Jesus' Ministry, strictly per John (part 1)

[1] Jordan River (from the Dead Sea north to the Sea of Galilee, between the West Bank & Jordan)-- he was baptized in the southern Jordan R.;

[2] to Galilee (northern Israel; NW - SW of the Sea of Galilee):

1. in Cana (W of the Sea)-- attended a wedding, performed 1st miraculous sign;
2. in Capernaum (NW shore of the Sea)-- with family for a few days;

[3] 1st time in Jerusalem-- mid-spring, Passover Feast #1;

[4] to Judea (central Israel - central West Bank);

[5] to Samaria (north-central Israel - northern West Bank);

[6] to Galilee (northern Israel; NW - SW of the Sea of Galilee)-- after the 2 days in Samaria:

1. in Cana (W of the Sea)-- performed 2nd miraculous sign;
2. in Nazareth (S of Cana)-- referred to this proverb;
3. on/near the western beaches/shores of the Sea; obtained 4 more disciples-- now had 6; beaches are sandy/gravelly-- accessible to crowds; shores have rocks/bluffs-- could be "solitary" places;
4. in Capernaum (NW shore of the Sea)-- where He lived; then in/near Capernaum;
5. on/near the Sea/mountainside-- e.g., gave the "Sermon on the Mount": the "beatitudes" & teachings;
6. in Capernaum again-- having gone to lonely places;

[7] 2nd time in Jerusalem-- late-spring, Feast of Pentecost;

[8] to Galilee (northern Israel; NW - SW of the Sea of Galilee):

1. on/near the western beaches/shores of the Sea-- obtained disciple #7, Matthew;
2. in a synagogue-- of Capernaum?;
3. on/near the western beaches/shores of the Sea;
4. on a mountainside-- designated 12 apostles;
5. in Capernaum (NW shore of the Sea);
6. in Nain (SW of the Sea; SE of Nazareth)-- only recorded in Luke 7:11;
7. In various towns & villages;
8. BEFORE  CROSSING #1 <yet west>-- on/near the western beaches/shores of the Sea, gave the boat parables;

[9] WHILE CROSSING #1 <eastward>-- on the Sea of Galilee, calmed the winds & waves;

[10] AFTER CROSSING #1 <now east>-- in the region of the Gerasenes/Gadarenes/Gergesenes (southern Golan Heights; SE of the Sea of Galilee);

[11] back in Galilee (northern Israel; NW - SW of the Sea of Galilee):

1. AFTER RETURNING #1 <now west>-- by the Sea;
2. in Nazareth (SW of the Sea; S of Cana);
3. BEFORE CROSSING #2a <yet west>-- from village-to-village;

[12] AFTER CROSSING #2a <now east>-- on the NE shore of the Sea of Galilee:

1. fed 5000+;
2. disciples in Bethsaida (southern Golan Heights; NE shore of the Sea), Jesus on a mountainside.

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A.  In Jerusalem (for the Jewish Passover Feast) [3] above

    1. Jesus cleared the Temple courts & defined the Temple

• John 2:12-25 vv. 12-17 (about Jesus clearing the Temple) are in Psalms 7 - 11 Psalm 10 4. Jesus dealt... & are not repeated here-- taking up with v. 18: Then the Jews demanded of Him, What miraculous sign can You show Us to prove Your authority to do all this? Jesus answered Them, Destroy this Temple, & I will raise it again in 3 days. The Jews replied, It has taken 46 years to build this Temple, & You're going to raise it in 3 days?  But the Temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what had been said. Then They believed the Scriptures & the words that Jesus had spoken. Now while He was at Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs He was doing & believed in His name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for He knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man-- recall the common belief was that the Savior would appear as a king (not as a babe become child become humble man).

    2.  Nicodemus the Pharisee (on the Jewish ruling council)

• John 3:1-21 see Psalm ? - ? Psalm 143 1. Nicodemus...

B. In Judea (region SW of Jerusalem) [4] above

    1. John the Baptist testified farther about Jesus

• John 3:22-36 vv. 22-26 are in Psalms 7 - 11 Psalms 10 5. Jesus baptized..., & are not repeated here-- taking up with v. 27: To this John replied, "A man can only receive what is given him from Heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of Him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits & listens for him, & is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, & is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. The 1 who comes from above (has a heavenly father) is above all; the 1 who is from the earth (has an earthly father) belongs to the earth, & speaks as 1 from the earth. The 1 who comes from Heaven is above all. He testifies to what He has seen & heard there, but no one accepts His testimony. The man (incarnate Jesus) who has accepted it has certified that GOD is Truthful. For the 1 whom GOD has sent speaks the Words of GOD, for GOD gives the Spirit without limit to those born from above. The FATHER loves the incarnate Son & has placed everything in His Hands-- farther explained in E.2. below, which says this includes judgment. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life (is born from above), but whoever rejects the Son will not see eternal life, for GOD'S Wrath remains on him."

C. In Sychar (a town in central Samaria, the region north of Jerusalem) [5] above

    1. The Samaritan woman

• John 4:1-42 see Psalms ? - ? Psalm 143 2. Woman #8 Used-of-God

D. In Galilee (region north of Samaria) [6] above

    1. Jesus went to Galilee

• Matt 4:12-17 see Min'tryBegins C.5.
• Mark 1:14-15  see SeaOfGal 1 A.1.(1st part of 2nd pt.)
• Luke 4:14-15  see Cana/Nazareth B.1.(1st part of 1st pt.)
• John 4:43-45  see Cana/Nazareth A.2.(1st part)

    2. In Cana of south-central Galilee (Jesus healed a royal official's son)

• John 4:46-54  see Cana/Nazareth A.2.(2nd part)

E. In Jerusalem (for a Feast) [7] above

    1. Jesus healed an invalid on the Sabbath

• John 5:1-18 Some time later, Jesus went some 60 mi. south from Cana uphill to Jerusalem for a Feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda (Bethzatha; Bethsaida-- not to be confused with the town Bethsaida near the NE edge of the Sea of Galilee, across from Capernaum) & which is surrounded by 5 covered colonnades. Here a great # of disabled people used to lie-- the blind, the lame, the paralyzed (some manuscripts add, ' --and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an Angel of the LORD would come down & stir up the waters. The 1st 1 into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.'). 1 who was there had been an invalid for 38 yrs. When Jesus saw him lying there & learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, Do You want to get well? Sir, the invalid replied, I have no 1 to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of Me. Then Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your mat & walk. What took place in his heart 1st? He believed! Then standing up (likely without assistance) was his 1st act/work of obedience. Stooping over & picking up the mat were the 2nd & 3rd. Considering the 38 yrs. he was already far down the road. Reviewing: At once, before he acted, the man was cured; then he picked up his mat & walked. The day on which this took place was the Sabbath, & so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, 'It is the Sabbath; the Law forbids you to carry your mat.' But He replied, 'The man who made me well-- confirming that he himself had "merely" believed --said to me, Pick up Your mat & walk. So they asked him, 'Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up & walk?' The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. His initial intent was to communicate to his disciples that the 1st & foremost for 1 to "do" was to believe in him. Later Jesus found him at the Temple & said to him, See, you believe & obeyed, & now you are well again. Stop sinning (Repent) or something worse may happen to you. But, the man went away & told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted Him. Jesus said to Them, My FATHER is always at HIS Work to this very day-- no matter the belief, & every day I, too, am working. For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling GOD His own FATHER, making himself equal with GOD.