In my search for the historical Jesus I found that there are several different opinions about Jesus’ life, from his birth, to where he was between the ages of 12 until he was 30, to his resurrection. I have taken several different opinions of who the real historical Jesus, but first I want to start with the facts. We know that Jesus was born in the time of Herod. This tells us that he had to be born somewhere around 6 BC. It is also known that he visited the temple at age twelve. Little is known about where Jesus was between the age of 12 and the age of thirty; thirty being when he started his ministry which took place in and around Israel. Most people do agree that Jesus died by crucifixion in the year thirty-three.
I used the biblical story of Jesus for a base line story to get started; then explained other opinions at the end of this essay. Luke 2:1-20 1-5About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant. 6-7While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hotel. 8-12There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger." 13-14At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him. 15-18As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. 19-20Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!.
When he was 12 years old he went with his parents to Passover. When his parents went to leave, they thought he had run ahead, but really he had stayed in the temple to discuss scripture with the teachers. From the age of 12 to the age of 30 it is not really known where Jesus was. There are several theories which I will talk about later. At the age of 30 Jesus goes to John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan River. Then Jesus went into the wilderness too fast for 40 days and nights. Toward the end of this, he is tempted by the devil. A few months later he performs his first miracle. This story can be found in in John 2:1-11. 1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. This was the start of Jesus ministry. After this Jesus went on to Capernaum then to Jerusalem for Passover. While in Jerusalem, Jesus visited the temple and was not happy with what he found. This event is called the cleansing of the temple. It is found in John 2: 12-25. After these thing had happened Jesus went to Judea then to Galilee passing through Samaria along the way. This is where the story of the woman at the well comes in to play. It is found in John 4:1-42. After this soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?" 7The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in." 8-9Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, and start walking." The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. 9-10That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, "It's the Sabbath. You can't carry your bedroll around. It's against the rules."11But he told them, "The man who made me well told me to. He said, 'Take your bedroll and start walking.'"12-13They asked, "Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?" But the healed man didn't know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd. 14A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, "You look wonderful! You're well! Don't return to a sinning life or something worse might happen." 15-16The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. After this it said in Luke: 4 16-30 16-21He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written, “God's Spirit is on me; he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and batter free, to announce, "This is God's year to act!"
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, "You've just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place." 22All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well he spoke. But they also said, "Isn't this Joseph's son, the one we've known since he was a youngster?" 23-27He answered, "I suppose you're going to quote the proverb, 'Doctor, go heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we heard you did in Capernaum.' Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever welcomed in his hometown. Isn't it a fact that there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah during those three and a half years of drought when famine devastated the land, but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was in Sarepta in Sidon? And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian." 28-30That set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. They threw him out, banishing him from the village, and then took him to a mountain cliff at the edge of the village to throw him to his doom, but he gave them the slip and was on his way. After this took place, Jesus went to Capernaum because John was put into prison. Then Jesus went on his 3 Galilean tours John 7:1. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Then Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and heals a Canaanite woman's daughter. After that he went to Bethsaida and healed a blind man. Then Jesus returns to Capernaum to pay temple tax. Sometime later he went back to the temple to teach. He returns to Galilee and starts his slow journey back to Jerusalem. He made a lot of stops to teach. When he gets to Jerusalem, it is the time of Passover and he enters the city riding on a donkey. A few days later Jesus is crucified.
This is the main biblical story of Jesus’ life. Most people agree about his ministry but the three areas that are the most controversial. They are the virgin birth, were he was between the age of 12 and the age of 30, and most of all the resurrection.
Some people believe that the virgin birth never really happened that it was just to cover up Mary and Joseph’s mistake of having a baby before marriage. Also some people do not believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Instead, they think he was born in Nazareth because he is called Jesus of Nazareth.
There are several different theories about where Jesus was between the age of 12 and 30. The bible says nothing about this time in Jesus’ life. Some people say that he lived in his father’s home learning to be a carpenter, but some scholars say that this is impossible mainly because his family lived in Nazareth. If he would have stayed there, he would not have the education to read and teach like he did. Some people say he may have lived in Egypt for a while and that is where he learned his “magic” and how to heal. It is also thought that Jesus went to India sometime between the ages of 12 to30. So all in all, we really have no idea where he was or what he did.
Probably the most controversial event in Jesus’ life was the resurrection. Did Jesus rise from the dead? There are several theories about this. Some people think he did not rise from the grave. Some scholars think that his body was stole from the tomb and taken somewhere else. There is also a theory that he was not completely dead when he was put in the tomb.
The main thing I found while looking for the true historical Jesus is that there are several ideas of what happened in Jesus’ life and it really come down to what you choose to believe.