Life of Jesus in Chronological Order – Mike Mazzalongo | BibleTalk.tv

Summary

This script introduces a course on the chronological life of Jesus, emphasizing the importance of studying his life in sequence to gain deeper insights into his teachings and actions. The instructor outlines the course objectives, including presenting Jesus' life in order, preparing a detailed notebook of events, and facilitating discussions to understand the context and significance of his ministry. The script also provides historical context, explaining the Roman and Christian calendars' relation to Jesus' timeline, and highlights the methodical nature of Jesus' ministry, its grounding in prophecy, and the profound impact of his work within a limited geographical area.

Takeaways

• 📚 The class is about studying the life of Jesus in chronological order, providing a biography-style understanding of his life events.
• 📖 Biographies are popular because they offer insights into the lives of significant individuals and can inspire readers to change or try new things.
• 🕵️‍♂️ The study of Jesus' life in context helps understand the historical and societal influences that shaped his ministry and life.
• 📝 The class will cover Jesus' life events in order, with a focus on the sequence of his actions and travels, which is not always presented chronologically in the gospels.
• 📋 Students are encouraged to prepare a notebook to record the life events of Jesus, including scriptural references, in chronological order for personal study.
• 🗓 The historical context of Jesus' life is important, including the Roman calendar and its inaccuracies in calculating the year of Jesus' birth.
• 👣 Jesus' ministry had a clear geographical pattern, moving between the north and south of Israel, with significant events happening in various regions like Galilee and Jerusalem.
• 🔍 The class will delve into seven distinct periods of Jesus' life, from his boyhood to his resurrection and ascension, providing a detailed examination of each.
• 🗺 A map is used to illustrate the areas where Jesus carried out his ministry, emphasizing the significance of places like Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem.
• 🕊 The study aims to make the life and ministry of Jesus more real by understanding the sequence and context of his actions, rather than viewing them as isolated events.
• 💡 The class will also focus on drawing lessons and words of encouragement from Jesus' life, showing that even within a small geographical area, one can have a profound impact on the world.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the series 'The Life of Jesus in Chronological Order'?

The main focus of the series is to study the life of Jesus in the order that He actually lived it, providing a chronological understanding of His life, ministry, miracles, and the events leading to His death and resurrection.

Why are biographies popular and how do they benefit readers?

Biographies are popular because they tell the story of a person's life from beginning to end, offering intimate details and insights into their early lives. They benefit readers by inspiring change, providing examples to follow, and giving insights into the forces and events that shape a person, helping readers understand the past and its influence on their own lives.

How does studying the life of Jesus in chronological order differ from studying the gospels?

Studying the life of Jesus in chronological order focuses on the sequence of events as they happened, providing a clear sense of how one event leads to another. In contrast, studying the gospels often involves looking at the teachings of Jesus and how they can be applied to our lives, without necessarily following the events in the order they occurred.

What is one of the objectives of the class on the life of Jesus?

One of the objectives of the class is to present the life of Jesus in chronological order and help participants prepare a notebook with a list of events in His life, along with parallel scriptural references, all listed in chronological order.

Why is it suggested to have a notebook for the class?

A notebook is suggested to help participants keep track of the events in Jesus' life, as well as the scriptural references for each event. By the end of the course, the notebook will serve as a comprehensive biography of Jesus' life, useful for class or personal study.

What is the significance of the Roman calendar in the context of Jesus' life?

The Roman calendar was the calendar in use at the time of Jesus' birth, based on the year Rome was founded. Understanding the Roman calendar helps to contextualize the timeframe of Jesus' life and the historical context of the era.

Why is there confusion about the year of Jesus' birth?

There is confusion because the Christian calendar, which uses the birth of Jesus as the starting point, was initially calculated with an error. It was later discovered that Jesus was actually born four years earlier than the calculated zero point of the Christian calendar, which led to the dating of His birth around 4 BC.

What is the estimated age of Jesus at the time of His death?

Jesus is estimated to have been 33 years old at the time of His death, as He began His ministry at the age of 30 and lived through three annual Passover celebrations before His death during the fourth.

What is the significance of the number 33 in the context of Jesus' life?

The number 33 is significant because it is believed to be the age at which Jesus died. Despite being a young age by the standards of the time, His death at 33 had a profound impact and is often associated with the establishment of the Christian church.

How many periods are there in the life of Jesus as outlined in the script?

There are seven periods outlined in the script, covering different stages of Jesus' life from His boyhood to His resurrection and ascension.

What can we learn from the geographical movements of Jesus during His ministry?

We can learn that Jesus' movements were methodical and purposeful, based on fulfilling prophecies and expanding His ministry. His work in a relatively small geographical area had a tremendous impact, showing that even from a small starting point, significant influence can be achieved when following God's will.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to the Life of Jesus in Chronological Order

The instructor begins the class by expressing gratitude for the participants' involvement in the 'Life of Jesus in Chronological Order' series. They introduce the concept of biographies, explaining how they provide insights into the lives of significant individuals and can inspire readers to change their own lives. The class aims to study Jesus' life in the order of events as they occurred, rather than through the teachings-focused approach of the gospels. The instructor outlines the objectives of the class, which include presenting Jesus' life chronologically, preparing a notebook with a detailed list of events and scriptural references, and discussing specific events in depth. They encourage students to take notes for personal study or class use.

05:03

🗓 Understanding the Timeframe of Jesus' Life

The instructor delves into the historical context of Jesus' life, discussing the Roman calendar and its basis on the founding of Rome, which placed Jesus' birth around 4 BC. They mention the Christian calendar's introduction and the subsequent realization of its four-year error. Jesus' life is framed within this timeline, with his ministry beginning at 30 years of age and concluding with his death at 33, which was considered young for that era. The class's goal is to complete the study in thirteen lessons, and the instructor provides an overview of Jesus' ministry, emphasizing the importance of understanding the chronological flow of events for a deeper comprehension of Jesus' life and ministry.

10:09

🛤️ Exploring the Geographical Context of Jesus' Ministry

The instructor provides a geographical overview of Jesus' ministry, highlighting key locations such as Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem. They describe the significance of these places in Jesus' life and ministry, such as his birth in Bethlehem, upbringing in Nazareth, adult life in Capernaum, and the importance of Jerusalem as the religious and political center. The map serves to illustrate the travels and teachings of Jesus, emphasizing the extensive walking distances between regions and the impact of these journeys on his ministry. The instructor also mentions the cultural and religious significance of the areas, setting the stage for a more detailed examination of Jesus' life and work in subsequent lessons.

15:12

📝 The Seven Periods of Jesus' Life

The instructor outlines the seven main periods of Jesus' life, starting with his boyhood from zero to twelve years, including the events leading up to his birth and the limited information available about his childhood. They proceed to describe the beginning of his public ministry at the age of thirty, his activities during the first two Passovers, and the extensive events between the second and third Passovers. The fifth period, leading up to the final week of Jesus' life, is the longest section in the New Testament. The sixth period covers the last Passover week, culminating in the crucifixion, while the seventh period encompasses the resurrection, appearances, and Ascension of Jesus. The instructor emphasizes the importance of studying these periods to gain a comprehensive understanding of Jesus' life and ministry.

20:14

🔍 The Method and Impact of Jesus' Ministry

The instructor discusses the methodical nature of Jesus' ministry, noting that his movements were not random but followed a well-ordered plan based on prophetic fulfillment. They highlight the significance of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem and upbringing in Nazareth, as foretold by the prophets. The summary also touches on the impact of Jesus' ministry, which, despite being confined to a relatively small geographical area, has had a profound effect on the world over two millennia. The instructor encourages students to consider the potential impact of their own work and efforts for Christ, no matter how small they may seem, drawing inspiration from the far-reaching influence of Jesus' life and teachings.

Keywords

💡Chronological Order

Chronological order refers to the sequence of events or information arranged according to the time at which it occurred. In the context of the video, it is the method used to study the life of Jesus, presenting his life events in the order they happened. This approach helps to understand the natural progression of Jesus' life and ministry, as opposed to the thematic arrangement often found in the Gospels.

💡Biography

A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. The video script discusses the popularity of biographies and how they provide insights into the subject's life, influences, and societal impact. The study of Jesus' life in chronological order is likened to reading a biography, offering a comprehensive view of his life, from early life to death, and its significance.

💡Gospels

Gospels are the four New Testament narratives (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that describe the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The script mentions that while the Gospels provide a rich account of Jesus' life, they do not always present events in chronological order, which is why the class aims to reassemble these events in a sequential manner.

💡Ministry

Ministry in the script refers to the period of Jesus' public life when he began teaching, performing miracles, and spreading his message. It is a central theme of the video as it discusses the various stages and locations of Jesus' ministry, emphasizing the methodical and purposeful nature of his actions and travels.

💡Prophecy

A prophecy is a message that is claimed by a prophet to have been communicated to them by a divine entity. The script highlights how certain aspects of Jesus' life, such as his birthplace and upbringing, were in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, underscoring the divine plan and purpose behind his life.

💡Disciples

Disciples are followers or students of a religious teacher, in this case, Jesus. The video mentions how Jesus called his first disciples from among his neighbors and acquaintances, illustrating the personal connections and relationships that formed the basis of his ministry.

💡Passover

Passover is a Jewish festival commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, which is also significant in Christian theology as the time of Jesus' crucifixion. The script divides Jesus' ministry into periods based around the Passover celebrations, marking key phases in his life and mission.

💡Resurrection

Resurrection refers to the raising of Jesus from the dead, a central tenet of Christian belief. The script mentions the resurrection as the final period of Jesus' life, highlighting it as a significant event that provided proof of his divinity and the fulfillment of messianic prophecies.

💡Ascension

Ascension in Christian belief refers to Jesus' bodily return to heaven after his resurrection. The script briefly mentions the ascension as part of the final events in the chronological study of Jesus' life, signifying the end of his earthly ministry and his exaltation to divine status.

💡Pentecost

Pentecost, also known as Whitsuntide, is a Christian holiday commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. The script notes that Pentecost occurred in 29 AD, marking the birth of the Christian Church and the beginning of the disciples' mission to spread the Gospel.

💡Geographical Context

Geographical context refers to the significance of the locations and movements in understanding historical events. The script provides a detailed map of Jesus' ministry, emphasizing places like Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem, to illustrate the geographical scope of his activities and their relevance to the narrative of his life.

Highlights

Introduction of the class series 'The Life of Jesus in Chronological Order'.

Importance of biographies in understanding the life of influential figures.

Biographies provide insights into the forces and events that shape a person.

Studying Jesus' life chronologically can establish a true standard for living.

Gospels are not always in chronological order, leading to a disjointed view of Jesus' life.

Objective of the class: Presenting Jesus' life in chronological order.

Students will prepare a notebook to record Jesus' life events in order.

Notebook will include scriptural references for Jesus' life events in chronological order.

Discussion of the Roman calendar and its basis on the founding of Rome.

Miscalculation in the Christian calendar led to Jesus' birth being dated four years earlier than initially thought.

Jesus' ministry and death are dated around 4 BC and 29 AD respectively.

Jesus' life is divided into seven periods for study.

The significance of Jesus' birth and death dates in historical context.

Jesus' movements and ministry were based on a methodical plan, not random events.

Jesus' life and ministry had a profound impact despite operating in a relatively small geographical area.

Encouragement to see the potential for global impact from local ministry.

Transcripts

Alright. Well, thank you for being part of this class. This is the first lesson

in the series "The Life of Jesus in Chronological Order".

One of the more popular forms of books has been the biography formula,

where we tell the story of a person, of their life, beginning with their early

life all the way till the time of their death. And we love to read about the

intimate details and the early lives of the rich people and famous

people or those who have made perhaps significant contributions to our

society. It seems that by reading about their lives we measure our own lives.

A lot of times we're inspired to change or to try things because we've seen the

example of another person by reading about their lives.

Biographies also give us insights into the forces and events that shape the

person. And they help us to understand the world of the past and how these

influences shape our own lives today all by reading about the life of an

individual in the context of their history and their society. So it would

seem natural then that the studying of the life of Jesus would benefit us in

all of these ways and also help establish a true standard for living,

since we're looking at the life of not just anyone but we're looking at the

life of the Son of God. Now usually when we study the gospels we're looking

at the teachings of Jesus and what they mean. We're looking at how we

can apply these things to our lives. We rarely study Jesus Himself. In other

words, we rarely study His life in the order that He actually lived it because

we were reading through the gospels and the gospels, each writer is emphasizing

different moments at different times and they're not always in the same sequence.

Now, the reason for this, as I said, is because the gospel writers each record a

variety of incidents in Jesus' life sometimes not recorded by the other

writers. So when you read the four gospels one after another you're not

always sure how the events flow. I mean, in general they flow from

beginning to end, but you're not sure which event happened at what

time. They each tell the story from His birth to His death but the details in

between are not always explained in chronological order so you can get a

sense of how one event naturally leads into another event. So this class will

have several objectives. First of all, I'll present to you the life of Jesus in

chronological order. In other words, what He did and where He went from the first

to the last in a step-by-step direction. Secondly, we're going to help you prepare

a notebook where you will have among other things, the event in Jesus' life

listed in order, event number one, event number two, all the way down to the final

events of His death and His resurrection and His ascension. You'll also have

parallel scriptural references for these events also listed in

chronological order. When I say scripture references, I'm going to also

give you the event and then which of the four gospel writers talks about the

event and the particular scripture reference for that event. So for this I

ask you to get a notebook, preferably one that will hold an eight and a half by

eleven paper. Your notes will look a little bit like what you see here in the

overhead that's above. You'll have a number and then you'll

have the event in the comment and then you'll have all the references in

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So by the end of this course you'll have a notebook

with a complete biography of Jesus' life, His ministry, His miracles, the

passion, all of it listed in chronological order. Now you don't have

to take notes obviously, but if you're going to take the course it would be

handy if you took these notes because by the end

of the course you'll have all of this information in chronological order and

you can use it for class or for personal study. I think it's a very handy thing to

have. Okay? Thirdly, I will select certain events to

explain and enlarge upon or you may stop and ask any question about an event or

teaching for class discussion. We're gonna stop sometimes at

some events because sometimes we say to ourselves, I've always

wondered about such-and-such about a certain event, why He did this or how

this is connected to that. So hopefully by discussing the various events, giving

you some insights, you'll understand some of the reasoning behind what Jesus did.

And I also find one thing about this course that's very handy and that is

when you know how one event leads into another event, it kind of gives you a

perspective, it gives you a real perspective on the activity of Jesus'

ministry. Now if we move quickly we'll be through in one quarter.

But if our class begins to have a lot of questions and discussion maybe we'll

have to lengthen it, but our goal is to finish it in thirteen lessons. So since

most of you don't have notebooks at the moment, I'm going to start with an

overview of Jesus' ministry with a handout that you can put into your notes.

So we're going to move on to some of the larger events, the kind of

overview of His ministry. Now, when Jesus was born the world kept time

according to the Roman calendar. Yeah, there we go.

Now the Roman calendar was based on the year that the city of Rome was founded.

Now, I'm kind of talk about this because before we start with the events we have

to kind of put into context the timeframe when Jesus lived here on this

earth. So we're gonna talk about the calendar. So when he was born the world

had a Roman calendar and this Roman calendar was based on the year

that the city of Rome was founded. With this calculation Jesus was born in

the year 735 because the city of Rome was said to have been founded seven

hundred and thirty five years previous to the year of His birth. So if we kept

with it we'd be in the year 2746 Roman time as of the year that we're

actually making this class. In addition to this, some people of that era kept

time according to the years that a certain king or an emperor was in power.

In Luke chapter 3 verse 1 it says that John's ministry is set to begin in the

fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. So they had different ways of

pinpointing the accurate time, the Roman calendar, how many years since the city

of Rome was founded for the specific time,

what year in the reign of a king, for example. So this particular calendar

was used and continued to be used even past Jesus' life. In the Middle Ages the

Christian calendar was introduced using the birth of Jesus as the zero point.

When calculations were made and calendars were produced and distributed

it was noted that there was an error that was made and the birth of Jesus was

actually four years prior to the zero date that had previously been calculated

and so there was a problem here. Because

Christianity was the dominant religion at that time. They figured well, let's get

rid of this Roman calendar, Roman calendars based on paganism, the

city of Rome and so on and so forth. Let's have a Christian calendar and

instead of the zero point being the the founding of the city of Rome

let's have the zero point be the birth of Jesus and so they did

this and they announced it throughout Europe and so on and so forth. And

they had the calendars made and the calendars were distributed and

everybody was working with that and they discovered that they had made a

mistake in their calculations and the true year of Jesus' birth was not that

zero point that they had established but was actually four years before that zero

point. And so even after the mistake was noticed they figured well, it's too late

now we'll just have to go with what we have. This is how it came to be that when

pinpointing the calendar date of Jesus' birth scholars tell us that He was born

in 4 BC. If you've ever read some scholarly material about the birth of

Jesus they'll say Jesus was born four years before Jesus was born so it

doesn't make any sense but that historical note helps you to understand

why they say this is the year of His birth. Now we also know that he died

when He was 33. Luke chapter 3 verse 23 says He was thirty years of age when He

began His ministry and then when you review His ministry event by event you

see that He lived through three annual Passover celebrations and He died during

the celebration of the fourth. So if He was born around 4 BC and He died at 33

years of age it means the calendar date of His death is approximately 29 AD and

so Pentecost happened in 29 AD. Those churches whose cornerstone... You

ever see those churches? You go by a church and it has a cornerstone in its

building and it says this church established in 33 AD. I agree with the

the spirit and the doctrine of that because the church was

established on Pentecost Sunday after Jesus' birth and so on and so

forth. But 33 AD is not the correct date. The correct date would be 29 AD. So even

by New Testament standards 33 was still a young age to die. The normal lifespan

at that time was about 50 to 55 years of age. Today normal lifespan a man made

perhaps 79, 80 years of age, a woman three or four years older. But in those days

lifespan was much shorter 50 to 55. But even taking that into

consideration dying at 33 was still relatively young. Okay? So that's a little

bit of history about the date, if there was ever any confusion about

the date when you read about Jesus being born 4 BC, that kind of explains why

it is in that way. Alright let's change gears here

and talk about the seven periods of Jesus' life. Now we're gonna break that

down, those seven periods. I'm gonna break that down into individual events

starting in our next lesson but for today we're going to look simply at the

seven periods. So period number one... There we go.

I showed you the Pentecost... There we go. Period number one would be the boyhood

of Jesus from zero to twelve years. These include incidents and prophecies that

led to His birth and the little information we have about His childhood.

We don't have a lot of information in the Bible about His childhood. Now, there

have been a lot of books written about this time that showed Jesus doing

miracles, again, not in the Bible. But whenever there's a lack of

information it seems that men have to, they feel compelled to fill in the

void. And so a lot of books were written supposedly about His boyhood. Some of

them say just fantastic things like he was working with His father

Joseph. Joseph was a carpenter and once they had to build a table and the board

wasn't long enough for the table so Jesus miraculously stretched the board

to make it long enough to create that table. This kind of fantastic type of

writing you find in there. Or some writer said He lived in the desert with the

monks, the Athenians for example, where He was trained. But these are fables. They're

stories that were circulated about Him in the very early years of Christianity.

The only information that God has revealed about His childhood is limited

and contained in a few passages of Matthew and

Luke. And we'll be looking at those when we start next week in

chronological order. So first general period of His life, the boyhood, zero to

12 years of age. Second period of His ministry or life is the beginning of His

public ministry. At the age of thirty Jesus leaves His obscure life in

Nazareth and Capernaum. Nazareth is where He lived as a boy. Capernaum is

where He lived as an adult. This is in the northern region and He travels south

to begin His public ministry in and around Jerusalem. And this debut of

course is spectacular and it includes His meeting with John the Baptist. We'll

talk about that when we get to that part of His life. Third session or a period of

His life is the first Passover to the second Passover, first Passover to the

second. Most of the information for this period is found in the book of John, it

does most of it. Most of His ministry during this first Passover time is in

Jerusalem and then He departs from Jerusalem, which is in the south of

the country and returns home in the North. Fourth period of His life would be

the second Passover to the third Passover. 36 events make up this section

where most of the action takes place in Galilee the northern part of the country

where Jesus originally grew up. So we're always assuming, many times, when we read

the Bible, that a lot of things are taking place in Jerusalem, because that's

the key city but that's not so. Many of the incidents that we're going to

look at take place in Jesus' hometown and in and around the Sea of Galilee.

Fifth period would be the third Passover to the final week. This is the

longest section in the New Testament. There are 61 events mentioned in this

period and all four writers describe this period in detail. During this

time we see Jesus going back and forth from the north, the northwest to the

southern capital of Jerusalem. I want to show you a little map here. There we go.

If you can take a look at, this is a map of Jesus' area of ministry. And I

just want to point out a few things that I want you to look at. First of all,

Bethlehem is in the south. If you find Jerusalem you can find Bethlehem just

south, just go down one dot there and there's Bethlehem. That's where he was

born. Nazareth is where he was raised. So if you go, just follow between

the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee at the top, if you go down

towards the left-hand side of the screen you'll see Nazareth. That's where he was

raised. Interesting thing, between Jerusalem and

Nazareth about 70 miles. So whenever they are saying he's going home and he comes

back, that's a trip of 70 miles. They didn't take the train.

They didn't ride on horseback. They walked it. They

walked. And so a lot of Jesus' ministry was walking and it was during these

walks, this up and down between Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem

where they camped, where they stayed in homes, where Jesus was teaching His

disciples during these travels. Another city I want you to look at is Capernaum.

And if you go to the Sea of Galilee in the north and just near the top of the

Sea of Galilee there is Capernaum where Jesus lived as an adult. There is also a

synagogue there. It says on the Sabbath He would go into the synagogue

and teach in Capernaum. And if you go to Capernaum archaeologists have found

that synagogue, have found obviously, the walls are not there, but the base is

still there, the doors are there, the floor so on and so forth. It's quite an

amazing thing to be walking into the floor, in the area where Jesus

taught. The Sea of Galilee of course, lots of activity, most of the Apostles were

called. They were fishermen in that sea and they crossed over it many times.

Instead of walking around they would take the boat to cross from one side to

the other. Cana, again if you are at the Sea of Galilee and you go just above

Nazareth there's the city of Cana where the first miracle was done at the

wedding, the turning of water into wine. Decapolis, if you again, at the Sea

of Galilee to the, little at the bottom, to the right you'll see a whole region.

They're called Decapolis. This is where the demoniac, Jesus heals that demoniac,

the man possessed by many demons. The demoniac came from there. And Decapolis

means 10 cities. There were 10 cities that were in that region and they call

the region Decapolis. Of course, Jerusalem the capital city, you go all the way down

the Dead Sea, to the left of the Dead Sea, Jerusalem is there, the capital city.

That's where the temple was. No matter which way you came north, south, east, west,

no matter which way you approach Jerusalem, you would always say you were

going up to Jerusalem. You're never going down to Jerusalem or around to. You

were always going up to Jerusalem. Bethany-- Bethany is just, if you look at

Jerusalem go to the right slightly, there's Bethany only a few miles from

Jerusalem. That was the city where Jesus would often stay overnight at the house

of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. They lived in Bethany and that was kind

of Jesus' home base, if you wish, away from home when He was in Jerusalem. And

then Samaria. Samaria is not up, just one place. It's a whole region, a region in

between if you want, between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee there's a whole

region there called Samaria. And it was a country that he had to go through in

order to get to and from Galilee. And that's where he met the

Samaritan woman, the woman at the well. We're going to talk about the Samaritans

and some of their backgrounds a little later. So I wanted to show you that map

to give you some of the stops along the way where Jesus carried out His ministry

walking to and fro with disciples always accompanying him on the road. Okay? Let's

go on now to number 6. The 6th, remember these are not events that we're talking

about today. These things are periods in His life, the general periods of His life.

We're going to break these down into many more events as we go on. So number

six would be the last Passover week ending with the crucifixion. We're gonna

go through this section giving you the events, day by day, almost hour by hour,

as they took place. We'll even give you some of the dates, some of the calendar

dates, like what month and what day of the month certain things took place. Now

according to our present-day calendars it would have been Sunday, for example,

April the 2nd to Saturday April the 7th His final day in the tomb. And we're, as I

say, when we get there we'll talk about that. And then the final period of His

life of course, the resurrection, His appearances and the Ascension. So aside

from His ascension before the Apostles the Bible counts 10 separate appearances

to more than 540 people in the space of 40 days, quite significant proof of His

resurrection. And we're going to go over these as we study. Well, hopefully at the

end of our study, the Ministry of Jesus, His life, His work, will become more real.

Actually, that's my goal, to make it more real. Sometimes when we read things out

of sequence it's hard to realize that these things, these events actually

happened and it was in the normal train of life. And when we see how

one event leads into another event, each event will, as I say, gain

more perspective. Hopefully they'll be even more

understandable as a historical event and not simply a string of teachings

that we read in four different gospel books. Now, each week also I'm

going to to focus in on some event or teaching to

try to draw a lesson or a word of encouragement that we can take, that we

can take with us. So in this week's lesson we've not looked at any

particular event but rather an overview of Jesus's movements and His work but

even from this we can draw certain conclusions. Conclusion number one, there

was a method. There was a method. When you read the gospels you don't

readily see the pattern of His movements but there's definitely a

well-laid plan here and you see it when you begin to look at these things in

chronological order. For example, the early years at home in

the north with His family and then the announcement of His ministry in the

capital in the south where John was and the leaders were and the bulk of the

population were situated. And then a return to the north to actually begin

His teaching and miracles for His own family, recruiting His own neighbors as

disciples. Doesn't that make sense? We're always thinking, oh yeah, he went out and

just looked at a stranger and say, okay you come with me. No, it's

not the way it worked. The people He called as disciples were His neighbors,

people who knew Him growing up. Doesn't that make sense? Isn't that...

Aren't those the first people... Let's say your introducing a

product or you're selling Avon. Who are the first people that

you're going to talk to? Now, obviously, I'm not comparing the gospel to Avon but

in the natural scheme of things who are the first people you're going to, well,

you're going to share the gospel with when you first are converted to Christ?

Isn't it your mom or your brother, your cousin? Aren't they the people that

you're gonna talk to at the very beginning? Nothing is different here.

Jesus calls His disciples, first disciples come from where? They come from...

they're His cousins. They're people that He knows, people that live near him. And

then once He has some then there's a return to Jerusalem to expand His

ministry. Once it's established he's got some followers, people are beginning

to talk about Him. He's beginning to teach them. So then

He and they, where do they go? Well they go to the big city and they begin to explain

and begin to expand the things that He's talking about. And then they spend time

in the north once again and then in east and the west after being rejected and

hunted by leaders in the capital. Again, it makes sense. He goes to the capital. He

teaches. He does miracles. He gets not feedback, he gets blowback.

Who are you? Who gave you the right to do these things? Who do you think you are?

You better be careful. So what happens? Well, they go back north and they expand

the ministry in the northern regions. And then His final appearance in

Jerusalem which resulted in His death and resurrection at the

very end. And then of course, the church beginning in Jerusalem and spreading out.

So there was a method, begins in the north, goes to the south.

Every time there was problems or He was being hunted or there He was

being pushed in by the leaders, He would go back north for a time and then let

things cool in the city and then he'd come back and continue. There was a

method to His ministry. Secondly, His movements were based on ministry. His

movements were based on ministry and prophecies. The fact that He was

born in Bethlehem and He was raised in Nazareth were not just coincidences.

These events were mentioned in the prophets. The fact that He was born

in Bethlehem, for example, this was mentioned in Micah,

the prophet Micah chapter 5 verse 2. The fact that He lived and grew up in

Nazareth, this, Matthew talks about this in chapter 2 verse 23.

So Jesus Himself mentioned that He did the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit

moved Him to go into the desert to be tempted. He didn't go to Jerusalem until

the time was fulfilled. In other words, He had an agenda.

He had a prophetic agenda to fill. It wasn't, how do I feel today? Well,

maybe I'll do a miracle today. No that's not the way that it worked. So we don't

see mindless wandering but rather a well ordered ministry time to be in certain

places at certain periods based on God's Word in the prophets. And He will, during

the period Jesus was physically on earth God's will was being accomplished and

God's will according to what the prophets said would happen when the Messiah would

come. So the point we need to remember was

that His whole ministry was not based simply on random events but all events

that were carefully laid out in advanced by God and spoken of by the prophets. And

maybe one more lesson that we can draw from this. Jesus worked in and existed in,

at that time, in a very small area but He had a tremendous impact on the world.

He covered a corridor, roughly the corridor between

Galilee and Jerusalem about a hundred miles. So if you go from

Nazareth or from Cana or Capernaum down to Jerusalem 70,80 miles and then if you

go a little further north, little further south, you've got about a hundred miles

this way and maybe 60 miles between the Mediterranean Sea and the river Jordan. A

very, very small area of land but look at the impact over 2,000 years. So when

we're thinking that we can't do much for Christ from our little town or

our small resources, remember how much came from how little in Jesus' ministry.

If God directs our work and our efforts we can affect the whole world

for Christ from right here where we live and where we serve. Okay? So that's lesson

1 in the beginning of our series on the "Life of Jesus in Chronological Order". I

hope that you'll read the passages to prepare for next week. That's one other

thing. We won't have time to read all the scripture references and all the

passages, so I encourage you to read those in advance

and be ready for our lessons. So thank you. We'll see you again starting a

lesson two.