A series of articles on

Jesus Christ and Christianity Christology Chronology Ministry Miracles Parables Names and titles Relics Image File history File links JesusYeshua. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Christ is the English of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Christology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ. ... The chronology of Jesus depicts the traditional chronology established for the events of the life of Jesus by the four canonical gospels (which allude to various dates for several events). ... According to the Canonical Gospels, the Ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1-3 years, with the Synoptic Gospels generally being considered to argue for it having been a period of 1 year, and the Gospel of John arguing for... According to the canonical Gospels, Jesus worked many miracles in the course of his ministry. ... The parables of Jesus, found in the synoptic gospels, embody much of Jesus teaching. ... A large variety of names and titles are used in the New Testament to describe Jesus. ... There are many relics attributed to Jesus that people believe or believed to be authentic relics of the Gospel accounts. ...

Non-religious aspects Background Historicity Greek • Aramaic Race This article — a part of the Jesus and history series of articles — discusses the cultural and historical background of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, without regard to his divinity, or to his existence as an actual historical figure. ... This article is about the veracity of Jesus existence. ... Most scholars believe that Jesus spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic, and possibly Greek. ... Black Jesus redirects here. ...

Perspectives on Jesus Biblical Jesus Religious perspectives Christian • Jewish • Islamic Historical perspective Mythological perspectives Jesus as purely myth This article presents a description of Jesus life, as based on the four gospels. ... Religious perspectives on Jesus is the specific significance some religions place on Jesus. ... Christian views of Jesus consist of the teachings and beliefs held by Christian groups about Jesus, including his divinity, humanity, and earthly life. ... Judaism has no special or particular view of Jesus, and very few texts in Judaism directly refer to or take note of Jesus. ... Islam holds Jesus (Arabic: `Īsā) to have been a messenger and a prophet of God. ... This article is about Jesus the person, using historical methods to reconstruct a biography of his life and times. ... Jesus as myth refers to the idea that the narrative of Jesus in the gospels is not about a real person, but a construct of Christian mythology, which parallels mystery religions of the Roman Empire such as Mithraism and the myths of rebirth deities. ... The Jesus-myth hypothesis, also commonly called Jesus as myth or the Jesus myth,[1][2] refers to the idea that the narrative of Jesus in the gospels is not about a real person, but a construct of Christian mythology, which parallels mystery religions of the Roman Empire such as...

Jesus in culture Cultural depictions of Jesus Images Jesus has inspired artistic and cultural works for nearly two millenniums. ... There are no undisputed historical images of Jesus; he sat for no portraits which are preserved and of unquestioned authenticity and undoubted provenance. ... This box: view • talk • edit

The seven sayings of Jesus on the cross are a traditional collection of seven short phrases uttered by Jesus at his crucifixion immediately before he died, gathered from the four Gospels. This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Entombment of Christ by Pieter Lastman The death of Jesus is an event described by the New Testament, as occurring after the Passion of Jesus, as a result of his crucifixion. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ...

Seven sayings

The seven sayings form part of a Christian meditation that is often used during Lent, Holy Week and Good Friday. The traditional order of the sayings is: A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Western Christianity, Lent... Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomada Sancta) in Christianity is the last week of Lent. ... Good Friday is the Friday before Easter (Easter always falls on a Sunday). ...

1. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).
2. Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).
3. Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (John 19:26-27).
4. Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani? ("My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?", Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34).
5. I thirst (John 19:28).
6. It is finished (John 19:30).
7. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46).

As can be seen from the above list, not all seven sayings can be found in any one account of Jesus' crucifixion. The ordering is a harmonisation of the texts from each of the four canonical gospels. In the gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus shouts the fourth phrase only, and cries out wordlessly before dying. In Luke's Gospel, the first, second, and seventh sayings occur. The third, fifth and sixth sayings can only be found in John's Gospel. In other words: The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον, Kata Maththaion or Kata Matthaion) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Mark (literally, according to Mark; Greek, Κατά Μαρκον, Kata Markon),(anonymous[1] but ascribed to Mark the Evangelist) is a Gospel of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ...

• According to Mark and Matthew:
  • Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani
• According to Luke:
  • Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (in response to a mocking crowd)
  • Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (in response to one of the two thieves crucified next to him)
  • Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (last words)
• According to John:
  • Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (directed at Mary, the mother of Jesus, either as a self reference, or as a reference to the beloved disciple and an instruction to the disciple himself)
  • I thirst (just before a wetted sponge, mentioned by all the Canonical Gospels, is offered)
  • It is finished (last words)

The phrase disciple whom Jesus loved or Beloved Disciple is used several times in the Gospel of John. ...

Father forgive them, for they know not what they do

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do".

This first saying of Jesus upon the cross was Jesus' prayer for forgiveness for those who were crucifying him: the Roman soldiers, and apparently for all others who were involved in his crucifixion. In this prayer, Jesus places no limit on his forgiveness. Thus it can be reasonably assumed that in this prayer he may have been asking for forgiveness not only for the Roman soldiers or Pharisees, but also for the temple authorities and even for Judas. Considering the likelihood that none of those who were involved in implementing Jesus' crucifixion would have fully known what they were really doing, it would seem probable that Jesus' prayer for forgiveness would have extended to each person involved.

In Matthew 5:44, Jesus exhorts his followers to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them. This verse appears to reflect Jesus' teaching of unqualified love and forgiveness for all, including those who might seem to oppose or even attack us.

Many early manuscripts omit Luke 23:34.^[1]

Today you will be with me in paradise

Luke 23:43

And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise".

Jesus is crucified between two thieves. In Luke's Gospel, one of them supports Jesus' innocence and asks him to remember him when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus replies to him using his set formula for important sayings: "Truly, I say to you..." (ἀμήν λέγω σοί, amēn legō soi). Then follows the only use of the word "paradise" in the Gospels (παραδείσω, paradeisō, from the Persian pairidaeza). As this is the word used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) for the garden of Eden, Jesus may have meant a return of humanity to the presence of God. However, it is traditionally meant to refer to the abode of the blessed dead. Perhaps, it can be read that the thief's own confession of guilt opens the way to forgiveness of sin. The Paradise garden is a form of garden, originally just paradise, a word derived from the Avestan language, or Old Persian. ... Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... The Septuagint: A page from Codex vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brentons English translation. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article is about the term Hebrew Bible. For the Hebrew Bible itself, see Tanakh (Jewish tradition) or Old Testament (Christian tradition). ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן  ; Arabic جنة عدن  ; in Greek Οὐρανός [uƔɑNÉ’s] Starry Sky : גןַֹ֗ [אְוּגַ֗ןוֹסַ֗ ]) is described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, lived... Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation. ...

Behold your son: behold your mother

John 19:26-27

Jesus saw his own mother, and the disciple standing near whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son". Then he said to the disciple, "Behold your mother". And from that hour, he took his mother into his family.

Jesus entrusts Mary, his mother, into the care of a disciple. Traditionally, this is thought to be John the Evangelist, but he is only referred to as the beloved disciple. The Catholic Church interprets this phrase beyond just the disciple, saying that Jesus was giving his mother to all of the church, and consequently all of the church to her. The Catholic Church also uses this saying as a proof that Mary did not have any other children, because if she did have other sons who could have taken care of her, Jesus would not have needed to give her over to his beloved disciple — indeed, had Mary had other sons, such a transfer would have been incredibly insulting to them in the context of 1st-century Jewish culture. Protestants and evangelicals reject both interpretations, usually saying that Jesus found it necessary to take this step only because Mary's other children were not yet believers in him as the Messiah. Saint Mary and Saint Mary the Virgin both redirect here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Names of John. ... The phrase disciple whom Jesus loved or Beloved Disciple is used several times in the Gospel of John. ...

Another view on this saying is that Jesus, on the verge of giving up his life, and having had given up everything else in his life, was now giving up his only last "possession," which was his mother. Thus, he would be dying in absolute poverty, without even the benefit of a mother.

Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani

Matthew 27:46

Around the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, saying "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?" which is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mark 15:34

And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Of the seven sayings of Jesus from the cross, this one stands out. It is the only saying recorded in Matthew and Mark, and is the only one that appears in two, parallel accounts. Intriguingly, this saying is given in Aramaic with a translation (originally in Greek) after it. This phrase also appears on the opening line of Psalm 21 (Psalm 22 in the Masoretic Text). In the verses immediately following this saying, in both Gospels, some who hear Jesus' cry imagine that he is calling for help from Elijah (Eliyyâ). The slight differences between the two gospel accounts are most probably due to dialect. Matthew's version seems to have been more influenced by Hebrew, whereas Mark's is perhaps more colloquial. Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Masoretic Text (MT) is the Hebrew text of the Tanakh approved for general use in Judaism. ... Elijah in the wilderness, by Washington Allston Elijah (Hebrew: אליהו, ) was a prophet in Israel in the 9th century BCE. He appears in the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Mishnah, Christian Bible, and the Quran. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ...

The Aramaic phrase could be either:

• אלי אלי למא שבקתני [ēlî ēlî lamâ švaqtanî]; or
• אלהי אלהי למא שבקתני [ēlâhî ēlâhî lamâ švaqtanî]

The Aramaic word švaqtanî is based on the verb švaq, 'to allow, to permit, to forgive, and to forsake', with the perfect tense ending -t (2nd person singular: 'you'), and the object suffix -anî (1st person singular: 'me').

Many Christians believe that the quotation presents Psalm 22 as a prophecy of Christ's suffering (verses 14-18), of his message (25 f.), and, as a whole, of his exaltation (v 24). Some theologians claim the Father seems to have deserted the Son (v 1-2, and the contrast between v 5 and v 6) but saves him ultimately and with him those who seek him in all the nations. Thus some Christians argue that by uttering this single question Jesus was in a way announcing the whole gospel at the moment of its decisive event (cf. Luke 4:21). This "gulf of separation" that occurs between God the Father and God the Son, in the death of the latter, has been described by the theologian Jürgen Moltmann as 'death in God'. Jürgen Moltmann (born April 8, 1926) is a German Protestant theologian. ...

A. T. Robertson noted that the "so-called Gospel of Peter 1.5 preserves this saying in a Docetic (Cerinthian) form: 'My power, my power, thou hast forsaken me!'"^[2] However, this could still be a mistaken or alternate rendering from a semitic source, as אל ['ēl] in Aramaic and Hebrew can both translate as "god" or "power." Archibald Thomas Robertson (1863-1934) was an American theologian, born near Chatham, Va. ... The Gospel of Peter was a prominent passion narrative in the early history of Christianity, but over time passed out of common usage. ... In Christianity, Docetism (from the Greek [dokeō], to seem) is the belief that Jesus physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not... Cerinthus was the leader of a late first-century or early 2nd century sect, an offshoot of the Ebionites yet similar to Gnosticism in some respects, interesting in that it demonstrates the wide range of conclusions that could be drawn from the life and teachings of Jesus. ...

A limited number of people such as Rocco A. Errico and the late George M. Lamsa have asserted the rendering "My God, my God, for this [purpose] I was spared!"^[3] or "...for such a purpose have you kept me!" which has become popular in many niche circles, but the vast majority of Aramaic scholars view such a rendering as spurious and pseudoscientific. Rocco A. Errico is an American minister, Aramaic Bible scholar, and founder of the Noohra Foundation; an organization devoted to Aramaic Biblical research. ... The late Aramaic Bible researcher George M. Lamsa (August 5, 1892 - September 22, 1975) claimed that the traditional forsaken interpretation of Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani in the Gospels is a mistake in the Aramaic scribing — which was transferred to later transcriptions. ... A pseudoscience is any body of knowledge purported to be scientific or supported by science but which fails to comply with the scientific method. ...

I thirst

John 19:28

He said, "I thirst".

This saying perhaps represents the total humanity of Jesus, and the thirst for God of those who are put far from him. As he is given sour wine to drink, soaked in a sponge on a hyssop stem, this may be a reference to Psalm 69:21, where sour wine is offered. It may allude to Jesus' statement about drinking the cup that the Father gives him (John 18:11). Arnold Murray speculated that the "sour wine" likely referred to a type of fermented tea called "komboucha",^{[citation needed]} which at certain stages of fermentation tastes like sour wine, or vinegar. Species See text Hyssop (Hyssopus) is a genus of about 10-12 species of herbaceous or semi-woody plants in the family Lamiaceae, native from the Mediterranean east to central Asia. ... Arnold Murray (born 1929 in Oklahoma) is a Christian Bible teacher, notable for his chapter by chapter, verse by verse approach to teaching (officially referred to as expository preaching). ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... A glass of kombucha made from black tea Kombucha is the Western name for sweetened tea or tisane that has been fermented by a macroscopic solid mass of microorganisms called a kombucha colony, usually consisting principally of Bacterium xylinum and yeast cultures. ... Vinegar is sometimes infused with spices or herbs—as here, with oregano. ...

It is finished

John 19:30

Jesus said, "It is finished".

Jesus announces that his work, atonement, is completed. Sometimes the meaning 'the debt is written off' is read into this verse. Although this is often seen as a theological statement (that the debt of humanity to God is cancelled, that Jesus had finished his mission, and so on), the Greek (τετέλεσται) is best translated by a simple English word: "completed", or "finished", without added nuance. For other uses, see Atonement (disambiguation). ...

Into your hands I commit my spirit

Luke 23:46

And speaking in a loud voice, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit".

This saying is based on Psalm 31:5. Because of this, it is unlikely that 'my spirit' refers to a disembodied soul, but simply to one's self: I put myself in your hands now.

Notes

1. ^ http://www.bible.org/netbible/luk23_notes.htm#2381
2. ^ Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament (Broadman-Holman, 1973), vol. 1. ISBN 0-8054-1307-3.
3. ^ http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Scriptures/www.innvista.com/scriptures/compare/wasjesus.htm

See also

• Aramaic of Jesus