Historical Jesus

The term "historical Jesus" refers to attempts to "reconstruct the life and teachings of Jesus of
Nazareth by critical historical methods," in "contrast to Christological definitions ('the dogmatic
Christ') and other Christian accounts of Jesus ('the Christ of faith')." It also considers the historical
and cultural context in which Jesus lived.
The vast majority of scholars who write on the subject agree that Jesus existed, although scholars differ
about the beliefs and teachings of Jesus as well as the accuracy of the biblical accounts, and the only two
events subject to "almost universal assent" are that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and was
crucified by the order of the Roman Perfect Pontius Pilate. Historical Jesus scholars typically contend
that he was a Galilean Jew living in a time of messianic and apocalyptic expectations. Jesus was baptized
by John the Baptist, whose example he may have followed, and after John was executed, began his
own preaching in Galilee for about one to three years prior to his execution. He preached salvation,
cleansing from sins, and the Kingdom of God, using parables with startling imagery, and was said to be a
teacher and believed in faith healing. Some scholars credit the apocalyptic declarations of the Gospels to
him, while others portray his Kingdom of God as a moral one, and not apocalyptic in nature. He sent
his apostles out to heal and to preach the Kingdom of God. Later, he traveled to Jerusalem in Judea,
where he caused a disturbance at the Temple It was the time of Passover, when political and religious
tensions were high in Jerusalem. The Gospels say that the temple guards (believed to be Sadducees)
arrested him and turned him over to Pontius Pilate for execution. The movement he had started
survived his death and was carried on by his brother James the Just and the apostles who proclaimed
the resurrection of Jesus It developed into Early Christianity (see also List of event in early Christianity).

Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly quests for the historical Jesus have taken place,
each with distinct characteristics and developing new and different research criteria.
The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in these processes have often differed from
each other, and from the dogmatic image portrayed in the Gospel accounts. These portraits
include that of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, charismatic healer, Cynic philosopher, Jewish
Messiah and prophet of social change, but there is little scholarly agreement on a single
portrait, or the methods needed to construct it. There are, however, overlapping attributes
among the various portraits, and scholars who differ on some attributes may agree on others.
A number of scholars have criticized the various approaches used in the study of the historical
Jesus—on one hand for the lack of rigor in research methods, on the other for being driven by
"specific agendas" that interpret ancient sources to fit specific goals. By the 21st century the
"maximalist" approaches of the 19th century which accepted all the Gospels and the
"minimalist" trends of the early 20th century which totally rejected them were abandoned and
scholars began to focus on what is historically probable and plausible about Jesus.