“One Solitary Life” as an Encapsulation of the History of Jesus

History has a great deal to say about Jesus of Nazareth – so much so that it would be impractical to try to catalog it all. The books of biography alone, large and small, that have been produced over the last 2,000 years probably cannot all be identified….not to mention all the other forms of writing, short and long, employed in reporting on his life.

Here below is one of the most succinct and memorable biographical sketches that has ever been produced about Jesus. You can find it on the internet in a variety of forms, and this is but one of them.

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty

He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three

His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind’s progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life
James Allan Francis (1864–1928), The Real Jesus and Other Sermons, The Judson Press, 1926.

That’s 2,000 years of history condensed into 221 words.

10/20/25

Question or Comment Cancel reply