Jesus
(Dates approximate, and events from all four Gospels are included.)
4 – 6 BCE Birth
The Virgin Mary becomes pregnant at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. She and her husband Joseph travel to his family’s hometown of Bethlehem to register in a census ordered by the occupying Romans. Jesus is born.
4 BCE Magi visit and escape to Egypt
Wise men “from the East” arrive in Jerusalem, seeking a baby who has been born the "King of Jews." King Herod asks the magi to tell him when they find the boy. They find Jesus and worship him but return home without telling Herod. Herod orders the massacre of all boys aged two or under in Bethlehem. The family flees to Egypt.
8 CE Childhood
After four years, the family returns to their home in Nazareth. At age 12, Jesus travels with his parents to Jerusalem for Passover, but the parents leave him behind. Three days later, they find him in the temple, talking to the religious teachers who were astounded by his understanding. Jesus tells his mother, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49)
28 CE Baptism and Temptation
John the Baptist is attracting crowds in the desert as he “proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” “Prepare the way of the Lord,” he exhorts his audience. Jesus leaves Nazareth for the Judean desert, where John introduces him.. John baptizes Jesus in the River Jordan. Jesus goes into the desert for 40 days, where the devil tempts him:
DEVIL: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
JESUS: “Man shall not live on bread alone.”
DEVIL: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down [and angels will lift you up].”
JESUS: “‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
DEVIL: “I will give you [all the kingdoms of the world] if you worship me.”
JESUS: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” (Matt. 4)
With the Lord's blessing, Jesus returns to Galilee.
28 CE Disciples and The First Miracle
Jesus recruits two sets of brothers, fishermen on the Sea of Galilee: Andrew and Simon, and James and John. He recruits Philip and Nathanial and turns water into wine at a wedding – the hosts had run out, and Mary requested it. He delivers the Sermon on the Mount with lessons about humanitarianism, prayer, fasting, compassion, and false prophets. Around this time Jesus performs the miracle of the fishes and loaves. It was also around this time that Jesus brought Peter, James, and John (the Apostle, not the Baptist) to a mountaintop for the Transfiguration - a demonstration of his divinity:
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"There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus." (Matt. 17:2-3)
28 – 30 CE Teaching and Healing
With the disciples in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, Jesus ejects moneychangers for accepting Roman coins at the holy site while extorting pilgrims. He begins to heal the sick, including Lazarus (from death), Peter’s mother-in-law, a man with a deformed hand, and a man possessed (he similarly casts demons out of Mary Magdalene). Matthew, a tax collector and former Roman collaborator, joins. Jesus chooses the Twelve Apostles and amasses large audiences as he teaches across Galilee.
At the Sea of Galilee, Jesus sets out a Christian manifesto through parables concerning forgiveness, retaliation, lust, and greed. Traditional religious leaders are threatened by Jesus’ teachings and breach of Sabbath laws. Jesus calms a storm, sends the apostles out to heal the sick, and predicts a conspiracy that will lead to his death and resurrection.
30 CE Arrest, Crucifixion, and Resurrection
Jesus and his followers travel to Jerusalem for Passover, and crowds welcome him as the Messiah. Jesus infuriates the religious authorities by overthrowing tables in the temple and condemning the leaders’ hypocrisy. Judas agrees to betray Jesus. After celebrating Passover (Last Supper), Jesus and the disciples pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas arrives with arresting officers and identifies Jesus with a kiss. Jesus is tried by Jewish and Roman authorities for blasphemy. The Jewish authorities demand the death penalty, and the Roman authority (Pilate) does not intervene. Jesus is crucified on (Good) Friday; Judas commits suicide. When followers, including Jesus' mother, aunt, and Mary Magdalene, go to retrieve his body from a tomb on (Easter) Sunday, an angel reveals Jesus has risen from the dead. Jesus appears to his disciples and more than 500 other followers over the next six weeks before, atop the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem, he rises to heaven. The apostles continue to preach across the Middle East and Africa.