Reconstructions of the historical Jesus are based on the Pauline epistles and the gospels, while several non-biblical sources also support his historical existence.[16][17][18] 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.[19][20] Historical Jesus scholars typically contend that he was a Galilean Jew and living in a time of messianic and apocalyptic expectations.[21] 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.[22]
The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed through history using these processes have often differed from each other, and from the image portrayed in the gospel accounts.[23] Such portraits include that of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, charismatic healer, Cynic philosopher, Jewish messiah, prophet of social change,[24][25][6] and rabbi.[26][27] There is little scholarly agreement on a single portrait, nor the methods needed to construct it,[23][28][29][3] but there are overlapping attributes among the various portraits, and scholars who differ on some attributes may agree on others.[24][25][30]
^Ehrman, Bart D. (1999), Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New MillenniumISBN0195124731 Oxford University Press pp. ix–xi
^Ehrman, Bart (2003). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-515462-2, chapters 13, 15
^ abWebb, Robert; Bock, Darrell, eds. (13 March 2024). Key Events in the Life of the Historical Jesus: A Collaborative Exploration of Context and Coherence. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. pp. 1–3. ISBN9783161501449.
^In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, Bart Ehrman (a secular agnostic) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees, based on certain and clear evidence." B. Ehrman, 2011 Forged: writing in the name of GodISBN978-0-06-207863-6. pp. 256–257
^Robert M. Price (an atheist who denies the existence of Jesus) agrees that this perspective runs against the views of the majority of scholars: Robert M. Price "Jesus at the Vanishing Point" in The Historical Jesus: Five Views edited by James K. Beilby & Paul Rhodes Eddy, 2009 InterVarsity, ISBN028106329X p. 61
^Michael Grant (a classicist) states that "In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non-historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." in Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels by Michael Grant (2004) ISBN1898799881 p. 200
^Burridge & Gould 2004, p. 34. "There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that anymore."
^Jesus Remembered by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN0-8028-3931-2 p. 339 states of baptism and crucifixion that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent".
^Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus by William R. Herzog (2005) ISBN0664225284 pp. 1–6
^Crossan, John Dominic (1995). Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperOne. p. 145. ISBN978-0-06-061662-5. That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be, since both Josephus and Tacitus ... agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact.
^Powell, Mark Allan (1998). Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 168–173. ISBN978-0-664-25703-3.
^Van Voorst, Robert E. (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient EvidenceISBN0-8028-4368-9.
^Chilton, Bruce; Evans, Craig A. (1998). Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research. BRILL. pp. 460–470. ISBN978-9004111424.
^ abCite error: The named reference Cradel124 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abMitchell, Margaret M.; Young, Frances M., eds. (2006). The Cambridge History of Christianity. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. p. 23. ISBN978-0-521-81239-9.
^Pelikan, Jaroslav. "Jesus as Rabbi". PBS. Retrieved 3 March 2020. four Aramaic words appear as titles for Jesus: Rabbi, or teacher; Amen, or prophet; Messias, or Christ; and Mar, or Lord
^Charlesworth, James H.; Pokorny, Petr, eds. (2009). Jesus Research: An International Perspective (Princeton–Prague Symposia Series on the Historical Jesus). Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. 1–2. ISBN978-0-8028-6353-9.
^Porter, Stanley E.; Hayes, Michael A.; Tombs, David (2004). Images of Christ (Academic Paperback). T&T Clark. p. 74. ISBN978-0-567-04460-0.
^McClymond, Michael James (2004). Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. pp. 16–22. ISBN978-0-8028-2680-0.