Jesus (born circa 6 BCE−6 CE) was a Galilean Jew who was able to gather a large number of followers during extensive preaching campaigns in Galilee, Perea (in modern Jordan), and in and around Jerusalem. His preaching, which called for reform, the need for repentance, and the coming of the kingdom of God, was derived mainly from the Pharisee tendency within the Judaism of the period. The Pharisees were highly critical of the Sadducees, who supported the ruling Hasmoneans and the centrality of the “Temple” cult. The Pharisees tended to favor a more decentralized Judaism based on the synagogue and itinerate preachers (the forerunners of the rabbis). Jesus himself was one of these preacher/rabbis, and his calls for reform were directed against the priestly hierarchy represented by the Sadducees.

The generalized strife and rebellion in Galilee and much of south Judaea and the appearance of numerous messiahs in that same region, including Judas the Galilean, whose goal was the removal of Roman authority, made Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea, fearful of Jesus’ appeal to the popular masses. Even though Jesus eschewed any military action against Rome and claimed only to establish the “kingdom of heaven,” Pilate had Jesus executed by crucifixion. But for Jesus’ followers, his physical death marked the real beginning of his mission. He was constantly present to them and they invoked him in their prayers. His tomb was found empty, giving rise to the critical notion of the Resurrection, and in a series of visions, he exhorted his followers to love one another and embark on a permanent mission. Jesus’ death and resurrection, therefore, and the reactions of his followers to those events mark the real beginning of the Christian movement.

More information: Jesus Seminar Forum

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