Jesus' Ministry Begins

HOMEPAGE Quotes From OT G- BeforeMinistry G- Late Life John G- Min'tryBegins G- Gospel Topics G- Feasts/Loc's G- Ministry Itin'ry G- Ministry Chro1 G- Ministry Chro2 G- Ministry Chro3 G- MinChroAltern G- Cana/Nazareth G- Capernaum1 G- Capernaum2 G- Parable1 G- Parable2 G- Parable3 G- SeaOfGal 1 G- SeaOfGal 2 G- Sermon1 G- Sermon2 G- Sermon3 G- Sermon4 G- PerMtMkLk1 G- PerMtMkLk2 G- PerMtMkLk3 G- PerMtMkLk4 G- PerMtMkLk5 G- PerMtMkLk6 G- PerMtMkLk7 G- PerMtMkLk8 G- PerMtMkLk9 G- PerMtMkLk10 G- PerMtMkLk11 G- PerMtMkLk12 G- PerMtMkLk13 G- PerMtMkLk14 G- PerMtMkLk15 G- PerMtMkLk16 G- PerMtMkLk17 G- PerMtMkLk18 G- PerMtMkLk19 G- PerMtMkLk20 G- PerMtMkLk21 G- PerMtMkLk22 G- PerMtMkLk23 G- PerMtMkLk24 G- PerMtMkLk25 G- PerMtMkLk26 G- PerJohn1 G- PerJohn2 G- PerJohn3 G- PerJohn4 G- PerJohn5 G- PerJohn6 G- PerJohn7 G- PerJohn8 O- PART I, A-C O- PART I, D O- PART I, E O- PART I, F O- PART II O- PSALM 1 O- PSALM 2 O- PSALM 3 O- PSALM 4 O- PSALM 5 O- PSALM 6 O- PSALM 7 O- PSALM 8 O- PSALM 9 O- PSALM 10 O- PSALM 11 O- PSALM 12 O- PSALM 13 O- PSALM 14 O- PSALM 15 O- PSALM 16 O- PSALM 17 O- PSALM 18 O- PSALM 19 O- PSALM 20 O- PSALM 21 O- PSALM 22 O- PSALM 23 O- PSALM 24 O- PSALM 25 O- PSALM 26 O- PSALM 27 O- PSALM 28 O- PSALM 29 O- PSALM 30 O- PSALM 31 O- PSALM 32 O- PSALM 33 O- PSALM 34 O- PSALM 35 O- PSALM 36 O- PSALM 37 O- PSALM 38 O- PSALM 39 O- PSALM 40 O- PSALM 41 O- PSALM 42 O- PSALM 43 O- PSALM 44 O- PSALM 45 O- PSALM 46 O- PSALM 47 O- PSALM 48 O- PSALM 49 O- PSALM 50 O- PSALM 51 O- PSALM 52 O- PSALM 53 O- PSALM 54 O- PSALM 55 O- PSALM 56 O- PSALM 57 O- PSALM 58 O- PSALM 59 O- PSALM 60 O- PSALM 61 O- PSALM 62 O- PSALM 63 O- PSALM 64 O- PSALM 65 O- PSALM 66 O- PSALM 67 O- PSALM 68 O- PSALM 69 O- PSALM 70 O- PSALM 71 O- PSALM 72 O- PSALM 73 O- PSALM 74 O- PSALM 75 O- PSALM 76 O- PSALM 77 O- PSALM 78 O- PSALM 79 O- PSALM 80 O- PSALM 81 O- PSALM 82 O- PSALM 83 O- PSALM 84 O- PSALM 85 O- PSALM 86 O- PSALM 87 O- PSALM 88 O- PSALM 89 O- PSALM 90 O- PSALM 91 O- PSALM 92 O- PSALM 93 O- PSALM 94 O- PSALM 95 O- PSALM 96 O- PSALM 97 O- PSALM 98 O- PSALM 99 O- PSALM 100 O- PSALM 101 O- PSALM 102 O- PSALM 103 O- PSALM 104 O- PSALM 105 O- PSALM 106 O- PSALM 107 O- PSALM 108 O- PSALM 109 O- PSALM 110 O- PSALM 111 O- PSALM 112 O- PSALM 113 O- PSALM 114 O- PSALM 115 O- PSALM 116 O- PSALM 117 O- PSALM 118 O- PSA 119 (a-d) O- PSA 119 (e-h) O- PSA 119 (i-l) O- PSA 119 (m-p) O- PSA 119 (q-v) O- PSA 120 (#1) O- PSA 121 (#2) O- PSA 122 (#3) O- PSA 123 (#4) O- PSA 124 (#5) O- PSA 125 (#6) O- PSA 126 (#7) O- PSA 127 (#8) O- PSA 128 (#9) O- PSA 129 (#10) O- PSA 130 (#11) O- PSA 131 (#12) O- PSA 132 (#13) O- PSA 133 (#14) O- PSA 134 (#15) O- PSALM 135 O- PSALM 136 O- PSALM 137 O- PSALM 138 O- PSALM 139 O- PSALM 140 O- PSALM 141 O- PSALM 142 O- PSALM 143 O- PSALM 144 O- PSALM 145 O- PSALM 146 O- PSALM 147 O- PSALM 148 O- PSALM 149 O- PSALM 150 FrontCover BackCover Preface PerspectivesA PerspectivesB PerspectivesC Original Tops CommentsOLD CommentsNEW Card 3/10 Card 12/09 LinksScripture Links1ChuMin Links2ChuMin LinksMusCam Links1Green Links2Green LinksJewish LinksOther

A. Below is the beginning of Jesus' travel-movement (itinerary) upon returning to Galilee after being baptized (note that all of this part A. is from John):

  1. After being baptized & later encountering John, John 1:28-29a,35,43a has, This all [John's baptizings & proclamations] happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan from Jerusalem where John was baptizing. The next day [the 1st day after being baptized-- Jesus yet on the other side of the Jordan] John saw Jesus. The next day [the 2nd day] John was there again w/ 2 of His disciples-- which disciples, Andrew & Simon Peter, followed Jesus for that 1 day. The next day [the 3rd day] Jesus decided to leave for Galilee-- 2 other disciples followed Jesus to Galilee.
  2. Now we see in John 2:1-11 Jesus turned water to wine: On the 3rd day after returning to his homeland of Galilee a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, & Jesus & His 2 disciples, Philip & Nathaniel, had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to Him, They have no more wine. Dear woman, why do You involve Me? Jesus replied. My time for my full ministry to start has not yet come. His mother, catapaulting his full ministry anyway, said to the servants of the master, 'Do whatever He tells You.' The Holy Spirit initiated the son's full ministry when she spoke to the servants of the master. Nearby stood 6 stone water jars, the kind used for ceremonial washings, each holding 20-30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim. The son instructed the servants to fill the jars of clay with the water of life that ceremoniously washes-- they filled them to the brim! Then He told them, Now draw some out & take it the master of the banquet. They did so, & the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside & said, 'Everyone brings out the choice wine 1st & then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.' The master of the banquet tasted the water of life that had been turned into new wine that became overflowing new wine, so that he might say, 'Well done, thou good & faithful servants! This, the 1st of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, & His disciples put Their faith in Him.
  3. Then we see John 2:12-25 Jesus cleared the Temple courts & described the true Temple (he would not entrust himself): After this He went downhill to Capernaum with His mother & brothers & His 2 disciples. There They stayed for a few days. When it was almost time for the Jewish passover, Jesus went uphill to Jerusalem. In the Temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep & doves, & others sitting at tables exchanging money. So He made a whip out of chords, & drove all 4-legged animals from the Temple area, both sheep & cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers & overturned their tables. To those who sold doves He said, Get these out of here! How dare You turn My FATHER'S House into a market! His disciples remembered that it is written in Psa 69:9: Zeal for YOUR House will consume Me. Then the Jews demanded of Him-- this was in Jerusalem; we shall see that in Galilee, crowds followed him (including teahchers of the Law & Pharisees), but there the attitudes ranged from respect to light confrontation, 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 yrs. to build this Temple, & You 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 He had said. Then They believed the Scripture & the words that Jesus had spoken. Now while He was in 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/women. He did not need man's testimony about mankind, for He knew what was in a man/woman.
  4. John 2:14 - 3:21; 3:22-36; & 4:1-42 describes various events that occurred in Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria-- but take note that John 3:24 says this was before John was put in prison.
  5. We see in John 4:46,54 that Once more He visited Cana in Galilee. This was the 2nd miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee-- for the full account, see Cana/Nazareth A.2. This also is where the proverb was established that is referred to below.
  6. Now we see him for the 1st time in his hometown of Nazareth, where Jesus quoted the proverb about Capernaum-- which event took place in Cana.
  7. After this he went to Capernaum-- & just south to the NW shore of the Sea of Galilee.
  8. So thus far the itinerary was: Jordan R. to Cana to Capernaum to Jerusalem to Samaria to Cana to Nazereth to Capernaum to the NW shore of the Sea of Galilee.

B. Now we see 3 other Gospel accounts-- it's imperative to note the underlined portions (that this was after he was in Jerusalem):

  • Mark 1:14 has, After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of GOD.
  • Luke 4:14-16 says, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, & news about Him spread throughout the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, & everyone praised Him. He went to Nazareth (His hometown), where He had been brought up, & on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. And He stood up to read. Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown [which actually took place in Cana] what we have heard You did in Capernaum I.e., he went to various locations in Galilee with the 2 disciples he had acquired from John.
  • Matt 4:12-13a has, When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, He went & lived in Capernaum-- see below about the remainder in Capernaum.

C. So, upon 1st entering Galilee from the Jordan R. he went:

  1. north-northwest 40 mi. to Cana. As we saw in John 2:1-11, there he was re-united with his family that he had not seen since he went across the Jordan R. to be baptized & tempted. Cana was the home of disciple Nathanael; there he attended a wedding (where his full ministry began). There where His mother was (Jesus & His disciples had also been invited), is where Jesus performed the 1st of His miraculous signs. The 2 disciples he had then were Philip from the town of Bethsaida (on the NW side of the Sea of Galilee-- later called the Sea of Tiberias), & Nathanael from Cana (John 1:43-45; 21:2);
  2. John 2:12 has him then going 15 mi. east-northeast to Capernaum with His mother, brothers & His disciples-- on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee. There They stayed for a few days.
  3. Next he went some 80 mi. south-southwest (yet with the 2 disciples) to Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria (see PSALM 143 Woman #8 Used-of-God The Samaritan Woman).
  4. Then he returned to Galilee, going the 80 mi., but to Cana (16 mi. west of Capernaum). There the proverb began about his doing a work in Capernaum-- actually, it was in Cana that he healed a centurion's son, who lived/remained in Capernaum.
  5. Leaving Cana, he went 12 mi. south to Nazareth & then 26 mi. northeast to Capernaum. Matt 4:12-17 says, When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, He went & lived in Capernaum, which is by the lake in the area of Zebulun & Naphtali-- to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah-- covered in PSALM 24 Isa<3>: Land of Zebulun & land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Luke 2:32 has, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, & for glory to YOUR People Israel [a covenant for the people (Isa 42:6b); salvation to the ends of the earth (Isa 49:6b; Acts 13:47b); light to HIS Own People (Acts 26:23b]. From that time on Jesus began to preach, Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near.
  6. Next he went perhaps a mi. or so south, by the Sea of Galilee, & acquired 4 more disciples-- it could have been at any point along the Sea, for there were reportedly many fishing towns along there (Capernaum was the most developed). But though both Matt 4:18-22 & Mark 1:16-20 cover these disciple-additions, & both start off, 'As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee', note that Mark 1:21 specifically says, They went back to Capernaum (see PerMtMkLk1 A.1. for both full accounts).

D. Notice the progression thus far: upon entering Galilee after being baptized, he 1st went to Cana, the hometown of Nathanael (1 of his disciples), to a wedding. There also was his family-- in particular it was his mother who jump-started his ministry. But alas, the power thereof was short-lived. There in Cana was his 1st & only miraculous sign-- he "ministered" in Galilee, until finally going His FATHER'S Way (recognizing Jerusalem). After this He returned in the power of the Spirit. He performed a 2nd miraculous sign (again in Cana), then went to Nazareth, then Capernaum, & finally received 4 more disciples by the Sea of Galilee-- just south of Capernaum. Thus we have the Scripture, Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered [experienced].