Redemptive suffering He made Himself human in Jesus in order to redeem mankind: It is believed that Jesus freed mankind from the bondage of sin: Thus one may consider that God paid for mankind's freedom from sin in His human incarnation: The belief is that the price that God, in Jesus, paid for the redemption of mankind, is the Passion, that is, his suffering and agony that led directly to his Crucifixion. Christians believe that, as members of the Church, they are members of the body of Jesus Christ: Hence, orthodox Catholic theology presents the belief that our suffering can be united
Sources for the historicity of Jesus historian Suetonius (c. 69 – after 122 CE) made references to early Christians and their leader in his work "Lives of the Twelve Caesars" (written 121 CE). The references appear in and which describe the lives of Roman Emperors Claudius and Nero. The Nero 16 passage refers to the abuses by Nero and mentions how he inflicted punishment on Christians – which is generally dated to around AD 64. This passage shows the clear contempt of Suetonius for Christians - the same contempt expressed by Tacitus and Pliny the younger in their writings, but does not refer to Jesus himself.