What ethnicity was Jesus?

Question

A lot of people want to say that Jesus was a Jew
Well the only reason he was a Jew is because that was all they had at that time christianity still didnt develop so he couldnt have been a christian

Answer 1

He was not just religiously Jewish, He was also ethnically Jewish - an Israeli. Not just a member of the Jewish faith, but also of the Jewish nation.

Christianity is not an "ethnicity". Besides, how could He have been one of His own followers??

Answer 2

Well, of course he was Jewish. He was the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy for those who accepted him as such. That's the whole point. People called him "rabbi." He read from the Pentateuch in temple. He quoted extensively from the Old Testament -- i.e., the Jewish Bible.

He most likely had brown hair, brown eyes, and swarthy skin -- much the way the common Middle Eastern person looks today.

I know this probably comes as a shock to those who somehow think he was a white man who spoke English, but there you go.

Answer 3

Ethnicity and religious affiliation aren't exactly the same thing. Although Judaism is a religion, being Jewish is also an ethnicity. A Christian is a follower of Christ, which as you stated, wouldn't have come until after Christ. Christians can be of any ethnic decent, Jewish, European, Asian, African, etc...

Answer 4

Other religions did exist at the time of Christ, most of them having to do with nature worship or worship of pagan gods. At that time the Middle East was settled with members of various tribes - descendants of particular households belonged to that tribe and that was considered their ethnicity. Jesus was of the tribe, or lineage, of David, in the house of Jesse, one of the original 12 tribes of Israel.

Next came the location description. Samaritans were from Sumeria, Ethiopians from Ethiopia, and so on. Jesus was born in Nazareth, so he was a Nazarene.

In addition, there were divisions within each tribe - priests, Levites, Sadduces, and so on - having to do wtih different levels of learning and teaching the scriptures. Jesus was often given the title of "Rabbi", or teacher, by his followers, meaning that he was able to read and interpret the scriptures.

Answer 5

He was a Middle Eastern Jew, meaning he was raised Jewish but formed a new religion.

Answer 6

Jesus was black, in the bible it said he had bronze skin and thats why he was seen so differently by everyone also because there wasnt really any black people around there at the time yet thats just a theory others believe he just had really tan skin

Answer 7

Jesus descended (thru Mary), from the line of Jesse (Jewish), hence he was Jewish. Believe it or not, before christianity or islam, there were, and still are, other races all over the world, there are hispanic people, oriental people, white people, black people, etc..

Answer 8

What an interesting idea. I suppose that since Scientology and Islam had not developed at the time of Jesus' life, that's the reason he's neither of those.

Answer 9

He was an ethnic Jew. You can be a jew and not be of the Jewish faith.

Answer 10

Jesus was Judean. Not a Jew.

Jesus was a 'Judean', not a Jew.

During His lifetime, no persons were described as "Jews" anywhere. That fact is supported by theology, history and science. When Jesus was in Judea, it was not the "homeland" of the ancestors of those who today style themselves "Jews". Their ancestors never set a foot in Judea. They existed at that time in Asia, their "homeland", and were known as Khazars. In none of the manuscripts of the original Old or New Testament was Jesus described or referred to as a "Jew". The term originated in the late eighteenth century as an abbreviation of the term Judean and refers to a resident of Judea without regard to race or religion, just as the term "Texan" signifies a person living in Texas.

In spite of the powerful propaganda effort of the so-called "Jews", they have been unable to prove in recorded history that there is one record, prior to that period, of a race religion or nationality, referred to as "Jew". The religious sect in Judea, in the time of Jesus, to which self-styled "Jews" today refer to as "Jews", were known as "Pharisees". "Judaism" today and "Pharisaism" in the time of Jesus are the same.

Jesus abhorred and denounced "Pharisaism"; hence the words, "Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites, Ye Serpents, Ye Generation of Vipers".

Mary and Joseph were Judean. He was born into it. Christianity stemmed from Jesus' teachings. So, obviously that came after His death.