Jesus of
Nazareth is
the central figure of the
Christian religion, a savior believed to be both
God incarnate and a human being. He is also known as
Jesus Christ, the term "
Christ" meaning anointed or chosen
one. Most of the details of his life are unclear, and much of what is known about his life comes from the
four Gospels of the Bible. The Gospels tell the
story of Jesus's miraculous birth in a stable in
Bethlehem, and then of his life as an adult, a teacher with miraculous
powers who foretold his own
death to his closest followers, called apostles. Jesus, betrayed by the
apostle Judas, was crucified by the
Romans, and his
resurrection three
days after his death was taken as
proof of his
divinity. The
date of Jesus's miraculous birth to
Mary is celebrated each December 25th as
Christmas Day. The occasion was
used as the
base year for
the modern Christian calendar, though researchers now believe that earlier estimates were inexact and that Jesus was actually
Born between 4 B.C. and 7 B.C. The date of the crucifixion is now marked as Good
Friday, and the resurrection celebrated as Easter.