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

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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

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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.

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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