Ministry of Jesus

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.

[2][3][4][note 1] Jesus' early Galilean ministry begins when after his baptism, he goes back to Galilee from his temptation in the Judaean Desert.

[11][12][13][14] 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.

[18] 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.

[19] The gospel accounts place the beginning of Jesus' ministry in the countryside of Roman province Judaea, near the River Jordan.

[2][23][24][25] 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.

Scholars that support a three-year ministry, such as Köstenberger state that the Gospel of John simply provides a more detailed account.

[34][35] 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.

[38][39][40] 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 John 2:13–25.

[41][42][43] The Early Galilean ministry begins when, according to Matthew, Jesus goes back to Galilee from the Judean desert, after rebuffing the temptation of Satan.

[1][6] 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.

[49][50] Luke 5:1–11 includes the first Miraculous draught of fishes episode in which Jesus tells Peter, "now on you will catch men".

"[67] Jesus replies, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk".

[70][71] These include the parables of The Sower, The Tares, The Mustard Seed and The Leaven, addressed to the public at large, as well as The Hidden Treasure, The Pearl and Drawing in the Net.

[72] The Final Galilean ministry begins after the death of John the Baptist, and includes the Feeding the 5000 and Walking on water episodes, both in Matthew 14.

[9][10] After hearing of the Baptist's death, Jesus withdraws by boat privately to a solitary place near Bethsaida, where he addresses the crowds who had followed him on foot from the towns, and feeds them all with "five loaves and two fish" supplied by a boy.

[73] Following this, the gospels present the Walking on water episode in Matthew 14:22–23, Mark 6:45–52 and John 6:16–21 as an important step in developing the relationship between Jesus and his disciples, at this stage of his ministry.

At the end of the episode, the disciples increase their faith in Jesus, and, in Matthew 14:33, they say, "Of a truth thou art the Son of God".

[81][82] In Matthew 16:21–28 and Mark 8:31–33, Jesus teaches his disciples that "the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

[84] These episodes mark the beginnings of the gradual disclosure of the identity of Jesus as the Messiah to his disciples; and his prediction of his own suffering and death.

[84][87][88] In Matthew 16:17, Jesus blesses Peter for his answer, and states: "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven."

[89] In this assertion, by endorsing both titles as divine revelation, Jesus unequivocally declares himself to be both Christ and the Son of God.

[89][90] In the Gospel of Matthew, following this episode, Jesus also selects Peter as the leader of the Apostles, and states that "upon this rock, I will build my church".

[91] Following the proclamation by Peter, the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus is the next major event and appears in Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2–8 and Luke 9:28–36.

Once on the mountain, Matthew 17:2 states that Jesus "was transfigured before them; his face shining as the sun, and his garments became white as the light."

[34][35] This period of ministry includes the Discourse on the Church, in which Jesus anticipates a future community of followers and explains the role of his apostles in leading it.

[18] In the Gospel of John, the raising of Lazarus is the climax of the "seven signs" which gradually confirm the identity of Jesus as the Son of God and the expected Messiah.

[113][114][115][116] John 14–17 concludes the Last Supper with a long, three chapter sermon known as the Farewell Discourse which prepares the disciples for the departure of Jesus.