Mary and Martha

Lazarus (Hebrew: ?????, El??z?r Eleazar "God (has) helped") is the name of two separate men mentioned in the New Testament. The more famous one is Lazarus of Bethany, the subject of the miracle recounted only in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus raises him from the dead. The other appears uniquely in Jesus' parable of Lazarus and Dives, reported only in the Gospel according to Luke.

In allusion to John's account of the resurrection of Lazarus, the name is often used to connote apparent restoration to life. For example, in the scientific term "Lazarus taxon", which denotes organisms that reappear in the fossil record after a period of apparent extinction. The Lazarus phenomenon refers to an event in which a person spontaneously returns to life (the heart starts beating again) after resuscitation has been given up. There are also numerous literary uses of the term.

Jesus of Nazareth (c 4 BC/BCE?c 30 AD/CE), also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity, and within most Christian denominations

he is venerated as the Son of God and as God incarnate. Christians also view him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament; however, Judaism rejects this claim. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, while several other religions revere him in some way.

The principal sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical gospels, especially the Synoptic Gospels,"The Gospel of John is quite different from the other three gospels, and it is primarily in the latter that we must seek information about Jesus." Sanders, E. P. The historical figure of Jesus. Penguin, 1993. p. 57.Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. Introduction, pp. 1?40 though some scholars argue that other texts (such as the Gospel of Thomas) are as relevant as the canonical gospels to the historical Jesus.Amy-Jill Levine, The Oxford History of the Biblical World, New York, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 371, Chapter 10: Visions of Kingdoms: From Pompey to the First Jewish Revolt (63 BCE?70 CE), M. Coogan et al. (eds.)

Most critical scholars in the fields of history and biblical studies believe that some parts of the New Testament are useful for reconstructing Jesus' life,Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. The Five Gospels. HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. "Introduction," p. 1?30.Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Historical Jesus" pp. 255?260Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998.Examples of authors who argue the Jesus myth hypothesis: Thomas L. Thompson The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David (Jonathan Cape, Publisher, 2006); Michael Martin, The Case Against Christianity (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991), 36?72; John Mackinnon Robertson agreeing that he was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer. They also generally accept that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire.Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave (New York: Doubleday, Anchor Bible Reference Library 1994), p. 964; D. A. Carson, et al., pp. 50?56; Shaye J.D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, Westminster Press, 1987, pp. 78, 93, 105, 108; John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, HarperCollins, 1991, pp. xi?xiii; Michael Grant, pp. 34?35, 78, 166, 200; Paula Fredriksen, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Alfred B. Knopf, 1999, pp. 6?7, 105?110, 232?234, 266; John P. Meier, vol. 1:68, 146, 199, 278, 386, 2:726; E.P. Sanders, pp. 12?13; Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew (Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1973), p. 37.; Paul L. Maier, In the Fullness of Time, Kregel, 1991, pp. 1, 99, 121, 171; N. T. Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, HarperCollins, 1998, pp. 32, 83, 100?102, 222; Ben Witherington III, pp. 12?20.Though many historians may have certain reservations about the use of the Gospels for writing history, "even the most hesitant, however, will concede that we are probably on safe historical footing" concerning certain basic facts about the life of Jesus; Jo Ann H. Moran Cruz and Richard Gerberding, Medieval Worlds: An Introduction to European History Houghton Mifflin Company 2004, pp. 44?45. Aside from these few conclusions, academic studies remain inconclusive about the chronology, the central message of Jesus' preaching, his social class, cultural environment, and religious orientation. Scholars offer competing descriptions of Jesus as the awaited Messiah,For instance Raymond E. Brown in The Birth of the Messiah (ISBN 0-385-05405-X), p. 9 as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement.

Christian views of Jesus (see also Christology) center on the belief that Jesus is divine, is the Messiah whose coming was prophesied in the Old Testament, and that he was resurrected after his crucifixion. Christians predominantly believe that Jesus is the "Son of God" (generally meaning that he is God the Son, the second person in the Trinity), who came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God by his death for their sins. Other Christian beliefs include Jesus' virgin birth, performance of miracles, ascension into Heaven, and a future Second Coming. While the doctrine of the Trinity is widely accepted by Christians, a minority instead hold nontrinitarian beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus.

In Islam, Jesus (, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets,James Leslie Houlden, "Jesus: The Complete Guide", Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 082648011XProf. Dr. ?aban Ali Düzgün, "Uncovering Islam: Questions and Answers about Islamic Beliefs and Teachings", Ankara: The Presidency of Religious Affairs Publishing, 2004 a bringer of scripture, and a worker of miracles. Jesus is also called "Messiah", but Islam does not teach that he was divine. Islam teaches that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven,Compendium of Muslim Texts rather than the traditional Christian belief of the death and resurrection of Jesus.