Lesson Five: Overview of Jesus' Life5.1 We can divide the life of Christ into six parts which are:
1 Infancy 2 Youth 3 Year of Preparation 4 Year of Popularity 5 Year of Passion 6 Resurrected Life 5.2 Matthew wrote about all the parts of Jesus' life except his youth. When we study Jesus' youth we will have to look at the Gospel of Luke.
5.3 When Jesus was about 30 years old he began his public ministry (see Luke 3:22). We can guess that He waited until then because of the Jewish custom that a visiting Rabbi could not speak in the synagogue (Jewish church), until he was more than thirty years old. It also seems likely that Jesus' earthly father, Joseph, had died. If that was true, then Jesus, as the oldest son, would have assumed the responsibility of providing for his younger brothers and sisters until He reached the age of thirty.
5.4 Jesus preached, taught, healed the sick, and worked miracles in the land of Palestine for about three and a half years. Then he was crucified. He rose from the dead. He continued his ministry to his disciples for a few months, and then ascended into heaven.
5.5 Each year of Jesus' public ministry was different. The first year is known as the "Year of Preparation". During this first year Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and then tempted in the desert. He called his disciples for the first time during this year also. The "Year of Preparation" probably began in December of the year 27 AD. Jesus stayed in Capernaum early in the year 28 AD (John 2:12) He taught in the synagogues of Galilee (Luke 4:15), but made some trips to Judea as well. There He cleansed the temple, met with Nicodemus, preached, and made and baptized more disciples than John. Toward the end of the "Year of Preparation", He returned to His hometown of Nazareth. He preached in the synagogue at Nazareth, but was rejected. Right about that time He heard that John the Baptist had been put into prison. He left Nazareth for good, and moved to Capernaum. Capernaum became the base for His second year of ministry.
5.6 Capernaum was a good place for Jesus to live because major highways went through it. One of the main roads led southward to the provinces of Perea, and Judea. The first thing Jesus did after moving to Capernaum was officially "call" his twelve disciples. (He had already called Peter and Andrew, James and John, Phillip and Nathaniel early in His first year of ministry, but He called them again, along with six others, at the beginning of His second year of ministry.) Shortly after that He preached the "Sermon on the Mount". Then he went throughout Galilee preaching in their synagogues, and healing all kinds of diseases. Large crowds followed Jesus during His second year of ministry. That is why it is known as the "Year of Popularity".
5.7 Jesus third year of ministry was His last. John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod the Tetrarch at the beginning of this third year, and the year ended with Jesus Himself being crucified in Jerusalem. The third year is known as the "Year of Passion". "Passion" means "suffering".
5.8 Each one of the three years of ministry was different:
Year of Preparation ........................Jesus becoming well known
Year of Popularity...........................Jesus followed by large crowds
Year of Passion...............................Jesus rejected, persecuted, and crucified5.9 Jesus rose from the dead and continued his ministry to His disciples for about three months before ascending into heaven. We will call this period of time His "Resurrected Life." During this time He appeared often to His disciples. These appearances are called. "Post Resurrection Appearances." Just before He ascended into heaven He told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
5.10 Because each one of the six parts of Jesus' life happened in a different place, we can identify them by their "associated places".
Infancy...........................................Bethlehem Egypt and Nazareth
Youth.............................................Temple in Jerusalem
Year of Preparation........................Judea and Nazareth
Year of Popularity..........................Province of Galilee
Year of Passion..............................Province of Perea and Jerusalem
Resurrected Life.............................All the WorldDiscussion Question: What does the memory verse mean to you?
Memory Verse: For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45