Today, I am opening my personal notes and sharing them with you. Unless noted, the dates I am using is coming from the book, Annals of World History by Bishop James Ussher.
BC or BCE - Before Christ or Before Common Era
AD or CE - Latin translation "In the year of our Lord" or Common Era
Let's look at events from the birth of John to the start of Jesus' ministry.
New Testament Dates Part 1
Birth of John
- 6 BC in the autumn (Ussher) to 2 BC (others)
- I believe John was conceived late in May/early June.
- I teach John was born on the first day of Passover and circumcised on the eighth day of that holiday.
Birth of Jesus
- 5 BC in the autumn (Ussher) to 1 BC (others)
- I believe Jesus was conceived during the Feast of Lights which is in December
- I teach Jesus was born on the first day of Feast of Tabernacles (late September to early October) and circumcised on the eighth day of that holiday.
- 4 BC in the winter, Jesus was circumcised (Ussher)
Egypt
- Flight to Egypt 4 BC
- I believe the family lived in Alexandria while in Egypt
- Herod died 3 BC in the winter, others say spring of the year
- Mary, baby Jesus and possibly two siblings returned to Nazareth 3 BC
Jesus in Jerusalem
- 8 AD in the Spring
- Age 12
- To celebrate Passover which was one of the 3 required feast for all Jewish men to attend
- This was the Second Temple remodeled by Herod the Great
John Preached
- Beginning in 26 AD John began to preach repentance, preparing the way for Jesus
- John preached repentance
- John baptized those who repented
Jesus was Baptized
- In the winter of 27 AD Jesus was baptized
- Celebrated on the Christian calendar on January 6 each year
- Jesus was 30 years old when he was baptized
Jesus was Tempted
- 27 AD
- After begin baptized the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness
- Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights
- At the end of the fast, Satan tempted Jesus
The 12 Apostles
- Between 30 and 31 AD, Jesus called 12 men to be His disciples
- Disciple = Learner who imitates his teacher
- The Disciples would later become Apostles
- Apostle = Eye witness, appointed, and sent
Jesus Taught
- 30-33 AD
- Love God (quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
- Love your neighbor (quoting Levites 19:18)
Jesus Prayed
- Throughout His life
- Throughout His day
- In different locations
- With others and alone
This brings us to the first few months of Jesus' ministry. I will be posting more dates throughout the next few weeks, alternating between Old Testament and New Testament.
If you have other dates, I would appreciate you sharing them with me and their sources :-)
May the Lord bless you as you teach the timeline to your students,
Dianna
