Yes, Jesus was a Jew.

Historical Context

Jesus was born to a Jewish mother, Mary, in Galilee, a region within ancient Judea, and raised in a Jewish household. He observed Jewish customs, including worship in synagogues, celebrating Jewish festivals, and pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Biblical genealogies in Matthew and Luke trace his ancestry through Jewish lines back to David and Abraham.

Religious Practices

Jesus preached from Jewish scriptures, such as the Torah, and his disciples were all Jews. He regularly engaged in debates with Jewish groups like the Pharisees, reflecting internal Jewish discourse of the time rather than founding a separate religion during his life.

Scholarly Consensus

Historians and biblical scholars widely affirm Jesus' Jewish ethnicity and cultural identity, born, lived, and died as a Jew in the 1st century. While some modern views debate nuances due to Christianity's later development, the primary sources and evidence confirm his Jewish heritage without controversy.