagara, which were iron chains ending in little metal balls or cords knotted over small bones at the ends, or it may have been a knot made of leather thongs. In either case, it was not unusual for the

criminal to die under this preliminary punishment, this being spared the greater on toe follow. Jesus was not so fortunate.(Beuchner 70)

From here, Jesus was to carry his cross up to the hill where he was to be crucified. The weight was so heavy on his shoulders that eventually Simon of Cyrene helped him carry it up the hill. Once they got to the hill, Jesus was nailed to the cross, with his body supported by a peg so that his skin wouldn't tear through the nails. The way of death through this is a long painful process is best described here:

Death was usually a long time coming. Cramps started in the muscles of the forearms and then spread into the whole upper body, the abdomen, the legs. With this enormous burden on the heart, the pulse was inevitably slowed and the blood carried less and less oxygen to the lungs to that the

heart no long strong enough to eliminate, the muscles were affected by spasms that caused excruciating pain. The ordeal often lasted as long as

two or three days before the criminal finally ran out of strength and breath

and died. Jesus was fortunate in surviving only a few hours.

Jesus was placed into a tomb after he died and three days later, he rose from the dead. He was also believed to have walked the Earth for a few days and appeared to his disciples and to Mary. He eventually went to Heaven and this why the Christian religion had a lot of controversy because no one can prove whether or not he raised. Some people believe that the disciples had stolen his body and this has been a myth that has been passed on throughout the ages. Christians really do believe that he has risen for it is the center of their faith, thus saving them from their sins, they believe that they'll be saved from the depths of hell and given a home in Jesus' father, the Lord God's Kingdom of Heaven.

The cross itself has left an impact on the world today for it has believed to have healing powers in some cases. Augustine, a famous interpreter of the Bible talks about how a woman with breast cancer put the cross up to her breasts and was cured of it. There have been rumors of hemorrhages on battlefields where there were no tourniquets, but a cross helped stopped the flow. The cross is even believed to have raised people from the dead, protect people from vampires, demons, ghosts, and other beings not of this world. Going in to any cemetery, there will be crosses all over the place a symbol of death and resurrection into heaven just as Jesus had done.

Even the way we measure dates in history is through the AD and BC calendar which prior to recent changes, stood for After Death and Before Christ. He has definitely left an impact on the beliefs of many people where it be making people firmer believers in the Christian faith or the direct opposite. Whether people think of him as a Rabbi, just another prophet, a normal guy, the King of Kings, the Messiah, the Savior, or the Son of God, almost everyone knows his name and what people believe to what he did during his time on Earth.

Sources:

Faces of Christ by Frederick Beuchner
The Illustrated Jesus through the Centuries by Jaroslav Pelikan
Story: Recapture the Mystery by Steven James