(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Hello everybody, it's minister tall23 back with another video. In this video and in a few of the following videos I want to discuss the proper chronology of the Gospels in the New Testament and especially focus on three parts of the Gospels the early ministry of Christ which is what I'm talking about today and then also later the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ and the reason why I'm here today discussing this matter is because of the fact that there are varying accounts of the ministry of Jesus there's the four Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John and they all focus on different details they all have different emphasis and everything how the unbelievers falsely claim that the four accounts contradict themselves because they're spiritually blind and they're unable to read it to the finer details and see that there is a unifying chronology in the text if you actually read it carefully instead of just buzzing through it so this video is to answer the claims of unbelievers and skeptics who claim that there are contradictions in the New Testament but also to help the believer somebody who's actually a Christian who's watching this video who understand the text better and see what's going on in what order to see the chronology so this is kind of a Bible study of not really focusing on a particular subject but just kind of piecing things together and looking at the individual details within the text to see what the order of events was in Jesus's early early ministry so what was the first event in Jesus's ministry what happened next what's the deal with the 40 days in the wilderness and the entering into Galilee where does all that line up with like the book of John which it talks about a little bit different things that it does in Matthew Mark and Luke and let's see what the Bible says so the first event in the timeline of Jesus's ministry was the baptism of John initially we see in the scriptures the ministry of John the Baptist it talks about how he was preaching in Bethabara beyond Jordan according to John chapter 1 verse 28 and then it also talks about him in Matthew 3 Mark 1 and Luke 3 and also John 1 as well it gives us stories of John's interactions with the Pharisees and other Jews now after these interactions and the ministry of John the Bible says in Matthew chapter 3 verses 13 to 17 then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him but John forbade him saying I have need to be baptized of thee and comest thou to me and Jesus answering said unto him suffer it be so suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness and he suffered him and Jesus when he was baptized went up straight way out of the water and lo the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lying upon him and lo a voice from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased so here we see that Jesus comes to John the Baptist to be baptized and when he is baptized the Spirit of God descends upon him now this is important for understanding where the account in John chapter 1 fits in because some have problems with the book of John because it's not considered part of the synoptic Gospels which would be the other three and therefore the chronology and the story and John seems to be out of place with Matthew Mark and Luke now John does not focus on the timeline of Jesus's ministry he does not go through all the events or all the main events like it does in Matthew Mark and Luke but rather he focuses on specific events and sermons in Jesus's ministry and therefore he often jumps around and skips many months or many days or many weeks at a time okay between chapters but looking closely at the following passage in John 1 verses 29 to 43 we can figure out what took place so it says the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and sayeth behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world this is he of whom I said after me cometh a man which is preferred before me for he was before me and I knew him not but that he should be made manifest to Israel therefore am I come baptizing with water and John bear record saying I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him and I knew him not but he that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost and I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God again the next day after John stood and two of his disciples and looking upon Jesus as he walked he saith behold the Lamb of God and the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus then Jesus turned and saw them following and saith unto them what seek ye they said unto him rabbi which is to say being interpreted master where dwellest thou he saith unto them come and see they came and saw where he dwelt and abode with him that day for it was about the tenth hour one of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew Simon Peters brother he first findeth his own brother Simon and saith unto him we have found the Messiah's which is being interpreted the Christ and he brought him to Jesus and when Jesus beheld him he said thou art Simon the son of Jonah thou shalt be called Cephas which is by interpretation a stone the day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee and findeth Philip and saith unto him follow me so the first thing to note is that when Jesus comes unto John John mentions in verse 32 that the Spirit descended upon him from heaven like a dove although the baptism of Jesus is not specifically mentioned in John chapter 1 we can't compare with the other three Gospels to see that this first day when Jesus appears and John says behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world is when he got baptized according to Matthew 3 13 the very reason why Jesus came unto John the Baptist in the first place was so that he could be baptized of him then as we see in the account of his baptism in Matthew 3 the Spirit descended upon him as a dove this is where John declares him to be the son of God now here's where things get a little tricky if you don't pay attention in verse 35 it says again the next day after John stood and two of his disciples on this next day Jesus is followed by Andrew who gets his brother Simon Peter to meet Jesus I would like to point out that this story in the book of John is not the same as when John calls these disciples to follow him later there's no record of the Apostles beginning to follow Jesus at this time but as indicated here one of them Andrew was at least already disciple of John the Baptist now later when Jesus's temptation in the wilderness is ended and he goes up into Galilee in Matthew chapter 4 that's when he finds these two brothers again as well as several other people and he calls them to be his disciples okay so when Jesus comes in Matthew chapter 40 says follow me and I'll make you fishers of men he already knew Peter and Andrew okay there's not they were just complete strangers that just didn't know him at any point okay he had met them before in John chapter 1 just the day after he got baptized now the reason why I said this passage could be could be said to be a little bit tricky is because in the book of Mark it says Mark chapter 1 verses 9 to 12 it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John and Jordan and straightway coming up out of the water he saw the heavens open and the spirit like a dove descending upon him and there came a voice from heaven saying thou are my beloved son in whom I am very and whom I am well pleased verse 12 and immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness now verse 12 seems to indicate that as soon as Jesus met with John it was baptized at the Jordan River then he went to the wilderness and that there were no events in between however in John chapter 1 in verse 35 it talks about other things taking place the day after and then the day after that according to verse 43 Jesus went into Galilee and found Philip then beginning at John chapter 2 it says in John 2 1 and the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there now since it says the third day we can assume that this is the third day after Jesus's baptism the first being when Peter and Andrew meet him then the second being when he met Philip and Nathaniel in Galilee and the third being where Jesus when Jesus goes to this marriage in Cana of Galilee since he was already in Galilee okay and we see later in John chapter 21 it mentions that Nathaniel is from Cana so that's probably where he met Nathaniel he was going into Cana at the end of that second day later down in verse 11 of John 2 it makes it clear that Jesus turning the water into wine in Cana was the beginning of his miracles so there was no other miracle done until that time that was his first miracle that he had done so it is really truly early in his ministry as the book of John shows us it's only the third day after his baptism so what about Mark 1 12 well I don't believe that this means that Jesus without delay after his baptism was tempted in the wilderness but rather when the Spirit drove him in the wilderness it was something that took place quickly first of all that's the only interpretation I could think of for these events to work together but we also see this in the book of Luke it says in Luke 4 1 and Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness so it says Jesus returned from Jordan now the fact that he uses the word returned indicates that he went back to where he came from according to Matthew 3 13 Jesus came from Galilee where his home was to go to Jordan so what happened was when Jesus was baptized by John he returns to Galilee two days after according to John 1 where he meets Philip and Nathaniel who was of Cana and Jesus goes to Cana for this wedding described in John 2 then he goes to another place according to John 2 12 it says after this he went out to Capernaum he and his mother and his brethren and his disciples and they continued there not many days so I believe that it is after this that Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days and when the Bible says immediately it means that there was no delay when the Spirit drove him there okay like it wasn't something he prepared for or packed up for something like that it was just he was there and he just went straight into the wilderness it wasn't like there was any warning or anything like that that's what I believe Mark 1 12 means so he goes from Cana and Galilee to Capernaum and then to the Judean desert the wilderness and he's tempted by the devil for 40 days in that wilderness now the next important detail concerns the last temptation that the devil gives against Christ in the wilderness it says in the book of Luke chapter 4 verses 9 to 13 and he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle of the temple and said unto him if thou be the Son of God cast thyself down from hence for it is written he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee and in their hand in their hands they shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone and Jesus answering said unto him it is said thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God and when the devil had ended all the temptation he departed from him for a season now in Matthew it says he is brought into the holy city which would be Jerusalem and then it tells us of how he was brought into an exceeding high mountain afterwards now since Luke ends the story with Jesus being in Jerusalem I believe that this mountain that he's brought into is somewhere in the whereabouts of Jerusalem and that Jesus is wandering in the wilderness for 40 days ends with him being in Jerusalem the reason why this detail is important is because the next event in the book of John is about Jesus in Jerusalem okay so we go from verse 12 where it talks about how he's in Capernaum not many days then in verse 13 there's a little bit of a time skip where it says in John 2 13 and the Jews Passover was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem so Jesus arrives at Jerusalem after being administered to by the angels after this 40-day temptation and it's at the time of the Passover and this is when he drives out the money changers from the temple in John chapter 2 and then in John chapter 3 that's when he speaks to Nicodemus who comes unto him by night now after speaking to Nicodemus immediately after it says in John 3 verse 22 to 25 after these things so after he speaks to Nicodemus came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea and there he tarried with them and baptized and John also was baptizing in Enon near to Salim because there was much water there and they came and were baptized for John was not yet cast into prison then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying now the important detail to note is that in verse 24 it states that John was not yet cast into prison now by the time the temptation in the wilderness ends John's ministry was still going on Jesus after his shortstop in Jerusalem around the Passover goes through the land of Judea and baptizes with his disciples then the Jews come to John asking him questions and we see that in the latter half of John chapter 3 where the message of John the Baptist is to these Jews and this is important for understanding the following scripture as well mark chapter 1 verses 13 to 15 it says and he was there in the wilderness 40 days tempted of Satan and was with the wild beast and the angels ministered unto him now after that John was put in prison Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent ye and believe the gospel now in between verse 13 and 14 there is a gap in time verse 14 starts off with the words now after that John was put in prison Jesus came into Galilee now this phrase after that is not referring to after his temptation in the wilderness but after John was put into prison the grammar in this verse is similar to that which is said in Ephesians 1 13 in whom you also trusted after that you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation so it's not saying that you hear the word after you trust Christ but after that you heard the word the gospel of your salvation you trusted Christ okay now based on John 3 we know that Jesus did not immediately go into Galilee okay when his 40-day temptation ended he was in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover okay and he was there then he went to the land of Judea and preached for a period of time mark 1 14 as well as the account in Matthew and Luke skip to the next highlight in Jesus's ministry when he finally does go into Galilee but this only happens after John is put into prison and according to John 3 24 he was not yet put into prison at this time so first after Jesus's temptation he remains in Jerusalem he then baptizes in Judea before John is put into prison at an unrevealed amount of time later so after John is put into prison Jesus came into Galilee as recorded in Matthew Mark and Luke however on the way from Judea to Galilee he stopped in Samaria as it says in John 4 verses 3 to 5 he left Judea and departed again into Galilee so I believe this is the same departing into Galilee as talked about in Mark 1 and and Luke 4 and Matthew 4 so it says in verse 4 and he must needs go through Samaria then cometh he to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph now if you know the geography of this region Samaria is in between Judea and Galilee okay and therefore Christ passed through it on the way and he stopped at the city of Sychar by Jacob's well and that's where in John 4 it tells the story of Jesus's encounter with the Samaritan woman at that well then two days after he departed in Galilee as told to us by John 4 43 it says in the book of Luke Luke 4 verse 14 to 16 and Jesus returned in the power of the spirit into Galilee and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about and he taught in their synagogues being glorified of all and he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read now in John it talks about Jesus going into Cana of Galilee it's possible that he could have gone there first since here it mentions in Luke in verse 15 that he taught in synagogues before coming to Nazareth but the first named place where it records him teaching is in Nazareth where he reads from the scroll of Isaiah and I'm gonna read the whole passage for sake of time but he declares the scripture as being fulfilled at this time he then is cast out of Nazareth and as it says in the book of Matthew chapter 4 verses 12 to 13 now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison he departed into Galilee and leaving Nazareth he came and dwelt in Capernaum which is upon the seacoast in the borders of Zebulun and Nephthalim it doesn't mention in Matthew's account why he was in Nazareth but of course if we compare with Luke chapter 4 we know why he was there and we know what he did in Nazareth so Jesus first goes to Cana as he passes through Samaria he gets into Galilee first goes to Cana and a few other named towns then to Nazareth and when he leaves Nazareth he goes to Capernaum where according to Luke chapter 4 verses 31 to 36 it's where he cast out a devil from a man in the synagogues he then goes around to other cities of Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom and performing various miracles and the last event I want to touch on today in Jesus's early ministry was the calling of his disciples in Matthew 4 verses 18 20 and Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee saw two brethren Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea for they were fishers and he saith unto them follow me and I will make you fishers of men and they straightway left their nets and followed him a much more detailed account is found in Luke chapter 5 however this briefly shows us the calling of Jesus's disciples to follow him if you recall he had met these two men before the day after he got baptized at this point it's a few months later showing us that Peter and Andrew had returned to fishing and did not follow Jesus through his temptation and his short ministry in Judea at this time Jesus finally meets with Andrew and Peter again and calls them to follow him as two of the twelve apostles to be his permanent disciples and therefore we have these first two apostles who have now come to follow Jesus the same chapter and also Luke 5 it talks about the sons of Zebedee as well and several other apostles in the next few chapters so as a recap for the early ministry of Jesus from the preaching of John the Baptist to the calling of Peter and Andrew at the Sea of Galilee Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River where John was baptizing at Bethabara to be baptized of it the next day Andrew who was a disciple of John the Baptist as well as another disciple of John followed Jesus and abode with him Andrew got his brother Peter to introduce him to Christ and the next day Jesus returned into Galilee where he had come from he returned to his home where he first came to Philip of Bethsaida then to Cana in Galilee where he met Nathaniel the third day after his baptism there is a wedding in Cana where Jesus did his first miracle he turned water into wine he then goes down to Capernaum for a brief time with his disciples and his mother and his brethren and then is driven into the wilderness by the Spirit where he is tempted 40 days by the devil the devil brings him up to a pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem where his temptation ends and he is ministered to by the angels in Jerusalem at that time is the Feast of Passover and he casts out the merchants from the temples he overthrows the tables of the money changers and he does several miracles in Jerusalem Nicodemus comes up to him by night and Jesus preaches unto him then shortly after that Jesus leaves Jerusalem into the rest of Judea where he begins to make more disciples and baptized in the land of Judea and at this point John the Baptist hears about Christ's growing ministry John the Baptist is cast into prison and at that point when Jesus hears about it Jesus goes back to Galilee passing through Samaria on the way preaches in Samaria particularly the the city of Zechar to a woman and several others of that town then he departs in the Galilee where he goes to Cana and he heals first the son of a nobleman he goes to the synagogue in Nazareth reads from Isaiah 61 and declares himself to fulfill the scripture but he's cast out goes to Capernaum where he casts out a devil out of a man in the synagogue as he goes throughout Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom and performing various miracles he eventually comes to the Sea of Galilee where he sees Peter and Andrew again and calls them to follow him to be his disciples so that I believe is the correct chronology of the early portion of the Gospels and it's based on the details that's given in the scriptures so I hope this has been very informational and I hope that it's helped you to have a better picture of what Jesus's ministry was like and what happened in what order you know speak sometimes it could be confusing at first if we don't pay attention if we just kind of just glance over it or just read it and don't look at the finer details especially since there are different records that highlight different events so I hope this has helped you believers out there but also I would like to say for those people who think that the Bible has contradictions oftentimes they'll point out contradictions or so-called contradictions within the Gospels because they'll say well you know there are four counts which are supposed to be telling the same story and it seems like they're telling different stories and they're saying different things happen at different times and and you know everything doesn't really line up but it does line up if you actually do the study instead of just being lazy and you know reading it superficially so yes the Gospels do line up and the other point that that the the unbelievers and the skeptics will point out they'll also talk about the crucifixion and the resurrection they'll say that these stories in those chapters towards the end of the Gospels contradict and that different events seem to be out of place in different books but I'll show you in the next video which will probably be next week and then I'll try to do both the crucifixion and the resurrection next week to show that no there's no contradiction in those stories as well and to show you what the actual chronology is and what actually happened by looking at the finer details so thank you ready for watching God bless you and goodbye