The Jesus Timeline

Jesus is born

This famous passage telling the story of the birth of Jesus, shows how he was born among the ordinary, everyday people of
Bethlehem – the shepherds. And yet his birth was also extraordinary, with music provided by a choir of angels.

We celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas!

About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. Everyone had to go
to their own home town to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea.

Mary was engaged to Joseph and travelled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were
there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no
room for them in the inn.

That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them
from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said,
“Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David’s hometown a Saviour
was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a
bed of hay.”

Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:

“Praise God in heaven!

Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.”

After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the
Lord has told us about.” They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.

When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. Everyone listened and was surprised.
But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.

As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had
seen and heard was just as the angel had said.
Luke 2:1-20

Baptized in the Jordan

River Jordan

Jesus was raised in the northern town of Nazareth by his mother Mary and Joseph, one of the local carpenters. Jesus himself
probably worked as a carpenter, until he was about 30 years old, when he travelled south to be baptized in the river Jordan by a
fiery new prophet called John. This event marked a new beginning for Jesus. He started travelling, teaching, healing and
gathering a group of followers.

So John the Baptist showed up in the desert and told everyone, “Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be
forgiven.”

From all Judea and Jerusalem crowds of people went to John. They told how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them
in the Jordan River.

John wore clothes made of camel’s hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey.

John also told the people, “Someone more powerful is going to come. And I am not good enough even to stoop down and untie
his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

About that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As soon as Jesus came out of
the water, he saw the sky open and the Holy Spirit coming down to him like a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my own
dear Son, and I am pleased with you.”
Mark 1:4-12
 Calling first disciples

At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus called 12 people to be his disciples. This famous passage tells the story of how two sets
of brothers left their family businesses to follow Jesus
f Galilee
After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and told the good news that comes from God. He said, “The time has come! God’s
kingdom will soon be here. Turn back to God and believe the good news!”

As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were
casting their nets into the lake. Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.”

Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.

Jesus walked on and soon saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets. At once Jesus
asked them to come with him. They left their father in the boat with the hired workers and went with him.
Mark 1:14-20

Jesus’ manifesto

In his home town, Jesus reads inspiring words from the Old Testament which describe what he had come to do – to bring good
news to the poor and give sight to the blind…

Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath. When
he stood up to read from the Scriptures, he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,

“The Lord’s Spirit has come to me,

because he has chosen me
to tell the good news to the poor.
The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers,
and to say, ‘This is the year the Lord has chosen.’ “

Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the meeting place looked straight at
Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.”
Luke 4:16-21

Jesus is transfigured
This strange and beautiful event in the life of Jesus comes just after the disciples have been debating who they think he is: Is he
a prophet? Is he someone from the Old Testament, come back to life? Or what? The event on the mountain seems to be an
answer to their questions.

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. They went up on a high mountain, where they could be alone. There in
front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. And his clothes became much whiter than any bleach on earth could make
them. Then Moses and Elijah were there talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah.” But Peter and the others were terribly frightened, and he did not know what he was talking about.

The shadow of a cloud passed over and covered them. From the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to what
he says!” At once the disciples looked around, but they saw only Jesus.

As Jesus and his disciples were coming down the mountain, he told them not to say a word about what they had seen, until the
Son of Man had been raised from death.
Mark 9:2-9
 Riding into Jerusalem

Jesus arrives in Jerusalem at the beginning of the week of the Jewish passover festival. This event in Jesus’ life is now
celebrated as Palm Sunday! Just five days later, he had been arrested, tried and put to death.

When Jesus and his disciples came near Jerusalem, he told two of them, “Go into the next village, where you will at once find a
donkey and her colt. Untie the two donkeys and bring them to me. If anyone asks why you are doing that, just say, ‘The Lord
needs them.’ Right away he will let you have the donkeys.”

So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said,

“Announce to the people of Jerusalem: ‘Your king is coming to you!

He is humble and rides on a donkey. He comes on the colt of a donkey.’ “

The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their
backs. Then Jesus got on.

Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches which they had cut from trees. Some people walked
ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,

“Hooray for the Son of David! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hooray for God in heaven above!”

When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, “Who can this be?”

The crowd answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Matthew 21:1-11

The last supper

Probably not the last supper cup
Probably the most famous meal in history. Jesus gathers for one last time with his closest friends for what
turns out to be his final meal on earth. Christians remember and re-enact this moving event by breaking
bread and drinking wine together in a service which is known by many names: mass, Lord’s supper,
eucharist, communion…

On the first day of the Festival of Thin Bread, Jesus’ disciples came to him and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the
Passover meal?”

Jesus told them to go to a certain man in the city and tell him, “Our teacher says, ‘My time has come! I want to eat the Passover
meal with my disciples in your home.’ ” They did as Jesus told them and prepared the meal.

When Jesus was eating with his twelve disciples that evening, he said, “One of you will surely hand me over to my enemies.”

The disciples were very sad, and each one said to Jesus, “LORD, you can’t mean me!”

He answered, “One of you men who has eaten with me from this dish will betray me. The Son of Man will die, as the Scriptures
say. But it’s going to be terrible for the one who betrays me! That man would be better off if he had never been born.”

Judas said, “Teacher, you surely don’t mean me!”

“That’s what you say!” Jesus replied. But later, Judas did betray him.

During the meal Jesus took some bread in his hands. He blessed the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said,
“Take this and eat it. This is my body.”

Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He then gave it to his disciples and said, “Take this and drink it. This is my
blood, and with it God makes his agreement with you. It will be poured out, so that many people will have their sins forgiven.
From now on I am not going to drink any wine, until I drink new wine with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Then they sang a hymn
and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Matthew 21:17-30
 On trial before Pilate

After being betrayed to his enemies by Judas, one of the 12 disciples, Jesus was tried firstly by a Jewish
court, and then passed on to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, for sentencing. The Romans were the
occupying power in Israel at the time, and only they could pass the death sentence. Pilate was reluctant to
have Jesus killed, but like all politicians, he was susceptible to public opinion…

During Passover the governor always freed a prisoner chosen by the people. At that time a well-known terrorist
named Jesus Barabbas was in jail. So when the crowd came together, Pilate asked them, “Which prisoner do you
want me to set free? Do you want Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate knew that the leaders
had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.

While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent
man. I have had nightmares because of him.”

But the chief priests and the leaders convinced the crowds to ask for Barabbas to be set free and for Jesus to be
killed. Pilate asked the crowd again, “Which of these two men do you want me to set free?”

“Barabbas!” they replied.

Pilate asked them, “What am I to do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?”
They all yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”
Pilate answered, “But what crime has he done?”
“Nail him to a cross!” they yelled even louder.

Pilate saw that there was nothing he could do and that the people were starting to riot. So he took some water and
washed his hands in front of them and said, “I won’t have anything to do with killing this man. You are the ones doing
it!”

Pilate set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.
Matthew 27:15-26

The crucifixion

Crucifixion was a terrible, humiliating death, reserved for the worst criminals. Jesus was forced to carry part
of his cross on the walk to his execution – but his strength failed and someone else carried it for him. Then
he was crucified.

When the soldiers came to the place called “The Skull”, they nailed Jesus to a cross.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They don’t know what they’re doing.”

While the crowd stood there watching Jesus, the soldiers gambled for his clothes. The leaders insulted him by saying,
“He saved others. Now he should save himself, if he really is God’s chosen Messiah!”

The soldiers made fun of Jesus and brought him some wine. They said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save
yourself!”

Above him was a sign that said, “This is the King of the Jews.”

Around noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until the middle of the afternoon. The sun stopped shining,
and the curtain in the temple split down the middle. Jesus shouted, “Father, I put myself in your hands!” Then he
died.

When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Jesus must really have been a good
man!”
Luke 23:32-47

Jesus appears to Mary

mpty tomb
Jesus appeared alive again after his death to all his followers, but his first appearance was to Mary
Magdalene early on the Sunday morning after the Friday when he had been crucified. Jesus’ resurrection
(rising from the dead) is celebrated at Easter!!!

On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled
away from the entrance…

Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb. She was still weeping, when she stooped down and saw two angels
inside. They were dressed in white and were sitting where Jesus’ body had been. One was at the head and the other
was at the foot. The angels asked Mary, “Why are you crying?”

She answered, “They have taken away my Lord’s body! I don’t know where they have put him.”

As soon as Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know who he was. Jesus
asked her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener and said, “Sir, if you have taken his body away, please tell me, so I can go and get
him.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to him, “Rabboni.” The Aramaic word “Rabboni” means “Teacher.”

Jesus told her, “Don’t hold on to me! I have not yet gone to the Father. But tell my disciples that I am going to the one
who is my Father and my God, as well as your Father and your God.” Mary Magdalene then went and told the
disciples that she had seen the Lord.
John 20:1, 11-18