Who Was Jesus and what did he look like?

According to Christian Gospels and early Christian texts, Jesus was the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God who was executed for humanity's sins before returning from the dead.

According to the Gospels, Jesus, who was born in 4 B.C., was able to do miraculous acts such as healing a wide range of diseases merely by touching or speaking to people. He was also said to be able to walk on water, make enormous quantities of fish and bread in an instant, resurrect the dead, rise from the dead himself, calm storms, and exorcise demons from humans.

Many scholars have been inspired by the legends related about him to investigate the following questions: What was Jesus actually like? Is he a real person? Many of the miracles that Jesus is said to have done are now considered impossible by science — especially by someone who lived 2,000 years ago.

The fact that the earliest extant books that address Jesus originate from the second century A.D., nearly 100 years after his death — although they were apparently transcribed from papers from the first century — makes it difficult to appreciate what Jesus was actually like. There were allegations in 2015 that a first-century manuscript of the Gospel of Mark had been discovered, but it now appears that this copy comes from the second or third centuries A.D.

Despite numerous obstacles, modern archaeological and historical research has allowed historians to throw light on several aspects of Jesus' life, including his appearance and life in Nazareth.

Birth and early life

According to Matthew and Luke's Gospels, Jesus was born in Bethlehem to a virgin Mary. Scholars disagree over the year of Jesus' birth, although most agree that it was between 7 and 1 B.C. The legend that Jesus was born on December 25 did not emerge until decades later, and most experts agree that he was not born on that day. [Do you have Pagan ancestors? [5 Surprising Christmas Facts]

Following the star of Bethlehem (which some scientists have argued could be a comet or the planet Venus), magi (a word sometimes translated as "wise men") came from the east and presented baby Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, according to Matthew's Gospel. The Gospel also relates that when King Herod learned of Jesus' birth, he became outraged and commanded that he be located and executed, at one point ordering the execution of every boy in Bethlehem under the age of two. According to the Gospel, Jesus and his family survived by fleeing to Egypt and not returning until after Herod's death.

Scholars today doubt Herod tried to assassinate Jesus, pointing out that there is no evidence that Herod was aware of Jesus outside of the Bible.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth with his mother, Mary, her husband, Joseph, and Jesus' brothers and sisters, according to the Gospels. According to the gospels, a man named John the Baptist foretold Jesus' arrival and baptized people seeking forgiveness for their sins.

According to Mark's Gospel, Jesus worked as a carpenter when he was old enough, and he had a strained relationship with his family.

According to this Gospel, when Jesus returned to Nazareth after his absence, he was not favorably received. In Mark 6:4, Jesus remarked, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his family, and in his own home." [8 Possible Jesus Visited Archaeological Sites]

Two dwellings dating from the first century A.D. have been discovered during recent archaeological investigation in Nazareth. One of these homes was later identified as the home of Jesus' childhood. Residents in first-century Nazareth were Jewish, according to archeological evidence, and were less prone to accept Greco-Roman culture than people in the nearby town of Sepphoris.

Ministry

Jesus did not devote himself to his ministry until he was roughly 30 years old, according to scholars. This is based on the biblical timeline, which indicates that Jesus had only been ministering for a short time before being crucified.

According to the Gospel sources, Jesus spent much of his career in the Galilee region. They describe how Jesus avoided ostentation, was content to converse with "tax collectors" and "sinners," preferred the poor, and constantly clashed with Jewish religious officials who questioned his claim to be the Messiah. According to the Gospels, large crowds would occasionally follow him in the hopes of seeing him heal sick people.

He had disagreements with his 12 disciples from time to time, reprimanding them when they lacked faith or perseverance. He gave his disciples the ability to do miracles in his name at one point. Jesus was enraged because they were unable to exorcise a boy of a "impure demon." "'How long shall I stay with you, you unbelieving generation?' Jesus responded. 'How much longer do you think I'll put up with you?'" 9:19 (KJV).

Jesus spoke of the end times, predicting that the heavens would darken and the earth would be shaken "Nations will rise up against one another, and kingdoms will rise up against one another. There will be earthquakes and famines in numerous locations..." Matthew 13:8.

According to the Gospels, one of Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot, betrayed him by agreeing to help a group of Jewish religious leaders arrest Jesus in exchange for money. After that, the leaders brought Jesus before Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect (governor) of Judea, to put him on trial. According to the Gospels, Pilate was hesitant to convict Jesus but was compelled to do so by a throng that wanted Jesus executed. According to legend, Jesus rose from the dead after being crucified and buried.

The precise date of Jesus' crucifixion is unknown. Pontius Pilate was ruler of Judea from 26 to 37 A.D., therefore his crucifixion would have occurred during that time period. According to the Gospels, Jesus' trial and death took place around Passover, a Jewish holiday celebrated in the spring.

What did Jesus look like?

Joan Taylor, professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King's College London, has just published research that gives us a sense of what Jesus would have looked like.

According to her study, Jesus was roughly 5 feet 5 inches tall, had olive-brown skin and black hair, and kept his beard and hair short and groomed to keep lice at bay, which was a big problem at the time. Because of Jesus' occupation as a carpenter and the fact that he walked on foot, as well as the fact that he wasn't able to eat regular meals, Taylor stated in her book "What Did Jesus Look Like?" that he was likely slim yet relatively muscular (T&T Clark, 2018).

Taylor told Live Science, "Jesus was a man who was physical in terms of the labor that he came from." "He shouldn't be portrayed as someone who lived a soft life in any manner, and that's the kind of image we get occasionally."