Jesus' infancy

The history of the infancy, is recorded only in Matthew and Luke.
Each Evangelist contents himself with five pictures:

Matthew describes the

birth of Jesus
the adoration of the Magi
the flight into Egypt
the slaughter of the Holy Innocents
the return to Nazareth

Luke gives a sketch of the

birth of Jesus
adoration of the shepherds
circumcision
purification of the Virgin
return to Nazareth

Jesus' Hidden Life

It was in the seclusion of Nazareth that Jesus spent the greatest part of his earthly life. Luke, 2:40-52; Mark 6:3; John 6:42; 7:15, are about the only passages which refer to Jesus' hidden life. Some of them give us a general view of Christ's life: The child grew, and grew in strength and wisdom; and the grace of God was in him is the brief summary of the years following the return of the Holy Family after the Presentation in the Temple. Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men, and he was subject to them form the inspired outline of his life in Nazareth after was twelve years old. When he was twelve years old Jesus accompanied his parents to Jerusalem, according to the custom of the feast; When they returned, the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem; and his parents knew it not. After three days, they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. It was on this occasion that Jesus spoke the only words that have come down from the period of his hidden life: How is it that you sought me? Did you not know, that I must be about my Father's business [or, in my father's house]?

The Jews seem to tell us that Jesus didn't pass through the training of the Rabbinic schools: "How does this man know letters, having never learned?". The same question is asked by the people of Nazareth, who add, "Is not this the carpenter?" Though it is not certain that at the time of Jesus elementary schools existed in the Jewish villages, it may be inferred from the Gospels that Jesus knew how to read (Luke 4:16) and write (John 8:6). At an early age he must have learned the Shema (Deut. 6:4), and the Hallel, or Psalms 113-118; he must have been familiar with the other parts of the Scriptures too, especially the Psalms and the Prophetic Books, as he constantly refers to them in his public life. It is also asserted that Palestine at the time of Jesus Christ was practically bilingual, so that he would have spoken Aramaic and Greek; the indications that he was acquainted with Hebrew and Latin are slight. The public teaching of Jesus shows that he had studied the c sights and sounds of nature, and of the habits of everyone around him very closely indeed.

Jesus' public life: his Journeys
Jesus' journeys, made during his public life, are grouped under nine headings here: the first six are mainly in Galilee - with Capernaum as their central point; the last three show Jesus in Judea.

ONE John, i, ii; Matthew, iii, iv; Mark, i; Luke, iii, iv.
Jesus leaves his hidden life in Nazareth, and goes to Bethany across the Jordan, where he is baptised by John and receives John's first testimony to his Divine mission. He then goes into the desert of Judea, where he fasts for forty days and is tempted by the devil. After this he lives in the neighbourhood of the Baptist's ministry, and receives the John's second and third testimony. Here he also recruits his first disciples, with whom he journeys to the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, where he performs his first miracle. Then he moves to Capernaum, one of the principal crossroads of commerce and travel in Galilee.

TWO John, ii-v; Mark, i-iii; Luke, iv-vii; Matthew, iv-ix.
Jesus goes from Capernaum to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. He throws out the traders from the Temple, and is questioned by the Jewish authorities. Many believed in Jesus, and Nicodemus came to speak with Him during the night. After the festival he remained in Judea and received the fourth testimony from John who was baptising at Ennon. When John had been imprisoned, Jesus returned to Galilee through Samaria where he met the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well near Sychar. He stopped for two days in this place. Soon after his return into Galilee we find Jesus again in Cana. Then Jesus is actively engaged in Capernaum teaching and healing the sick, among others Peter's mother-in-law and a demoniac. On this occasion he called Peter and Andrew, James and John. Then came a missionary tour through Galilee during which Jesus cured a leper; soon he again taught in Capernaum, and was surrounded by such a multitude that a man sick of the palsy had to be let down through the roof in order to reach him. After calling Matthew, he went to Jerusalem, and it was on this occasion that he healed the man who been sick for thirty-eight years near the pool at Jerusalem. Jesus returned to Galilee, and then to Capernaum where he healed a man who had a withered hand on the Sabbath day. Jesus withdraws first to the Sea of Galilee, where he teaches and performs numerous miracles; then retires to the Mountain of the Beatitudes, where he prays during the night, chooses the twelve, and preaches the Sermon on the Mount. He is brought back to Capernaum by the prayers of the centurion who asks and obtains the of his servant.

THREE Luke, vii, viii; Mark, iii, iv; Matthew, iv, viii, ix, xii, xiii.
Jesus makes another tour through Galilee; he resuscitates the son of the widow at Naim, and shortly afterwards receives the messengers sent by John from his prison. Then follows the scene of the sinful woman who anoints the feet of the Lord while he rests at table in Magdala or perhaps in Capernaum. For the remainder of this journey Jesus is followed by some pious women who minister to the needs of the Apostles. After returning to Capernaum, Jesus expels the mute devil, is charged by the Pharisees with casting out devils by the prince of devils, and encounters the remonstrations of his kinsmen. Withdrawing to the sea, he preaches a sermon at the lake, consisting of seven parables.

FOUR Luke, viii, ix; Mark, iv-vi; Matthew, viii, ix, x, xiii, xiv.
After a day in the city of Capernaum and on the lake, Jesus crosses the water with his apostles. As a great storm overtakes them, the frightened apostles awaken Jesus, who silences the winds and the waves. Towards morning they meet two demoniacs in the country of the Gerasenes, on the east of the lake. After returning to Capernaum he heals the woman who had touched the hem of his garment, resuscitates the daughter of Jairus, and gives sight to two blind men. Mark's Gospel places here Jesus's last visit to and rejection by the people of Nazareth. Then follows the ministry of the apostles who are sent out two by two, while Jesus Himself makes another tour through Galilee. It seems to have been the martyrdom of John the Baptist that brought about the return of the apostles and their gathering around the Jesus in Capernaum. But it did not dampen down the enthusiasm of the apostles over their successes.

FIVE John, vi; Luke, ix; Mark, vi; and Matthew, xiv.
Jesus invites his friends, tired out from their missionary labours, to rest. They cross the northern part of the Sea of Galilee, but instead of finding solitude, they are met by multitudes of people who had preceded them by land and boat, and who were eager for Jesus' teaching. Jesus taught them throughout the day, and towards evening didn't wish them to go hungry. There were five loaves and two fish at his disposal. After blessing them, they satisfied the hunger of five thousand men, besides women and children, and the crumbs filled twelve baskets. Jesus sent the apostles back to their boats, and escaped into the mountain where he prayed. The apostles were facing a harsh wind in the morning, when they saw Jesus walking upon the waters. They first fear, and then recognise Jesus, and Peter walks on the water as long as his confidence lasts. The storm ceases when Jesus has entered the boat. The next day brings Jesus to Capernaum, where he speaks to the assembly about the Bread of Life, with the result that some of his followers leave him, while the faith of his true disciples is strengthened.

SIX Luke., ix; Mark., vii-ix; Matthew, xiv- xviii; John, vii.
Jesus began a more extensive journey than he had made before. He passes through the country of Genesar, and on to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, where he exorcised the daughter of the Syrophenician woman. From here Jesus travelled north, then east, then south-east through the northern part of Decapolis along the foot of the Lebanon, till he came to the eastern part of Galilee. In Decapolis he healed a deaf-mute; in the eastern part of Galilee, he fed four thousand men, besides children and women, with seven loaves and a few little fishes, the remaining fragments filling seven baskets. The multitudes had listened for three days his teaching. After Jesus and the apostles had crossed the lake, he warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees; then they passed through Bethsaida where Jesus gave sight to a blind man. Next we find Jesus in the confines of Caesarea Philippi, where Peter professes his faith, and in turn receives the promise of the keys. Jesus predicts his passion, and is transfigured on the mountain (probably Mt. Thabor). Moving towards Capernaum, Jesus predicts his Passion for the second time.

SEVEN Luke, ix-xiii; Mark, x; Matthew, vi, vii, viii, x, xi, xii, xxiv; John, vii-x.
Jesus now steadfastly set his face to go Jerusalem, and as the Samaritans refused Him hospitality, he had to take the east of the Jordan. While still in Galilee, he refused the discipleship of several half-hearted candidates, and about the same time he sent other seventy-two, two by two, before his face into every city and place whither he Himself was to come. Probably in the lower part of Peraea, the seventy-two returned with joy, rejoicing in the miraculous power that had been exercised by them. It must have been in the vicinity of Jericho that Jesus answered the lawyer's question, "Who is my neighbour?" by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Next Jesus was received in the hospitable home of Mary and Martha, where he declares Mary to have chosen the better part. From Bethany went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, where he became involved in discussions with the Jews. The Scribes and Pharisees endeavoured to catch Him in the sentence which they asked Him to pronounce in the case of the woman taken in adultery. When Jesus had avoided this snare, he continued his discussions with the hostile Jews. Their enmity was intensified because Jesus restored sight to a blind man on the Sabbath day. Jesus appears to have his stay in Jerusalem with the beautiful discourse on the Good Shepherd. A little later he teaches his Apostles the Our Father, probably somewhere on Mt. Olivet. On a subsequent missionary tour through Judea and Peraea he defends Himself against the charges of Pharisees, and reproves their hypocrisy. On the same journey Jesus warned against hypocrisy, covetousness, worldly care; he exhorted to watchfulness, patience under contradictions, and to penance. About this time, too, he healed the woman who had the spirit of infirmity

EIGHT Cf. Luke, xiii-xvii; John, x, xi.
The Feast of Dedication brought Jesus again to Jerusalem, and brought about yet another discussion with the Jews. The Pharisees attempted to frighten Jesus with the menace of Herod's persecution; Jesus healed a man with dropsy, on a Sabbath day, while at table in the house of a Pharisee. Mary and Martha send messengers to Jesus, asking Him to come and cure their brother Lazarus; Jesus went after two days, and healed his friend who had been several days in the grave. The Jews are exasperated: Jesus must die. Hence Jesus withdrew into a country near the desert, to a city called Ephrem.

NINE Cf. Luke, xvii-xxii; Mark., x, xiv; Matthew, xix-xxvi; John, xi, xii.
From Ephrem Through Samaria and along the border of Galilee into Peraea - then south through Peraea, west across the Jordan, through Jericho, Mt. Olivet, Bethphage, and finally to Jerusalem.
While in the north, he cured ten lepers; later answered questions raised by the Pharisees concerning the kingdom of God, then urged the need of continual prayer by telling the parable of the unjust judge; (and the parable of the Pharisee and Publican; the discourse on marriage; the attitude of the Church towards the children; the right use of riches (rich young ruler), and the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. Towards Jerusalem, he predicted his Passion for the third time; James and John betray their ambition, but they are taught the true standard of greatness in the Church. At Jericho Jesus healed two blind men, and received the repentance of Zacchaeus the publican; he told the parable of the talents entrusted to the servants by the master. Six days before the Passover Jesus went to Mt. Olivet, as the guest of Simon the leper; Mary anointd his feet, and the disciples were indignant at this seeming a waste of ointment. A great number of people assembled at Bethania, not to see Jesus only but also Lazarus; hence the chief priests think of killing Lazarus too. On the following day Jesus solemnly entered Jerusalem and was received by cries of Hosanna. In the afternoon he met a delegation of Gentiles in the court of the Temple.
On Monday Jesus cursed the barren fig tree, and during the morning he drove the traders from the Temple.
On Tuesday the wonder of the disciples at the sudden withering of the fig tree provokes their Master's instruction on faith. Jesus answered the enemies' questions as to his authority; then he told the parable of the two sons, of the wicked husbandmen, and of the marriage feast. Then followed a triple trap from the Pharisees and Sadducees: they ask whether it is lawful to pay tribute to Caesar; inquire whose wife a woman, who has had several husbands, will be after resurrection, and ask: Which is the first commandment, the great commandment of the law? Then Jesus asks his last question to the them: "What think you of Christ? whose son is he?" This is followed by him pronouncing woe on the Scribes and Pharisees, and by the denunciation of Jerusalem. Jesus' last words in the Temple were expressions of praise for the poor widow who had made an offering of two mites in spite of her poverty. He ended by uttering the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, his second coming, and the future judgement; these predictions are interrupted by the parable of the ten bridesmaids and the talents.
On Wednesday Jesus again predicted his Passion; probably it was on the same day that Judas made his agreement with the Jews to betray him.

Jesus' life on earth falls into three main stages

birth & hidden years
Matthew (2:1) tells us that Jesus was born in the days of King Herod.
public ministry
Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself was beginning about the age of thirty years.
Luke (3:1) assigns the beginning of John the Baptist's mission to the fifteenth year of the Tiberius Caesar. Jesus' public life began a few months later.
passion & death
According to the Evangelists, Jesus suffered under the high priest Caiaphas AD 18-36, during the governorship of Pontius Pilate. Tradition places the death of Jesus in the fifteenth or sixteenth year of Tiberius, forty-two years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and twelve years before the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Jesus died on Friday, the fifteenth day of Nisan. This is stated by Mark, Luke and John.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are equally clear about the date of the Crucifixion. They place the Last Supper on the fourteenth day of Nisan, as may be seen from Matt., xxvi, 17, 20; Mark, xiv, 12 17; Luke, xxii, 7 14. John seems to agree with them on the question of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. The supper was held before the festival day of the Pasch (John, xiii, 1).

The Passion of Jesus: Its Preparation
Jesus prepared his disciples for the Passion, he prepared Himself for the ordeal and his enemies prepared themselves for the destruction of Jesus.

1. preparation of the apostles.
Jesus prepared his Apostles for the Passion by the eating of the paschal lamb, the institution of the Eucharist, the attendant ceremonies, and his lengthy discourses held during and after the Last Supper. For special mention: the prediction of the Passion, and of the betrayal by one of the Apostles and the denial by another. Peter, James, and John are prepared in a more particular manner by witnessing the sorrow of Jesus on Mt. Olivet.
2. preparation of Jesus.
Jesus must have found an indirect preparation in all he did and said to strengthen his Apostles. However, the preparation that was peculiarly his own consisted in his prayer in the grotto of his Agony where the angel came to strengthen him. The sleep of his favoured apostles during the hours of his bitter struggle must have prepared him too for the complete abandonment he was soon to experience.
3. preparation of the enemies.
Judas left the Master during the Last Supper. The chief priests and Pharisees hastily collected a detachment of the Roman cohort, and of the officials of the Temple, plus a number of servants and dependents of the high-priest, and miscellaneous fanatics with lanterns and torches, swords and clubs, who followed the leadership of Judas. They took Jesus, bound Him, and led Him to the high-priest's house.

the Passion of Jesus: trial
Jesus was tried first before an ecclesiastical and then before a civil tribunal.
1. ecclesiastical court
The ecclesiastical trial includeed his appearance before Annas then Caiaphas, and again before Caiaphas. The Jewish court found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, and condemned him to die, though its proceedings were illegal. During the trial came Peter's triple denial; Jesus is insulted and mocked, and after his final condemnation Judas despaired and met his tragic death.
2. civil court.
The civil trial comprised three sessions. The first before Pilate, the second before Herod, and then again before Pilate. Jesus isn't charged with blasphemy before Pilate, but with stirring up the people, forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be Christ the king. Pilate ignores the first two charges; the third he finds harmless when he sees that Jesus doesn't claim 'royalty' in the Roman sense of the word. But in order not to incur the displeasure of the Jewish leaders, the Roman Governor sends his prisoner to Herod. As Jesus didn't humour the curiosity of Herod, he was mocked and sent back to Pilate. The Roman Procurator declares the prisoner innocent for a second time, but instead of setting him free, gives the people the choice between Jesus or Barabbas for their paschal freedman. Pilate pronounced Jesus innocent for the third time and washed his hands. He had the prisoner scourged, and he condemned Jesus to be crucified.

the Passion of Jesus: death
Jesus carried his Cross to the place of execution. Simon of Cyrene was forced to help him bear it. On the way Jesus addressed his last words to the weeping women who sympathised with his suffering. He was nailed to the Cross, his garments divided, and an inscription placed over his head. While his enemies mocked him, he pronounced the "Seven Words". One of the two robbers crucified with him was converted, and the other died impenitent. The sun was darkened, and Jesus surrendered his soul into the hands of his Father.
The veil of the Temple was rent into two, the earth quaked, the rocks were riven. A Roman centurion testified that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. The side of Jesus was pierced with a lance to make sure of his death. His body was taken from the Cross by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, and was buried in the new sepulchre of Joseph, because the Sabbath drew near.

the Glory of Jesus
After Jesus' burial, some women returned and prepared spices and ointments. The next day, the chief priests and Pharisees secured the sepulchre with guards, sealing the stone. When the Sabbath was over, the women brought their sweet spices to anoint Jesus body. But he had risen, and there was an earthquake, and an angel descended from heaven and rolled back the stone. The guards were struck with terror, becoming like dead men.
On arriving at the sepulchre the women found the tomb empty. Mary of Magdala ran to tell the apostles Peter and John, while the other women were told by an angel that the Lord had risen from the dead. Peter and John came quickly to the sepulchre, and found everything as Mary had told them. Mary came too, and while weeping at the sepulchre, was approached by Jesus who appeared to her at first to be a gardener.
Jesus then appeared to the other women, to Peter, to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, and to all the apostles (except Thomas). A week later he appeared to all the apostles, including Thomas; later still he appeared in Galilee near the Lake of Genesaret to seven disciples, on a mountain in Galilee to a multitude of disciples, to James, and finally to his disciples on Mount Olivet before he ascended into heaven.