Editor 's note: The Rev. James Martin is a Jesuit priest, an American magazine editor and author of the new book "Jesus, a pilgrimage" (Harper One).
(CNN) - With the arrival of Easter and Passover, these days we will hear a lot about Jesus.
You could hear about revelations of new books that claim to tell the "true story" of Jesus, the opinions of friends who have discovered a "secret" on the internet about God's son and the hermetic arguments of co-workers who can show that he never existed.
Beware of many of these revelations, many are based on pure speculations and illusions. Much of what we know about Jesus has been known for the last 2,000 years.
Yet even for a devout Christian there are surprises hidden in the Gospels and thanks to the advances of historical research and archaeological discoveries, more is known about his life and his time.
With that in mind, here are five things you probably did not know about Jesus:
1) Jesus came from a small town of any place
Almost all today's archaeologists agree that the city of Nazareth had only 200-400 people. The people of Jesus are not mentioned anywhere in the Old Testament or the Talmud, which takes note of dozens of other peoples in the area.
In fact, in the New Testament it is literally a joke.
In the Gospel of John, when a man named Nathanael hears that the Messiah is "Jesus of Nazareth," he asks himself, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" He is treating with disrespect to the despicable people and separated of Jesus.
2) Jesus probably did not know everything
This is a controversial theological question. If Jesus is divine, would not he have to know all things? (In fact, on several occasions Jesus predicts his death and resurrection).
On the other hand, if he had a human conscience, he needed to be taught before he knew things. The Gospel of Luke says that when Jesus was a young man he "progressed" in wisdom. That means he learned things. (Otherwise how would you "progress"?)
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus initially refuses to heal the daughter of a non-Jewish woman, saying rather sharply: "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
But when she replies that even dogs eat from the crumbs of the table, Jesus softens and heals his daughter. He seems to be learning that his ministry extends beyond the Jewish people.
3) Jesus was hard
From the age of 12 to 30, Jesus worked in Nazareth as a carpenter. "Is not this the carpenter?" Say the crowds astonished as he begins to preach.
The word that was used for the profession of Jesus in the original Greek is tekton. The traditional translation is "carpenter". But most contemporary scholars say he is more like an ordinary craftsman and some even translate him as a "day laborer."
A tekton could have made doors, tables, bases for lamps and plows. But he probably also built stone walls and helped with the construction of houses.
It was hard work to carry tools, wood and stones all over Galilee.Jesus does not just come to the world stage after seeing a piece of wood with longing when he was in the mood. For 18 years, he worked and worked hard.
4) Jesus needed "time for himself"
The gospel often talks about Jesus' need to "walk away" from the multitudes and even his disciples.
Today in the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus carried out much of his ministry, you can see how close the cities were and how natural it must have been for the enthusiastic crowds to "press" him, as the Gospels describe him.
There is even a cave on the coast, not far from Capernaum, where he could have prayed.
It is called the cave "Eremos", from the word used for "desolate" or "solitary", from which we get the word "hermit". Although Jesus was the son of God, he needed time alone to pray to the Father.
5) Jesus did not want to die
As he approached his death and prayed much in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, "Give me this cup." It is a forceful prayer addressed to the father, whom he affectionately called Abba. He does not want to die.
Unlike the way some Christians portray Jesus as being courting death, and even wanting it, like any human being, the idea of death is terrifying. "My soul is very sad even unto death," he says.
In other words, "I'm so sad that I feel like I'm going to die." But once Jesus realizes that this is somehow the will of the father, he accepts to die, even on a cross.
It is natural to want to know everything we can about Jesus; That's one of the reasons I wrote my book. But beware of the most extravagant statements about the son of God (who had children, who was married to Mary Magdalene, who was in India for some time, and so on).
Many of these statements tend to project our own desires into a man who will always remain somewhat elusive, difficult to fully understand, and impossible to pin down.
In the end, as theologians like to say, Jesus is not so much a problem to be solved, but a mystery worthy of admiration.
Note: This note was originally published in April 2014.
Editor 's note: The Rev. James Martin is a Jesuit priest, an American magazine editor and author of the new book "Jesus, a pilgrimage" (Harper One).
(CNN) - With the arrival of Easter and Passover, these days we will hear a lot about Jesus.
You could hear about revelations of new books that claim to tell the "true story" of Jesus, the opinions of friends who have discovered a "secret" on the internet about God's son and the hermetic arguments of co-workers who can show that he never existed.
Beware of many of these revelations, many are based on pure speculations and illusions. Much of what we know about Jesus has been known for the last 2,000 years.
Yet even for a devout Christian there are surprises hidden in the Gospels and thanks to the advances of historical research and archaeological discoveries, more is known about his life and his time.
With that in mind, here are five things you probably did not know about Jesus:
1) Jesus came from a small town of any place
Almost all today's archaeologists agree that the city of Nazareth had only 200-400 people. The people of Jesus are not mentioned anywhere in the Old Testament or the Talmud, which takes note of dozens of other peoples in the area.
In fact, in the New Testament it is literally a joke.
In the Gospel of John, when a man named Nathanael hears that the Messiah is "Jesus of Nazareth," he asks himself, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" He is treating with disrespect to the despicable people and separated of Jesus.
2) Jesus probably did not know everything
This is a controversial theological question. If Jesus is divine, would not he have to know all things? (In fact, on several occasions Jesus predicts his death and resurrection).
On the other hand, if he had a human conscience, he needed to be taught before he knew things. The Gospel of Luke says that when Jesus was a young man he "progressed" in wisdom. That means he learned things. (Otherwise how would you "progress"?)
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus initially refuses to heal the daughter of a non-Jewish woman, saying rather sharply: "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
But when she replies that even dogs eat from the crumbs of the table, Jesus softens and heals his daughter. He seems to be learning that his ministry extends beyond the Jewish people.
3) Jesus was hard
From the age of 12 to 30, Jesus worked in Nazareth as a carpenter. "Is not this the carpenter?" Say the crowds astonished as he begins to preach.
The word that was used for the profession of Jesus in the original Greek is tekton. The traditional translation is "carpenter". But most contemporary scholars say he is more like an ordinary craftsman and some even translate him as a "day laborer."
A tekton could have made doors, tables, bases for lamps and plows. But he probably also built stone walls and helped with the construction of houses.
It was hard work to carry tools, wood and stones all over Galilee.Jesus does not just come to the world stage after seeing a piece of wood with longing when he was in the mood. For 18 years, he worked and worked hard.
4) Jesus needed "time for himself"
The gospel often talks about Jesus' need to "walk away" from the multitudes and even his disciples.
Today in the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus carried out much of his ministry, you can see how close the cities were and how natural it must have been for the enthusiastic crowds to "press" him, as the Gospels describe him.
There is even a cave on the coast, not far from Capernaum, where he could have prayed.
It is called the cave "Eremos", from the word used for "desolate" or "solitary", from which we get the word "hermit". Although Jesus was the son of God, he needed time alone to pray to the Father.
5) Jesus did not want to die
As he approached his death and prayed much in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, "Give me this cup." It is a forceful prayer addressed to the father, whom he affectionately called Abba. He does not want to die.
Unlike the way some Christians portray Jesus as being courting death, and even wanting it, like any human being, the idea of death is terrifying. "My soul is very sad even unto death," he says.
In other words, "I'm so sad that I feel like I'm going to die." But once Jesus realizes that this is somehow the will of the father, he accepts to die, even on a cross.
It is natural to want to know everything we can about Jesus; That's one of the reasons I wrote my book. But beware of the most extravagant statements about the son of God (who had children, who was married to Mary Magdalene, who was in India for some time, and so on).
Many of these statements tend to project our own desires into a man who will always remain somewhat elusive, difficult to fully understand, and impossible to pin down.
In the end, as theologians like to say, Jesus is not so much a problem to be solved, but a mystery worthy of admiration.
Note: This note was originally published in April 2014.
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