Jesus’ Ministry

Tonight we are going to look into the ministry of Jesus Christ. We have just finished celebrating His birth. This evening we are going to look at how Jesus moved the world, how His ministry spread and how it continues to grow today. We are going to look into scripture and history to get our answers. Who was He? Where was He from? When did He start His ministry? Is there historical evidence besides scriptures? Pay attention as we search for the answers.

Did Jesus Exist?

Typically, most ask for evidence “outside of the Bible”. Many say the Bible cannot be considered a source of evidence for the existence of Jesus.The New Testament contains hundreds of references to Jesus Christ. There are those who date the writing of the Gospels to the second century A.D. Even if this were true, writings less than 200 years after events took place are considered very reliable evidence.
The majority of scholars (Christian and non-Christian) will agree that the Epistles of Paul (at least some of them) were in fact written by Paul in the middle of the first century A.D. Less than 40 years after Jesus' death. In terms of ancient manuscript evidence, this is extraordinarily strong proof of the existence of a man named Jesus in Israel in the early first century A.D.

What about historical evidence?

Tacitus, considered one of the more accurate historians of the ancient world, mentioned: superstitious “Christians” (from Christus, which is Latin for Christ), who suffered under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius.

Suetonius, chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote that there was a man named Chrestus (or Christ) who lived during the first century (Annals 15.44).

Flavius Josephus is the most famous Jewish historian. In his Antiquities he refers to James, “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.”. There is a controversial verse (18:3) that says, “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats....He was [the] Christ...he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.”

One version reads: “At this time there was a wise man named Jesus. His conduct was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who became his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.”

Julius Africanus quotes the historian Thallus in a discussion of the darkness which followed the crucifixion of Christ (Extant Writings, 18)

Pliny the Younger, in Letters 10:96, recorded early Christian worship practices including the fact that Christians worshiped Jesus as God and were very ethical, and he includes a reference to the love feast and Lord’s Supper.

The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a) confirms Jesus' crucifixion on the eve of Passover and the accusations against Christ of practicing sorcery and encouraging Jewish apostasy.

Lucian of Samosata, a second-century Greek writer wrote: Jesus was worshiped by Christians, introduced new teachings, and was crucified for them. He also said: Jesus' teachings included the brotherhood of believers, the importance of conversion, and the importance of denying other gods. Christians lived according to Jesus’ laws, believed themselves to be immortal, and were characterized by contempt for death, voluntary self-devotion, and renunciation of material goods.

The list goes on, overwhelming evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ. Secular and Biblical. The greatest evidence that Jesus existed? Thousands of Christians, including the twelve apostles, were willing to give their lives as martyrs for Jesus Christ. People will die for what they believe to be true, but no one will die for what they know to be a lie. So, what did this man named Jesus have to say?

His Ministry:

Luke 3:1 “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar-when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene-” John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius’ reign (29 AD).

Jesus began His ministry shortly thereafter at the age of thirty Luke 3:23 “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,”

We need to put on our thinking caps on and use a little math to answer how long and when Jesus started His ministry.

Christ was crucified the day before Passover. “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:38-40) Was resurrected before sunrise on a Sunday. In order for Christ to have been crucified the day before Passover and resurrected on a Sunday three days and three nights later, Passover would have had to fall on a Friday, Christ was crucified on a Thursday. According to the apostle John, Jesus attended at least three Feasts of Passover during the time of His ministry: one in John 2:23, another in John 6:4 and the Passover of His crucifixion in John 11:55-57.

The Rosetta Calendar online conversion service was used to establish which days of the week Passover fell upon between the years 29 AD and 37 AD. Remember we need to convert from the Gregorian calendar to the Hebrew calendar.

Passover of 29 AD fell on a Sunday, 30 AD fell on a Thursday, 31 AD fell on a Tuesday, 32 AD fell on a Monday, 33 AD fell on a Friday, 34 AD fell on a Tuesday, 35 AD fell on a Monday, 36 AD fell on a Friday, and Passover of 37 AD fell on a Thursday (April 18th).

Christ was in the grave for three days and three nights and resurrected on Sunday. We can narrow down the year of Christ’s crucifixion to one of two possibilities: 33 or 36 AD. A prophecy from the book of Daniel seems to favor the earlier date of 33 AD.

Read Daniel 9:24-26. Seven sevens + 62 sevens = 69 sevens. 69 seven-year periods would pass from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah would be “cut off” and the city and temple would be destroyed again. A 70th seven-year period would follow.

March 30th, 33 AD was exactly 5 days before Passover on April 3rd, 33 AD. According to John’s Gospel, the Triumphant Entry took place 5 days before Passover: (John 12:1, 9-13) “Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! The King of Israel!’"

March 30th, 33 was the Triumphal Entry, the day Christ presented Himself to the nation of Israel as their Messiah, the first time in His entire ministry that He allowed Himself to be publicly proclaimed as the Messiah (Matthew 21:8-16; Luke 19:37-40; Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; 9:9-10; Luke 9:18-21; John 6:14-15). He was crucified four days later, the day before Passover. Within one generation Titus razed Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. Fulfilling yet another prophesy.

From these points, we believe that Jesus’ ministry lasted about three and a half years. From sometime around 29 AD until the spring of 33 AD. A short period of time, with a huge message. Jesus’ ministry was short but look at what it became. The Messiah, the living God. How can one man do such wonders and not be the Messiah? I pray you have Jesus Christ in your heart and that you have a personal relationship with Him.