The religious perspectives on Jesus vary among world religions.''The Blackwell Companion to Jesus'' edited by Delbert Burkett 2010 page

/ref>

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of

human history Human history or world history is the record of humankind from prehistory to the present. Early modern human, Modern humans evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago and initially lived as hunter-gatherers. They Early expansions of hominin ...

, and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people, including non-Christians. He is considered by many to be one of the most influential persons to have ever lived, finding a significant place in numerous cultural contexts. In

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, Jesus is the Messiah (Christ) foretold in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

and the Son of God. Christians believe that through his

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

and resurrection, humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.''Oxford Companion to the Bible'' p.649 These beliefs emphasize that as the willing Lamb of God, Jesus ''chose to'' suffer in Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his Father, as an "agent and servant of God".''The Christology of Anselm of Canterbury'' by Dániel Deme 2004 pages 199-200''The Christology of the New Testament'' by Oscar Cullmann 1959 page 79 Christians view Jesus as a role model, whose God-focused life believers are encouraged to imitate. In

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, Jesus (commonly transliterated as '' Isa'') is the Messiah and one of God's highest-ranked and most-beloved prophets. Islam considers Jesus to be neither the incarnation nor the Son of God. He is referred to as the son of Mary in the Qu’ran. Islamic texts emphasize a strict affirmation of monotheism (''

tawhid ''Tawhid'' () is the concept of monotheism in Islam, it is the religion's central and single most important concept upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (''ahad'') and s ...

'') and forbid the association of partners with God, which would be idolatry ('' shirk''). In the

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

faith, Jesus is considered one of God's important prophets and the Messiah. The

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

considers Jesus to be one of many manifestations of God, who are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world. Baháʼís reject the idea that divinity was contained with a single human body. Apart from his own disciples and followers, the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

of Jesus' day generally rejected him as the Messiah, as do the great majority of Jews today. Mainstream

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

scholars argue that Jesus neither fulfilled the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal qualifications of the Messiah. Other world religions such as

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

have no particular view on Jesus, and have but a minor intersection with Christianity. For non-religious perspectives on Jesus, see historical Jesus.

Christianity

Christian views of Jesus are based on the teachings and beliefs as outlined in the Canonical gospels, New Testament letters, the Christian creeds, as well as specific denominational teachings. These documents outline the key beliefs held by Christians about Jesus, including his divinity, humanity, and earthly life, and that he is the Christ and the Son of God. Although Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to summarize the key beliefs shared among major denominations, as stated in their catechetical or confessional texts. Generally speaking, adhering to the Christian faith requires a belief that Jesus is the Son of God and the '' Messiah'' or '' Christ''. Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God in the New Testament.''One teacher: Jesus' teaching role in Matthew's gospel'' by John Yueh-Han Yieh 2004 pages 240-241 Christians consider Jesus to be the Messiah (Christ) and believe that through his death and resurrection, humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life. These teachings emphasize that as the willing Lamb of God, Jesus ''chose to'' suffer in Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his Father, as an "agent and servant of God". The choice Jesus made thus counter-positions him as a new man of morality and obedience, in contrast to

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

's disobedience.''Systematic Theology, Volume 2'' by Wolfhart Pannenberg 2004 0567084663 ISBN pages 297-303 The five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus are his

Baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension.''Essays in New Testament interpretation'' by Charles Francis Digby Moule 1982 page 63 These are usually bracketed by two other episodes: his Nativity at the beginning and the sending of the Paraclete at the end.''Scripture in tradition'' by John Breck 2001 page 12 The gospel accounts of the teachings of Jesus are often presented in terms of specific categories involving his "works and words", e.g. his ministry, parables and miracles.''The Bible Knowledge Commentary'' by John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck 1983 page 100''The words and works of Jesus Christ'' by J. Dwight Pentecost 2000 page 212 The words of Jesus include several sermons, in addition to parables that appear throughout the narrative of the Synoptic Gospels (the gospel of John includes no parables). Christians not only attach theological significance to the works of Jesus, but also to his name. Devotions to the Holy Name of Jesus go back to the earliest days of Christianity.''Outlines of dogmatic theology, Volume 2 by Sylvester Hunter 2010 page 443''Jesus: the complete guide'' by Leslie Houlden 2006 page 426 These devotions and feasts exist both in Eastern and

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...

Incarnation

Most Christians believe that Jesus was both human and the Son of God. While there has been theological debate over the nature of Jesus, trinitarian Christians generally believe that Jesus is God incarnate, God the Son, and the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, thus " true God and true man," i.e. fully divine and fully human. Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, yet he did not sin. As fully God, he defeated death and rose to life again. According to the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, God the Father raised him from the dead. He ascended to heaven, to be seated at the " right hand of God," and he will return again for the Last Judgment and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

Islam

In Islam, Jesus (''Isa'') is considered to be a messenger of God (''

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

'') and the Messiah ('' al-Masih'') who was sent to guide the Descendants of Israel (''Bani Isra'il'') with a new scripture, the Gospel ('' Injil''). The

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

mentions Jesus by name 25 times—more often than

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

—and emphasises that Jesus was a mortal human who, like all other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God's message. Unlike Christian writings, the Quran does not describe Jesus as the son of God, but as one of four major human messengers (out of many prophets) sent by God throughout history to guide mankind. Jesus is said to have lived a life of piety and generosity, and abstained from eating flesh of swine. Muslims also believe that Jesus received a Gospel from God, called the ''Injil''. However, Muslims hold that Jesus' original message was lost or altered and that the Christian New Testament does not accurately represent God's original message to mankind. Despite major differences, the Quran and New Testament overlap in other aspects of Jesus' life; both Muslims and Christians believe that Jesus was miraculously born without a human biological father by the will of God, and that his mother, Mary ('' Maryam'' in Arabic), is among the most saintly, pious, chaste and virtuous women ever. The Quran also specifies that Jesus was able to perform miracles—though only by the will of God—including being able to raise the dead, restore sight to the blind and cure lepers. One miracle attributed to Jesus in the Quran, but not in the New Testament, is his being able to speak at only a few days old, to defend his mother from accusations of adultery. It also says that Jesus was a 'word' from God, since he was predicted to come in the

. Most Muslims believe that he was neither killed nor crucified, but that God made it appear so to his enemies. With the noteworthy exception of Ahmadi Muslims who believe that Jesus was indeed put on the cross, survived the crucifixion and was not lifted bodily to the heaven, the majority of Muslims believe that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven and is alive. Some Muslim scholars maintain that Jesus was indeed put up on the cross, but did not die on it; rather, he revived and then ascended bodily to heaven. Others say that it was actually Judas Iscariot who was mistakenly crucified by the Romans. Regardless, Muslims believe that Jesus is alive in

heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

and will return to the world in the flesh to defeat the Antichrist, once the world has become filled with sin, deception and injustice, and then live out the rest of his natural life. Islam rejects the Trinitarian Christian view that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, that he was ever crucified or resurrected or that he ever atoned for the sins of mankind. The Quran says that Jesus himself, when asked by God if he said that people shall regard him and Mary as gods, will deny this.

Judaism

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

rejects the idea of Jesus being God, or a person of a Trinity, or a mediator to God. Judaism also holds that Jesus is not the Messiah, arguing that he had not fulfilled the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal qualifications of the Messiah. According to Jewish tradition, there were no more prophets after Malachi, who lived centuries before Jesus and delivered his prophesies about 420 BC. According to Conservative Judaism, Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah have "crossed the line out of the Jewish community".

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

, the modern progressive movement, states "For us in the Jewish community anyone who claims that Jesus is their savior is no longer a Jew and is an apostate".

Jesus in Jewish writings

The Babylonian Talmud includes stories of '' Yeshu'' ; the vast majority of contemporary historians disregard these as sources about the historical Jesus.Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition) Contemporary Talmud scholars hold similar views, as well as considering the stories to be commentary about the relationship between Judaism and Christians or other sectarians. The '' Mishneh Torah'', a 12th century authoritative work of Jewish law, states in ''Hilkhot Melakhim'' 11:10–11 that Jesus mislead most of the world to worship other gods but that his ultimate purpose is to "prepare the entire world to serve God together".

Baháʼí Faith

The

consider Jesus to be a manifestation of God, who are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization. In Baháʼí belief, the Manifestations have always been sent by God, and always will, as part of the single progressive religion from God bringing more teachings through time to help humanity progress. The Manifestations of God are taught to be "one and the same", and in their relationship to one another have both the station of unity and the station of distinction. In this way each Manifestation of God manifested the Word of God and taught the same religion, with modifications for the particular audience's needs and culture. Bahá'u'lláh wrote that since each Manifestation of God has the same divine attributes, they can be seen as the spiritual "return" of all the previous Manifestations of God. In this way, Baháʼís believe that Bahá'u'lláh is, in both respects, the return of Jesus.

Druze

In the

faith, Jesus is considered one of God's important prophets and the Messiah, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history. The Druze venerate

"the son of Joseph and Mary" and his four disciples, who wrote the Gospels. In the

tradition, Jesus is known under three titles: the True Messiah (''al-Masih al-Haq''), the Messiah of all Nations (''Masih al-Umam''), and the Messiah of Sinners. This is due, respectively, to the belief that Jesus delivered the true Gospel message, the belief that he was the Saviour of all nations, and the belief that he offers forgiveness. According to the Druze manuscripts Jesus is the Greatest Imam and the incarnation of Ultimate

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

(Akl) on earth and the first cosmic principle (Hadd), and regards Jesus and Hamza ibn Ali as the incarnations of one of the five great celestial powers, who form part of their system. Druze believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

of Jesus, and that Hamza ibn Ali is the true Messiah, who directed the deeds of the messiah Jesus "the son of Joseph and Mary", but when Jesus "the son of Joseph and Mary" strayed from the path of the true Messiah, Hamza filled the hearts of the Jews with hatred for him - and for that reason, they crucified him, according to the Druze manuscripts. Despite this, Hamza ibn Ali took him down from the cross and allowed him to return to his family, in order to prepare men for the preaching of his religion. In an epistle ascribed to one of the founders of Druzism, Baha al-Din al-Muqtana, probably written sometime between AD 1027 and AD 1042, accused the Jews of crucifying Jesus.

Other

Traditionally, Buddhists as a group take no particular view on Jesus, and Buddhism and Christianity have but a minor intersection. However, some scholars have noted similarities between the life and teachings of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

and Jesus. These similarities might be attributed to Buddhist missionaries sent as early as Emperor Ashoka around 250 BC in many of the Greek Seleucid kingdoms that existed then and then later became the same regions in which Christianity began. Jesus was seen as the saviour and bringer of gnosis by various

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

sects, such as the quasi-extinct Manichaeism. The Vietnamese syncretic religion Cao Dai locates Jesus in the celestial Council of Great Spirits that directs the universe. In the Ahmadiyya Islamic view, Jesus survived the crucifixion and later travelled to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where he lived as a prophet (and died) under the name of Yuz Asaf. According to '' The Urantia Book'', Jesus was one of numerous sons of God named Michael of Nebadon, who took on earthly incarnation. In Raëlism, Jesus and several other religious figures are considered prophets sent by an extraterrestrial race called the

Elohim ''Elohim'' ( ) is a Hebrew word meaning "gods" or "godhood". Although the word is plural in form, in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity, particularly but not always the Go ...

. The Religious Science movement considers Jesus to be a teacher of “Science of Mind”. The Lacandon people of Central America acknowledge Äkyantho', the god of foreigners. He has a son named Hesuklistos (Jesus Christ) who is supposed to be the god of the foreigners. They recognize that Hesuklistos is a god but do not feel he is worthy of worship as he is a minor god.McGee, Jon (2002) "Watching Lacandon Maya Lives," Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Unlike other religions, Hinduism has no established set of beliefs and thus no universal or common view of Jesus. However, a lot of Hindus, including religious and political leaders, tend to variously venerate Jesus as either a Āchārya, Sadhu or Avatar. Some Hindus and Hare Krishnas also claim that Jesus was predicted or prophesied in the scripture Bhavishya Purana.