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Spartan Surfers

c. 4 BC – c. AD 30

Jesus

A Jewish teacher from Galilee, crucified under Roman rule, whose teaching on love, forgiveness and the kingdom of God founded the world's largest faith and shaped the moral vocabulary of people of every belief.

Read the life41 sourced lines

In one line

Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish preacher and healer in Roman-ruled Palestine who taught in parables, spent time with outcasts, and was executed by crucifixion around AD 30. His followers proclaimed that he had risen from the dead and was the Messiah; Christians worship him as the Son of God. Whatever a reader believes, his teachings, as the Gospels present them, are among the most influential words ever spoken.

The life

This essay describes Jesus as the four Gospels present him, along with what historians can say from all the sources. Those are two different questions. Believers read the Gospels as faithful witness to the Son of God; historians read them as the most important sources for a figure of the 1st century, written by people who loved him. Both can read what follows.

The sources first. Jesus wrote nothing. The earliest Christian writings are the letters of Paul, from about AD 50 to 60, which say little about Jesus' life but report his crucifixion, his last supper, and his followers' belief that he had been raised. The four Gospels came later. Most scholars date Mark to around AD 70, Matthew and Luke to around 80 to 90, and John to around 90 to 110; each drew on earlier oral and written traditions. Outside Christian writings, the Jewish historian Josephus mentions Jesus twice in his Antiquities of the Jews (c. AD 93), once in a passage that later Christian copyists expanded, and once in naming "James, the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ." The Roman historian Tacitus (c. AD 116) records that "Christus," the founder of the Christians, was executed by the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. Nearly all historians of antiquity, whatever their beliefs, accept that Jesus existed, was baptized by John the Baptist, taught in Galilee, and was crucified in Jerusalem under Pilate.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell of his birth in Bethlehem to Mary, a young woman engaged to a man named Joseph, and describe the birth as miraculous. Their two accounts differ in many details. Many historians think he was born in Nazareth, a small village in Galilee, where he grew up. Matthew places the birth in the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4 BC, so the date is usually given as around 6 to 4 BC. His language was Aramaic; he knew the Hebrew scriptures and was called "rabbi," teacher. Mark (6:3) calls him a tekton, a craftsman or builder, usually translated "carpenter," and names four brothers, James, Joses, Judas and Simon, and unnamed sisters. How these siblings are understood differs between Christian traditions.

Around AD 28 or 29, John the Baptist, a fiery prophet, was preaching repentance by the Jordan River. Jesus came to be baptized by him. After John's arrest, Jesus began his own public work in Galilee, based in the lakeside town of Capernaum. He called fishermen from their boats, Simon (whom he named Peter, "rock") and Andrew, James and John, and gathered a circle of twelve, along with a wider group of followers that included women such as Mary Magdalene, who supported the movement.

The Gospels present him as a teacher who spoke in parables, sharp sayings and questions; a healer and exorcist whose reputation drew crowds; and a man who ate with tax collectors and people others called sinners, which scandalized the respectable. He clashed with some religious authorities over the Sabbath, purity and the Temple. How long his public work lasted is uncertain: Matthew, Mark and Luke suggest about a year, John about three.

He went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. All four Gospels describe a disturbance he caused in the Temple courts, overturning the tables of money changers. He shared a last meal with his disciples, was betrayed by one of them, Judas Iscariot, and was arrested at night. He was brought before the high priest Caiaphas and then handed to Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea from AD 26 to 36. Crucifixion was the Roman punishment for rebels and slaves, and the charge posted on his cross, according to the Gospels, was "King of the Jews." Most scholars date the crucifixion to AD 30 or 33.

The Gospels report that on the third day women found his tomb empty and that he appeared to his followers alive. Paul, writing around AD 53 to 55 (1 Corinthians 15), passes on an even earlier list of those to whom the risen Jesus appeared. Historians can say with confidence that his followers sincerely believed he had been raised, and that this belief launched their movement. Whether he was raised is a question of faith, which Christians affirm and others do not.

The big ideas

The kingdom of God

Mark sums up his message (1:15, King James Version): "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." The kingdom is God's rule, breaking into the world: already present in his words and acts, and still to come in full. Many of his parables, the mustard seed, the yeast, the hidden treasure, describe it as small, hidden and growing.

Love God, love your neighbor

Asked which commandment is greatest, Jesus joined two from the Hebrew scriptures (Mark 12:30–31, KJV): "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," and "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." In Luke, when someone asks "who is my neighbour?", he answers with the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which the person who stops to help is a member of a despised group.

Love your enemies

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) is the best-known collection of his teaching. "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you" (Matthew 5:44, KJV). "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also" (5:39). And the rule in its positive form (7:12): "all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."

Forgiveness without limit

Peter asks whether he should forgive his brother as many as seven times. Jesus answers (Matthew 18:22, KJV): "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." In Luke 15, the parable of the prodigal son ends with a father running to embrace the son who wasted his inheritance.

The last will be first

"But many that are first shall be last; and the last first" (Mark 10:31, KJV). The Beatitudes bless the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek and the peacemakers (Matthew 5:3–9). Jesus turns the usual ranking of people upside down.

Don't worry about tomorrow

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin" (Matthew 6:28, KJV). "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (6:34).

What their lines mean for you

At work. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Matthew 16:26, KJV). Whatever your belief, it is a hard question to put to any career. And the parable of the house built on rock (Matthew 7:24–27) is about foundations that hold when the storm comes.

In training. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7, KJV). Persistence runs through his teaching, as in the parable of the widow who wears down an unjust judge (Luke 18).

In grief. "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4, KJV). At the tomb of his friend Lazarus, John records the shortest verse in the English Bible: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). The Gospels do not present grief as a failure of faith.

In anger. Before judging another, he says, "first cast out the beam out of thine own eye" (Matthew 7:5, KJV). He was not without anger himself, as the Temple scene shows, but he aimed it at injustice and hypocrisy, not at personal slights.

On the ocean. His first followers were fishermen, and much of his life happened around the Sea of Galilee, a lake known for sudden storms. In Mark 4, a storm swamps the boat while he sleeps; woken by his terrified friends, he says to the sea, "Peace, be still" (4:39, KJV), and it is calm. Believers read it as a sign of who he is. Anyone who has been in heavy water can feel the force of the question he asks next: why are you so fearful?

With ambition. When James and John ask for the best seats in his kingdom, he tells the disciples that whoever wants to be great must be the servant of all (Mark 10:43–44). Ambition, in his teaching, is measured by service.

Where people get them wrong

  • "God helps those who help themselves." Not in the Bible. The English wording appears in Algernon Sidney's Discourses Concerning Government (published 1698) and was popularized by Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack (1736). The idea goes back to ancient Greek proverbs.
  • "Money is the root of all evil." Not a saying of Jesus, and misquoted. 1 Timothy 6:10, a letter traditionally attributed to Paul, says "the love of money is the root of all evil."
  • "Cleanliness is next to godliness." Not in the Bible. It was popularized by John Wesley in the 18th century.
  • "Judge not." Real (Matthew 7:1), but usually cut short. The passage goes on to the speck and the beam: it targets hypocrisy, not all moral judgment.
  • The three wise men and 25 December. Matthew mentions "wise men" with three gifts but never says how many came. No Gospel gives the date of the birth; the 25 December feast is first attested in Rome in the 4th century.
  • Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. The Gospels never say so. The idea comes from a sermon by Pope Gregory the Great in AD 591 that merged her with other women in the Gospels. The Catholic Church set the identification aside in 1969.
  • "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone." Real and much loved (John 8:7), but historically careful readers should know that the passage is absent from the earliest surviving manuscripts of John; many scholars think it is an old tradition added to the Gospel later.

Read them yourself

Scripture quotations in this essay are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain.

Timeline

  • c. 6 to 4 BC: birth, in the last years of Herod the Great
  • AD 26: Pontius Pilate becomes prefect of Judea
  • c. AD 28 to 29: John the Baptist preaches by the Jordan and baptizes Jesus
  • c. AD 28 to 30: public ministry in Galilee and Judea
  • c. AD 30 (or 33): crucifixion in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate
  • c. AD 50 to 60: Paul's letters, the earliest Christian writings
  • c. AD 70: the Gospel of Mark is written
  • c. AD 80 to 90: the Gospels of Matthew and Luke
  • c. AD 90 to 110: the Gospel of John
  • c. AD 93: Josephus mentions Jesus in Antiquities of the Jews
  • c. AD 116: Tacitus records the execution of "Christus" under Pilate
  • 1611: the King James Version is published

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

  1. You are the light of the world.

    Jesus says this to ordinary listeners on a hillside, not to the powerful. The light is already in you; the question is whether you let it show. Live so that people around you can see a little better because you are there.

    Matthew 5:14, our translation from the Greek

  2. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

    A life lived openly and well gets noticed whether you want it to or not. Do not try to hide the good you are building. Act as if you are seen, because you are.

    Matthew 5:14, our translation from the Greek

  3. You are the salt of the earth.

    Salt preserves and gives flavor; a little of it changes the whole dish. Your honesty and kindness work the same way in a family, a team or a town. Do not lose your edge just to blend in.

    Matthew 5:13, our translation from the Greek

  4. Let your light shine.

    The point is not to show off but to let good work speak. When people see real kindness and real effort, it points beyond you. Do the good thing in the open and let it carry its own message.

    Matthew 5:16, our translation from the Greek

  5. Blessed are the peacemakers.

    Keeping the peace is passive; making it is work. It means stepping into conflict to repair it rather than avoiding it or winning it. Be the person who brings people back to the table.

    Matthew 5:9, our translation from the Greek

  6. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

    If your word is solid, you never need oaths or long explanations. Say what you mean and then do it. Trust is built one kept promise at a time.

    Matthew 5:37, our translation from the Greek

  7. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.

    This is the hardest line in the sermon and the most freeing. Hatred keeps you tied to the person who hurt you; goodwill cuts the rope. You do not have to approve of someone to wish them well.

    Matthew 5:44, our translation from the Greek

  8. Where your treasure is, your heart will be too.

    Your heart follows your investments of money, time and attention. If you want to care about the right things, start spending on them. Look at your calendar and your bank statement to see what you love.

    Matthew 6:21, our translation from the Greek

  9. Look at the birds. They do not sow or reap, and they are fed.

    Jesus points to the sky as an argument against anxiety. You are worth more than the birds, and they are cared for. Work hard, then let go of the fear that it all depends on you.

    Matthew 6:26, our translation from the Greek

  10. Can worry add a single hour to your life?

    The Greek says a cubit to your span: worry cannot stretch your life even a little. It only spends the strength you need for today. Notice the worry, then put your energy where it can do something.

    Matthew 6:27, our translation from the Greek

  11. Consider the lilies. They do not toil or spin.

    Wildflowers are dressed better than kings without a single anxious thought. Beauty and enough are gifts before they are achievements. Slow down long enough to notice what you are already given.

    Matthew 6:28, our translation from the Greek

  12. Seek first the kingdom.

    Get the first thing first and the rest falls into place. When what is right comes before what is comfortable, the smaller needs are kept in proportion. Decide what comes first in your day and guard it.

    Matthew 6:33, our translation from the Greek

  13. Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself.

    You only get today's strength for today's load. Borrowing tomorrow's trouble doubles the weight and solves nothing. Plan if you must, then come back to the work in front of you.

    Matthew 6:34, our translation from the Greek

  14. Why see the speck in your brother's eye and miss the beam in your own?

    We are experts at other people's faults and beginners at our own. The cure is not to stop seeing clearly but to look in the mirror first. Fix your own house before you inspect the neighbor's.

    Matthew 7:3, our translation from the Greek

  15. Ask, and it will be given. Seek, and you will find. Knock.

    Three verbs, rising in effort: ask, seek, knock. Answers come to people who keep reaching for them. Do not wait for the door to open by itself.

    Matthew 7:7, our translation from the Greek

  16. Do to others what you want them to do to you.

    The rule is positive: not only avoid harm, but take the first step of kindness. Use what you wish for yourself as your guide. Ask what you would want, then go and give it.

    Matthew 7:12, our translation from the Greek

  17. Enter through the narrow gate.

    The wide road is easy and crowded. The road that leads to life is tighter and asks more of you. Choose the harder good over the easy drift.

    Matthew 7:13, our translation from the Greek

  18. You will know them by their fruit.

    Words are cheap; results show what a person really is. Watch what someone's life produces over time. Then ask what your own life is producing.

    Matthew 7:16, our translation from the Greek

  19. Build your house on the rock.

    Jesus says the wise builder is the one who hears and then does. Foundations are laid in quiet practice long before any storm. Put what you know into action now, while the weather is calm.

    Matthew 7:24, our translation from the Greek

  20. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds beat on it. It did not fall.

    Storms come to every house; the difference is what lies underneath. A life built on practiced truth stands when the water rises. Prepare your foundation and you will not have to fear the forecast.

    Matthew 7:25, our translation from the Greek

  21. Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

    Goodness is not the same as naivety. Keep your eyes open to how the world works, and keep your hands clean. Be sharp and kind at the same time.

    Matthew 10:16, our translation from the Greek

  22. Come to me, all who are weary and burdened. I will give you rest.

    An open invitation to the tired, with no entry exam. Rest is offered, not earned. If you are worn out, you are exactly who this line is for.

    Matthew 11:28, our translation from the Greek

  23. Take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid.

    Said at night on a stormy lake, to men straining at the oars. The wind does not stop at once; courage comes first. In rough water, look for what is steady and keep going.

    Matthew 14:27, our translation from the Greek

  24. What good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?

    Every trade has a price, and some prices are too high. Success bought with your integrity is a loss dressed as a win. Know what you will not sell before anyone makes an offer.

    Matthew 16:26, our translation from the Greek

  25. Faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain.

    The seed is tiny; what matters is that it is alive. You do not need enormous confidence to begin, only real trust. Start small and keep going, and big things move.

    Matthew 17:20, our translation from the Greek

  26. Nothing will be impossible for you.

    In context this follows the mustard seed: it is a promise to faith, not to ego. Limits shrink when you stop measuring only your own strength. Attempt the thing you were sure you could not do.

    Matthew 17:20, our translation from the Greek

  27. With God all things are possible.

    Jesus says this right after admitting that, for people alone, it is impossible. Honesty about your limits is where hope begins. What you cannot do alone is not the end of the story.

    Matthew 19:26, our translation from the Greek

  28. Whoever wants to be great must be a servant.

    Greatness is turned upside down: the leader is the one who serves. Status is measured by how many people you lift. Look for the task nobody wants and do it well.

    Matthew 20:26, our translation from the Greek

  29. Love your neighbor as yourself.

    Jesus quotes the old law of Leviticus and sets it next to the love of God. The measure is how you already care for yourself. Give others the patience and good faith you want for your own mistakes.

    Matthew 22:39, our translation from the Greek

  30. Quiet. Be still.

    Spoken to the wind and the sea in a storm, and then there was a great calm. The words are short and sharp, the kind you can say to your own racing mind. When the waves rise inside you, command the quiet.

    Mark 4:39, our translation from the Greek

  31. Do not be afraid. Only believe.

    Said to a father who had just heard the worst news. Fear says it is over; faith says keep walking. When bad news comes, take the next step before you decide it is the end.

    Mark 5:36, our translation from the Greek

  32. Everything is possible for the one who believes.

    The father in this story answers, I believe, help my unbelief. Faith does not have to be perfect to count. Bring what belief you have and act on it.

    Mark 9:23, our translation from the Greek

  33. Hand on the plow. Do not look back.

    A plowman who looks over his shoulder cuts a crooked furrow. Once you commit, keep your eyes forward. Regret and second-guessing ruin straight lines.

    Luke 9:62, our translation from the Greek

  34. To whom much is given, much will be asked.

    Talent, money, health and opportunity come with a bill. The more you have, the more you owe to the people around you. Count your advantages, then put them to work for others.

    Luke 12:48, our translation from the Greek

  35. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

    Lies, even comfortable ones, are a kind of cage. Facing the truth about yourself and your situation is the first step out. Ask for the real story, and be willing to hear it.

    John 8:32, our translation from the Greek

  36. I came so that they may have life, and have it in full.

    The goal is not a smaller, safer life but an abundant one. Faith here is about more life, not less. Say yes to what makes you more alive in the right way.

    John 10:10, our translation from the Greek

  37. Love one another.

    Called a new commandment, and the measure is how Jesus himself loved. It is not a feeling to wait for but a practice to start. Begin with the person nearest to you today.

    John 13:34, our translation from the Greek

  38. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid.

    Said on the last night before the arrest, to friends about to lose everything. Peace is offered in the middle of trouble, not after it. Guard your heart from panic even when the news is bad.

    John 14:27, our translation from the Greek

  39. No one has greater love than this: to lay down your life for your friends.

    The highest love costs something. Most of us will not be asked to die for a friend, but we can give our time, comfort and pride. Love is measured by what it is willing to give up.

    John 15:13, our translation from the Greek

  40. In the world you will have trouble. Take heart. I have overcome the world.

    No promise of an easy life here; trouble is guaranteed. But so is the victory behind it. Expect hard days, and face them from the side that has already won.

    John 16:33, our translation from the Greek

  41. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

    Paul quotes these words of Jesus to church leaders in Ephesus; they are not in the four Gospels. Giving makes a person larger than getting does. Look for a chance to give today with nothing expected back.

    Acts 20:35, our translation from the Greek