The stories claim that after Jesus was crucified and placed in a tomb, he came back to life. The stories told in the Gospels claim that Pilate was reluctant to find Jesus guilty but was pushed toward the verdict by a mob who wanted Jesus to be crucified. The leaders then took Jesus before Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect (governor) of Judea, where he was put on trial. The Gospels claim that one of Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus by making a deal with a group of Jewish religious leaders to help them arrest Jesus in exchange for money. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. Jesus spoke about the end times, saying that the skies will be darkened and "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. "'You unbelieving generation,' Jesus replied, 'how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?'" Mark 9:19. When they were unable to exorcise an "impure spirit" from a boy, Jesus was furious. At one point he gave his disciples the ability to perform miracles in his name. He sometimes clashed with his 12 disciples, scolding them when they showed a lack of faith or endurance. Large crowds sometimes followed him, hoping that he would cure sick people, the Gospels say. They tell how Jesus generally avoided luxury, was happy to talk with "tax collectors" and "sinners," favored the poor and frequently clashed with Jewish religious leaders, who doubted his claim that he was the Messiah. The Gospel accounts suggest that Jesus spent much of his ministry in the area around Galilee. This is based on the sequence of events told in the Bible which suggest that Jesus had not been ministering for long before he was crucified. Scholars generally agree that Jesus didn't devote himself to his ministry until he was about 30 years old. (Image credit: Noyan Yalcin/Shutterstock) Ministry Archaeological remains suggest that people in first century Nazareth were Jewish and less likely to embrace Greco-Roman culture than people who lived in the nearby town of Sepphoris.Ī statue in the Lateran Palace in Rome depicts Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss. One of these houses was later venerated as the house that Jesus grew up in. Recent archaeological work carried out at Nazareth has identified two houses that date to the first century A.D. "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home," Jesus said in Mark 6:4. This Gospel also claims that when Jesus returned to Nazareth after he was away, he was not well received. The Gospel of Mark claims that Jesus worked as a carpenter when he was old enough, and that there was something of a rift between Jesus and his family. Gospel stories tell how a man named John the Baptist foretold the coming of Jesus and baptized people who were seeking forgiveness for their sins. The Gospels tell of how Jesus grew up in Nazareth with his mother, Mary, her husband, Joseph, and Jesus' brothers and sisters. Today, scholars are doubtful that Herod tried to kill Jesus, noting that there is no evidence, outside of the Bible, that Herod was aware of Jesus. Jesus and his family escaped by fleeing to Egypt and not returning until after Herod's death, the Gospel says. The Gospel also claims that King Herod was enraged when he heard of Jesus' birth and ordered him to be found and executed, at one point ordering every boy in Bethlehem who was two years or younger to be killed. The Gospel of Matthew talks about how magi (a word sometimes translated as "wise men") came from the east, following the star of Bethlehem (which some scientists have speculated could be a comet or the planet Venus) and gave baby Jesus presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 25 did not come about until centuries later, and scholars generally agree that he was not born on that day. The tradition of Jesus being born on Dec. The year of Jesus' birth is debated by scholars, who generally place it sometime between 7 B.C. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke claim that Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary, who was a virgin.