Do you want to know almost everything about Jesus life? Here’s a list of unknown, funny, interesting and historical facts about Jesus Christ. Discover amazing facts about His birth, family, ministry, miracles, death, disciples, view on human sexuality, the gospels and influence in our modern times.
Facts About Jesus Birth
1. Jesus got his name from an angel of God who told Joseph that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and not by a human. Joseph was going to divorce Mary, but the angel told him not to do this, and to name the child Jesus.
2. Jesus was a fairly common name in the first half of the first century A.D. It means in Hebrew: “God saves”.
3. Jesus did not have a last name like us in the 21st century. Christ is not his last name, but a title that means “the anointed one”.
4. Although millions of people celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25, most scholars agree that he wasn’t born on that day. His birthday is celebrated in December because that was the date of the Jewish Festival of Lights, called the Festival of Hanukkah, which fell on 25 to 30 Kislev. Nobody really knows exactly when Jesus was born. Some scholars believe that Jesus may have been born in spring or summer.
5. The Bible does not say how many wise men came to see Jesus. The traditional number of three came about because three gifts are mentioned.
6. The star of Bethlehem was most likely an astrological conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. Rumor has it that the star could be a nova or a new star; a comet; or an aligning of Jupiter with the star Regulus.
7. Jesus wasn’t actually born in 1 A.D. Most scholars put the date of Jesus’ birth sometime between 7 B.C. and 2 B.C.
8. People have been using “Xmas” since the 1500s. If you say “Xmas” you’re not taking the “Christ” out of “Christmas”. In Greek, “X,” or Chi, is the first letter of Christ’ name.
9. Jesus wasn’t born in a stable. The wooden crèche we’re used to see as part of Nativity scenes is not accurate.
Some people, including the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, believe Jesus was born in a “cave-like place.”
10. The wise men may not have met Jesus as a newborn. Many scholars believe they arrived when Jesus was between 1 and 2 years old. When they came, the Bible says they visited Jesus at his family’ house, not at the place of his birth.
11. After the wise men failed to report back to him about Jesus’ birth, Harod gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were younger than 2 years. Experts estimate that between 7 and 20 children were murdered during this massacre.
12. Jesus was the first and only baby born to a virgin and was the only human ever to live a sinless life.
13. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, means “house of bread.”
14. You know that scene we often see where Joseph and the pregnant Mary are going to Bethlehem, and Joseph is walking while leading a donkey on which Mary is riding? The Bible never says Mary was riding a donkey (she may have walked).
15. Jesus was not white, as most portraits of him would have us believe. Bible declares Jesus’ Jewishness, meaning He likely had light to dark brown skin.
Facts About Jesus Family
16. Jesus had 4 half-brothers. James, Joseph, Judas and Simon.
17. Jesus had sisters, but they are not named or numbered in the Bible.
18. John the Baptist was Jesus’ second cousin because Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elisabeth, the mother of John, were both cousins. John was about 6 months older than Jesus.
19. John The Baptist wore clothes made from camel’ hair.
20. John The Baptist never performed any miracles.
21. Mary, the mother of Jesus, speaks in 15 verses in the Bible. Her last words were: “Do whatever Jesus tells you.”
Facts About Jesus Ministry
22. Jesus is frequently addressed as “Rabbi”. The word Rabbi originates from the Hebrew meaning “teacher.” Today it refers to those who have received rabbinical ordination and are educated in Jewish law.
23. The perfume a woman, called Mary, poured on Jesus is said to be worth more than a year’ wages. The Greek translation puts this as more than 300 Roman denarii. In today’s currency, that’s roughly $20,000 of precious perfume poured out on Jesus’ feet.
24. John 11:35 “Jesus wept”, is the shortest verse in the Bible.
25. In every one of Jesus’ recorded prayers, He addressed God as “Father.”
26. The main reason Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem was to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah 9:10: “to proclaim peace to the nations”.
27. Following His resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared 12 times to his disciples and followers.
28. Jesus was about 30 years old when he began His ministry.
29. Jesus began His public ministry around AD 26, shortly after the ministry of John the Baptist.
30. Jesus’ earthly ministry last about 3.5 years.
31. According to scholars, the first recorded words of Jesus are in Mark 1:15: “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
32. Jesus spoke on earth 3 languages: Aramaic was his first language, Hebrew for scholarly questions and Greek on some occasions.
33. It is supposed from Mark 6:2-3 that Jesus was, like his stepfather, a carpenter. But, by today’s notion of the profession, he’d more likely be called an “engineer”.
34. Every quote Jesus used against Satan was from the book of Deuteronomy.
35. The New Testament tells of the life and ministry of Jesus. There is a total of 260 chapters and 7956 verses in the New Testament. If you divide these numbers against each other, you will get the age Jesus started His ministry. 7956 verses : 260 chapters = 30.6 Indeed, Jesus was about 30 years old when he began His ministry.
36. Jesus and the number 40: Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days; Jesus preached for about 40 months; 40 days separate the Ascension of Jesus of his Resurrection.
37. Jesus, Moses, and Elijah fasted for 40 days. Moses also went without water.
38. God the Father spoke to Jesus audibly 3 times while He was on Earth: At His baptism; At the Transfiguration; Before Jesus went to the cross.
39. The last words of Jesus before he ascended to heaven was: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age”.
Facts About Jesus Miracles
40. The feeding of 5000 men was one of Jesus’ miracles. It is the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels.
41. The gospels record at least 37 detailed miracles of Jesus.
42. 24 of Jesus’ miracles were healing miracles, 10 were nature’s miracle and 3 resurrection miracles.
43. The first miracle Jesus Christ performs during His ministry is changing water into wine at a marriage feast in Cana.
44. The second miraculous catch of fish in John 21:1-14 was the last miracle of Jesus on Earth before His ascension to Heaven.
45. Jesus raised 3 persons from the dead. The son of a widow in Nain, Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus.
46. Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old when Jesus brought her back to life.
47. Jesus used “fish” to perform a miracle 4 times in His earthly ministry: 1. When He fed 5000 men; 2. When a coin appeared in the mouth of a fish to pay taxes; 3. When Jesus told Simon Peter to let down his nets again, then they were filled with fish; 4. When Jesus told the disciples who were fishing to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and it was filled with fish.
Facts About Jesus Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection
48. Jesus was under such extreme stress, when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion, that His sweat became like “giant drops of blood falling to the ground”. The medical term for this is “hematohidrosis.” Only Luke, a doctor, mentions this happening to Jesus.
49. “Gethsemane” is a corruption into English of the Hebrew words GAT and SHMANIM. GAT means wine-press, while SHMANIN means oils, and is the plural of the Hebrew word SHEMEN, for oil. Thus, a literal translation of “Gethsemane” would be “winepress of oils”.
50. “Gethsemane” is a corruption into English of the Hebrew words GAT and SHMANIM. GAT means wine-press, while SHMANIN means oils, and is the plural of the Hebrew word SHEMEN, for oil. Thus, a literal translation of “Gethsemane” would be “winepress of oils”.
51. The sign nailed to the cross of Jesus stating: “Jesus Of Nazareth, The King Of The Jews” was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.
52. Today in many churches, when Jesus’ cross is displayed, the letters INRI are placed on the sign above the cross. INRI is an abbreviation for “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”, which is the Latin translation of “Jesus Of Nazareth, The King Of The Jews”
53. Jesus had been on the cross from approximately 9:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M., a total of six hours.
54. Traditionally, many believe that Jesus was crucified on a Friday afternoon. The Good Friday–Easter Sunday tradition simply isn’t true or biblical. Most scholars now agree that Jesus was crucified and entombed on a Wednesday afternoon, not on Friday.
55. The name of the place where Jesus was crucified was called, “Golgotha,” which means “The Place of a Skull.” According to early church fathers, the location was called “The Place of the Skull” due to the shape of the hill that apparently reminded people of a human skull. Golgotha is located underneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which lies in the northwest quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel.
56. Crucifixions were commonplace in Roman times. It was designed not only to kill but also as a terrible warning to other would-be criminals. Victims of crucifixion were to be humiliated, often left to hang completely naked. Crucifixion was also an “excruciating” way to die because it was a very slow and painful means of death. Depending on the circumstance, some people could live for days after being nailed to a cross. Given the nature of crucifixion and its dishonorable form, Roman citizens were not crucified, except for treason.
57. Before being crucified, criminals were beaten with a whip. The thongs of the whip were often strung with knuckle-bones, lead pellets, or other sharp objects, sometimes to fatal effect. This punishment caused considerable bleeding and sometimes death.
58. Most victims of crucifixion eventually fell into unconsciousness, but Jesus remained fully conscious until the end. He died suddenly with a prayer.
59. The 7 last words of Jesus on the cross were:
1. Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”, which means: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”;
2. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing;
3. Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise;
4. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit;
5. Dear Woman, here is your son;
6. I am thirsty;
7. It is finished.
60. The 30 pieces of silver Judas received to betrayed Jesus was 30 Roman Denarii, which are roughly equivalent to an average American accepting payment of about $4,200.
61. Many dead saints came out of their graves at Christ’s death.
62. It was not usual to bury the bodies of criminals. They were left for the dogs and vultures to eat. However, Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body and bury him with the help of Nicodemus.
63. Jesus was very poor on Earth but when he died he was buried in a rich man’s tomb. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be buried in a rich man’s tomb. This was fulfilled hundreds of years later.
64. Many scholars believe that the average life expectancy during Jesus’ time on Earth was about 30-40 years.
Facts About Jesus Disciples
65. There are 4 lists of Jesus’ disciples: Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16 and Acts 1:13. The order in which the names of the disciples are listed varies. But the list always starts with Peter, and always concludes with Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
66. Jesus’ disciples were teenagers, almost all under the age of 18 and some as young as 15. All were most likely bachelors.
67. The first mention of Apostle Paul in the Bible is in Acts 7:58, his first recorded words are in Acts 9:5 and his first recorded sermon in Acts 13: 16-41.
68. Bartholomew, one of Jesus’ disciples was beaten, skinned alive and crucified head down. Some of his skin and bones are still kept in The Basilica of St. Bartholomew in Rome. A part of his skull is in Germany and an arm is venerated at the Canterbury Cathedral in England.
69. John was thrown into a metal pot of boiling oil, but he miraculously survived. The Roman emperor at the time, Domitian, decided after the incident to banish John to the island of Patmos in Greece. When Domitian died, John went back to Ephesus in Turkey where he spent the rest of his days. He died a very old man, the only disciple to do so.
70. The apostle Paul persecuted the Church for about the first 3 years of its existence.
71. Judas Iscariot was one of the 7 people who committed suicide in the Bible. The others were Zimri, Abimelech, Ahithophel, Samson, Saul and Saul’ armor bearer.
72. Word for word, Luke wrote more of the New Testament than Paul.
73. The books Paul wrote in the New Testament were named for the people they were written to.
74. Paul was guarded by 470 soldiers when He was taken to Governor Felix.
75. Paul was a tentmaker, he spoke both Greek and Hebrew, but was unskilled in speech.
76. Timothy was mentioned by Paul 17 times in his letters and had a Jewish mother and a Gentile father.
77. The field where Judas Iscariot committed suicide was named Aceldama or “The Field of Blood”
78. Jesus stayed up all night praying before choosing His 12 disciples. The first two he called were Simon Peter and his brother Andrew.
79. Paul uses the word “joy” more in Philippians than any other Epistle. It was written while he was in prison. He uses the word “grace” within the first 5 verses of each book he wrote. Paul also gives “thanks” in the 1st chapter of 11 of his 13 books.
80. Paul performed the last recorded miracle in the Bible in Acts 28:7-9. He healed the father of Publius, who was sick in bed, suffering from fever and severe diarrhea.
81. In the synoptic Gospels, Jesus only called His apostles “disciples” one time: when He gave them directions for preparing for the Last Supper.
82. Tradition says James was called “Old Camel Knees” because he spent so much time on his knees in prayer.
Facts About The Gospels
83. The Gospel according to Luke was written by a doctor.
84. Matthew is the only Gospel written by a Jew to the Jews about their Jewish Messiah.
85. At least 60% of Matthew’s Gospel focuses on the teachings of Jesus.
86. There are no parables in John’s Gospel. But it contains metaphors about ordinary things, such as water, harvest, bread, light, a shepherd and a grain of wheat.
87. Lydia was the first Christian who converted in Europe.
88. Jesus called Himself the “Son of man” 79 times in the Gospels.
89. The prayer recorded in John 17 is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in any of the Gospels.
90. The first three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are known as the Synoptic Gospels, because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar wording.
91. Mark’s Gospel, the shortest of the three, appears almost in its entirety in the Gospel of Matthew, and 53% of Mark is found in Luke.
Jesus and Sexuality
92. Many scholars agree that during his stay on earth, Jesus was an unmarried heterosexual virgin and was circumcised, as were all other Jewish male babies, on the eighth day after his birth.
93. Jesus dealt with sexual temptation just like all males. Did Jesus ever think about having a sexual relationship? Yes. Jesus was once an adolescent. Did he think about sex at least every fifteen minutes, or so? Certainly! Jesus was fully man and fully God. According to the Bible in Hebrews 4:15, Jesus endured every (sexual) temptation that humans face, but without sinning.
94. Jesus’ view on sexual behaviors:
– Jesus affirmed that sex should be between one man and one woman in marriage according to Matthew 19:4-5;
– Jesus prohibits divorce, except in a case of sexual misconduct in Matthew 5:31-32;
– Jesus said in Matthew 5:28 that if you look on a woman (man) with an obsessive consuming lust, you commit adultery with her (him);
– Jesus was silent on the issues of homosexuality and bisexuality. He said nothing about them;
– Asexuality is not specifically mentioned in the Bible. But Jesus touched on a subset of asexuality in Matthew 19:12 when he said that some men are born without sexual desire for women;
– Jesus didn’t say anything specifically about Masturbation, but he did say to not have lust in your heart in Matthew 5:28;
– According to Matthew 22:30, Jesus said there will be no sex and marriage in heaven.
95. Some believe that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had kids. The most controversial claim was that of novelist Dan Brown who asserted that Jesus was married and fathered a daughter who became the ancestress of the Merovingian dynasty of France. But such claim has been widely dismissed by Bible experts.
96. It is often said that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, but nowhere does the Bible say this. Some believe this idea may have come from the Jewish Talmud, which said the city of Magdala had a reputation for prostitution.
97. Early Latter Day Saint Apostle Orson Hyde taught that Jesus was a polygamist who was married to Mary Magdalene, Martha, and Mary of Bethany, and fathered children with them. He also taught that the marriage at Cana was Jesus’ own wedding. This idea is not official the doctrine of the Latter Day Saint Church although it has certainly entered into Mormon folklore.
98. There is a cult group, called Children of God, that actively encourages its members to imagine Jesus is joining them during sexual intercourse and masturbation.
Jesus In Modern Times
99. There is a TV miniseries on The History Channel named The Bible. Many weird things happened when filming the scenes involving Jesus:
– One night, when the actor playing Jesus referenced the Holy Spirit as being like the wind, a huge gust of air blew across the entire crew for 20 seconds, which was filming the scene on a very still night in the Sahara desert;
– In another incident, the set’s snake wrangler, who usually recovered one or two snakes per day on set to protect crew members, found 48 cobras and vipers hidden near the scene of the cross, where the crew was to film Jesus’ crucifixion;
– The third incident, happened when the crew was filming the baptism scene in a giant Sahara lake and part of Jesus’ detailed costume, which took months to create, floated away. A few days later, the costume was found and returned by a kid who lives many miles away from the filming set.
100. There is a six-foot tall Jesus figure composed of 30,000 pieces of white LEGO bricks, located in a Swedish protestant church. It took about 40 volunteers and 18 months to build.
101. B.C. does stand for “before Christ.” A.D. actually stands for the Latin phrase anno domini, which means “in the year of our Lord.” The B.C./A.D. dating system is not taught in the Bible. It actually was not fully implemented and accepted until several centuries after Jesus’ death.
102. Christ the King Statue situated in Świebodzin, western Poland, is the tallest statue of Jesus in the world:
– The figure is 33 metres (108 ft) tall;
– The height of 33 metres symbolises Jesus’ age at his death;
– It is 3 metres (9.8 ft) taller than the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro;
– The crown is 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall;
– The Statue weighs 440 tons;
– Composed of concrete and fibreglass;
– It took 5 years to build;
– Was completed on 6 November 2010;
– Cost around $1.5 million to construct;
– Paid by the donations of the 21,000 residents of the town;
– The project was led by Sylwester Zawadzki, a retired Polish priest.
103. Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer Statue is one of the world’s most famous and impressive religious statues:
– The statue is 30 metres (98 ft) tall;
– Its arms stretch 28 metres (92 ft) wide;
– Weighs 635 metric tons;
– Was constructed between 1922 and 1931;
– Made of concrete and soapstone;
– Listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World;
– On average, it’s hit by lightning 12 times every summer;
– The statue draws some 300,000 visitors each year.
104. Jesus Christ started the largest religion in the world. Awesome statistics about Christianity:
– There are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world;
– More than 30% of the world’s population are Christian;
– 26% of Christians live in Europe and 37% in the Americas, 23 % in Africa, 13% in Asia and 1% in the Middle East;
– 50% of Christians are Catholic, 37% are Protestants and 12% are Orthodox Christians;
– About 90% of Christians live in countries where Christians are in the majority;
– By 2050, more than 6 out of 10 people on Earth will be Christian or Muslim.
105. One of the Greatest gift from Jesus to humankind is the Bible. Some fascinating facts about the Bible:
– It took 16 centuries and 40 men to write the Bible;
– Among the writers were: Kings, a doctor, prophets, statesmen, priests, military leaders, tax agents, fishermen, poets, shepherds and prisoners;
– Most of the Bible’s authors were uneducated men, yet the Bible is considered a literary masterpiece;
– The Bible was the FIRST mass produced printed book in the West by a German guy named Gutenberg;
– The price of a complete copy of the Gutenberg’s Bible today is between $25 and $35 million. Individual leaves now sell for $20,000–$100,000;
– They translated the Bible into more than 3000 languages, covering 95% of world’s population;
– The Bible is the best selling book in history. As of 2014, more than 5 billion Bibles have been sold. In the U.S. alone approx. 170,000 Bibles are either sold or given away every month;
– Some bookstore owners claim that the Bible is the world’s most shoplifted book;
– It can be found in almost every home. About 88% of American households own a Bible;
– The Bible is the only book in the world that is read by people of all races, ages and economic levels;
– The French philosopher, Voltaire, boasted that within 100 years of his death the Bible would disappear. He died in 1778 and as of 2016 the Bible is still here. The irony is that after Voltaire’s death the French Bible Society used his house to print thousands of Bibles.
106. Some funny and interesting facts about Christian Churches around the world:
– In 2001, the World Christian Encyclopedia counted 33,830 different Christian denominations;
– The Catholic Church had an income of US$97 billion in 2010;
– More people go to Church on Sunday in China than in the whole of Europe;
– Pope Francis used to work as a bar bouncer in Buenos Aires, Argentina;
– A Church built into a cave is the largest Church in the Middle East;
– Billy Graham preached Christianity to over 200 million people;
– A study has found that going to church lowers your blood pressure;
– The Catholic Church once put a dead Pope on trial;
– There are at least seven Christian churches in Antarctica;
– Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a State Religion in the year 301;
– Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide. An average of 180 Christians around the world are killed each month for their faith;
– One of the worst countries in the world for Christians is North Korea. Christians in North Korea face the risk of detention in prison camps, severe torture and, in some cases, execution for practicing their religious beliefs;
– The Catholic Church spends more money than Apple brings in. Expenditures by the Catholic Church, largely on charity, exceeded $170 billion in 2012, according to The Economist magazine. In that same year, Apple took in $157 billion in revenue;
– There’s a church, The Christian Science Church, in Dixon, Illinois that looks like a giant penis when seen from above. It’s on Google Maps.
107. Things Jesus said about the end of times:
– No one knows the day or hour of my return;
– Many will come and claim to be me and fool many people;
– Nations will go to war against each other and there will be many threats of war;
– People will starve to death;
– There will be huge earthquakes in some places;
– People will arrest, punish and kill Christians around the world;
– The world will hate Christians;
– Many Christians will lose their faith and betray each other;
– Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people;
– Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others;
– The gospel will be preached in all the world;
– The end times will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world;
– False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs;
– The day of my return will take people by surprise;
– Christians shouldn’t be afraid when these things are happening. Stand up and lift up your heads, because your salvation is near
The post Jesus Facts: 107 Amazing And Interesting Facts About Jesus Christ appeared first on Elijah Notes.