Who Was
Jesus?
By Ellen Morgan
Illustrated by Stephen Marchesi
Penguin Workshop
For my mother, my godmother, and my godsonEM
To my parents, Rose and Ennio, whose lives and sacrifices
still inspireSM
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Text copyright 2015 by Ellen Morgan. Illustrations copyright 2015 by Stephen Marchesi. Cover illustration copyright 2015 by Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. Published by Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. PENGUIN and PENGUIN WORKSHOP are trademarks of Penguin Books Ltd. WHO HQ & Design is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC. Printed in the USA.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2014046464
Ebook ISBN 9780698198883
Version_2
Contents
Who Was Jesus?
Its Christmas! Every December 25, all over the world, people are going to church. They gather around Christmas trees. They bake treats. They cook meals for family and friends. They sing songs and open presents.
What is everybody celebrating?
Christmas is the birthday of Jesus. He was born more than two thousand years ago in the small town of Bethlehem. He was from a poor family and grew up to be a preacher. He talked about God and how people should live their lives. He became well-known, and his friends passed along stories about him. They shared his teachings with others.
THE BIBLE
THE BIBLE IS THE HOLY BOOK FOR CHRISTIANS. IT HAS TWO PARTSTHE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW TESTAMENT. THE OLD TESTAMENT TELLS ABOUT THINGS THAT HAPPENED BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, INCLUDING THE STORIES OF ADAM AND EVE, NOAHS ARK, AND MOSES. THE NEW TESTAMENT TELLS STORIES ABOUT JESUS AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTER HE DIED. THE OLD TESTAMENT, ESPECIALLY THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS, IS HOLY IN THE JEWISH RELIGION. THESE FIVE BOOKS ARE CALLED THE TORAH.
Christianity spread to all parts of the globe. Today, there are two billion Christians. They are from different backgrounds, different races, and different cultures, but they share common beliefs.
Christians believe in one God. They believe in Heaven, in life after death. They also believe that Jesus was much more than a preacher. They believe he was the son of God.
Jesuss ideas became a movement. The movement started with only a handful of people. But it grew into one of the most important religions in the worldChristianity.
THE GOSPELS
MOST OF WHAT PEOPLE LEARN ABOUT THE LIFE OF JESUS COMES FROM THE FIRST FOUR BOOKS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. THE BOOKS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN ARE CALLED THE GOSPELS. (MOST OF THE ACCOUNTS IN THIS BOOK ARE BASED ON THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN.) GOSPEL MEANS GOOD NEWS. THE GOSPELS WERE ALL WRITTEN MANY YEARS AFTER JESUSS DEATH. SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE MATTHEW AND JOHN WERE JESUSS DISCIPLES OR FOLLOWERS. OTHER PEOPLE FEEL IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT ANY OF THE WRITERS OF THE GOSPELS KNEW JESUS OR HAD HEARD HIM SPEAK. MOST SCHOLARS THINK THE BOOK OF MARK WAS THE FIRST ONE, WRITTEN AROUND 70 AD. THE BOOKS OF MATTHEW AND LUKE WERE PROBABLY BASED ON WHAT HAD ALREADY BEEN WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF MARK. JOHN WAS WRITTEN LAST, AROUND 100 AD.
Chapter 1
A Humble Birth
Jesus was born into a Jewish family over two thousand years ago. His father was a carpenter named Joseph. His mother was named Mary.
According to the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel came to Mary months before Jesuss birth. Do not be afraid, Mary, the angel said, for you have found favor with God. He told her she was going to give birth to a special baby boy.
The baby was the son of God, not the son of her husband, Joseph. Gabriel also told her the babys nameJesus.
Joseph and Mary lived in a region ruled by the Romans and Emperor Augustus. It was called Judea. Right before Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had to travel to the town of Bethlehem. The government wanted to register the names of all people living in the area.
WHERE WAS JESUS BORN?
ACCORDING TO THE GOSPELS, JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM IN AN AREA OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE CALLED JUDEA. JUDEA STRETCHED FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA TO THE JORDAN RIVER. IT INCLUDED THE CITY OF JERUSALEM. DURING JESUSS TIME, MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN JUDEA WERE JEWISH. FOR THEM, JERUSALEM WAS THE MOST HOLY CITY IN THE WORLD. AFTER JOSEPH, MARY, AND JESUS RETURNED FROM EGYPT, THEY LIVED IN NAZARETH. (NAZARETH WAS NORTH OF JUDEA, BY THE SEA OF GALILEE.) THATS WHY JESUS IS SOMETIMES CALLED JESUS OF NAZARETH.
In Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to her son.
The family stayed in a stable, because the local inn had no room for them. Instead of a crib, Jesus slept in a manger. A manger is a wooden bin that holds food for horses and other animals.
It was a humble start. However, right away, people learned of this birth and knew the baby was special. According to the Gospel of Luke, shepherds in the fields saw an angel above them.
