What is the timeline of Jesus' life? | GotQuestions.org

Hi there, many others, like you, have asked us to give you a timeline of Jesus' life.

Well, let's find out, shall we? You can discover even more on GotQuestions .org.

To be honest, any timeline of Jesus' life is speculative to some degree. None of the

Gospels present His life chronologically. Rather, most of the material in the Gospels is arranged by topical order and theme based upon things that each individual author wanted to emphasize.

In some instances, it is difficult to tell if two similar incidents happened separately or if the same incident is told from a different perspective.

This is not a cause for concern regarding the trustworthiness of the Gospels. None of the

Gospels claim to be comprehensive biographies, and in fact they are quite short given the span of time that they cover.

The writers were selective. They give us a full understanding of who Jesus is,

His teachings, and His significance today. They do not give us a direct order in which

Jesus did things. That was not their purpose. There are a number of New Testament reading plans that have the

Gospels intertwined chronologically. However, other editors might arrange events differently.

Having said that, there are a few events that can be placed within a broad framework. John starts with the pre -existent

Jesus. Luke speaks of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem and the visit of the shepherds that very night.

Matthew 2 speaks of the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. We assume that this visit was later because Mary and Joseph were living in a house.

Matthew 2 also speaks of the rage of Herod and the escape of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to Egypt. When the threat was over, they returned to Nazareth where Jesus grew up.

There is only one incident mentioned from Jesus' childhood, the trip to Jerusalem where Jesus' parents lost track of Him.

When they finally found Him, He was in the temple listening and asking questions to the amazement of those who heard

Him. The next incident found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke is the baptism of Jesus immediately followed by His temptation in the desert.

This seems to be the official beginning of Jesus' public, itinerant ministry and precedes

His choosing the disciples. During Jesus' life, He spent a lot of time in Galilee, which seems to have been where He was headquartered, but He often took trips to Jerusalem for feasts.

The assumption that Jesus' ministry lasted approximately three years is based on the number of times Jesus went to Jerusalem for Passover.

However, even this is speculative as there is no guarantee that every Passover that Jesus observed is recorded in the

Gospels. It was during these visits to Jerusalem that He often came into conflict with the

Jewish leadership. He performed many miracles of healing and feeding. All the while, Jesus is gradually revealing

Himself to the disciples and also preparing them for His death. After a ministry that ranged over Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, Jesus finally sets out from Galilee at Passover time for what

He knows will be His final trip to Jerusalem. All of the Gospels give much attention to this final trip.

The Gospels dedicate between one -third and one -half of their volume to the last week of Jesus' earthly ministry.

That final week can be outlined generally as follows. The triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, extended teaching to the crowds and confrontation with Jewish leadership, culminating in cleansing the

Temple. Jesus observes a Passover meal with His disciples and institutes the

Lord's Supper, followed by washing their feet. Judas leaves during the meal to conspire. Jesus prays in the

Garden of Gethsemane while His disciples sleep. Judas leads a group of Temple guards who arrest

Jesus. Jesus has an informal trial before the Jewish leaders who condemn Him and take

Him to Pilate, who must ratify their decision since they do not have the authority to carry out the death penalty.

Pilate tries to find a way out, so he sends Jesus to Herod, since Jesus was a Galilean and Galilee was in Herod's territory.

Herod happened to be in Jerusalem for Passover. Herod questions Jesus, has his soldiers torment and mock

Him, and sends Him back to Pilate. Pilate tries again to appease the mob by having

Jesus flogged, but they still cry out for crucifixion. He then offers to release either

Jesus or the murderer Barabbas. They choose Barabbas to be set free and Pilate sentences

Jesus to be crucified. Jesus is crucified on Friday, according to the consensus of scholars, but this is not clearly spelled out in the

Gospels and some scholars think the crucifixion must have been on Wednesday or Thursday.

By all accounts, Jesus rose from the dead the following Sunday. Jesus appeared to various groups of disciples before finally ascending into heaven.

In conclusion, reconstructing a detailed chronology of Jesus' life may be interesting and such a project would undoubtedly immerse the student in God's word, but reading the

Gospels as they were written allows us to better discern the inspired themes and emphasis.

An exact chronology of Jesus' life was simply not something that the Gospel authors or author felt was important to communicate.

Alright, that answers your question asking us to give you a timeline of Jesus' life.