Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God, the Lord. Whatever you call him, he was undoubtedly one of the most important and controversial men in the recent history of the world. And the basis of his importance was his crucifixion and resurrection. But what would have happened if this had never happened? What if he hadn't been crucified? If Jesus of Nazareth had died of natural causes instead of crucifixion; then the religious, political and social structure of the world would be completely different. But why? Jesus was born on or about April 17, 6 BCE, to Mary, a Jewish woman from Nazareth in Galilee. Christians believe that she conceived Jesus miraculously in union with God; this is also why many people refer to Jesus as the Son of God. She married Joseph, a shepherd, and accompanied him to Nazareth, where Jesus was born. Then, as prophesied by Isaiah, Jesus was born to a descendant of King David . Jesus grew up to be a carpenter in Bethlehem. He continued to do so until he was 30; in which he began his ministry, around 24 BCE. He gathered 12 apostles (Peter, James the Greater, James the Minor, Andrew, Bartholomew, Judas Iscariot, John, Simon, Philip, Judas, Matthew, Thomas), who were his closest circle of supporters, and hundreds of disciples, who followed him him and agreed with his views on religion. As Jesus spread his message throughout Judea, he also performed many miracles, such as turning water into wine and walking on water. About a week before his death, Jesus triumphantly returned to Jerusalem, a day that is still celebrated today by Christians around the world as Palm Sunday. However, as soon as Jesus gained popularity, everything suddenly changed. According to the Scriptures, on a Friday in April, in y...... middle of paper ......pe old age? If Jesus had not been crucified, Christianity would still exist, but it would be anonymous and probably have no more than five million members. This would lead to much more important things, such as the Crusades not being fought over the Holy Land of Canaan (Israel). Furthermore, the Roman Empire would have been drastically different, as there would never have been a Holy Roman Empire, or even any Pope or Patriarch to help control Rome. Furthermore, many persecutions of many different Christian denominations would never have happened, so the Puritans would not have been persecuted, which would mean that no one would have come to Plymouth Rock in the year 1620. The Islamic religion would also never have existed, which would not it would lead to no Muslim empire and more than three-quarters of the world's population would be Jewish.