Jesus the Christ: The Historical Jesus

The Birth of Jesus

We can see the birth of Jesus in Matthew (Matt 1:18-25) (Matt 2:1-12), Luke (Luke 2:1-2) and John (John1:1-18). Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus’ birth place was in Bethlehem in Judea in the time of King Herod of Judea and Emperor Augustine of the Roman Empire. The gospels tell us that Jesus was born in a stable under an inn (Luke 2:7). This is unlikely because Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, who was Joseph’s ancestor. This means that there may have been a house with his cousins or extended family there. The Hebrew word for inn can also be described as ‘the upper room’ and in traditional Jewish houses, there was an upper room where the family stayed and underneath this was the place where the animals were kept. This could have been seen as the stable under the ‘inn’. Now because of the census performed by Emperor Augustine the Jews had to travel to their ancestral home that meant that the house Mary and Joseph were staying at could have been full, so the upper room was full, making the only available room for the baby to be born in the stable below. Jesus was thought to be traditionally born in 1AD after the Monk Dionysus Exigus tried to calculate the year, from the Birth of Jesus, by taking away the reigns of Kings. Unfortunately Exigus made a few errors and Jesus is now thought to be born a few years BC. We know that in Matt 2:1 and Matt2:16 (Luke 1:55) that King Herod the Great was the ruler of Judea. From Roman records we know that King Herod died in 4BC near the feast of the Passover. This means that the earliest time Jesus could have been born was early 4BC. Herod plays an integral part in determining Jesus birth date because it also could explain the Bethlehem Star, which we...

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...s full and to stop the spread of disease. But after the three days cleansing period, some of the disciples returned to find the stone rolled away and the body of Jesus missing. Grave robbing was a serious crime punishable by death and it would have taken a team to roll the stone. But Jesus had told his disciples many times that he would rise again on the third day, which they obviously did not comprehend. He spoke to them later on when he appeared to them and to show he was still human said “see my hands and feet, that it is I Myself; handle and see: For a spirit hath not bones and flesh; as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). He shows the apostles the obvious wounds he still has from his crucifixion, and then invites them to touch him, vanquishing thoughts of an apparition.

Work Cited

New American Standard Bible. New York: American Bible Society, 1997. Print.