BRIEF HISTORY OF JESUS

BREIF HISTORY OF JESUS

   Jesus Christ was born about 7-5 B.C. in a humble
home in Palestine. Very little is known about the
early years of his life. All we can say, in the words


of Luke, is that he "increased in wisdom and stature,
and in favour with God and men". When he was between
thirty-three and thirty-five years of age, a
prophet appeared in Palestine preaching "the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sin." The
name of this Prophet was John the Baptist, and Jesus
went to him and was baptized by him. It was at that
moment that it was revealed to Jesus that he had
been chosen by God as the Messiah of the Jews to
revive the true religion and bring to completion the
long line of Israelite prophets.
The religion of God was not unknown to the children
of Israel, but at the time when Jesus began his
ministry, the spirit of true religion had been stifled
by the wordiness of the Sadducees and the formalism                                                                                                                           and trivial legalism of the Pharisees. They declared,
in the words of the Talmud, “He who lightly
esteems handwashing will perish from the earth.
"And Jesus rebuked them, saying, "Full wellye reject
the commandment of God, that ye may keep your
own tradition. "They had absurd rules about the Sabbath.
For instance, a man might walk two thousand
cubits on the Sabbath, but no more. Vinegar, if allowed,
could be used to a sore throat, but it could not
be gargled. In case death threatened, a physician
could be summoned, but a fracture should not be attended
to on the Sabbath. Jesus impatientlybrushed
aside all such elaborate and artificial regulations, He
told them that the Sabbath was for man and not man
for the Sabbath, and he warned them. " Woe unto
you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; for ye pay
tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faiht... Ye blind guides, cohich strain at a gnat,                                                                                                                                 and swallow a camel”.
The essence of his religion was the love of God
and the love of fellow-men, which he tried to instill
into the hearts of his people by means of his inspired
sermons and beautiful parables.
The Sadducees and Pharisees, instead of acknowledging
him as the Messiah about whose coming the
earlier Israelite prophets had given the good news,
turned his mortal enemies and pressed the Roman
Procurator to pass sentence of crucifixion on him.
This man who was treated as a common malefactor
by his blind people was one of the most inspiring
characters of history. He led a pure, noble and godly
life. He showed a rare combination of mildness and
courage in doing the Will of God and in dealing
wivn his misguided compatriots. He was all gentleness,
selflessness and humility, serving his friends
and praying for his enemies, He worked many wonders,
yet never took prid in them, ascribing them always                                                                                                                                 to the same. His compassion for the sinners
and sufferers was truly admirable. About him it may
well be said that he conquered the devil.