🌍 Jesus – 2000 Years Later

✨ Who Was He Really – and Why Does He Still Captivate the World Today?

📖 Introduction

Nearly two thousand years have passed since Jesus of Nazareth appeared publicly. He lived in a small land on the edge of the Roman Empire, wrote no book himself, founded no political movement, led no army, and left behind neither palaces nor monuments. And yet there are few people in history whose name has had a comparable impact. Churches have been built in his name, books written about him, works of art created, songs composed, people persecuted, people comforted, revolutions in thought set in motion, and entire cultures shaped. Even today, people speak about Jesus, argue about him, research him, pray to him, and ask questions about him. For some, he is the Son of God; for others, an important teacher, a prophet, a religious reformer, or merely a figure from antiquity. Some know him only from nativity scenes, church windows, or films. Others have heard his name many times but have never seriously considered the question of who this man actually was.

This is precisely where the project “Jesus – 2000 Years Later” begins. It is not aimed primarily at people who already know a great deal about the Bible or are familiar with Christian theology. It is intended for everyone who is willing to embark on an honest search. For people who believe, as well as for people who doubt. For those who have little interest in religion but find historical questions fascinating. For people who have had disappointing experiences with churches. For readers who want to know what the Gospels actually report about Jesus, what can be established historically, and why his person has not disappeared from human consciousness even after almost two thousand years.

The reason for this project lies in a special historical point of reference. In 2027, Christians around the world will remember in different ways that approximately two thousand years have passed since the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. The exact chronological dating of individual events in the life of Jesus cannot be established with absolute certainty. Nevertheless, the year AD 27 is associated in an important biblical-historical chronology with the beginning of his public ministry and his baptism in the Jordan. From a Christian Adventist perspective, this point in time also has particular prophetic significance. For this reason, the project deliberately leads toward September 2027, without turning a historical approximation into artificial certainty.

However, we do not begin our journey at the Jordan. Anyone who wants to understand why Jesus’ baptism was a turning point must first know who Jesus actually was, what kind of world he lived in, what sources report about him, and what questions can be asked of those sources. That is why this series begins where a historically interested or skeptical person might also begin: Did Jesus really exist? What non-biblical evidence is there for him? When were the Gospels written? Are they historical sources, testimonies of faith, or both? Where do they agree, where do they differ, and how do historians deal with such texts? These questions are not a threat to faith. They are part of a serious search for truth.

After that, we enter the world of Jesus. We will look at the Roman Empire, become acquainted with Judea and Galilee, and examine the temple, the synagogues, the religious groups of his time, and the everyday life of ordinary people. Terms such as Pharisees, Sadducees, Messiah, Sabbath, or Kingdom of God will not be taken for granted but explained. Only when we understand the world into which Jesus was born can we better grasp why his words had such an impact, why his actions attracted attention, and why his public ministry eventually led to a conflict that ended with his crucifixion.

We will also take a fresh look at the familiar stories about Jesus’ birth and youth. Much of this has become so deeply embedded in Christian tradition that people rarely ask what the Gospels actually say and what was added later. We will therefore distinguish between the biblical account, historical probability, and later legend. Especially where the sources are silent, we do not want simply to fill the gaps with imagination. The years in Nazareth, his family, his work, his language, and his religious environment will help us see the human Jesus in his concrete historical setting.

A decisive turning point will be his encounter with John the Baptist at the Jordan. This is where Jesus’ public ministry begins. The Gospels report that Jesus was baptized even though John was calling people to repentance. Why did he do this? What did baptism mean at that time? Why do the accounts speak of a voice from heaven and the Spirit of God? What significance did this event have for Jesus’ understanding of himself and his mission? These questions will be examined in detail in this project, because this is where the path begins that a few years later leads to Jerusalem, to the cross, and, according to the testimony of the first Christians, finally to the empty tomb.

From there, we follow Jesus step by step. We listen to his words, accompany his encounters with people, and observe how he treated the excluded, the sick, the rich, the poor, children, women, religious leaders, and political outsiders. We ask why people left their work to follow him, why some loved him while others saw him as a threat. We will examine his parables, his statements about God, money, power, forgiveness, love for enemies, justice, and the Kingdom of God. The goal is not to reduce Jesus to a few familiar quotations. We want to understand his message in context.

A special section will deal with the miracle accounts. For modern readers, they are among the most difficult parts of the Gospels. Can such accounts be taken seriously? What do the sources actually claim? What function do healings, exorcisms, nature miracles, and resurrections play within the Gospels? What alternative explanations have been proposed, and how much do they actually explain? This project will not avoid such questions. Faith gains nothing by hiding difficult questions. Skepticism gains just as little by dismissing every religious tradition too quickly as legend. We want to avoid both extremes and examine the available testimony as fairly as possible.

At the center stands the question Jesus himself once asked his disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” This question cannot be answered by viewing Jesus merely as an interesting figure from the past. His statements about himself, his authority to forgive sins, his relationship with God, his use of the title “Son of Man,” and the reactions of his contemporaries compel us to look more deeply. The project will therefore examine step by step who Jesus claimed to be according to the testimony of the New Testament and why his first followers eventually became convinced that in him God himself had drawn near to humanity.

This series is written clearly from a Christian Adventist perspective. This means that we take the Bible seriously as the foundational source and highest authority and view the story of Jesus within the larger biblical context. From an Adventist perspective, this particularly includes the theme of the great conflict between good and evil, between truth and deception, between God’s character and the accusations made against him. Jesus’ life is therefore understood not merely as the biography of an extraordinary human being, but as the central revelation of what God is truly like. According to the biblical testimony, whoever looks at Jesus encounters not merely a teacher who speaks about God, but the One who makes God’s character visible.

This perspective also leads us to themes that will become increasingly important as the project unfolds: human freedom and responsibility, God’s law, the Sabbath, the meaning of the cross, the resurrection, Jesus’ present ministry as our High Priest, judgment, the Second Coming, and the final overcoming of sin, suffering, and death. These themes will not be forced artificially into every article. They will appear where they naturally arise from the life and words of Jesus and from the overall testimony of Scripture. The reader should be able to understand how the individual statements are connected.

Ellen G. White will also have a role in this project. Her writings are part of the Adventist tradition and, especially in the work The Desire of Ages, contain powerful reflections on the life and character of Christ. Her statements, however, will not take the place of the Bible. Where they are used, they will serve to deepen the discussion and will be clearly identified as an Adventist voice. Readers who do not know Ellen White or do not regard her writings as authoritative should nevertheless be able to follow and understand the argument of the article.

Equally important is a clear distinction between Jesus and everything people later did in his name. The history of Christianity contains impressive examples of compassion, education, medical care, commitment to human dignity, and selfless devotion. But it also contains violence, abuse of power, persecution, and religious oppression. Anyone who wants to examine Jesus must not gloss over this history. At the same time, it would be equally wrong to judge Jesus solely by the behavior of all those who at some point called themselves Christians. We will therefore repeatedly ask: Does what Christians have done actually correspond to what Jesus taught and demonstrated by his life?

Our path eventually leads to Jerusalem. There, everything comes to a head. The final days of Jesus, the last meal with his disciples, Gethsemane, his arrest, trial, and crucifixion are among the most extensively documented sections of his life. We will ask why Jesus had to die, what political and religious factors led to his execution, and why the first Christians attributed to his death a significance that went far beyond the end of a human life.

And then comes the question that gave rise to Christianity itself: What happened after the crucifixion? The disciples did not merely claim that Jesus’ ideas lived on. They proclaimed that he had risen from the dead. This claim transformed a frightened group of followers and became the center of the Christian message. The empty tomb, the reported appearances, the transformation of the disciples, and the rapid spread of the early Christian movement will therefore not be treated as marginal themes. They stand at the center of the historical and theological question about Jesus.

In September 2027, the project reaches its climax. For thirty days, a new article will appear every day. We will return once more to the Jordan and, from there, look at Jesus’ entire public ministry in the light of his mission. His message, his character, his conflicts, the cross, and the resurrection will be brought together into one complete picture. At the same time, the focus will move beyond the past. What does Jesus mean today? Does a Jewish teacher from the first century still have anything to say to a person living in the digital, scientifically shaped twenty-first century? Is Jesus merely part of our cultural history, or does his story contain a claim that concerns every human being?

This project does not seek to pressure anyone into a quick answer. It seeks to inform, explain, ask questions, and invite personal reflection. Faith that survives only because questions were forbidden is weak. Skepticism that no longer wishes to hear opposing arguments is equally unfree. An honest search must be willing to listen to the sources and continue asking questions even when the answers become uncomfortable.

Perhaps you have known Jesus since childhood. Perhaps you know only his name. Perhaps you are convinced that he is the Son of God. Perhaps you consider that unlikely. Perhaps you have turned away from church without ever really engaging with Jesus himself. There is room in this project for all of these starting points. We do not begin by demanding that you already believe. We begin with the invitation to look closely.

Because after almost two thousand years, the decisive question has remained surprisingly current. Not first: What do you think about religion? Not: Which church have you attended? Not: What experiences have you had with Christians? The central question is far more personal and at the same time much more fundamental:

Who was Jesus of Nazareth really?

And when we reach the end of this long journey, a second question will emerge from it:

Who is he to you?

💌 Invitation

Nearly two thousand years have passed since Jesus of Nazareth appeared publicly. Since then, hardly any other person has been worshiped, criticized, misunderstood, portrayed, opposed, or rediscovered so often. His name is known throughout the world, yet many people are familiar mainly with images, traditions, or ideas about him and know very little about what the earliest sources actually report.

That is precisely why the project “Jesus – 2000 Years Later” begins on September 20, 2026. Over the course of an entire year, we will explore step by step the question of who Jesus really was. We do not begin with ready-made answers, but with questions that a skeptical, curious, or religiously unaffiliated person might also ask: Did Jesus historically exist? What sources report about him? What do we know about his childhood and youth? Why was he baptized? What did he mean by the “Kingdom of God”? Why did he attract people while at the same time provoking others against him? What are we to make of his miracles? Why was he crucified? And what happened after his death?

The journey takes us through the world of the Roman Empire, to Nazareth, to the Jordan, through Galilee, and finally to Jerusalem. We meet John the Baptist, the first disciples, people on the margins of society, religious leaders, the sick, seekers, doubters, and opponents. The aim is not merely to collect historical information. We want to understand what Jesus’ words and actions reveal about his character, his message, and his claims.

The project is written from a Christian Adventist perspective, but is explicitly intended for a broad audience. The Bible forms the foundation, historical and cultural contexts are explained in an accessible way, and difficult questions are not avoided. Adventist themes such as the great conflict between good and evil, God’s character, freedom, law, Sabbath, cross, resurrection, Second Coming, and hope for a renewed world will also be included wherever they arise naturally from the biblical context. Ellen G. White will be included as an Adventist voice for deeper reflection, without replacing the Bible.

Until the end of August 2027, three articles will be published regularly each week. Then, in September 2027, the special final phase will follow: 30 Days with Jesus, with a new article every day. These final articles will lead from the Jordan through Jesus’ public ministry to the cross, the resurrection, and the question of why this man continues to move people even after almost two thousand years.

This series is for you if you have known Jesus for a long time and want to look at him with fresh eyes. It is equally for you if you have doubts, have little interest in church, or so far know very little about the Gospels. You do not need to bring a finished opinion with you. It is enough if you are willing to take the questions seriously.

Perhaps along the way we will discover that Jesus was very different from what many images of him suggest. Perhaps some answers will raise new questions. Perhaps a historical search will eventually become a personal encounter with a question that Jesus himself once asked and that has never fallen silent:

“But who do you say that I am?”

Join us on this journey.

🌍 Today the Journey Begins

Today our new project begins:

Jesus – 2000 Years Later

✨ Who Was He Really – and Why Does He Still Captivate the World Today?

Nearly two thousand years after the public appearance of Jesus of Nazareth, we are beginning a journey through history, the Bible, and the world of his time. We do not simply want to repeat familiar stories, but to ask, examine, understand, and encounter Jesus anew step by step.

Today at 7:00 p.m., the first article will be published:

🔎 Did Jesus Really Exist?

What we can know historically about Jesus of Nazareth 2,000 years later.

This marks the beginning of a series that will accompany us until September 30, 2027.

🕖 Today, September 20, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.