Literature. The information necessary to understand these topics may be found in any one of the better Bible dictionaries, in Josephus and more or less in text books on Biblical history such as Blakie.
Chapter XVIII.
The Story of this Period. It is common to designate this period as the "Life of Christ," meaning the time he spent on earth. There is, however, no scripture life of Jesus. The gospels do not claim to present such a life. They do, however, give us a vast amount of material and though different in purpose and consequently in content, they do present the same general picture of Jesus. The matter of arranging the material in an orderly way presents much difficulty. If a topographical outline is attempted it can only be approximately correct because at some points the gospels leave us in uncertainty or in ignorance. If a chronological outline is attempted there is no less of uncertainty.
The following outline, however, may be accepted as a scheme of study for the period. (1) The childhood and youth of Jesus. From the birth of Jesus, B.C. 4 to the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist, A.D. 26. (2) The beginning of Christ's ministry. From the beginning of John's ministry to Christ's first public appearance in Jerusalem, A.D. 27. (3) The early Judean ministry. From his first public appearance in Jerusalem to his return to Galilee, A.D. 27. (4) The Galilean ministry. From the return to Galilee to the final departure for Jerusalem, A.D., 29. (5) The Perean Ministry. From the departure from Galilee to the final arrival in Jerusalem, A.D. 30. (6) From the final arrival in Jerusalem to the resurrection, April, A.D. 30. (7) The forty days. From the resurrection to the ascension. May, A.D. 30.
The Childhood and Youth of Jesus. (1) The long preparation for his coming. The prophets had most emphatically proclaimed his coming and all things had from the beginning been divinely directed so that preparation might be made for his advent. His human ancestry had been selected and prepared. When the time drew near for him to appear, the coming of John the Baptist his forerunner, was announced to Zacharias his father (Lu. 1:5-25). This was quickly followed by the announcement of the birth of Jesus to Mary his mother (Lu. 1:26-38) and soon thereafter to Joseph, the espoused husband of Mary (Matt. 1:18-25). The beautiful story of his birth is told in the second chapter of Luke.
(2) The infancy. Of Jesus infancy we have several facts and incidents, (a) The appearance of the angels to the shepherds and the shepherds' visit to the babe, Lu. 2:8-20. (b) The circumcision at eight days old, Lu. 2:21. (c) The presentation in the temple where he was recognized by Simeon, Lu. 2:22-32. (d) The visit of the wise men (Matt. 2:1-12) and (e) The flight into Egypt, Matt. 2:13-23.
(3) His boyhood and youth. This is commonly called the years of silence: (a) We have the record of his parents' settlement in the city of Nazareth, Matt. 2:23; (b) We know that he had a normal growth, Lu. 2:40; (c) At twelve years old he was remarkably developed and from his reply to his mother we may infer that he was conscious of his mission, Lu. 2:41-50; (d) From Luke 2:50 we may infer something of the spirit which possessed him during the rest of his private life; (e) We also know his occupation (Mk.6:3).
The Beginning of Christ's Ministry. Here are several matters of importance. (1) The ministry of John the Baptist (Matt 3:1-12; Mk. 1:2-8; Lu. 3:1-18; John 1:6-33) who announced Christ's coming and prepared a people for him. This he did by preaching repentance and by baptising them as a profession of repentance and as a sign that they were forgiven. (2) The Baptism of Jesus. (Mt. 3:13-17; Mk. 1:9-11; Lu. 3:21-23; John 1:29-34.) At this time he put off the life of seclusion and entered upon his public career. He also received the Father's attestation to his sonship and the special equipment of the Holy Spirit for his work by which also John knew him to be the Messiah, John 1:33. By this act he also set the stamp of approval on John's work and showed that he was not in competition with John. (3) The temptation of Jesus (Mt. 4:1-11; Mk, 1:12-13; Lu. 4:1-13). We are given the place and length of time of this temptation, also three of the temptations and how they were met. In Heb. 2:18 and 5:18 we have some light on the purpose of this trial. It is probable, however, that all the import of it cannot be fully understood. (4) The work of Jesus begun. Here it is necessary to study two things: (a) The winning of his first six disciples (John 1:35-51); (b) His first miracle (John 2:1-11). At this point it will also be of help to call to mind that the method of Jesus was to preach, teach and heal (Mt. 4:23). At the close of the marriage feast, which usually lasted six or seven days, Jesus went down to Capernaum (John 2:12).
The Early Judean Ministry. The records of this period are very brief and may be studied under three heads, (1) The incidents at Jerusalem during the first Passover of Christ's public ministry. The two principal incidents were the cleansing of the temple (John 2:13-22) and the conversation with Nicodemus, Jno. 3:1-31. (2) The work out in Judea, where he won and baptized many disciples, whereupon John was led to make testimony to Jesus at Aenon, John 3:22-36. (3) His successful work in Samaria, concerning which there is given the story of his message to the woman at the well and of his two days' stay at Sychar. The period is made notable by two of the greatest discourses of all his ministry: (a) that to Nicodemus; (b) that to the woman at Jacob's well.