Most critical historians agree that Jesus was a
Galilean Jewish Rabbi who was regarded as a teacher and
healer in
Judaea,
[18] that he
was baptized by
John the Baptist, and that he was
crucified in
Jerusalem on the orders of the
Roman Prefect,
Pontius Pilate, on the charge of
sedition against the
Roman Empire.
[19] Critical
Biblical scholars and historians have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described
Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the
historical Jesus consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating a future apocalypse.
[20] Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "
Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.
[20]Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was
born of a virgin,
[10]:529–32 performed
miracles,
[10]:358–59 founded
the Church,
rose from the dead, and
ascended into
heaven,
[10]:616–20 from which he
will return.
[10]:1091–109 The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, and "the Second Person of the
Blessed Trinity".
[21] A few Christian groups, however,
reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, believing it to be non-scriptural.
[21][22]Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah promised in the
Old Testament and as God,
[23] arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.
[24]
