So how long was Jesus' ministry? From Ellis Skolfield's Study Guide:
http://www.christianeschatology.com/sg1.pdfStranger on the Beach
Two fishermen, Peter and Andrew, are on the shore of the Sea of Galilee cleaning and mending their nets. A strange man walks up to them and says, “Come, follow Me.â€
Matthew 4:20 “They straightway left their nets, and followed him.â€
Then Jesus sees a couple more fishermen, James and John, and says basically the same thing to them.
Matthew 4:22 “And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.â€
So let me ask, would sane men leave everything they know to follow some stranger they knew nothing about? Of course not, these fishermen knew who Jesus was because they’d been listening to Him preach.
"Jesus began His earthly ministry when He was about thirty, Luke 3:23, years before He chose His disciples, Luke 6:13. But how many years before?
Matthew, Mark and Luke are not complete histories of Jesus’ time on Earth, but eyewitness accounts of what the disciples personally experienced after they were called. That is why only three Passovers from the many years of Jesus’ ministry are recorded in the Gospels.
So how many years did the Lord Jesus actually minister and how old was He when He went to the Cross?
Because only three Passovers are recorded in the Gospels, most theologians assume the Lord was 33 when He went to the Cross, and most of us believe it, but what do we know from the Bible?
1. Qurinius was pro-Counsel in Syria When Jesus was born. (Luke 2:2)
2. A census sent Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. (Luke 2:3)
3. Herod ordered babies killed two years old and under. (Mat 2:16)
And What We Know from Recorded History.1
1. Herod died in June of 4 B.C. (GAD)
22. Quirinius was pro-council in Syria, 7-8 B.C. (GAD) (Inscription struck in stone states Quirinius was in Syria at this time.)
3. The Romans took a census every 14 years.
4. Archeological support for the Roman census of 6A.D., however, all authorities agree, 6 A.D. too late for birth of Jesus.
5. Archeological support for the Roman census of 8 B.C.!
6. No archeological support for a Roman census between those two dates.
1 Documentation: Packer-Tenny-White, Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Encyclopedia, Halley’s Bible
Handbook, the Internet, etc. There is never-ending scholarly argument about 1st century dating, available data was correlated and conclusions drawn from that picture.
2 GAD = Generally Accepted Date
Biblical Forties, Why so Many?
1. Rained 40 days and 40 nights during the flood, Gen 7:4
2. Noah remained in the ark 40 days after dry land appears, Gen 8:6
3. Moses was in the wilderness 40 years, Act 7:30
4. Moses was on the Mountain 40 days, Exo 24:18, DEU 9:18
5 Malefactors were scourged with 40 stripes, Deu 25:3
6. Israelites were fed manna in the wilderness 40 years, Exo 16:35
7. Tabernacle had 40 silver sockets, Exo 26:19
8. There were 40 year periods of peace, Judges 3:11, 5:31, 8:28
9 Eli (a high priest) judged Israel 40 years, 1Sam 4:18
10. Elijah was on the mountain 40 days, 1Ki 19:8
11. David ruled Israel 40 years, 1Ki 2:11
12. Solomon ruled Israel 40 years, 1Ki 11:42
13. Temple nave 40 cubits, 1Ki 7:35
14. Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days, Mat 4:2
15. Jesus appeared to the disciples for 40 days, Act 1:3"
But is this Important?
1. Yes! Knowing the length of Jesus’ earthly life is key to understanding two prophecies in Ezekiel.
2. Proves a traditional view long taught in the Church to be incorrect, making other traditions suspect.
Incidentally, according to Jewish tradition, a man had to be 40 years old to become a ruling member in the Sanhedran. Until Jesus was 40, He was thought to be just another rebel in Israel. But when Jesus entered Jerusalem that final time, He was greeted by the people (in an apantesis) as a king. I f He was 40, He could have seized control and the Pharisees knew it. That’s why they said such things as . . .
John 11:48 “If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.â€
At 40, Rabbi Jesus could have become their king, so the Pharisees believed they had to kill Him to stay in power.
