It was around 63 B.C. (before Christ), when the home of the Jews, Judea, was independent. Rome then took control of the Jewish kingdom. However, many Jews believed that they would be free again due to God's promise that a savior would come and restore the kingdom.

Around 6 to 4 B.C., a Jew named Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He started off as a carpenter at a young age. He was later baptized by a prophet known as John the Baptist, and at the age of 30, he began preaching to the public.

For the next three years, Jesus preached, taught, did good works, and performed miracles. He taught about the belief in one god, the importance of people's love for God, their neighbors, their enemies, and themselves, and that God would end all evil and give a Heavenly home to those who turned from their wicked ways.

As Jesus preached from town to town, his fame grew. Many were attracted to him and touched by his words. Because Jesus did not care about status, or how rich or poor people were, people of all types were drawn to him.

Jesus's popularity growth worried the Roman and Jewish leaders. When Jesus visited Jerusalem, his followers greeted him as the Messiah, the one who would come to rescue the Jews. However, the chief priests of the Jews denied that Jesus was the Messiah. They believed he was speaking falsely about God. The Roman governor Pilate accused Jesus of going against Roman authority Pilate arrested Jesus and had him nailed to a large wooden cross to die.

After his death, Jesus' body was placed in a tomb. But the Gospels (the first four books of the New testament in the Bible) say that three days later his body was gone and he was living. The Gospels also say he went up into Heaven which furthered the belief that Jesus was the true Messiah.