The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with his baptism near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem in Judea, following the Last Supper with his disciples.Christianity: an introduction by Alister E. McGrath 2006 pp. 16–22. The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry.Paul L. Maier "The Date of the Nativity and Chronology of Jesus" in Chronos, kairos, Christos: nativity and chronological studies by Jerry Vardaman, Edwin M. Yamauchi 1989 pp. 113–129. A chronology of Jesus typically sets the date of the start of his ministry at around AD 27–29 and the end in the range AD 30–36.Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times by Paul Barnett 2002 pp. 19–21.
Jesus' early Galilean ministry begins when after his baptism, he goes back to Galilee from his temptation in the Judaean Desert.The Gospel according to Matthew by Leon Morris p. 71. In this early period, he preaches around Galilee and recruits his first disciples who begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the early ChurchThe Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels by Douglas Redford 2007 pp. 117–130. as it is believed that the apostles dispersed from Jerusalem to found the apostolic sees. The major Galilean ministry which begins in Matthew 8 includes the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, and covers most of the ministry of Jesus in Galilee.A theology of the New Testament by George Eldon Ladd 1993, p. 324.The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels by Douglas Redford 2007 pp. 143–160. The final Galilean ministry begins after the beheading of John the Baptist as Jesus prepares to go to Jerusalem.Steven L. Cox, Kendell H Easley, 2007 Harmony of the Gospels pp. 97–110.The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels by Douglas Redford 2007 pp. 165–180.
In the later Judean ministry Jesus starts his final journey to Jerusalem through Judea.Steven L. Cox, Kendell H Easley, 2007 Harmony of the Gospels pp. 121–135.The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels by Douglas Redford. 2007 pp. 189–207. As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, in the later Perean ministry, about one third the way down from the Sea of Galilee (actually a freshwater lake) along the River Jordan, he returns to the area where he was baptized.Steven L. Cox, Kendell H Easley, 2007 Harmony of the Gospels p. 137.The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels by Douglas Redford 2007 pp. 211–229.Mercer dictionary of the Bible by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 1998 p. 929.
The final ministry in Jerusalem is sometimes called the Passion week and begins with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The gospels provide more details about the final ministry than the other periods, devoting about one third of their text to the last week of the life of Jesus in Jerusalem.Matthew by David L. Turner 2008 p. 613.
Overview
The gospel accounts place the beginning of Jesus' ministry in the countryside of Roman province Judaea, near the River Jordan.
The gospels present John the Baptist's ministry as the precursor to that of Jesus and the baptism of Jesus as marking the beginning of Jesus' ministry, after which Jesus travels, preaches and performs miracles. Jesus's baptism is generally considered the beginning and the Last Supper with his disciples in Jerusalem as the end of his ministry. However, some authors also consider the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension part of the ministry of Jesus.New Testament History by Richard L. Niswonger 1992 p. 154.
Luke states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry. There have been different approaches to estimating the date of the start of the ministry of Jesus.The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 p. 140.Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible 2000 Amsterdam University Press p. 249.Jack V. Scarola, "A Chronology of the nativity Era" in Chronos, kairos, Christos 2 by Ray Summers, Jerry Vardaman 1998 pp. 61–81.Luke 1–5: New Testament Commentary by John MacArthur, Jr. 2009 p. 201. One approach, based on combining information from the Gospel of Luke with historical data about Emperor Tiberius yields a date around 28–29 AD/CE, while a second independent approach based on statements in the Gospel of John along with historical information from Josephus about the Temple in Jerusalem leads to a date around AD 27–29.The Riddles of the Fourth Gospel: An Introduction to John by Paul N. Anderson 2011 p. 200.Herod the Great by Jerry Knoblet 2005 p. 184.
In the New Testament, the date of the Last Supper is very close before the date of the crucifixion of Jesus (hence its name). Scholarly estimates for the date of the crucifixion generally fall in the range AD 30–36.Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times by Paul Barnett 2002 pp. 19–21Paul's early period: chronology, mission strategy, theology by Rainer Riesner 1997 pp. 19–27 (p. 27 has a table of various scholarly estimates)
The three Synoptic Gospels refer to just one passover, specifically the Passover at the end of Jesus's ministry when he is crucified (with the exception of Luke's Gospel, which narrates a visit of the Holy Family for Passover when Jesus is twelve years old). There are three references to Passovers in John's Gospel: 2:13, 6:4, and 12:1. Some contend that the Gospel of John refers to only two actual Passovers, one at the beginning of Jesus's ministry and the second at the end of Jesus's ministry, and that the third reference to Passover is only a forecasting of the second Passover in the Gospel of John. But much scholarship recognizes that a lot of time passes between 6:4, "the Passover . . . was at hand," and 12:1, "Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany..," especially at the beginning of Chapter 7 which even includes another feast (Booths/Tabernacles), and then again at 10:22 another season passes as well as the Feast of Dedication.
This third reference to a passover in the Gospel of John is why many suggest that Jesus's ministry was a period of about three years. Scholars that support a three-year ministry, such as Köstenberger state that the Gospel of John simply provides a more detailed account.Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by Craig L. Blomberg 2009 pp. 224–229.New Testament History by Richard L. Niswonger 1992 pp. 132–136.
During the ministry of Jesus, the tetrarch ruling over Galilee and Perea in this period was Herod Antipas, who obtained the position upon the division of the territories following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC.The people's New Testament commentary by M. Eugene Boring, Fred B. Craddock 2004 p. 212.
Baptism and early ministry
The gospels present John the Baptist's ministry as the precursor to that of Jesus and the Baptism of Jesus as marking the beginning of Jesus' ministry.
In his sermon in , delivered in the house of Cornelius the centurion, Apostle Peter gives an overview of the ministry of Jesus, and refers to what had happened "throughout all Judaea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached" and that Jesus whom "God anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power" had gone about "doing good".Who is Jesus?: an introduction to Christology by Thomas P. Rausch 2003
specifies the location where John was baptizing as "Bethany beyond the Jordan".Big Picture of the Bible - New Testament by Lorna Daniels Nichols 2009 p. 12 This is not the village Bethany just east of Jerusalem, but the town of Bethabara in Perea.John by Gerard Stephen Sloyan 1987 p. 11 Perea is the province east of the Jordan, across the southern part of Samaria, and although the New Testament does not mention Perea by name, implicitly refers to it again when it states that John was baptising in Enon near Salim, "because there was much water there". First-century historian Flavius Josephus also wrote in the Antiquities of the Jews (18 5.2) that John the Baptist was imprisoned and then killed in Machaerus on the border of Perea.Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible 2000 p. 583Behold the Man: The Real Life of the Historical Jesus by Kirk Kimball 2002 p. 654
and indicate possible activities of Jesus near the Jordan River around the time of his baptism, as does the initial encounter with the disciples of John the Baptist in , where "two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus".Jesus of Nazareth by Duane S. Crowther 1999 p. 77The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels by Douglas Redford 2007 p. 92A Summary of Christian History by Robert A. Baker, John M. Landers 2005 pp. 6–7 Assuming that there were two incidences of Cleansing of the Temple, which was located in Jerusalem, a possible reference to an early Judean ministry may be .International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: E-J by Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1982 p. 1026Mercer dictionary of the Bible by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 1998 pp. 333–344
Ministry in Galilee
Early Galilean ministry The Early Galilean ministry begins when, according to Matthew, Jesus goes back to Galilee from the Judaean Desert, after rebuffing the temptation of Satan. In this early period, Jesus preaches around Galilee and, in , his first disciples encounter him, begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the early Church.
The Gospel of John includes the Wedding at Cana as the first miracle of Jesus taking place in this early period of ministry, with his return to Galilee.H. Van der Loos, 1965 The Miracles of Jesus, E.J. Brill Press, Netherlands p. 599Dmitri Royster 1999 The Miracles of Christ p. 71 A few villages in Galilee (e.g. Kafr Kanna) have been suggested as the location of Cana.Jesus and Archaeology by James H. Charlesworth 2006 pp. 540–541Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible 2000 p. 212
The return of Jesus to Galilee follows the arrest of John the Baptist.The Gospel according to Mark by James R. Edwards 2002 p. 43 The early teachings of Jesus result in his rejection at his hometown when in Jesus says in a Synagogue, "No prophet is acceptable in his own country", and the people reject him.
In this early period, Jesus' reputation begins to spread throughout Galilee. In and , Jesus goes to Capernaum, where people are "astonished at his teaching; for his word was with authority", in the Exorcism at the Synagogue in Capernaum episode, which is followed by healing the mother of Peter's wife.Reading Luke by Charles H. Talbert 2002 pp. 61–62John Clowes, 1817 The Miracles of Jesus Christ published by J. Gleave, Manchester, UK p. 31
includes the first Miraculous draught of fishes episode in which Jesus tells Peter, "now on you will catch men". Peter leaves his net and, along with him, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, follows Jesus as disciples thereafter.John Clowes, The Miracles of Jesus Christ published by J. Gleave, Manchester, UK, 1817, p. 214, available on Google booksThe Gospel of Luke by Timothy Johnson, Daniel J. Harrington, 1992 p. 89The Gospel of Luke, by Joel B. Green 1997 p. 230
This period includes the Sermon on the Mount, one of the major discourses of Jesus in Matthew, and the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke.The Sermon on the Mount: A Theological Investigation by Carl G. Vaught 2001 pp. xi–xiv The Sermon on the Mount, which covers chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew, is the first of the Five Discourses of Matthew and is the longest piece of teaching from Jesus in the New Testament. It encapsulates many of the moral teachings of Jesus and includes the Beatitudes and the widely recited Lord's Prayer."Beatitudes." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005