The Two Year Ministry of Jesus

ABSTRACT: The phrase ‘on the second-first Sabbath’ of Luke 6:1 when understood, leads to the conclusion the public ministry of Jesus was two years in length not three years. What is generally understood as the first two years of Jesus’ ministry was actually His first year. This adjustment allows calendaring Jesus’ ministry with good accuracy. The second section presents His day-by-day ministry in narrative and calendar forms. Chronicling Jesus’ ministry accurately, gives a clearer picture and more insight into God’s plan, work and ways.

To index file: http://www.scripturescholar.com/Jesus2YearMinistry.htm

For a Calendar of Jesus’ Ministry go to page 19.

For a Narrative of Jesus’ Ministry go to page 10.

Discussion of the Length of Jesus’ Ministry

Since the early days of the Church, there have been discussions and investigations trying to determine the length of Jesus’ ministry. The proposed lengths have varied from one to four or more years, but most hold a two or three year ministry. In our day most believe Jesus’ ministry was three years and two to six months in length. This article proposes and attempts to prove Jesus’ public ministry was exactly two years in length, but there was an additional month where He ministered privately to a small group of disciples.

The Second-First Sabbath

The discovery of the two-year ministry started with an insight into the word second-first. On a second-first (deuteroproto) Sabbath while Jesus was passing through grainfields, His disciples began to pick heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels (Luke 6:1). Interpreters do not understand the meaning of the second-first (deuteroprwtw) Sabbath. Modern translations have dropped second-first because they have not understood it.[1] It does not mean the second Sabbath after the first (KJV); otherwise, it would say simply the second Sabbath. Sabbaths were only numbered from the Sabbath following Passover until the Sabbath before Pentecost (Lev 23:15-21). This second-first refers to the first Sabbath following a Passover celebrated in the second month. A second Passover was celebrated by those who were unclean or traveling when Passover was celebrated in the first month (Num 9:10-11, 2 Chr 30:2, 15). The first Sabbath following the second Passover was the second-first Sabbath. The day after the Sabbath following Passover was referred to as ‘first fruits’, ‘wave offering’, or Omer. The Omer ritual, waving a sheaf of the first of the barley harvest before the altar, was required before eating any of the new the grain harvest. Pentecost occurs on the day following the seventh Sabbath following the Omer. In this verse there is a second season related factor, ‘picking and eating’ grain by the disciples. Eating grain was not legal until after the Omer and indicative of the spring grain harvests from just after Passover to just after Pentecost.[2] Luke 6:1 is a key verse for understanding the length of Jesus’ public ministry.[3]

The Standard View of the Length of Jesus Ministry

The consensus of scholars is that the most viable option for the length of Jesus’ public ministry was three years and a few months.[4] The synoptic gospels only require Jesus’ public ministry to be about one year long, but they imply a two-year ministry.[5] John’s gospel gives a framework for a longer ministry. He directly mentioned three Passovers (2:13, 6:4, and 13:1); but most believe additional details including an unnamed feast of the Jews (John 5:1) indicates an additional Passover. The three stated Passovers of John’s gospel make two years the minimum duration of Jesus’ public ministry. Between the first two of these Passovers, an additional Passover is inserted to bring the total length of His ministry to three years. Besides the internal evidence for the duration of Jesus’ ministry, there is the necessity of fitting that ministry into the historical setting. If Jesus was born in 4 B.C., started His public ministry when He was thirty and died in A.D. 30 or better was born in early 1 B.C. and died in A.D. 33, then stretching His ministry to three years to fit that period may be justified.

Jesus public ministry did not start at his baptism, and there is nothing in the gospels that require more than three months from Jesus’ baptism until his first Passover. Jesus’ public ministry begins at Passover. For one month before that, Passover six disciples of John accompanied Jesus for a time.

The principle argument for adding a fourth Passover to Jesus’ ministry follows this line of reasoning. After His first Passover (John 2:13) and before His third Passover (John 6:4), Jesus said, “yet four months and then the harvest” (John 4:35). This statement is said to occur in January/February shortly before Passover because the harvest is April/May. This statement is followed by ‘a feast of the Jews was at hand’ (John 5:1).[6] This feast is either assumed to be Passover or one of the feasts later in the year, whichever feast is chosen another year had passed.

The argument is extended with Luke 6:1 (Mat 12:1; Mark 2:23) which occurs earlier than the feeding of the five thousand mentioned in all four gospels and occurred when Passover was near (John 6:4). Because it mentions eating of the harvest, it must have occurred during the previous harvest season. “On the other hand the Passover season of John 2:13 is too early for the incident of the disciples plucking grain for John 2:13 occurred shortly after he had been baptized and had started his ministry.”[7]

If Jesus’ public ministry was three years long, much of the first year of that ministry would be in Judea and those would propose this often call the first year of His ministry His Judean Ministry. There is a problem with this. Peter tell us that Jesus’ ministry began in Galilee after the Baptism of John (Acts 10:37).

Those who have argued for a two-year ministry typically transpose John chapters 5 and 6. This argument is weak because there is no textual evidence for this transposition.[8] What does transposing these chapters do for a two-year ministry; they eliminate a feast after January that must be placed before Passover. If Luke 6:1 occurs the previous spring and the yet four months until the harvest statement occurs the previous spring there is no problem fitting in this feast and there is no reason to transpose these chapters.

Yet Four Months until the Harvest

After Jesus talked to the woman at the well, Jesus talked to his disciples while the people of Sychar came out of the city toward them. He said, “Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). There are two ways that the preceding passage can be interpreted. When Jesus refers to the harvest, is He referring to only men or is He referring to both men and ripe fields. The first and standard way allows an additional Passover the second does not. There are several items in this statement that can be interpreted more than one way. First, when Jesus referred to the harvest as four months away it assumes He was referring to the wheat harvest. This may not be so because in the same verse Jesus says look the grain is ripe for harvest. The Gezer calendar refers to two different periods as ‘the harvest.’ The first is in April/May the second in August/September.[9] If Jesus referred to the latter harvest, this would place this event in the spring during the two months following Passover. Both the wheat harvest and the harvest in August and September were referred to as the harvest. If Jesus’ statement refers to the August/September harvest then there is no need to add a Passover. Jesus states the fields are ripe for harvest, if He is referring to the grain then this event happens during the grain harvest and is in the two month period following Passover. Some argue that Jesus is referring to a spiritual harvest and the harvest that he was looking at was the harvest of men. Hendrikson says, Jesus is referring to the Samaritans (which is also true), but He is also referring to the grain fields—double entendre. This would be true but it does not eliminate the grain from being ripe as well. The Scripture commonly has multiple meanings tied together in the same passage. Hendrikson says, “In the mind of Jesus there is a close relationship … between the physical and the spiritual harvest.”[10] This passage does not force the conclusion that an additional Passover is required.

The feast of Tabernacles in early October celebrates the end of the harvest. Four months before a harvest starting in early August would be early April. God timed this appointment to have the physical and spiritual harvest match up.

Another verse bears on the season in which this event occurred. Immediately following Jesus’ visit to Sychar, “After the two days he left for Galilee. …When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there” (John 4:43, 45 NIV). He comes into Galilee and is welcomed because of what He had done at the Passover. Are the people remembering an event ten months earlier or a few weeks earlier? The natural understanding is they are remembering a recent event not one nearly a year earlier. A short time would only be so if Jesus’ baptism ministry were relatively brief. If Jesus and His disciples had spent six months at the Jordan River, baptizing it would not refer to a yearly Passover as recently past

The Unnamed Feast

The unnamed feast in John 5:1 is often proposed to be a Passover. John referred to the feast of Passover ten times, why in one case did he refer to it as a feast of the Jews? The correct view is this unnamed feast is the feast of Weeks or Pentecost. It fits naturally in the chronology of Jesus’ ministry. The gospels never mention the feast of Pentecost. John did mention both the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Dedication. During the unnamed ‘feast of the Jews’ Jesus heals an invalid resting in the colonnades (John 5:2). An invalid seeking healing would be unlikely to be resting in the colonnades during the winter, as it would be too cold.^{^[11]} In late May after Pentecost, it would be much more reasonable to wait there.

Now we come back to the deciding passage, Luke 6:1. In this passage, Jesus’ disciples are criticized for harvesting grain on the Sabbath, not for eating it before the allowed day. This means that this Sabbath occurred after the Omer and before the grain harvest was complete. If this event occurred during spring, there is no reason for requiring that Jesus’ visit to Sychar was any time other than the spring.

As long as Jesus' visit to Sychar did not occur during the winter, there is no need for the unnamed feast to require an additional year. Since the event of the woman at the well occurred in the spring, any of the feasts except Passover would not require additional time to pass.

Another reason used to extend Jesus’ ministry is many believe that Jesus’ ministry was exactly half of the seven-year period described in Daniel 9:26-27. The Bible does not state this. Second, if Jesus’ ministry was three and a half years then the next three and a half years of the seven years would immediately follow, there is no evidence that it did.

The Missing Year

A strong argument against the three-year view is Jesus’ first year of ministry is almost completely missing in the synoptic gospels. Jesus’ disciples meet and follow Him, but wait nearly a year before recording the day-by-day, week-by-week events of His ministry. The most memorable events would be during the period following the disciples’ first encounter with Jesus. They would remember best the first observed miracles and unique teachings of this remarkable man. In Mark, an early nine months of Jesus’ ministry disappears between verses 1:13 and 14, in Matthew between 4:11 and 12, and in Luke between 4:13 and 14. In these gospels, Jesus was baptized, led into the wilderness, returned after forty days, and then disappeared for about nine months. The announcement in Nazareth of the Jubilee was the next event and is usually placed in October (Luke 4:16-21). John fills in this period with a wedding feast at Cana, a Passover in Jerusalem and a trip to the Jordan River to baptize. This last event is assumed to fill about six months (John 3:22 to 4:3). If the undiscussed six months of Jesus’ ministry starts with Passover—the only event after Passover is baptizing at the Jordan, but there is no mention of what Jesus taught or did during this period. If Jesus spent six months with His disciples baptizing at the Jordan River, why does this period only fill one verse. Peter tells us Jesus’ ministry began in Galilee (Acts 10:37). John then tells us Jesus went up to Sychar and spent two days talking to the woman at the well and the people of Sychar. John spends a chapter discussing the visit to Sychar, but only one verse discussing the baptism ministry. Could the baptism ministry have been short, because it only dealt with pilgrims passing through on their return trip to Galilee from Passover in Jerusalem requiring no more than a few days. The visit to Sychar was followed by “a feast of the Jews” (John 5:1), normally this feast is either taken to be the following Passover, or more often the Feast of Tabernacles in October where Jesus heals a man invalid for thirty-eight years. The next passage has Jesus in Galilee with Passover near (John 6:4), an entire year.

The visit to Sychar, gives evidence of a two-year ministry. When the second-first Sabbath occurs about a month after the first Passover of Jesus’ public ministry, there is no reason to stretch the events of the early part of Jesus Ministry. This places Jesus’ announcement of ‘the year of the Lord’s favor’ two weeks earlier on a Sabbath and the first day of the second month. This also allows enough time so the unnamed feast of the Jews fits in naturally with the feast of Weeks (Pentecost), a feast never mentioned in the gospels. See the calendar starting on page 19 for a day-by-day sequence of events.

The Historical Setting

The forth assumption is that a three year ministry better fits the correct historical period. A purpose for making Jesus ministry longer is to make up years to account for the belief Jesus was born in 4 B.C. and was thirty year old when He began to minister and died in A.D. 30 or 33. The Bible nowhere states the length of Jesus’ ministry. A strong argument can be made the eclipse of 4 B.C. is far less likely than eclipse of December 1 B.C. to be the eclipse that preceded the death of Herod the Great. Herod died after an eclipse of the moon and Jesus was born before Herod died. The eclipse that occurred in March 4 B.C. was a minor partial eclipse only visible from two to four AM. Only a small number of people noticed this eclipse, and Josephus would be unlikely to record it because he only recorded one eclipse, this one. There was a partial eclipse in which more than half the moon was obscured that was visible for two hours from the time the moon became visible about twenty minutes after sunset on December 29, 1 B.C. Since Herod died after a lunar eclipse, which occurred a month or more before the Passover, this eclipse more closely fits the data regarding the time of the birth of Jesus.[12]

The length of Jesus public ministry appears to be two years, rather than the standard figure of three years, for the following reasons. The number of Passovers celebrated during His ministry fixes the length of His ministry. Three Passovers occurred during His ministry (John 2:13; 6:4; 13:1), not four as is commonly understood. The gospels specifically state only three Passovers and John mentions them all. This would make the public ministry of Jesus just two years in length. The Passovers mark the beginning middle and end of Jesus’ ministry.[13] The two years of Jesus’ ministry are a Sabbath year and Jubilee year pair.[14]

Astronomical Signs

The Star of Bethlehem has long been sought to help identify the start of Jesus’ ministry. The only explanation that fits all the criteria was the Magi on August 24, 2 B.C. saw the Morning Star rise shortly before dawn marking a scepter formed by three other wandering stars in the constellation of the Lion, fulfilling the prophesies given by Jacob in Gen 49:9-10 and Balaam in Numbers 24:17. The Magi came 1.6 years later on Passover A.D. 1 to acknowledge the newborn king of the Jews who would rule the whole world. [15] The only eclipse of the moon the people were likely to see and mentioned by Josephus was December 29, 1 B.C just after sunset.[16] There was a significant sign the heavens to signal the start of Jesus’ ministry on March 4, A.D. 31. This sign linked the proclamation by John the Baptist that Jesus was the Lamb of God with Jacob’s ladder. The sign announced Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Ladder to heaven.[17] Finally, on the day Jesus was crucified there was a lunar eclipse/blood moon on Friday April 3, A.D. 33 the day Jesus died. St. Peter refers to this (and the three hours the sun was dark on that day) in his speech on Pentecost. He said, “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord” (Acts 2:20).[18]

A Solar or Lunar Solar Calendar

Lunar-solar calendar was assumed when generating this chronology of Jesus’ ministry. As the study continued, more problems with this assumption were found. The clearest problem is there were two Passovers celebrated during the week Jesus was crucified. A careful study of Jesus’ ministry reveals that for many or all the Jewish Feasts He followed a solar rather than a lunar-solar calendar. This has not been widely recognized, but Annie Jaubert[19] did propose this as the solution to the dating of the Last Supper. From the Dead Sea Scrolls she discovered the Essenes used a solar calendar. The number of days in each year was always divisible by seven and was normally 364. The year always started on Wednesday and the major feasts days were all on Wednesday. This is based on several things most notably Genesis 1:14. The year starts on Wednesday (actually Tuesday evening), because on the fourth day the greater and lesser lights and the stars were made (Gen 1:14-19). Before the sun and the moon exist, there cannot be days and years, as we know them. Genesis does not have the moon control the length of the month.[20] The Essenes following what they strongly believed was the correct sacred calendar divided the year into four seasons where each season is divided into three months, the first two of thirty days each and the third of thirty-one days. Some times these two calendars aligned and at other times, they were divergent. This shows up most clearly in that Jesus celebrated Passover on the day specified by the Priests in the Temple (typically Sadducees) when it agreed with the solar calendar and chose to be traveling when Passover could be celebrated on Wednesday in the second month. This way Jesus could both celebrate the Passover Seder meal and be crucified on the Passover. It was discovered years after this chronology was done that most of the days that Jesus celebrates feasts occur on Wednesdays.[21]

A Look at the Chronological Passages Bearing on Jesus Ministry

1. Some believe the announcement of the acceptable year of the Lord, announced by Jesus refers to a Jubilee year, which must occur in the fall. Here it is proposed Jesus rather announced a Sabbath rest year immediately preceding a Jubilee rest year. The Jubilee year was always preceded by six month by a start of a Sabbath year. The Jubilee year was the time slaves were to be released. On a Sabbath Jesus said, “This day this is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4: 21). Jesus was announcing a dual message, Time to celebrate the Jubilee and freedom from the slavery to sin. While the Jubilee was to be announced in the fall, the Sabbath year started in the spring. Jesus was calling attention to a calendar problem. He makes this announcement on the first day of the second month—but had the calendar been set correctly it should have been the first month of the year. The reason that there should have been an additional month inserted before Nisan was to prevent the feast of Tabernacles from occurring too early. The feast of Tabernacles starts on the Tishri 15. In the year A.D. 31, Tishri 15 occurred on September 22. This is three days before the Autumnal Equinox marking the beginning of fall. The feast would fall too early. This is especially important because this Tishri was the time of the start of a Jubilee year. [22]

2. Some believe the interpretation of the parable of the fig tree (Luke 13:6) requires a four-year ministry for Jesus.[23] This is an interpretation it is not so stated in the Bible, but Jesus does minister in parts of four years, the very end of one year, two full years and the very beginning of the fourth. The Jews normally counted any part of a year as the whole of the year.

3. John the Baptist’s ministry was to be the forerunner. If his ministry continued long after the start of Jesus’ ministry, the people would be confused. Also, many people halfway through Jesus’ ministry thought Jesus was John the Baptist returned from the dead, a position they would not hold if Jesus and John ministered side-by-side for six months at the Jordan River.

Assumptions Consistent with a Two Year Ministry

1. The Apostles memory for the sequence of events of Jesus' ministry would be the sharpest at the beginning and end of their time with Jesus and for unusual events. The disciples would remember the first healing of a particular type better than the tenth healing.

2. Jesus' purpose was to announce the kingdom, train His apostles, establish and build His church. The sooner the apostles were chosen, the more time Jesus could spend training them. The sooner they were trained the sooner the Church could be established.

Assumptions for Generating a Ministry Calendar

3. Jesus and disciples kept the Old Covenant law, so they attended the three weeklong festivals each year: Passover, Pentecost and Booths.[24] Jesus and the disciples did not travel a significant distance on the Sabbath.

4. The ministry of John the Baptist began about five to six months before Jesus’ ministry, because John was between five and six months older than Jesus was. Elizabeth was in her sixth month or between five months and six months pregnant when Mary conceived (Luke 1:36).

5. Jesus and disciples could easily travel about twenty-five miles (40km) per day, and family caravans move about twenty miles/day (32km).

6. The Apostles memories for events would also be heightened by travel, especially foreign travel.

7. It is assumed John the Baptist and Jesus did not start ministering until each turned thirty years of age.

8. John was in his sixth month of ministry when Jesus now thirty years old came to him to be baptized in January A.D. 31 (Luke 1:26, 36).

9. The term Jesus ‘was about thirty years old’ means He was almost exactly thirty, but His baptism did not occur “on” His birthday. See calendar page 19.

Augustus and Tiberius Caesar

Most chronographers record that Tiberius Caesar came to the throne in September A.D. 14 after Augustus Caesar died on 19 August A.D. 14. The problem with this is two historians record Augustus died shortly after a total eclipse of the sun was observed.[25] There was no total eclipse of the sun visible anywhere over the Roman Empire between January 1, A.D. 1 and February 15 A.D. 17.[26] This makes February 15, A.D. 17 the most reasonable choice for the eclipse before Augustus’ death. This would make the date for the death of Augustus to be actually August 19 A.D. 17. John the Baptist turned thirty just before the anniversary of the death of Tiberius Caesar, His ministry started in the fifteenth year of Tiberius. Luke 3:1-2, In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar … the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. The fifteenth year would start Oct 1, A.D. 30 and end Sept 30, A.D. 31.[27] John’s ministry started at the beginning of Tiberius’ fifteenth year after John turned thirty years old. This makes sense because as Jesus did not start his ministry until forty days after he turned 30 so John did likewise. Second, the Jordan Valley is like a furnace in August and September. The October date would start date would also be consistent with people coming to be baptized after the feast of Sukkoth (Tabernacles) and after the harvest. This later date for the death of Augustus answers the problems associated with the date of the death of King Herod the Great. King Herod did not die until after Passover A.D 1. Most ancient chronologists tied the dating of Jesus’ birth to a particular year in Augustus’ reign. If Augustus died three years later than commonly assumed, then Jesus’ birth in December 1, 1 B.C. conforms to the date given by historians of 3-2 B.C.[28]

Date of the Start of Jesus Ministry

If Jesus turned thirty in late December A.D. 30, then John would be thirty in August A.D. 30. It is here inferred that John the Baptist’s ministry started in October A.D. 30 and had been going for about three months at the time Jesus was baptized. John fasted when he turned thirty for forty days, then he served as priest with all the priests during the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth). After this, he served as a priest in his course (Abijah), then he started to baptize in the Jordan. John’s ministry would not then have spanned a Tabernacles pilgrimage from Galilee. Had it spanned a Tabernacles pilgrimage then Jesus would already have had an opportunity to be baptized by John as He journeyed to Jerusalem. This is unlikely. For the three Jewish pilgrim feasts: Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles all faithful Jewish men went to Jerusalem. John the Baptist being a priest would be ministering in Jerusalem during the three pilgrim festivals.

Other Views of the Second-First Sabbath

Few attempt to give a meaning to deuteroproto, therefore researching the meaning of this deuteroproto word is difficult. Archibald Robertson says, “It is undoubtedly spurious,” and “If it were genuine we should not know what it means.”[29] The United Bible Society committee majority proposed a scribe added the word first; another added the word second canceling out the word first. A third scribe misunderstood and combined the words into second-first and inserted it into the text,[30] a convoluted explanation. Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich and Danker say, “occurs no where else”, “word of doubtful meaning. Even ancient interpreters understandably could make nothing of it.”[31] Joseph Thayer is unusual in defining this word, “seem to be, the second of the first Sabbaths after the feast of Passover.”[32] This makes some sense because the Israelites were to start a new count of weeks on the day following the first Sabbath following Passover. But the better understanding is how the command to count the weeks was done.[33] Each of these days or weeks is called counting the Omer, so rather than the second first Sabbath; it would be called the first Omer Sabbath.

Harold Hoehner says, using this passage to add a Passover “is dubious for not only is the textual reading highly questionable, but also even if one accepts the reading, there are many different interpretations as to its meaning and so one cannot say that it pinpoints the occasion of the second Passover.” “To hold a view that is based on a questionable interpretation which in turn is built upon a questionable textual reading is immediately suspect.”[34] Hoehner is referring to adding a Passover due to this passage, not what is being done here using this passage to correct the addition of a Passover.

David Brown says, “Second sabbath after the first—an obscure expression, occurring here only, generally understood to mean, the first Sabbath after the second day of unleavened bread. The reasons cannot be stated here, nor is the opinion itself quite free from difficulty.”[35]

No one was found that defined deuteroproto as the first Sabbath after the second Passover as done here properly placing this passage in Jesus’ ministry.

Chronological Narrative of the First Months of the Public Ministry of Jesus Christ

Baptism and Forty Day Fast

Most dates are approximate. About Sunday, January 7, A.D. 31 (Julian calendar), Jesus left Nazareth for a forty to fifty-mile trip to the Jordan River to be baptized. John the Baptist was then baptizing at the Jordan River at Anon, about twenty to forty miles (32-64km) south of the Sea of Galilee. The next day John the Baptist announced the presence among the people of the Messiah (John 1:26). Early Tuesday the following day, Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River. This was January 9, A.D. 31 on the Julian calendar, January 7, A.D. 31 on the Gregorian calendar, and Tevet 22 on the Jewish calendar. That day Jesus’ started a forty-day fast (Mark 1:9-12). The fast actually lasted forty-six days because it was illegal to fast on a feast day and the Sabbath days were feast days.[36] It is assumed a fast would end on a Sabbath, as this would put the longest possible period of continuous fasting at the end of the period of fasting. Josephus interpreted the reading of the Law during the feast of Tabernacles as specifically prohibiting fasting on feast days.[37] “No fasting was done on the Sabbath (Judith, viii, 6) on the contrary, the choicest meals were served to which friends were invited.”[38] At the end of His fast, Jesus returned to the Jordan and John the Baptist pointed Him out as the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Jesus was probably visible in the distance, but not nearby. The following day at 10 AM, John again identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God and Jesus received His first disciples Andrew and John (John 1:35-39).

During the period of His fast, Jesus was in the wilderness of Judah. This would be the area west of the Dead Sea and if He wandered during this period may have included the area down to the Negev. It is likely Jesus ended the forty days at Mt Sinai, because the only other Biblically recorded forty-day fasts, those of Moses and Elijah both ended at Mt. Sinai. Mt Sinai is also called Horeb (Deut. 9:8-9, 1 Kings 19:8).[39] Moses and Elijah were also tested during their fasts. God made some unusual provisions for Moses and Elijah’s fasts, Moses went without water and Elijah was fed special bread and water by an angel.

The First Disciples

The fourth day following the end of Jesus’ fast was the feast of Purim. This was the fiftieth day since Jesus’ baptism, almost like a jubilee day for the start of His ministry. Enough time for Jesus to rest on the Sabbath and then hustle north 130 miles (210km) to the Jordan River. It seems likely these disciples of John the Baptist who became Jesus’ earliest disciples took time off from fishing or similar work and used the time of the feast Purim to visit John. While with John, they were taught and baptized. John the Baptist may have recently moved his ministry closer to Galilee to make the trip shorter for those from Galilee. The gospel of John gives the day-by-day detail of what was occurring during this period. The Pharisees challenged John the Baptist and rejected his message and teaching. The next day the second day of Purim, John announced Jesus is the Lamb of God. The day following Purim about 10 AM, John the Baptist encouraged his disciples John and Andrew to follow Jesus. After spending the day with Jesus, in the evening, they went to get their gear and find their brothers. Peter and James became disciples that evening. Andrew brings Peter to Jesus (John 1:40-41).[40] It is likely John the Baptist sent John and Andrew to Jesus about the time he needed to leave, because on Saturday, John the Baptist ministered in the Temple in the course of Abijah for eight days, no later than Thursday morning he had to leave to journey the fifty or so miles (80km) to Jerusalem. See Dionysius Exiguus for the details of the dating of the priestly courses. It is likely that at that time, he criticized Herod and Herodias’ adulterous union. On the following day, Jesus and His disciples were getting ready to make their way back to Galilee. However, in the crowds, Jesus located at least two more disciples Nathaniel[41] of Cana and Philip. Since their route took the group directly to a wedding in Cana and Jesus’ mother is at that same wedding, she may have joined the group as they passed through Nazareth. Was Nathaniel a member of the family of the bride or groom and did he invite the entire group? It is about fifty miles (80km) from the Jordan River uphill to the city of Cana; it is assumed this trip took about two days.

A further link to this time was discovered. There was sign in the heavens to mark the start of Jesus’ ministry. On the evening of Sunday March 4, AD 31, all five visible planets formed a ladder reaching from earth with its top in the center of the sky and marking the constellation of the Lamb (Ares). Precisely confirming Jesus Statement (John 1:51). See Lamb of God.

Wedding at Cana

The third day (we would say the day after tomorrow) they arrived in Cana of Galilee and went to a wedding feast. However, there is a second way to look at this third day. The traditional Jewish wedding was on Tuesday, the third day of the week, because in on the third day of creation God said, “It is good” twice (Gen 1:10-12). So Tuesday was considered a day of double blessing. The Jews referred to the days by number rather than by name, except Friday was the day of preparation and Saturday was the Sabbath. Here the third day probably refers to both the day after tomorrow and Tuesday. The traditional Jewish wedding lasted one week. The changing of water into wine probably occurred near the beginning of the wedding week because Jesus avoided waste, since he created so much wine there must have been a need. Second, the wedding had not yet switched to the poorer wine. Why would there be a need for a hundred and fifty gallons of wine. Maybe the wine planned for much of the wedding feast turned to vinegar. This is strengthened because the steward tasted the wine, likely testing for problems.

First Passover

Jesus then journeyed to Capernaum for a few days including the new moon festival, at which time He joined the caravan of pilgrims as they journeyed to Jerusalem for the Passover (John 2:12-13). It is assumed the term ‘the Passover was near’ means they had celebrated the new moon festival of the month of Abib/Nisan. The journey to Jerusalem was probably in the company of a great caravan of slow moving travelers. Before Passover, Jesus cleanses the Temple for the first time. This was a direct stab at the religious leaders who profited from this business and put Jesus on their bad side from the start. Passover marks the actual start of Jesus ‘public ministry’. During Passover Jesus did His first public miracles and had a conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus came by night—already association with Jesus was frowned upon.

During Christ’s public ministry, this is the one Passover that occurred on a Wednesday, so it is the one Passover that may qualify as a Passover celebrated on a solar calendar this point becomes important later on in this article. The Essenes celebrated the festivals on a solar calendar and on that calendar; the first of Nissan was always on a Wednesday so Passover was always on a Wednesday.

Baptism at the Jordan

After the Passover and the week of Unleavened Bread including the Omer (or wave offering), Jesus and disciples journeyed to the Jordan River and baptized. Shortly after this, John was arrested—he had made comments at Jerusalem during his ministry as a priest in the Temple and at the Passover, about Herod and Herodias his brother’s wife, but could not be arrested because of fear of what the crowds would have done. When the feast ended and the crowd dispersed back to their homes, the chance of a riot had diminished, so John was arrested.

John the Baptism Arrested

There was no considerable time between Jesus’ temptation and the arrest of John the Baptist—Matthew 4:11-12, Mark 1:13-14 and Luke 4:13-14 apparently make these sequential events. Most chronologies of Jesus’ ministry have the ministry of John the Baptist continuing in parallel with Jesus’ ministry for at least six months. This can be shown wrong, Luke says, ‘As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but He is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie’ (Acts 13:25). John the Baptist’s work was nearly complete ‘before’ Jesus was baptized; therefore, John the Baptist’s ministry did not extend much beyond Jesus’ return from fasting. Most have John’s ministry extend at least into the following year. Most assign John about six months from the start of his ministry until the baptism of Jesus; therefore his ministry could not extend more than a few more months and still be “nearly complete.”

Woman at the Well, Royal Officials Son Healed

Jesus and His disciples returned from the Jordan to Galilee passing through Sychar a Samaritan town.[42] While there, Jesus spent part of two days talking to the people of the town. The grain in the fields was ready to harvest (John 4:35)[43] it was still spring. As He arrived in Galilee, the people remembered the miracles He had recently done in Jerusalem at the Passover (John 4:45). This comment does not fit with the three-year ministry, because that places Jesus’ return to Galilee in the fall. Although His disciples accompanied Jesus, by this time, they were apparently anxious to get back to work. This allowed Jesus to say later, you have not chosen Me I have chosen you. So Jesus went to Capernaum and then immediately headed back toward Nazareth, but before He gets there, a royal official, with a sick son back in Capernaum, caught up to Jesus in Cana seventeen miles (27km) away. Jesus did not have the time to accompany the official back to Capernaum as requested because He had a divine appointment in Nazareth. About 7 PM, Jesus told the official his son was healed. The servants of the official met the official the next day while he was on the way back to Capernaum. Maybe one of Jesus’ disciples accompanied the servants who brought the news of this remote healing. This made sure the news of this healing reached Nazareth in a timely fashion by the following Sabbath. John’s gospel also places this healing as the second miraculous sign Jesus performed (the first was turning water into wine a month earlier in the same town). In the chronology of those who propose a three-year ministry, this event occurs at least six months later.

Jesus Returns Home to Nazareth

Jesus continued from Cana about ten miles (16km) further to Nazareth. Nazareth and Cana were separated by Sepphoris the capital and largest city of Galilee. There on the following Sabbath, the first day of the second month (Iyar) Jesus announced He was the Messiah—anointed by God and on this day He is proclaiming a year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus referred to this day five weeks earlier when He said to His mother ‘my hour has not yet come’. This day also fulfills the prophesy of Daniel 9:25 “until the anointed one—the ruler comes… This did not occur on Palm Sunday as many suppose, because the anointed ruler had come nearly two years earlier. Jesus was rejected by His hometown and they attempted to kill him. Therefore, Jesus pulled up stakes and moved to Capernaum. A number of details come together to fix this date. It had to be a year that a calendar problem was possible. It had to be a month starting with a Sabbath. Finally, the disciples knew of the calendar problem as evidenced by the mention of the second-first Sabbath. This would the day before the Omer should have been celebrated. The start of the Sabbath year should have been delayed for one month until this time. Jesus makes this announcement on the day that the Sabbath year was to start, because the Jubilee year, which would start six months later, would be properly aligned to follow rather than precede the start of autumn.

Jesus Moves to Capernaum

In Capernaum on the following Sabbath, Jesus taught at the synagogue where He drove out an evil spirit. On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to Simon Peter’s house. Making contact with His future apostles, He healed Simon’s mother-in-law and that evening many others. The following morning, Jesus went off and prayed then set off to visit other towns in the area. Probably, the next day Jesus called His first disciples Peter, Andrew, James and John. The following day He healed a leper, a couple of days later He healed a paralytic, while He continued to call additional disciples. Friday, Jesus called Matthew and that night went to a party at Matthew’s house. The following day was the second-first Sabbath. There is no reason to place this event nearly a year later. This was still the start of Jesus ministry, He was choosing those who will accompany him and had yet to designate anyone as an apostle. Jesus continued to teach His disciples, on the following Sabbath, He healed a man with a withered hand. Some of the Pharisees jealous of Jesus designated healing as work and sought to kill Jesus as a lawbreaker. Although Jesus had only been ministering publicly for a little over a month, He had already made enemies who were bent on killing him. Jesus was about to choose His disciples—not sometime after a year of ministry, but just a month after His first public miracles.

The Second-First Sabbath

The next Sabbath is the second-first Sabbath four weeks after the weekly Sabbath following Passover. It was just after the middle of the second month, Iyar 15. The fact that they were picking grain says it was ripe, but not harvested. It also must be after the Omer or they were breaking the Law (Leviticus 23:14). If this grain was barley then it is something of a sign the Jews were celebrating the month of Nisan too early. If the wheat is ripe then Pentecost is near and it is in fact only about three weeks later. Can we interpret that the Jesus announced the acceptable year of the Lord only two weeks earlier as a signal that Jesus was calling attention to the Jews being off by one month on when to start the year? Could the dating of the events of Jesus ministry be off because the wrong month was celebrated? We find this point in Jesus ministry by finding a month the Sabbath falls on the first day of the month Iyar (second month) A.D. 31. Sabbath year is announced on the first day, which is also Sabbath. The same circumstances occur in A.D. 28 for those who see the year A.D. 30 as the year of the crucifixion. If this were the Jubilee year being announced ‘this day’ must be the 10^th of Tishri the seventh month. Jesus would then have to leave Nazareth for Jerusalem for the feast of Booths or Tabernacles not for Capernaum as He did. The first day of the year would be very proper for announcing the Sabbath year. Jesus did not eat the grain on the second-first Sabbath with His disciples because He was following a higher rule. God’s plan for when the grain should first be eaten was the next day. Second, the grain was ripe, this was four weeks after the harvest was allowed to start but it would still be too early for the wheat harvest.

Son in Nain Raised, To Jerusalem for Pentecost

The following Sabbath Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. This generated the further ire of the Pharisees for again ‘breaking the Sabbath’. A few days later, Jesus chose His apostles. Just over a week later while on the way to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Weeks, Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain. There seems to be a link between ‘three’ and resurrection, this day is the third day of the week, the third day of the third month. Jesus is also thirty at this time and He raised three people during is ministry.

Now we reach the unidentified feast of the Jews of John 5:1. This feast was the feast of Weeks; a feast never identified in the gospels although all other suggested major feasts are identified in the gospels by name. While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the feast Jesus was questioned by the disciples of John the Baptist. Only a few days later John the Baptist was dead. When John publicly identified Jesus as the Anointed of God, his ministry was over. He did not continue to baptize at the Jordan for another six months. He was put into prison and shortly there after executed, apparently during the feast of Weeks. Jesus near the end of the feast, on the Sabbath, healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. The Jews are now openly trying to kill Jesus. From this point on Jesus cannot enter Judea publicly without risking His life. We find Jesus spent very little time in Judea because of this threat. When He went into Judea, it was usually in secret.

John the Baptist Dies

John the Baptist was dead before the unnamed feast of the Jews in John 5:1 was completed. Jesus had referred to John in the past tense (John 5:33-35). Josephus places John’s imprisonment in Machaerus, a prison on the far side of the Dead Sea and his death in A.D. 34. Nevertheless, John was a prophet and Jesus had just said all prophets die in Jerusalem (Luke 7:26; 13:33). Maybe John was transferred to Jerusalem by Herod at John’s request to keep the feast of Pentecost. Here it is proposed John lived less than 50 days from the time of his arrest. There is another indication of the shortness of the ministry of John the Baptist after Jesus appeared on the scene. Nearly a year later, when Jesus asked His disciples at Caesarea Philippi who do the people say I am, their reply was, some say you are John the Baptist—this statement makes it clear the people did not see the ministries of John and Jesus as occurring side by side (Mat 16:14; Mark 8:28; Luke 9:19). Herod also thought, this because he thought that Jesus was John raised from the dead (Mark 6:14-16).

Problem, the only viable years for a Friday crucifixion are A.D. 30 and 33. If Jesus’ ministry was three years long then the date for John the Baptists ministry fits very well starting about six months before Jesus’ baptism in the fall of A.D. 29. The problem is we now have good evidence Jesus’ public ministry was only 2 years. Either this makes the ministry of John at least a year and a half or it places the fifteenth year of Tiberius ending not before mid-August A.D. 30. One more piece of evidence that Augustus died later than A.D. 14. The author holds the latter position see Star of Bethlehem [44] for some reasons for this position.

Jesus Sends Out His Disciples

After this point, it gets harder to track the day-by-day or even week-by-week events of Jesus’ ministry. We do know He trained His apostles and then sent them out two by two to minister to the towns of Israel. At the beginning of the next year, His disciples regrouped in Capernaum at which time Jesus went into the wilderness and fed the five thousand men. The next day in Capernaum He turned the crowds away from following Him by telling them they must eat His flesh and drink His blood. Many in the crowds refused this teaching and turned away and even the apostles had difficulty with this teaching. Nevertheless, Jesus stuck to His story. For a day-by-day review of the events of the early period of the second year of Jesus ministry, see Easter Transfiguration.[45] By the Essenes' solar calendar, this teaching appears to have occurred on Passover. It could very well be that Jesus was traveling during this period to boycott the Sadducees date for the Passover. By timing His pilgrimage to Jerusalem to the Second Passover a month later, he reduced His risk of losing His life earlier, Passover was Wednesday and He had only a short period to wait in Jerusalem before the feast of Pentecost.

From the time of the second Passover of Jesus’ ministry, this chronology follows the standard chronology of the last year of Jesus ministry. It is worthy of note, the events of John 7:4 to 10:21 the Feast of Tabernacles and the healing of the man born blind by putting mud on his eyes all occurred within in a few days. This passage occurred in the context of the feast of Tabernacles, closing the Jubilee year. Jesus did not go up to the feast at the usual time but came later in the middle of the feast (John 7:14), at which time He had recently done a miraculous healing of a man on the Sabbath (John 7:21-23). In John 9:1-10:21 in a follow-up visit to the man born blind, there is description of the full story that actually started on the Sabbath a few days earlier. Jesus could legitimately not come to the feasts because preserving his life is a higher law than keeping the festivals. A second possible reason for Jesus coming late to the feast, would be that Jesus was keeping the festivals on by their time on the solar calendar rather than on the Lunar-Solar colander of the Priests. Jesus said for me the right time has not yet come (John 7:8).[46] When the feast was over from the viewpoint of the Priests, Jesus remained. The last and greatest day of the Feast was a Wednesday, the proper start of the feast by the solar calendar. Jesus that night observed a Sabbath, He journeyed only to the Mount of Olives within a Sabbath days walk of Jerusalem. The next morning, rather than returning home, He was back in Jerusalem teaching (John 7:37; 8:1-2).

Ministry to Israel / Ministry to All

The ministry of Jesus during the first year, at least as far as miracles are concerned, was confined to the house of Israel. When Jesus sent the twelve out to minister in pairs, He sent them only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He did talk to the Samaritan woman and the people of Sychar but no miracles are recorded. Jesus did also heal the servant of a Centurion at the request of the synagogue leaders, but the servant may have been Jewish, and the synagogue leaders had begged Jesus to help. There is a transition after the rejection of Jesus’ message of the ‘Bread of Life’ in John 6. After this, Jesus did start to minister to the Gentiles. This is first shown in the healing of the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman where Jesus said He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But He then proceeded to the Decapolis where He not only healed the gentiles, but also fed four thousand of them. When Jesus sent out the seventy or seventy-two He did not give them instructions to go only to the house of Israel. One can discern they went to the gentile areas from the cities that Jesus later visited following them.

Feeding 5000, 4000 and the Transfiguration

This section of Jesus’ ministry is more fully documented in the article Easter Transfiguration,[47] It appears that Jesus skipped going to Jerusalem at Passover in the middle of His ministry at the normal time. He fed 5000 Jewish pilgrims preparing to go to Jerusalem for Passover. However, He and His disciples instead journeyed to Tyre and Sidon rather than heading for Jerusalem. He returned to the Decapolis and fed 4000 gentiles. After which He headed to Cesarea Philippi where on Passover Saint Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah and Jesus starts talking about his death. He then journeyed south to Mt. Nebo where He was transfigured on the day that would become Easter Sunday in one year. When he comes down from that mountain, he encounters the Galilean pilgrims returning from Passover in Jerusalem. He accompanies them back to Galilee, but secretly returns to Jerusalem in the second month to celebrate Passover on the day that is proper in both the solar and lunar-solar calendar for Passover in the second month.

The Last Supper

Annie Jaubert has convincingly proposed that the Last Support occurred on Tuesday evening rather than the following Thursday evening.[48] The Essene community kept a solar calendar where Passover always occurred on a Wednesday so the Last Supper would be held on Tuesday evening. One of the chief advantages of this proposal is that the six trials of Jesus do not have to be shoehorned into the six hours between Midnight and 6AM. Annas, Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate, and all members of the Sanhedrin do not have to stay up all night rushing to try Jesus and breaking their own law regarding when a trial of condemnation could take place.

Friday Crucifixion

For those who believe that Jesus crucifixion had to be earlier than the traditional Friday because of Matthew 12:40 (For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth). There are many arguments that a part of the day was counted as the whole day. There is another way to look at this problem, from the time Jesus was “condemned” He could be counted as dead and if dead then in the grave. At his trial, he was condemned by Pilate at 6AM on Friday and could be counted as in the grave from this time. For this to be three days and three nights, we have to see the three hours of darkness as a night. The first day would then be 6AM to noon; the first night would be the hours of darkness from noon to 3PM. The second day would be 3PM Friday to 6PM, and the second night 6PM Friday to 6AM Saturday. The third day would be 6AM Saturday to 6PM and the third night 6PM Saturday to just before dawn on Sunday. The second note on this interpreting verse is that Jesus says, “just as” Jonah was in the belly of the whale, if the “just as” includes the period from when Jonah was taken by lot before he was swallowed by the whale the situation could match Jesus’ situation.

In all four gospels, the day of Jesus’ Crucifixion is called the ‘day of preparation’. The Jews numbered the days of the week, except they referred to Friday as the ‘day of preparation’ and Saturday as the Sabbath. On the afternoon of Sunday, the disciples on the road to Emmaus referred to that day being the third day since these events took place (Luke 24:21). Because the Jews counted days (and years) inclusively, this must refer to Friday.

Conclusion

From the earliest days of the Church, the two-year ministry has been proposed. In the Jewish culture, one was commanded to count the Sabbaths from the time of the wave offering until the feast of Weeks. The law also permitted one to celebrate the Passover in the second month under certain conditions. If one were counting from this second Passover one would count the first Sabbath following the second Passover as the second-first Sabbath. This concept has apparently escaped all modern chronologist of the ministry of Jesus so they have missed this point. When properly understood the early weeks of Jesus' ministry come into clearer focus. Jesus was active in ministry from the time of His first public appearance. He promptly chose His apostles. He was constantly on the run for His life. The evangelists record many details of Jesus’ first few months. In the three-year ministry, we are left with very few details of Jesus entire first year of ministry. Even if the interpretation of second-first Sabbath is rejected the logic of events happening as presented here is far more compelling that the standard three-year ministry.

What have we learned? A two-year ministry indicates the disciples were trained faster with emphasis on practicality. The two years of His ministry were a Sabbath year—Jubilee year pair, indicating what? Maybe all of Israel should have followed Jesus for two years. Easter is the start of a new epoch of harvest because there was to be no harvest during the two previous years. That many of the crowds encountered by Jesus were pilgrims going to Jerusalem for a festival or returning from a festival to Galilee. The timing of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain emphasizes the number three in the resurrection. We understand why Jesus healed the nobleman’s son from a distance; He had an appointment for a specific date that would be missed if He journeyed back to Capernaum. It is clear that Jesus’ life was continually threatened during his ministry; there were no periods of peace.

Jesus by the timing of his actions particularly when he celebrated feasts associated with Passover strongly supported a solar calendar over a lunar-solar calendar. The Essenes kept a solar calendar where the principle feasts all started on a Wednesday. Jesus appears to reject the dating of these feasts unless they start on a Wednesday. The statement by John that Jesus was the Lamb of God occurred on a Wednesday. The Feeding of the 5000 appears to coincide with the correct day of Passover. The feeding of the 4000 likely occurred on the following Wednesday. When Jesus celebrated the Passover, He chose the celebration starting on a Wednesday if possible. Jesus on at least in three occasions, appears to have kept the law as God willed it to be kept when there was a conflict with how it was officially interpreted by the ruling priests, in the timing of eating grain on the Sabbath, at one feast of Tabernacles where Jesus came late and at His final Passover where He appeared to celebrate the Passover Seder early.

John the Baptist’s ministry starts in early August A.D. 30 and lasts about 8 months to prepare the people for Jesus.

January A.D. 31 Julian Calendar dates. To convert to Gregorian subtract 2 days Tuesday Jan 9 becomes Tuesday Jan 7

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
	Short days less distance traveled	1		2	ß Luke 3:21-23	3		4		5		6	Luke 3:23 Jesus ~age 30
7	Mark 1:9Þ	8	From Nazareth travel 30 miles	9	Jesus’ Baptism Mark 1:9-11	10	Fast day 2 Mark 1:12-13	11	Fast day 3	12	¬temptations¯ Luke 4:2	13	Tevet 28*
14	Fast day 5 Tevet 29	15	Fast day 6 Shevat 1	16	Fast day 7	17	Fast day 8	18	Fast day 9	19	Fast day 10	20	Shevat 6
21	Fast day 11	22	Fast day 12	23	Fast day 13	24	Fast day 14	25	Fast day 15	26	Fast day 16	27	Shevat 13
28	Fast day 17	29	Fast day 18	30	Fast day 19	31	Fast day 20

*Sabbaths were feast days Lev 23:2-3, fasting was not permitted on feast days Neh 8:9-10 see Josephus for interpretation.

February A.D. 31 Assumes Bethany beyond the Jordan where John baptized was 20 miles south of the Sea of Galilee.

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
								1	Fast day 21	2	Fast day 22	3	Shevat 20
4	Fast day 23	5	Fast day 24	6	Fast day 25	7	Fast day 26	8	Fast day 27	9	Fast day 28	10	Shevat 27
11	Fast day 29 Shevat 28	12	Fast day 30 Shevat 29	13	Fast day 31 Shevat 30	14	Fast day 32 Adar 1	15	Fast day 33 Adar 2	16	Fast day 34 ß Luke 4:2-13	17	Adar 4
18	Fast day 35	19	Fast day 36	20	Fast day 37	21	Fast day 38 Adar 8	22	Fast day 39	23	Temptation ^# Mat 4:2-11	24	Angels refresh Jesus
25	Jesus travels from Sinai	26	Adar 13	27	Purim Est 10:13 John 1:19-28	28	Lamb of God John 1:29-34				Mark 1:13Ý

^*Purim is the reason Andrew, John, James, Peter, Philip, & Nathaniel took off work and traveled to John the Baptist.

March A.D. 31 ^#Matthew, Mark & Luke’s gospels skip from the Temptation to John’s arrest about April 7.

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
	linkß						1^st Sign ß	1	1^st Disciples John 1:35-39	2	Disciple Peter John 1:40-2	3	More disciples John 1:43-51^*
4«	Ladder to Heaven	5	travel 40 miles Adar 20	6	Wedding John 2:1-2	7	Water to wine John 2:3-11	8	wedding 3 Adar 23	9	wedding 4 Adar 24	10	wedding 5 Adar 25
11	Wedding 6 Adar 26	12	wedding 7 Adar 27	13	travel 18 mi. John 2:12	14	new moon Capernaum	15	Nisan 1 new years day	16	Nisan 2	17	Nisan 3
18	To Jerusalem John 2:13	19	Nisan 5	20	travel 100 miles Nisan 6	21	Nisan 7	22	Nisan 8	23	Temple Cleansed	24	Nisan 10 ÜJohn 2:14-22
25	Vernal Equinox	26	Nisan 12	27	Nisan 13 John 2:23-25 Þ	28«	Passover public miracles	29	Unleavened bread day 1	30	Unl.bread 2 Nisan 16	31	Unl.bread 3 Nisan 17

April A.D. 31 ^*John the Baptist served as a priest in his course, from March 3 through March 10, 31.

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Omer 1

Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Unl.bread 6

Nisan 20

Unl.bread 7

Nisan 21

Baptizing ⁺

John 3:22-4:2

Mark 1:14Þ

Matt 4:12Þ

John arrested John 4:3

to Sychar

John 4:4-42

Nisan 25

Sychar^*

John 4:43

Nisan 26

Passover recent Galilee John 4:45 Luke 4:14-15

Capernaum

Luke 4:23

John 4:46

Cana

John 4:46-54

2^nd Sign

Year of the Þ

Lord’s favor

Nisan 30

14«

Nazareth ^# Luke 4:16-30 Iyar 1

travel & preach Mark 1:14-15

Iyar 3

Iyar 4

Iyar 5

Ý Disciples

go fishing?

Mark 1:21-34Þ

Iyar 7

21«

Capernaum Luke 4:31-41

Luke 4:42-43

Mark 1:35-39

Omer 4

1^st Disciples

Luke 5:1-11

Mark 1:16-20

heals Leper Luke 5:12-15

Mark 1:40-45

Jesus prayed

Luke 5:16

Iyar 12

heals Paralytic

Luke 5:17-26

Mark 2:1-12

2^nd Passover calls Matthew

Luke 5:27-39

28«

Grain in fields

2^nd 1^st Sabbath

Luke 6:1-5

Omer 5

Matt 9:1-8Ý

Mark 2:13-22Ý

Mk 2:23-28Ý

⁺Travels to Jordan River and baptizes the Galilean pilgrims returning from the Passover in Jerusalem.

^*John 4:35 four months and then the harvest—The Gezer calendar says August and September are the months of harvest.

May A.D. 31 ^#Jesus announces the Sabbath/Jubilee year pair See Leviticus 25:4, 8-9, 21-22.

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
			ßMark 3:13-19	1	Iyar 18	2	Iyar 19	3		4	Matt 12:9-15Þ Mark 3:1-6Þ	5 Ÿ	Withered hand Luke 6:6-11
6	Jesus Prayed Luke 6:12	7	12 Apostles Luke 6:13-7:10	8	Iyar 25	9		10		11		12	Iyar 29
13	Omer 7 Sivan 1	14	Sivan 2	15Ÿ	Widow of Nain Sivan 3	16	ÜLuke 7:11-16 soon afterwards	17	travel 65 miles	18	Sivan 6	19	Sivan 7
20«	Feast of Weeks John 5:1	21	News in Judea Luke 7:17	22	Sivan 10	23	John’s disciples Luke 7:18-35	24	Sivan 12 Luke 7:36-50	25	John Dead John 5:33-35	26«	heals invalid John 5:2-47
27	From town to town Luke 8:1	28	Sivan 16	29	Sivan 17	30	Sivan 18	31	Came Home Mark 3:20-30

Interlude between Pentecost 31 and Passover 32

Luke 8 –9:8 spans the period from May 31 to April 32 went from town to town and then sent the twelve out to minister.

Mat 10; Mark 6:7—The apostles are sent out two by two—Mark 6:7-11; Matt 10:1-42 and Luke 9:1-5.

Matt 14:1-12; Luke 9:7-9 and Mark 6:14-29 flash backs re John the Baptists imprisonment and death.

John has a big gap before John 6:1 from May AD 31 until April AD 32 —emphasizing the Eucharist in John 6.

John has a second gap between 6:71 and 7:1—The Jews are trying to kill him now the feast of booths is near September 32.

June A.D. 31

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
										1	Sivan 20	2
3		4		5		6		7		8		9
10		11	Sivan 30	12	Tammuz 1	13		14		15		16
17		18		19	8	20		21		22		23
24		25		26	15	27		28		29		30

The Sabbath year and Jubilee years were to be times of cessation of the normal toil of planting and reaping. Had all Israel followed this command the people would have had abundant time to hear and absorb the message of Jesus. Had the Jews done so they would have reaped the promise for keeping the Jubilee, which is peace.

July A.D. 31

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
1		2		3	22	4		5		6		7
8		9		10	Tammuz 29	11	Ab 1	12		13		14
15		16		17		18	8	19		20		21
22		23		24		25	15	26		27		28
29		30		31

August A.D. 31

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
						1	22	2		3		4
5		6		7		8	29	9	Ab 30	10	Elul 1	11
12		13		14		15		16		17	8	18
19		20		21		22		23		24	15	25
26		27		28		29		30		31	22

September A.D. 31

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
												1
2		3		4		5		6		7	Elul 29	8	Tishri 1
9		10		11		12		13		14		15	8
16		17	Yom Kippur Tishri 10	18	Jubilee Year Ü	19		20		21		22	Tabernacles Tishri 15
23		24		25	Autumnal	26		27		28	Tishri 21	29	Tishri 22
30					equinox

October A.D. 31

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
		1		2		3		4		5		6
7	Tishri 30	8	Bul 1	9		10		11		12		13
14		15		16		17		18		19		20
21		22		23		24		25		26		27
28		29		30		31

GAP

March A.D. 32 Ve Adar or Adar II (an intercalary month)

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
												1
2	Adar 30	3	Adar II 1	4		5		6		7		8
9		10	Adar II 8	11		12		13		14		15
16		17	Adar II 15	18		19		20		21		22
23		24	Adar II 22	25	Vernal Equinox	26		27		28		29
30		31	Adar II 29 new moon		Mat 14:21; Mark 6:1; Luke 9:10ß		Walks on Water ß

April A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
	Green grass Mark 6:39Þ		5000^* Fed in all gospelsÞ	1	Passover Near John 6:4 Nisan 1	2	Bread of life John 6:22-71	3	Does not go to Judea John 7:1	4	Near Tyre Mark 7:24-30	5	Nisan 5
6	travel 50 miles	7	Decapolis Mark 7:31-37	8	Mark 8:1-9Þ Matt 15:29-39	9	4000 Fed; w/ Jesus 3 days	10	Dalmanutha Mark 8:10-21	11	Ý Matt 15:21-28	12	Nisan 12
13	Bethsaida Mark 8: 22-26	14Ÿ	Passover Caesarea Philippi Matt 16:13-28	15	ÜMark 8:31-33	16	travel 100 miles ¬ ®	17	Ý Matt 15:39-16:12	18		19	Nisan 19
20Ÿ	Transfiguration Mt Nebo link	21	Large crowd Luke 9:37	22	travel in secret Mark 9:31	23		24		25	2 drachma tax Matt 17:24	26	Nisan 26
27	Ý Matt 17:1-13 Mark 9:2-13	28	Ý Matt 17:14-21 Mark 9:14-29	29	Nisan 29	30	Nisan 30

Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon to be traveling at Passover so that He spent the minimum time in Judea combining going to the second Passover and Pentecost in only a few weeks and then probably incognito.

After Peter’s confession, selection as successor, 1st mention of the church, and first specific prediction of Crucifixion.

^*The feeding of the 5000 unleavened bread—broken not torn or cut, beware leaven of the Pharisees, but barley not wheat.

See Easter Transfiguration for a discussion of the events of this particular month.[49]

May A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
								1	Iyar 1	2		3
4	Omer 3	5		6		7		8		9		10
11	Omer 4	12		13	Jesus incognito?	14	2^nd Passover Iyar 14	15		16		17
18	Omer 5	19		20		21		22		23		24
25	Omer 6	26		27		28		29	Iyar 29	30	Sivan 1	31	Sivan 2

John 7:8 By interpretation, were these feasts optional because of the distance?

June A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
1	Omer 7 Sivan 3	2		3		4		5		6		7
8	Pentecost	9		10		11		12		13		14
15	Sivan 17	16		17		18		19		20		21
22	Sivan 24	23		24		25		26		27		28	Sivan 30
29	Tammuz 1	30

July A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
				1		2		3		4		5
6		7		8		9		10		11		12
13		14		15		16		17		18		19
20		21		22		23		24		25		26
27	Tammuz 29	28	Ab 1	29		30		31

August A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
										1		2
3		4		5		6		7		8		9
10		11		12		13		14		15		16
17		18		19		20		21		22		23
24		25		26	Ab 30	27	Elul 1	28		29		30
31

September A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
		1		2		3		4		5		6
7		8		9		10		11		12		13
14		15		16		17		18		19		20
21		22		23		24	Elul 29	25	Tishri 1	26		27
28		29		30

October A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
						1		2		3		4	Yom Kippur Tishri 10
5		6		7		8		9	Tabernacles Tishri 15	10		11«	healed blind^* John 9:1-10:21
12		13		14		15«	Tishri 21^# John 7:37	16	Tishri 22 John 8:1-2	17		18	Ý John 7:21-23
19		20		21		22		23		24	Tishri 30	25	Bul 1
26		27		28		29		30		31

*In the middle of the feast of Tabernacles (John 7:14) Jesus comes late to the feast in Jerusalem and healed a man born blind.

^#On the last and great day of the feast Jesus

Jubilee images: Sheepfold—Jesus is the door; Forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery; Freedom to slaves

November A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
												1
2		3		4		5		6		7		8
9		10		11		12		13		14		15
16		17		18		19		20		21		22	Bul 29
23	Kislev 1	24		25		26		27		28		29
30

December A.D. 32

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
		1		2		3		4		5		6
7		8		9		10		11		12		13
14		15		16		17«	Dedication John 10:22-39	18	Ü Kislev 25	19		20
21		22	Kislev 30	23	Tevet 1	24		25		26		27
28		29		30		31

January A.D. 33

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
								1		2		3
4		5		6		7		8		9		10
11		12		13		14		15		16		17
18		19		20	Tevet 29	21	Shevat 1	22		23		24
25		26		27		28		29		30		31

February A.D. 33

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
1		2		3		4		5		6		7
8		9		10		11		12		13		14
15		16		17		18		19	Shevat 30	20	Adar 1	21
22		23		24		25		26		27		28

Ministry in Parea, Lazarus raised.

March A.D. 33

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
1		2		3		4		5		6		7
8		9		10		11		12		13		14
15		16	Mark 10:17-31 Luke 18:18-30 ß	17		18	Vernal Equinox ß	19		20	Adar 29	21	Nisan 1
22	Passover Near John 11:55-57	23	Setting Out Matt 19:16-30	24	Nisan 4	25	To Jerusalem Matt 20:17-20	26	Jericho Matt 20:29-34	27	Luke 19:28	28	Bethany John 12:1-11
29	Palm Sunday John 12:12-19	30	fig tree cursed Mat 21:18-19 Mark 11:12-14	31	fig tree withered Mark 11:20	Ý	Mark 10:32-45 Luke 18:31-34	Ý	Mark 10:46-52 Luke 18:35-19:27			Ý	Matt 26:6-13 Mark 14:3-9

April A.D. 33

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
Ý	Matt 21:1-9,27 Mark 11:1-11 Luke 19:28-38	Ý	Plot to slay Jesus Mat 26:2	Ý	Last Supper Mat 26:17	1	Trials Caiaphas John 18:19-23 Mark 14-55-64	2	John 18:28 Matt 27:1 Mark 15:1 Luke 23:1,6-12	3«	Crucifixion^* John 19:13-21 Luke 23:13	4	Nisan 15 Mat 27:62
5«	Easter ^# John 20:26-31	6	Nisan 17 Unl.bread 4	7	Nisan 18 Unl.bread 5	8	Nisan 19 Unl.bread 6	9	Unl.bread 7	10	Nisan 21 travel	11
12«	Appears to 10 & Thomas	13	travel Nisan 24	14	travel Nisan 25	15	travel Nisan 26	16		17		18	Nisan 29
19	Night fishing 3rd appearance	20	Iyar 1 ÜJohn 21:3,4,14	21		22		23		24		25	Iyar 6
26	Great commission Mat 28:16-20	27	? 1Co 15:16 appears to 500	28		29	James 1 Co 15:7	30

^*Preparation Day—Friday Luke 23:54-55; Mark 15:42; John 19:42

^#First day of the week–Mat 28:1; Luke 24:1; Mark 16:29; John 20:1; the third day Luke 24:21. Resurrection

May A.D. 33

	Sunday		Monday		Tuesday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday		Saturday
										1		2	Iyar 13
3	Omer 5	4		5		6		7		8		9	Iyar 20
10	Omer 6	11	travel	12	travel	13	travel	14«	Ascension Acts1:3,6-13	15		16	Iyar 27
17	Omer 7	18	Iyar 29	19	Matthias chosen Acts 1:15-26	20		21	Ý Mark 16:15-19 Luke 24:49-53	22		23
24«	Pentecost Acts 2:1-41	25		26		27		28		29		30	heals Lame man Acts 3:1-4:4
31	Sanhedrin Acts 4:5-31				Sells Property Acts 4:36-37

This Table looks better when printed from MSWord, here is the link Jesus2YearMinistry.doc

ÜÝÞß These symbols are used to indicate information should be in the nearby date.

¬® Events covering a period of time.

Travel would span the gap between two events.

Shevat is the 11^th Jewish month

Adar is the 12^th month

Adar II is the 13^th month

Nisan is the 1^st month

Iyar is the 2^nd month

Sivan is the 3^rd month

« Precisely dated events.

Ÿ Likely the exact day.

Home H

[1] NIV, NASB, NAB, and JB; the RSV and NRSV put it in a footnote. Only the NKJV retain it. It was dropped because The Greek New Testament, (London, United Bible Societies, 1966) 224, puts deuteroproto in the apparatus. This selection is rated ‘C’ meaning, “there is considerable degree of doubt whether the text or the apparatus contains the superior reading (p. xi).” Deuteroproto has strong support in the Western, Byzantine and Caesarean manuscript families (p. 224). In Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, (London, United Bible Societies, 1971) 139, deuteroproto “is certainly the more difficult reading, it should not for that reason be adopted.” This will be further discussed later in this article.

[2] This must be at least the second Sabbath following Passover.

[3] There is another possible interpretation of second-first. The first Sabbath following Passover was counted as the first Sabbath. The next Sabbath would be the first Sabbath of the count of Sabbaths to Pentecost. Since both of these Sabbaths are first Sabbaths the second of these could be referred to as a second-first Sabbath. This option was not chosen because it does not fit the enumerated events.

[4] Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, rev. ed. (Peabody, Mass. Hendrickson, 1998) 350.

[5] Harold H. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1977) 60.

[6] Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, 351; Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 56-59; Robert L. Thomas and Stanley N. Gundry, A Harmony of the Gospels, (Moody, Chicago, 1978) 327.

[7] Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 56.

[8] Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 46, 49-50.

[10] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary The Gospel of John, 2 vol. in 1, (Baker, Grand Rapids, 1953) 175.

[12] John Pratt, “Yet Another Eclipse for Herod,” Reprinted from The Planetarian*, vol. 19, no. 4, Dec. 1990, pp. 8-14. www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/herod/herod.html. Bruce Killian, “Dionysius Exiguus, Got It Right, 2002, http://www.scripturescholar.com/DionysiusExiguus.htm demonstrates Jesus’ birth was on Christmas 1 B.C. Further confirmed by Bruce Killian, “Venus Star or Bethlehem,” (2003) http://www.scripturescholar.com/VenusStarofBethlehem.htm.

[13] Following this argument is most easily done with a harmony of the gospels or another work that sequences the events of Jesus’ public ministry in all the gospels. All are in general agreement on the time and sequence of events.

[14] Bruce Killian, “The Chronological Framework of History”, 2002, http://www.scripturescholar.com/JubileeTimetable.htm.

[16] John Pratt, “Yet Another Eclipse for Herod,” Planetarian, vol. 19, no. 4, Dec. 1990, pp. 8-14. link.

[17] Bruce Killian, “The Ladder to Heaven—The Lamb of God,” 2006, http://www.scripturescholar.com/LambofGod.htm.

[18] Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 364.

[19] Annie Jaubert, The Date of the Last Supper, 1965.

[20] The author believes the month was originally 30 days long and the year 360 days long. This changed most likely at the time of the pole shift in the days of Hezekiah when the shadow of the sun went back ten steps on the sundial of Ahaz (2 Kings 20:9-11; Isaiah 38:8).

[21] Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 43-9. Summarizes the Annie Jaubert’s arguments in a book still in print.

[22] Jesus also called attention to the end of the Jubilee at the feast of Tabernacles in A.D. 32, because He referred to himself as the door, a reference associated with the Jubilee. The Sabbath year and Jubilee years overlapped about six months, which allowed planting to occur so that a harvest could be reaped at the beginning of the third year. The two years of Jesus’ ministry nearly aligned to the time that all agricultural work was to cease. Bruce Killian, “The Chronological Framework of History”, 2002, http://www.scripturescholar.com/JubileeTimetable.htm.

[23] Cheney, The Life of Christ in Stereo, 234-6.

[24] Note if ones life was threatened if one attended a feast then normally the higher law of self-preservation would dictate that one not attend a feast.

[27] From his succession to Augustus, counted as Syro-Macedonian Calendar years according to the Non-Accession Year System. Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, 336.

[28] Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, 284-291.

[29] Archibald T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. II (Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1930) 80.

[30] Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (London, New York, United Bible Societies, 1971) 139.

[31] Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich and Fredrick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago, London, University of Chicago, 1979) 177.

[32] Joseph H. Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand rapids, Zondervan, 1978) 130.

[33] Note there were two systems of counting the weeks, one taught by the Sadducees and one taught by the Pharisees. The Sadducees taught that the weeks were counted from the day after the weekly Sabbath following Passover. The Pharisees taught that Passover was a Sabbath therefore the weeks were counted from the day following Passover. In Acts the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost by the Sadducean view.

[34] Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 53.

[35] Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausett, and David Brown, “The Gospel According to Luke”, (1871) http://www.blueletterbible.org/tmp_dir/c/1099430019-7648.html.

[36] This is similar to the Churches teaching on Lent today.

[38] F. Bechtel, “Sabbath,” Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13287b.htm.

[39] The traditional site of Sinai is wrong see Bruce Killian, “The Bible vs. Archaeology, You Decide”, 2002, http://www.scripturescholar/BibleArchaeology.htm. The actual site is Har Karkom near the southern border of modern Israel.

[40] John the apostle probably finds his brother James, at this time, but it is not specifically stated. Andrew finds his brother first, implies John found his brother second.

[43] Jesus is calling the attention of the disciples not to neglect to announce the gospel because of the nationality of the hearers—in this case, Samaritans (the ripe barley) rather than the grapes and olives still four months away that often represent Israel. Israel had not yet been fully tended. Where as the Samaritans were already ready to be harvested.

[44] Bruce Killian, “Venus, The Star of Bethlehem,” 2003-6, http://www.scripturescholar.com/VenusStarofBethlehem.htm.

[45] Bruce Killian, “The Time and Place of the Transfiguration,” 2002, http://www.scripturescholar.com/EasterTransfiguration.htm.

[46] Because the Essenes were a large group and disagreed with the chief priests on the days to celebrate the feasts, there probably was some freedom on when the feasts were celebrated.

[48] Annie Jaubert, The Date of the Last Supper, 1965.

[49] Bruce Killian, “The Time and Place of the Transfiguration,” 2002, http://www.scripturescholar.com/EasterTransfiguration.htm.