Jesus is a verified historical figure who was born approximately in the year 0 BC. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, lived in Egypt for 6 years then grew up in Nazareth in the north of Israel. The Christian view is that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. In becoming a man Jesus laid aside his majesty and dwelt among us: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” – Philippians 2:6-7.

 

Jesus lived a perfect life, he didn’t do anything wrong. He is the only person to have not sinned, which is why he was the only one who could take the punishment for our sins. Jesus had three years of ministry as an adult, and then was unlawfully sentenced to death on the cross by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Jerusalem at the time of Christ.

 

What Christians describe as the “good news”, or the gospel message, is that we can be forgiven through Jesus Christ. God is holy and we are not, which is why we need to receive His forgiveness in order to live in relationship with Him.

 

We can read in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  So in his mercy God didn’t wait for humankind or us personally to turn to him. Rather, he saw the problem, he already had a solution and he sent his Son to die for us.

 

As described in the previous section, there is a penalty for sin. This may also be described as the cost of sin.  The bible says that Jesus paid the price for our sins when he died on the cross. For example, Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” So, rather than the Old Testament system of animal sacrifices, Jesus himself became the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. Hence one of the titles given to Jesus is the ‘Lamb of God.’

 

Jesus was crucified on a cross between two criminals, but he had done nothing wrong. Crucifixion involves nailing the victim to a wooden cross and leaving them there to die. Jesus hung on the cross for about 6 hours when he said, “it is finished” and died. The Roman soldiers checked that Jesus really was dead by putting a spear into his side. Water flowed out which is a sign that he was already dead. Jesus really did die.

 

Jesus’ victory over sin and death was made complete when he rose again on the third day. Jesus’ body had been placed in a tomb with a large stone rolled over the front of it. Roman guards were also placed in front of the tomb to prevent anyone stealing the body. However on the third day, the Sunday, some women who were followers of Jesus came to the tomb and they found that the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty. Jesus appeared to them that morning, and there were about 500 other sightings of the Jesus risen from the dead. Jesus ultimately ascended into heaven, where Christians believe he reigns with God the Father today.