In the Christian gospels, the
Ministry of Jesus begins with
his BaptismThe baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of Jesus Christ's public ministry. This event is recorded in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In John 1:29-33 rather than a direct narrative, the Baptist bears witness to the episode...
in the countryside of
JudeaJudea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, near the River Jordan and ends in
JerusalemFor Christians, Jerusalem's place in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Age gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.-Jerusalem in the New Testament and early Christianity:...
, following the
Last SupperThe Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
with his disciples. The
Gospel of LukeThe Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
(3:23) states that
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry. The date of the start of his ministry has been estimated at around 27-29 AD/CE and the end in the range 30-36 AD/CE.
Jesus'
Early Galilean ministry begins when after his Baptism, he goes
back to GalileeThe Return of Jesus to Galilee is an episode in the life of Jesus that appears in three of the Canonical Gospels: , and . It relates the return of Jesus to Galillee upon the imprisonment of John the Baptist.According to the Gospel of John:...
from his time in the Judean desert. In this early period he preaches around Galilee and recruits
his first disciplesThe call of the First disciples of Jesus is a key episode in the life of Jesus in the New Testament. It appears in , and on the Sea of Galilee. reports the first encounter with two of the disciples a little earlier in the presence of John the Baptist...
who begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the
early ChurchEarly Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
. The
Major Galilean ministry which begins in Matthew 8 includes the
Commissioning the twelve ApostlesCommissioning the twelve Apostles is an episode in the life of Jesus that appears in all three Synoptic Gospels: , and but not in the Canonical Gospel of John. It relates the initial selection of the twelve Apostles among the disciples of Jesus....
, and covers most of the ministry of Jesus in Galilee. The
Final Galilean ministry begins after the death of John the Baptist as Jesus prepares to go to Jerusalem.
In the
Later Judean ministry Jesus starts his final journey to Jerusalem through Judea. As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, in the
Later Perean ministry, about one third the way down from the Sea of Galilee along the River Jordan, he returns to the area where he was baptized.
The
Final ministry in Jerusalem is sometimes called the
Passion Week and begins with the Jesus'
triumphal entry into JerusalemIn the accounts of the four canonical Gospels, Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place in the days before the Last Supper, marking the beginning of his Passion....
. 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 JerusalemHoly Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
.
Overview
The gospel accounts place the beginning of Jesus' ministry in the countryside of
JudeaJudea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, near the River Jordan.
The gospels present
John the BaptistJohn the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
's ministry as the pre-cursor to that of Jesus and the
Baptism of JesusThe baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of Jesus Christ's public ministry. This event is recorded in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In John 1:29-33 rather than a direct narrative, the Baptist bears witness to the episode...
as marking the beginning of Jesus' ministry, after which Jesus travels, preaches and performs miracles.
Jesus's Baptism is generally considered the beginning of his ministry and the
Last SupperThe Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
with his disciples in Jerusalem as the end. However, some authors also consider the period between the
ResurrectionThe Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
and the Ascension part of the ministry of Jesus.