What Religion Was Jesus?

Jesus was a Jew. The Gospels place him under the law of Moses, in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and in Jerusalem at Passover, in the centuries when the temple still stood. The name Christian is used for his disciples at Antioch, after Pentecost. A Muslim reading that calls him a Muslim is Was Jesus a Muslim?.

Key Points

• John 4:9CloseThen saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.John 4:9 · King James VersionOpen source has a Samaritan woman call Jesus a Jew. John 4:22CloseYe worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.John 4:22 · King James VersionOpen source has him say that salvation is of the Jews.
• Luke 2:21CloseAnd when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.Luke 2:21 · King James VersionOpen source is his circumcision on the eighth day. Luke 2:41CloseNow his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.Luke 2:41 · King James VersionOpen source is the family journey to Jerusalem every year at Passover. Luke 4:16CloseAnd he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.Luke 4:16 · King James VersionOpen source is his custom of the synagogue on the Sabbath.
• Galatians 4:4CloseBut when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,Galatians 4:4 · King James VersionOpen source says the Son was born of a woman, under the law.
• Matthew 5:17CloseThink not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.Matthew 5:17 · King James VersionOpen source has him say he came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil them. Mark 12:29CloseAnd Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:Mark 12:29 · King James VersionOpen source has him recite the Shema, that the Lord our God is one Lord.
• Acts 11:26CloseAnd when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.Acts 11:26 · King James VersionOpen source says the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. That name, and Pentecost, are When Was Christianity Created?.
• The Leon Levy introduction dates the Qumran biblical manuscripts before the Second Temple was destroyed in 70. What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter?

The Gospels Place Him Among the Jews

John 4:9CloseThen saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.John 4:9 · King James VersionOpen source is a well in Samaria. The woman asks how he, being a Jew, asks a drink of her, a Samaritan woman, and the verse adds that Jews and Samaritans had no dealings. John 4:22CloseYe worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.John 4:22 · King James VersionOpen source has him tell her that she worships what she does not know, and that “we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.”

Luke 2:21CloseAnd when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.Luke 2:21 · King James VersionOpen source says that when eight days were accomplished he was circumcised, and named Jesus. Luke 2:41CloseNow his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.Luke 2:41 · King James VersionOpen source says his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. Luke 4:16CloseAnd he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.Luke 4:16 · King James VersionOpen source says that in Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as his custom was, and stood up to read. Galatians 4:4CloseBut when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,Galatians 4:4 · King James VersionOpen source says that when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.

Those sentences are the religion of Israel in the days of the temple. What Is the Difference Between Judaism and Christianity? puts the later parting beside them. When Was Judaism Established? is Abraham, Sinai, and the confession of one God.

What Jesus Said About the Law and About God

Matthew 5:17CloseThink not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.Matthew 5:17 · King James VersionOpen source, King James Version:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Matthew 5:17 · King James Version

Mark 12:29CloseAnd Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:Mark 12:29 · King James VersionOpen source is his answer when he is asked which commandment is first. He begins with the Shema: Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord. Deuteronomy 6:4CloseHear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionOpen source is that sentence in the law. What Do Jews Believe? is how later Jewish teachers read it.

He also speaks against the hypocrisy of some teachers of that law. The critique is about their practice. It is not a rejection of the God of Israel, and it is not a new people with a new God. The Trinity is the later Christian confession that this one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus is God the Son. Is Jesus God?

The Name Christian Comes After Him

Acts 2 is Pentecost in Jerusalem, still among Jews. Acts 11:26CloseAnd when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.Acts 11:26 · King James VersionOpen source is Antioch, where the disciples were called Christians first. Jesus is the one that church confesses. He is not described as a member of a community that already bore that name. When Was Christianity Created? Did Paul Invent Christianity? Who Started the Catholic Church?

Was Jesus a Muslim?

Was Jesus a Muslim? quotes the Qur’an on Jesus as Messiah, a word from God, born of Mary, and on the claim that he was not crucified. That page is the place for those verses. This page does not repeat them. The Gospels tell a public crucifixion, a burial, and a risen Jesus. Did Jesus Die on the Cross? The Resurrection of Jesus

Frequently Asked Questions

What Religion Did Jesus Follow?

The religion of the law, the temple, the synagogue, and the Passover. John 4:9CloseThen saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.John 4:9 · King James VersionOpen source calls him a Jew. The name Christian is later, at Antioch.

Did Jesus Pray?

Mark 14:36CloseAnd he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.Mark 14:36 · King James VersionOpen source has him say, Abba, Father, and ask that the cup pass from him, and then that the Father’s will be done. If Jesus Is God, Why Did He Pray? is that question. The Son prays to the Father. He is not a second god.

What Is the Difference Between Jews and Christians?

Jews and Christians share the Shema and the Scriptures of Israel. Christians confess that Jesus is the Messiah and that he is God. What Is the Difference Between Judaism and Christianity? Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah?

Was Jesus a Palestinian?

The Gospels call him a Jew, name Bethlehem and Nazareth, and place his ministry in Galilee and Judea, with journeys to Jerusalem. Luke 2:21CloseAnd when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.Luke 2:21 · King James VersionOpen source John 4:9CloseThen saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.John 4:9 · King James VersionOpen source This page does not add a later political name the Gospels do not use.

Did Jesus Speak About Same-Sex Relationships?

The Gospels do not use a modern orientation category. Matthew 19:4–6Close^19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, ^19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? ^19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.Matthew 19:4–6 · King James VersionOpen source is about marriage: the one who made them at the beginning made them male and female, a man leaves father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and the two become one flesh, which God has joined. The passage is about that joining.

Who Prayed Seven Times a Day?

Psalm 119:164CloseSeven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.Psalms 119:164 · King James VersionOpen source says the psalmist praises God seven times a day because of God’s righteous judgments. The verse is about that praise. It does not set a schedule for Jesus.

Does the Torah Narrate Jesus’ Death?

The five books of Moses do not tell the crucifixion. The Gospels do. Matthew 5:17CloseThink not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.Matthew 5:17 · King James VersionOpen source is his sentence that he came to fulfil the law and the prophets, not a narrative of the cross inside those five books.