Jesus' Biography
By order of Caesar Augustus, a census was taken of the entire Roman world. A man named Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary traveled to the town of Bethlehem (which is known as the town of David) because Joseph belonged to the blood line of David. While they were there, Mary gave birth to a baby boy who she placed in a manger because of a lack of room at the inn. (Luke 2:1-7) The baby, Jesus, had been born to a virgin and was to be the fulfillment of a prophecy that called for a messiah to come and be the king of the Jews who would reign forever. (Luke 1:29-37)
Very little is recorded about Jesus' upbringing except that he was wise enough to amaze the temple teachers when he was twelve. (Luke 2:42-47) It was not until much later, fifteen years into the reign of Emperor Tiberius (Luke 3:1) that Jesus began his ministry. After being baptized by his cousin John (Luke 3:21) who had preached his coming (Luke 3:4), Jesus fasted for forty days in preparation for his ministry, in which he was tempted by Satan (Luke 4:1-13).
Though Jesus was not accepted as a prophet in his hometown, as many prophets are not (Luke 4:14-30), he gained fame as he healed many people and casts out demons from others (Luke 4:31-41). Jesus' preachings coincided with his miracles, and he taught the importance of the human heart rather than strict adherence to law, which he demonstrated in doing work on the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-11). He chose many disciples and specifically 12 apostles to help him in his ministry (Luke 6:12-16).
Throughout his life Jesus performed many miracles and taught many lessons. Many people feared Jesus for his teachings or felt that he was blaspheming and wished to kill him (Luke 4:28-30; 6:11; 22:4-6). Jesus knew that his ministry would end in his death as that was according to the prophecy that he was fulfilling (Luke 18:31-33) . During the week of Passover, the chief priests had him crucified under the order of Pontius Pilate (Luke 22:47-23:46). According to scripture, three days after his death, Jesus rose from the dead (Luke 24:6). He then proceeded to oversee the birth of his new religion while preparing the apostles to take over for him (Luke 24:36-49) . He then is said to have ascended to heaven (Luke 24:51).
