JESTJS, the Greek form of the Hebrew word Joshua, Jehoshua, the Savior." is the name given to the sort. of the Virgin Mary by the angels who announced his approaching birth (Matt. i. 21; Luke i. 31). The reason of the name was at the same time declared: "for lie shall save his people from their sins." The date of the birth of Jesus is now generally fixed a few years—at least four years —before the commencement of the Christian era. The reasons of this opinion we cannot here state, but it may be observed that the reckoning of dates from the birth of Christ did not begin till the 6th c., when error on such a point was very probable. The precise date of the birth of Jesus, however, cannot be determined, nor can the year of his death be much more confidently stated. The common computation fixes his death in 33 A.D., or when he was probably at least 37 years of age. As to the month or day of the birth of Jesus, nothing is known, although the circumstance that shepherds were watching their flocks by night makes it very certain that it did not take place at that time at which the festival of Christmas (q.v.) is held.
With the accounts given by the evangelists of the birth of Jesus, his ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, every one may be supposed familiar.
The opponents of Christianity have not, in general, disputed the historic truth of the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus; the miracles of course excepted. Celsus and other
heathen writers admitted even the truth of the miracles, but alleged them to have been wrought by magic, or to have been too few and inconsiderable to attest the claims of Jesus. Their modern successors have, of course, rejected these views. Some of them have endeavored to show that Jesus was ambitious of earthly power, but this has not been a prevalent theory. More generally they have regarded as merely adapting his conduct and teaching to the notions common among the Jews, and in particular to their expectation of the Messiah; whilst they admit the unequaled excellency of the religious and moral system taught by him. tie inconsistency of this scheme is held to be obvious by orthodox theologians. They allege that it represents the noblest and purest system of morality as based on imposture. The character of Jesus, as disp'ayed Loth iu his life and in his teaching, is one of the great arguments relied on by the advocates of Christianity.
The correspondence of Jesus with Abgarus, king of Edessa, although we have it in Eusebius, can only be ranked with monkish legends. Of no greater value are descrip tions of the personal appearance of Jesus, and pictures of him. See CHRIST, PICTURES ON.