The Life and Ministry of Jesus
The Holy Bible records few details about the overall life of Jesus after his birth and throughout his life up till the age of thirty where Jesus begins his ministry to the people of Israel and the non-Israelite people of the Gentile regions. Jesus was raised under the Law of God and would have partaken of the practices of the faith of Israel. He would surely have made journeys with his parents to the temple in Jerusalem on holy days or feast occasions according to law of the God of Israel.
The Holy Bible records that at the age of thirty Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, a great prophet and preacher of repentance sent by God to usher in coming of the Messiah, or anointed one, or Christ. When Jesus was baptized in the water by John, the holy ghost showered down and rested upon Jesus and the voice of God proclaimed “this is my Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Following his baptism Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil for forty days without sin.
Following this temptation Jesus after he was strengthened began his ministry a message of repentance to all proclaiming the kingdom of God. He went about teaching in the synagogues, where the people of Israel congregated on the sabbath day to learn the law and prophets.
Jesus also begins to heal those with illness, infirmities and the lame, the deaf, and the blind. Jesus even casted out demons, or ill spirits, of those who were possessed. As a result, his fame spread throughout the regions.
Jesus often healed on the holy sabbath day and this act led the religious class, such as Pharisees and Sadducees, scribes and elder of Israel, to conflict with Jesus for supposedly breaking the sabbath law. Jesus performed many such miracles on the sabbath days further angering the religious class.
Jesus chose twelve disciples, or students of his, whom he gave power to heal the sick cast out demons and spread the message of kingdom of God, even baptize some.
Wherever Jesus walked he taught people about the law of God and proclaimed the kingdom of God. He often taught these through parables or stories to teach the people and help illustrate his ideas about the things and ways of God and his kingdom of heaven.
In addition to healing sickness and the lame, the blind, and deaf and demon possessed people, he also raised a young girl from the dead and Jesus raised a friend of his, Lazarus, from the dead. The raising of Lazarus, to life, made Jesus renown in the region and caused the religious class to seek the death of Jesus, and even the resurrected Lazarus.
Jesus openly rebuked corrupted Judaism and the hypocrisy of the religion of the pharisees during his ministry, further creating conflict of interest with the religious high classes. Jesus, at times, used the term Son of man, messiah, and later he stated he was One with God and identified himself with “I AM,” the name of the God of Israel. Later Jesus proclaimed he was the Son of God. The Jewish religious authorities accused Jesus of blasphemy against God and sought to put him to death.
Jesus on more than one occasion pronounced and foretold his own death to his disciples telling them of fate he was to suffer at the hands of the Jewish and Gentile authorities.
One of Jesus’ twelve disciples would betray Jesus and submit him to the Jewish religious authorities to judge him for the accusation of blasphemy.
Before Jesus is arrested and taken away to be judged, Jesus held a Passover meal on the evening starting the Passover, a most holy day of Israel commemorating the salvation of Israel from Egyptian bondage. At his last supper Jesus declared and proclaimed the New Covenant God was to make with Israel. He also proclaimed that his blood was to be shed for the remission of sins.
Later Jesus is arrested at midnight hour on the Passover eve. In the early morning hours Jesus is Judged, and in early morning Jesus is condemned to death by crucifixion, to be nailed to a wooden cross, by the roman authority. After three and half years of Jesus’ ministry on the earth, Jesus is crucified on the Passover day and expired on the cross before the close of this most holy Passover day.
Jesus was not only God in the flesh, but Jesus lived a perfect sinless life obedient to the will of God. Jesus obeyed the law of God in every way being the perfect Israelite. Jesus became the perfect holy sacrifice for God, as the Passover Lamb, to shed his holy blood on the cross to take away the sins of Israel and the sin of all men who would believe in Jesus and his name. This is why Jesus was born and why he came to die.
Next: The death of Jesus