An Historical Account ofJesus 11Jesus was born, although sorne of their contents have been inten
tionally suppressed, and only selections made available to the gen
eral public; the Gospel of Barnabas covers [esus's life more exten
sively and accurately than the other Gospels; and the Qur'an and
the Hadith further clarify the picture of who Jesus really was.
If these additional sources are consulted, then a picture which
is different in many important respects to those fostered by the
various Christian churches, emerges:
Wefind that Jesus, peace be on him, was not the 1 son' of God, in
the literal sense of the word - but, like Abraham and Moses before
him and Muhammad after him, a Messenger of God, blessings and
peace be on all of them, who, like all human beings ate food, and
had to sleep, and went to the market place.
We find that Jesus inevitably found himself doing battle with
those people whose interests were in conflict with what he taught.
They either did not accept the guidance he received, or knowing it
to be true, nevertheless chose to ignore it in favour of pursuing
power, riches and reputation in the eyes of men.
Further, we find that [esus's life on earth is an integral part of
Jewish history, and that to understand his story it is necessary to
beawareof theirs.Throughouthis life Jesus was an orthodoxprac
tising Jew, and the factthathe came to reaffirm and revive the origi
nal teachings of Moses, which had been altered through the years,
should never be overlooked.
Finally, we find that it was not Jesus who was crucified, but
someone who resembled him,
e e e e e
Lentulus, a Roman official, described Jesus as follows:He has nut brown haïr that is smoothed down to the
ears, forming soft curis and flowing onto his shoulders
in luxuriant locks, with a parting in the centre of his
head after the fashion of the Nazarenes. A smooth clear
brow and a reddish face without spots and wrinkles.
Nose and mouth are flawless. He bears a fullluxurious
beard which is the same colour as his hair and is parted
in the middle. He has blue-grey eyes with an unusually
varied capacity for expression. He is of medium height,
fifteen and a half fists tall. He is cheerful in seriousness.
Sometimes he weeps, but no one has ever seen him
laugh.