Who is Jesus?

What historians can say

Outside the New Testament, Jesus is mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman historian Tacitus, and the overwhelming majority of historians — Christian or not — accept that he lived, taught in Galilee, gathered disciples, was baptised by John, and was executed by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. What historians cannot settle by historical method alone is the claim that he rose from the dead; that is where history hands the question to faith.

What Christians believe

The word Christ is not a surname: it is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, "anointed one". When Peter is asked who Jesus is, he answers, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16, KJV). John's Gospel goes further, calling Jesus the eternal Word who "was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14, KJV).

After centuries of debate the Council of Chalcedon (451) set out the classic formula accepted by Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestant churches: Jesus is one person with two natures, truly God and truly human, "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation". Some ancient churches (the Oriental Orthodox — Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian and others) express this differently and did not accept Chalcedon's wording, though recent dialogues suggest the disagreement is largely one of vocabulary.

What he taught

Jesus' preaching centred on the kingdom of God — God's rule breaking into the world. He taught in parables, healed the sick, ate with outcasts, and summed up the law as loving God with everything and your neighbour as yourself. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) is the most concentrated collection of his teaching.

Why his death and resurrection matter

For Christians the cross is not a tragic end but the centre of the story: Jesus' death is understood as a sacrifice that deals with sin and reconciles people to God. The resurrection is God's vindication of him and the first instance of the new creation Christians hope for. Paul is blunt about the stakes: if Christ has not been raised, Christian faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14).

In Scripture

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.Matthew 16:15–16 · KJV

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.John 1:14 · KJV

Where the traditions differ

Each position is attributed to the tradition that holds it; we do not rank them. See the full comparison.

Context