7 Jesus Christ 7sought forgiveness for those around him and commended
his soul to God. The sacrifice on the cross was followed by
the burial and by the resurrection of Jesus three days later.
Having risen, he met Mary Magdalene and other women
before revealing himself to his disciples and commanding
them to make disciples of all nations and baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit (Matthew 28:20).
To understand the teachings of Jesus fully, it is neces-
sary to place him in the context of the Judaism of his time.
Jesus was in many ways an observant Jew—honoring the
Passover, attending the Temple, and adhering to biblical
teaching. During his lifetime there was a wide range of
messianic teachings, from the violence of the Zealots to
the otherworldly teachings of the Essenes, which foresaw
the coming of a savior from the house of David. Notions
of the “son of man” as an eschatological figure were cur-
rent in Jewish circles as well. The Pharisees, moreover,
taught a doctrine that included bodily resurrection, angel,
and Satan, pertaining to the end of humankind.
Although Jesus was a part of contemporary Judaism,
he made these traditions uniquely his own. Reluctant to
identify himself as the messiah, he called himself the son
of man and placed himself in the contemporary messi-
anic context. His moral reform is outlined in the Sermon
on the Mount, in which he taught that the kingdom of
God awaits the peacemakers, the poor in spirit, and those
who have suffered in Jesus’ name. Drawn from Jewish
tradition, the doctrine Jesus taught was one of repen-
tance and moral reform, the love of God and service to
his will—service that Jesus undertook with his Passion
on the cross. The Passion, Christians believe, was
rewarded with resurrection and thus offers the hope of
salvation to all.