Jesus was a Jew.
Jesus ( [ ˈdʒiːzəs ] ; c. 4 BC -- c. AD 30/33 ) , also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ , was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who became the central figure of Christianity . The Jews ( [ dʒuːz ] ISO 259-3 , Israeli pronunciation [ jehuˈdim ] ) , also known as the Jewish people , are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites , or Hebrews , of the Ancient Near East .