Our information concerning events in the life of Jesus is obtained almost entirely from the Gospels of the New Testament. Before any of the Gospels were written, the Christian community had already existed for some time. Community members had formulated a number of specific beliefs concerning Jesus and the significance of his life, death, and resurrection. When the Gospels were written, the materials contained in them necessarily reflected to a considerable extent those beliefs that were generally accepted by Christians at that time. Not only Christians’ specific beliefs but also their interpretation and significance for coming generations were bound to become part of the written biographies. There is nothing strange or unusual about this practice, for it is the kind of thing that is always involved in historical writing. Historians make use of source materials and record actual happenings with as much accuracy as possible. Even so, their selection of facts is recorded, and their interpretations of these materials govern the way in which histories are put together, which is true of the New Testament writings no less than it is of other historical writings.
The authors of the Gospels, inspired as they undoubtedly were, could not help but be influenced by their beliefs about Jesus. For them to fill in the gaps that occurred in their accounts by telling what they believed must have happened or even to insert at various points what seemed appropriate given their knowledge of subsequent events after Jesus’ physical death would have been most natural. Determining just how much of the record as it exists at the present time is due to the interpretations of the authors is not always an easy task, nor can this determination be done with complete accuracy. So far as the main outline of events is concerned, no reason exists for doubting the biographies’ historical accuracy, but like any other historical writing, appropriate allowances must be made for the limitations under which the different authors carried on their work.
The oldest of the biographies of Jesus, which according to most New Testament scholars is the Gospel of Mark, tells us nothing of the time or place of Jesus’ birth, nor does it record anything of his life prior to the time when he was baptized by John in the Jordan River. Perhaps information concerning the early part of Jesus’ life was not available or was not regarded as important. Other Gospels report that he was born in Bethlehem of Judea and grew up in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. His public ministry did not begin until after his baptism, which was apparently a turning point in his career. John the Baptist was conducting a vigorous campaign in preparation for the great day when God would establish his kingdom here on earth, which John believed to be near at hand. John called upon people to repent of their sins and in witness thereof to be baptized. That Jesus responded to this call and was baptized indicates that he was in full accord with the work John was doing. Shortly thereafter, Jesus began to proclaim the coming of the heavenly kingdom on earth and called upon his fellow men to make preparation for it. The work of John the Baptist was brought to a close when he was imprisoned and later beheaded by Herod Antipas. His death may have been one of the reasons why Jesus continued, at least in part, the type of work that John was doing, although there are good reasons for believing that Jesus would have carried out a program of his own quite independent of what happened to the Baptist.
Before beginning his own public ministry, Jesus, like many of Israel’s prophets, retired to the solitude of the wilderness for a period of fasting and meditation. At the end of this period, we are told that he was tempted by Satan, the archenemy of God and the personification of the forces of evil. Although the details of the temptation stories are somewhat varied, there can be little doubt that they report an actual event, and the meaning of the experience is essentially the same in all of them. They tell us that Jesus was tempted to do evil in the manner that is typical of the temptations that come to all human beings. That Jesus was able—with divine help—to resist these temptations brings assurances that any person may overcome evil by cooperating with divine aid, the same as Jesus did.
According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus began his public ministry in the towns and villages of Galilee by proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. He spoke in synagogues, in private homes, on lakeshores, and wherever people would gather to see and to hear him. Two elements in his ministry—teaching and healing—were so closely linked together that neither one can be understood apart from the other. Both of them concerned overcoming the forces of evil in preparation for the coming of God’s kingdom. The purpose of the preaching, or teaching mission, was to make people aware of their need for repentance and to give them a clearer understanding of the way they should live in order to be ready for a place in God’s kingdom. One of the chief devices used by Satan to lead people astray is the development of people’s sense of complete satisfaction with themselves, which is often designated as the sin of pride, a feeling on the part of individuals that they are already good enough, that there is no need for any reform on their part. Jesus wanted to counteract this aspect of Satan’s work, and preaching was one of the means he used to accomplish this end.
Jesus’ healing mission was another means employed for the same purpose. The Jewish people generally accepted that physical suffering was predominantly the main punishment for sin. This point is well illustrated in the story concerning the healing of a man who was born blind. The first question put to Jesus by those who were standing nearby was, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” But if suffering is a punishment for sin, then an assurance that one’s sins have been forgiven would be followed by a removal of the punishment. The Gospels indicate that in Jesus’ ministry, the healing of the sick and the forgiveness of sins were linked so closely together that they were but different ways of reporting the same event. Overcoming sickness, as well as erroneous beliefs, counteracts the work of Satan and thus prepares for the coming of the kingdom.
