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.[1] The Gospel of Luke (Luke 3:23) states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry.[2][3] 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.[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.[5] 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 Church[1][6] 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.[7][8] The final Galilean ministry begins after the beheading of John the Baptist as Jesus prepares to go to Jerusalem.[9][10]
In the later Judean ministry Jesus starts his final journey to Jerusalem through Judea.[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.[15][16][17]
The final ministry in Jerusalem is sometimes called the Passion week and begins with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.[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]
Ministry in Galilee[edit]
Early Galilean ministry[edit]
The Early Galilean ministry begins when, according to Matthew, Jesus goes back to Galilee from the Judean desert, after rebuffing the temptation of Satan.[5] In this early period, Jesus preaches around Galilee and, in Matthew 4:18–20, his first disciples encounter him, begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the early Church.[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.[44][45] A few villages in Galilee (e.g. Kafr Kanna) have been suggested as the location of Cana.[46][47]
The return of Jesus to Galilee follows the arrest of John the Baptist.[48] The early teachings of Jesus result in his rejection at his hometown when in Luke 4:16–30 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 Mark 1:21–28 and Luke 4:31–37, 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.[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". Peter leaves his net and, along with him, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, follows Jesus as disciples thereafter.[51][52][53]
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.[6][54] 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.[54] It encapsulates many of the moral teachings of Jesus and includes the Beatitudes and the widely recited Lord's Prayer.[54][55]
The Beatitudes are expressed as eight blessings in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, and four similar blessings appear in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke, where they are followed by four woes that mirror the blessings.[56] The Beatitudes present the highest ideals of the teachings of Jesus on mercy, spirituality and compassion.[56][57]
Judea and Perea to Jerusalem[edit]
Later Judean ministry[edit]
In this period, Jesus starts his final journey to Jerusalem by going around Samaria, through Perea and on through Judea to Jerusalem. At the beginning of this period, Jesus predicts his death for the first time, and this prediction then builds up to the other two episodes, the final prediction being just before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time, the week of his crucifixion.[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."[83]
The final ministry in Jerusalem is traditionally called the Passion and begins with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem early in the week that includes the Last Supper and is liturgically marked as Holy Week.[18][99][100][101][102][103] The gospels pay special attention to the account of the last week of the life of Jesus in Jerusalem, and the narrative amounts to about one third of the text of the four gospels, showing its theological significance in Christian thought in the Early Church.[19][104]
Before arriving in Jerusalem, in John 12:9–11, after raising Lazarus from the dead, crowds gather around Jesus and believe in him, and the next day the multitudes that had gathered for the feast in Jerusalem welcome Jesus as he descends from the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem in
Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11,Luke 19:28–44 and John 12:12–19.[99][100][101][105] In Luke 19:41–44 as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, he looks at the city and weeps over it, foretelling the suffering that awaits the city.[99][101][106]
In the three Synoptic Gospels, entry into Jerusalem is followed by the Cleansing of the Temple episode, in which Jesus expels the money changers from the Temple, accusing them of turning the Temple to a den of thieves through their commercial activities. This is the only account of Jesus using physical force in any of the Gospels.[43][107][108] The synoptics include a number of well known parables and sermons such as the Widow's mite and the Second Coming Prophecy during the week that follows.[99][100]
In that week, the synoptics also narrate conflicts between Jesus and the elders of the Jews, in episodes such as the Authority of Jesus Questioned and the Woes of the Pharisees, in which Jesus criticizes their hypocrisy.[99][100] Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, approaches the Jewish elders and performs the "Bargain of Judas" in which he accepts to betray Jesus and hand him over to the elders.[109][110][111] Matthew specifies the price as thirty silver coins.[110]
In Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus provides a Discourse on the End Times, which is also called the Olivet Discourse because it was given on the Mount of Olives.[70] The discourse is mostly about judgment and the expected conduct of the followers of Jesus, and the need for vigilance by the followers in view of the coming judgment.[112] The discourse is generally viewed as referring both to the coming destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the End Times and Second Coming of Christ, but the many scholarly opinions about which verses refer to which event remain divided.[96][112]
A key episode in the final part of the ministry of Jesus is the Last Supper, which includes the Institution of the Eucharist. In Matthew 26:26–29, Mark 14:22–25, Luke 22:19–20 during the last supper, Jesus takes bread, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, saying: "This is my body which is given for you". He also gives them "the cup" to drink, saying this is his blood. While it may have been fermented, none of the biblical accounts refer to it as wine, but rather as "the fruit of the vine" or "the cup".
In 1 Corinthians 11:23–26, Paul the Apostle refers to the Last Supper.[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.[117][118]