The Life of Jesus

A timeline of the Gospels, in the order the events happened.

Four Gospels tell one story, and none of them tells it end to end. Matthew groups his material by theme, Mark runs at a sprint, Luke researches and orders, John picks seven signs and lingers. Read straight through, the shape of the life gets lost in the overlap. This page lays that story on one line: a short Before Bethlehem prologue of possible Old Testament appearances, then seven eras and eighty-four events from the manger to the Mount of Olives.

Built for D-Group, and useful to anyone reading the Gospels who wants to know where they are. Each entry gives the date and place as precisely as the text allows, every Gospel that records it, and one line on why it matters. Where the accounts are genuinely hard to line up, this page says so instead of smoothing it over. A short seven-era overview video ships with the D-Group deck for morning review; it is local until Erick publishes it.

On this page

Jump to the prologue or an era, or scroll the full line. Events marked In deck have their own slide in the D-Group deck (46 of 84).

  1. Before BethlehemBefore the incarnation10 candidatesPossible appearances of the pre-incarnate Son in the Old Testament. Offered carefully, not as required dogma.
  2. Nativity and Childhoodc. 6 BC to AD 813 eventsFrom eternity past to a twelve year old arguing theology in the temple. Then eighteen years the Gospels do not describe.
  3. Preparation and Early Ministryc. AD 28 to 3010 eventsThe forerunner, the baptism, the wilderness, and a first year mostly spent in Judea and Samaria rather than Galilee.
  4. The Galilean Ministryc. AD 30 to 3220 eventsThe great public year and a half. Capernaum as home base, the Twelve chosen, the crowds at their largest, and the turn at Caesarea Philippi.
  5. Later Judean and Perean Ministryc. AD 32 to early AD 3314 eventsThe long walk south. Most of Luke's best-known parables and John's sharpest confrontations belong to these months.
  6. Passion WeekNisan, AD 3316 eventsSeven days, roughly a third of the combined Gospel text. Laid out day by day, because the Gospels themselves count the days here and nowhere else.
  7. Resurrection and AppearancesNisan 16, AD 33, and the forty days after9 eventsAt least a dozen recorded appearances over roughly six weeks, to individuals, to the Eleven, and once to a crowd of more than five hundred.
  8. The AscensionAD 332 eventsForty days after the resurrection. The story does not end here so much as hand itself over.

Before Bethlehem

10

Before the incarnation

Possible appearances of the pre-incarnate Son in the Old Testament. Offered carefully, not as required dogma.

The story does not begin at the manger. Before the earthly life below, Scripture sometimes records moments where the living God appears in a form people can see and speak with. Across church history, many careful readers have traditionally read some of those appearances as the pre-incarnate Son. Others hold them as theophanies of God without naming the persons of the Trinity. This prologue gathers a handful of the strongest candidates in story order. It is a possible reading that points forward to Bethlehem, not settled dogma every Christian must hold, and it is not the incarnation.

  1. Melchizedek, King of Salem

    After the battle of the kings

    Bread, wine, and a blessing from a priest-king with no recorded genealogy. Hebrews treats him as a type of Christ rather than a settled identity claim. Held carefully here for that reason.

    • Genesis 14:18-20
    • Psalm 110:4
    • Hebrews 7:1-3

  2. The Angel of the LORD and Hagar

    The wilderness spring on the way to Shur

    A runaway slave meets the Angel of the LORD, names him El Roi, and walks away saying she has seen the One who sees her. Traditionally read as more than a created messenger.

    • Genesis 16:7-13

  3. The LORD Visits Abraham

    By the oaks of Mamre

    Three visitors arrive. Abraham addresses one as the LORD, bargains for Sodom, and eats a meal with the God who will one day sit at other tables in Galilee.

    • Genesis 18:1-33

  4. Jacob Wrestles at the Jabbok

    Peniel, by the ford of the Jabbok

    A man wrestles Jacob until daybreak, renames him Israel, and Jacob limps away saying he has seen God face to face. Many have read the wrestler as the pre-incarnate Son.

    • Genesis 32:24-30

  5. The Burning Bush

    Horeb, the mountain of God

    The Angel of the LORD appears in the flame, and the voice from the bush says I AM WHO I AM. Moses hides his face. The ground is holy before any manger is built.

    • Exodus 3:2-6

  6. The Commander of the LORD's Army

    Near Jericho

    A drawn sword, a captain who accepts worship, and the same barefoot holiness as the bush. Joshua falls on his face. Possible Christophany, and at least a theophany that will not be argued down easily.

    • Joshua 5:13-15

  7. The Angel of the LORD and Gideon

    Ophrah of the Abiezrites

    An angel sits under an oak, calls a hiding farmer a mighty man of valor, and receives an offering that goes up in fire. Gideon fears he has seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.

    • Judges 6:11-24

  8. The Angel of the LORD and Manoah

    The hill country of Dan

    Parents of Samson ask the visitor his name and get Wonderful. The Angel ascends in the flame of the altar, and Manoah says we shall surely die, for we have seen God.

    • Judges 13:3-22

  9. Isaiah Sees the LORD

    The temple vision

    Isaiah sees the LORD high and lifted up. John later says Isaiah saw his glory and spoke of him, tying the throne vision to Jesus. A theophany read, through John's lens, as the glory of the Son.

    • Isaiah 6:1-8
    • John 12:37-41

  10. The Fourth Man in the Furnace

    Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar's furnace

    Three Hebrews walk unbound in the fire, and the king sees a fourth whose appearance is like a son of the gods. One of the clearest candidates people reach for when they ask where Jesus is in the Old Testament.

    • Daniel 3:24-25

Then the Word became flesh. The eighty-four events below are the earthly life, beginning with eternity past and the Nativity. Begin with Nativity and Childhood.

Nativity and Childhood

13

c. 6 BC to AD 8

From eternity past to a twelve year old arguing theology in the temple. Then eighteen years the Gospels do not describe.

  1. The Word Before Time

    In deck

    No date. Eternity past

    Before the manger, before Bethlehem, before anything.

    • John 1:1-18

  2. Gabriel Visits Zechariah

    c. 7 to 6 BC. The temple in Jerusalem

    An old priest draws the once-in-a-lifetime lot, and the angel standing there is not part of the liturgy.

    • Luke 1:5-25

  3. The Annunciation to Mary

    In deck

    c. 6 BC. Nazareth, Galilee

    God asks a young woman in a nowhere town for her consent.

    • Luke 1:26-38

  4. Mary Visits Elizabeth

    c. 6 BC. The hill country of Judah

    Two pregnant women, one of them a teenager, and the first worship song of the new covenant.

    • Luke 1:39-56

  5. The Birth of John the Baptist

    c. 6 BC. The hill country of Judah

    Zechariah writes the name down, gets his voice back, and uses it to prophesy.

    • Luke 1:57-80

  6. The Angel Reassures Joseph

    c. 6 BC. Nazareth

    He had already decided to end it quietly. That was the merciful option.

    • Matthew 1:18-25

  7. The Birth of Jesus

    In deck

    c. 6 to 5 BC. Bethlehem of Judea

    The King of the universe arrives through the back door.

    • Luke 2:1-7
    • Matthew 2:1

  8. The Shepherds and the Angels

    In deck

    The same night. Fields near Bethlehem

    The birth announcement goes to the night shift.

    • Luke 2:8-20

  9. Presented in the Temple

    Forty days later. Jerusalem

    Two old people who had been waiting their whole lives recognize him on sight.

    • Luke 2:21-38

  10. The Visit of the Magi

    In deck

    c. 5 to 4 BC, up to two years after the birth. Bethlehem

    Foreigners read the sky correctly while the capital sleeps.

    • Matthew 2:1-12

  11. The Flight to Egypt

    c. 5 to 4 BC. Bethlehem, then Egypt, then Nazareth

    The gift of gold funds a refugee crossing, and Bethlehem pays for it in blood.

    • Matthew 2:13-23

  12. Twelve Years Old in the Temple

    c. AD 8. Jerusalem

    Three days missing, and they find him asking questions the teachers cannot answer.

    • Luke 2:41-52

  13. The Silent Years at Nazareth

    c. AD 8 to 28. Nazareth

    Eighteen years of ordinary work. The Gospels give it two sentences, and that is the point.

    • Luke 2:51-52
    • Mark 6:3

Preparation and Early Ministry

10

c. AD 28 to 30

The forerunner, the baptism, the wilderness, and a first year mostly spent in Judea and Samaria rather than Galilee.

  1. The Ministry of John the Baptist

    In deck

    c. AD 29. The Jordan valley and Judean wilderness

    Four centuries of silence end with a shout in the desert.

    • Matthew 3:1-12
    • Mark 1:1-8
    • Luke 3:1-18
    • John 1:19-28

  2. The Baptism of Jesus

    In deck

    c. AD 29. The Jordan, at Bethany beyond the Jordan

    The Father speaks, the Spirit descends, the Son stands in the water.

    • Matthew 3:13-17
    • Mark 1:9-11
    • Luke 3:21-22
    • John 1:29-34

  3. The Temptation in the Wilderness

    In deck

    Immediately after. The Judean wilderness

    Where Adam failed with everything and Israel failed for forty years, he holds.

    • Matthew 4:1-11
    • Mark 1:12-13
    • Luke 4:1-13

  4. The First Disciples

    c. AD 29 to 30. Bethany beyond the Jordan, then Galilee

    Two of John's men follow at his recommendation, and one of them goes to find his brother.

    • John 1:35-51

  5. Water into Wine, the First Sign

    In deck

    c. AD 30. Cana of Galilee

    The first sign is not a rescue. It is a party that does not run dry.

    • John 2:1-11

  6. Nicodemus at Night

    c. AD 30. Jerusalem

    A member of the ruling council comes after dark, and gets told he has to start over from birth.

    • John 3:1-21

  7. John the Baptist Steps Aside

    c. AD 30. The Judean countryside

    His disciples tell him the crowds are leaving. He tells them that was the plan.

    • John 3:22-36

  8. The Woman at the Well

    In deck

    c. AD 30. Sychar, Samaria, near modern Nablus

    His longest recorded conversation is with a Samaritan woman at noon.

    • John 4:1-42

  9. The Official's Son Healed

    c. AD 30. Cana, for a boy in Capernaum

    He heals from twenty miles away, and the father believes before he has any evidence.

    • John 4:46-54

  10. Rejected at Nazareth

    c. AD 30. The synagogue at Nazareth

    He reads Isaiah, says it is about him, and his hometown tries to throw him off a cliff.

    • Luke 4:16-30

The Galilean Ministry

20

c. AD 30 to 32

The great public year and a half. Capernaum as home base, the Twelve chosen, the crowds at their largest, and the turn at Caesarea Philippi.

  1. Headquarters at Capernaum

    In deck

    c. AD 30. Capernaum, north shore of the Sea of Galilee

    He moves the operation to a fishing town on the trade road.

    • Matthew 4:12-17
    • Mark 1:14-15
    • Luke 4:14-15

  2. The Call of the Fishermen

    In deck

    c. AD 30. The shore of the Sea of Galilee

    After a night of nothing, the nets nearly sink two boats.

    • Matthew 4:18-22
    • Mark 1:16-20
    • Luke 5:1-11

  3. A Day in Capernaum

    c. AD 30, a single Sabbath. The synagogue and Peter's house

    One day, hour by hour: a demon shouts his name, a fever breaks, and the whole town is at the door by sundown.

    • Mark 1:21-34
    • Luke 4:31-41

  4. The Paralytic Through the Roof

    In deck

    c. AD 30. A house in Capernaum

    Four friends wreck a roof, and Jesus treats the wrong problem first.

    • Matthew 9:1-8
    • Mark 2:1-12
    • Luke 5:17-26

  5. Calling Levi

    c. AD 30. The tax booth at Capernaum

    He recruits a collaborator, then goes to his house for dinner with his friends.

    • Matthew 9:9-13
    • Mark 2:13-17
    • Luke 5:27-32

  6. Lord of the Sabbath

    c. AD 31. Grainfields and a synagogue in Galilee

    He heals a withered hand on the wrong day, and that is the morning they start planning to kill him.

    • Matthew 12:1-14
    • Mark 2:23-3:6
    • Luke 6:1-11

  7. Choosing the Twelve

    In deck

    c. AD 31. A mountainside in Galilee

    After a whole night praying alone, he names twelve.

    • Mark 3:13-19
    • Luke 6:12-16

  8. The Sermon on the Mount

    In deck

    c. AD 31. A hillside above the lake

    The constitution of the kingdom, delivered on a hillside.

    • Matthew 5-7
    • Luke 6:17-49

  9. The Parables by the Sea

    In deck

    c. AD 31. From a boat on the Sea of Galilee

    The teaching method changes. Now he tells stories on purpose.

    • Matthew 13
    • Mark 4:1-34
    • Luke 8:4-18

  10. Calming the Storm

    In deck

    c. AD 31. The Sea of Galilee

    He was asleep in the stern. On a cushion.

    • Matthew 8:23-27
    • Mark 4:35-41
    • Luke 8:22-25

  11. Jairus' Daughter and the Woman in the Crowd

    In deck

    c. AD 31. Capernaum

    Two stories braided together, both about twelve years.

    • Matthew 9:18-26
    • Mark 5:21-43
    • Luke 8:40-56

  12. Sending Out the Twelve

    c. AD 31 to 32. The villages of Galilee

    He sends them out with no money and no spare shirt, which is its own kind of lesson.

    • Matthew 10
    • Mark 6:7-13
    • Luke 9:1-6

  13. The Death of John the Baptist

    c. AD 32. Herod's fortress at Machaerus

    A birthday party, a rash promise, and the forerunner dies for a dance.

    • Matthew 14:1-12
    • Mark 6:14-29

  14. Feeding the Five Thousand

    In deck

    Passover season, AD 32. A remote place near Bethsaida

    The only miracle of his ministry recorded in all four Gospels.

    • Matthew 14:13-21
    • Mark 6:30-44
    • Luke 9:10-17
    • John 6:1-15

  15. Walking on the Water

    In deck

    The same night. The Sea of Galilee

    “It is I.” In Greek, egō eimi. I AM.

    • Matthew 14:22-33
    • Mark 6:45-52
    • John 6:16-21

  16. The Bread of Life

    The next day, AD 32. The synagogue at Capernaum

    The sermon after the free lunch empties the room. He asks the Twelve if they are leaving too.

    • John 6:22-71

  17. The Syrophoenician Woman

    c. AD 32. The region of Tyre and Sidon

    She takes his hardest saying, turns it around, and wins the argument.

    • Matthew 15:21-28
    • Mark 7:24-30

  18. Peter's Confession at Caesarea Philippi

    In deck

    c. AD 32. Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of Mount Hermon

    The hinge of the whole story is a question.

    • Matthew 16:13-20
    • Mark 8:27-30
    • Luke 9:18-21

  19. The First Passion Prediction

    In deck

    Immediately after. Caesarea Philippi

    The confession is only half right until the cross is attached to it.

    • Matthew 16:21-28
    • Mark 8:31-9:1
    • Luke 9:22-27

  20. The Transfiguration

    In deck

    About a week later. A high mountain, likely Mount Hermon

    The veil lifts for about ninety seconds.

    • Matthew 17:1-13
    • Mark 9:2-13
    • Luke 9:28-36

Later Judean and Perean Ministry

14

c. AD 32 to early AD 33

The long walk south. Most of Luke's best-known parables and John's sharpest confrontations belong to these months.

  1. Setting His Face Toward Jerusalem

    In deck

    c. AD 32. Leaving Galilee through Samaria

    One sentence turns the whole book toward one city.

    • Luke 9:51-62
    • John 7:1-10

  2. At the Feast of Tabernacles

    Autumn AD 32. The temple courts, Jerusalem

    He shows up halfway through the festival and the crowd cannot agree whether to crown him or arrest him.

    • John 7:11-52

  3. The Man Born Blind

    Autumn AD 32. Jerusalem

    The healed man gets interrogated twice, thrown out of the synagogue, and understands more than the experts.

    • John 9

  4. The Good Shepherd

    Autumn AD 32. Jerusalem

    “I lay down my life for the sheep.” Nobody takes it from him.

    • John 10:1-21

  5. The Good Samaritan

    In deck

    c. AD 32. On the road, Judea

    He answers a question the lawyer did not ask.

    • Luke 10:25-37

  6. Mary and Martha

    c. AD 32. Bethany

    The busy sister is not wrong about the work. She is wrong about the hour.

    • Luke 10:38-42

  7. Teaching Them to Pray

    c. AD 32. An unnamed place, Judea

    They had watched him pray and finally asked how. The answer is short.

    • Luke 11:1-13

  8. Lost and Found

    In deck

    Winter to spring, AD 32 to 33. Perea

    Three stories, and the last one has no ending.

    • Luke 15

  9. The Ten Lepers

    Early AD 33. The border of Samaria and Galilee

    Ten are healed on the way. One comes back, and he is the foreigner.

    • Luke 17:11-19

  10. The Raising of Lazarus

    In deck

    Early AD 33. Bethany

    He waits two days on purpose, and then weeps at the grave anyway.

    • John 11:1-44

  11. The Rich Young Ruler

    In deck

    Early AD 33. Perea

    The only man invited to follow who walks away sorrowful.

    • Matthew 19:16-30
    • Mark 10:17-31
    • Luke 18:18-30

  12. Blind Bartimaeus

    Early AD 33. Jericho

    The crowd tells him to be quiet. He gets louder, and that is the last healing before the cross.

    • Mark 10:46-52
    • Luke 18:35-43

  13. Zacchaeus

    Early AD 33. Jericho

    A short, rich, deeply hated man climbs a tree, and Jesus invites himself to lunch.

    • Luke 19:1-10

  14. The Anointing at Bethany

    In deck

    Six days before Passover. The house of Simon the leper, Bethany

    One person in the room understands he is actually going to die.

    • Matthew 26:6-13
    • Mark 14:3-9
    • John 12:1-11

Passion Week

16

Nisan, AD 33

Seven days, roughly a third of the combined Gospel text. Laid out day by day, because the Gospels themselves count the days here and nowhere else.

  1. Sunday. Riding In on a Donkey

    In deck

    Sunday, Nisan 9. From Bethphage down the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem

    The one coronation he accepts, and he weeps through it.

    • Matthew 21:1-11
    • Mark 11:1-11
    • Luke 19:28-44
    • John 12:12-19

  2. Monday. The Fig Tree and the Temple

    Monday, Nisan 10. The road from Bethany, then the temple courts

    He curses a tree with leaves and no fruit, then walks into a temple with worship and no prayer, and clears it out.

    • Matthew 21:12-19
    • Mark 11:12-19
    • Luke 19:45-48

  3. Tuesday. A Full Day of Questions in the Temple

    In deck

    Tuesday, Nisan 11. The temple courts

    They throw everything they have at him and cannot land a blow.

    • Matthew 21:20-23:39
    • Mark 11:20-12:44
    • Luke 20:1-21:4

  4. Tuesday. The Olivet Discourse

    Tuesday evening, Nisan 11. The Mount of Olives, looking back at the temple

    His last long sermon is about the end, and it closes with three parables about being ready.

    • Matthew 24-25
    • Mark 13
    • Luke 21:5-38

  5. Wednesday. The Plot and the Price

    Wednesday, Nisan 12. The house of Caiaphas, and somewhere Judas met them

    The quietest day of the week. The council decides, and one of the Twelve names his price.

    • Matthew 26:1-5, 14-16
    • Mark 14:1-2, 10-11
    • Luke 22:1-6

  6. Thursday. Washing the Disciples' Feet

    In deck

    Thursday after sundown, as Nisan 14 begins. An upper room in Jerusalem

    His last practical lesson is not spoken. It is performed on his knees.

    • John 13:1-20
    • Luke 22:24-27

  7. Thursday. The Last Supper

    In deck

    Thursday evening, Nisan 14. The upper room

    Fifteen centuries of Passover get reassigned mid-meal.

    • Matthew 26:20-35
    • Mark 14:17-31
    • Luke 22:17-38
    • John 13:21-38

  8. Thursday. The Farewell Discourse and the High Priestly Prayer

    Thursday night, Nisan 14. The upper room, then the walk to the Mount of Olives

    Four chapters of last words, ending with him praying out loud for people who are not born yet.

    • John 14-17

  9. Thursday. Gethsemane

    In deck

    Thursday night, Nisan 14. The Mount of Olives

    The decision that saves the world is made on the ground, alone.

    • Matthew 26:36-46
    • Mark 14:32-42
    • Luke 22:39-46

  10. Thursday. The Betrayal and Arrest

    In deck

    Late Thursday night, Nisan 14. Gethsemane

    His last miracle before the cross repairs his own defender's damage.

    • Matthew 26:47-56
    • Mark 14:43-52
    • Luke 22:47-53
    • John 18:1-12

  11. Friday. The Jewish Trials

    In deck

    Friday, Nisan 14, roughly 1 to 6 a.m.. The houses of Annas and Caiaphas

    He stays silent until they ask the one question he will answer.

    • Matthew 26:57-68
    • Mark 14:53-65
    • Luke 22:54, 63-71
    • John 18:12-14, 19-24

  12. Friday. Peter's Denial

    In deck

    Friday, Nisan 14, before dawn. The high priest's courtyard

    “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.”

    • Matthew 26:69-75
    • Mark 14:66-72
    • Luke 22:55-62
    • John 18:15-18, 25-27

  13. Friday. The Roman Trials

    In deck

    Friday, Nisan 14, roughly 6 to 8 a.m.. Pilate's praetorium, and Herod's quarters

    The man with the power to stop it knows he is innocent and does it anyway.

    • Matthew 27:11-26
    • Mark 15:1-15
    • Luke 23:1-25
    • John 18:28-19:16

  14. Friday. The Crucifixion

    In deck

    Friday, Nisan 14, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Golgotha, outside the city wall

    Nine in the morning until three in the afternoon.

    • Matthew 27:27-56
    • Mark 15:16-41
    • Luke 23:26-49
    • John 19:17-37

  15. Friday. The Burial

    Friday, Nisan 14, before sundown. A new tomb in a garden near Golgotha

    Two members of the council who kept quiet while he was alive bury him in public, in daylight, in front of everyone.

    • Matthew 27:57-61
    • Mark 15:42-47
    • Luke 23:50-56
    • John 19:38-42

  16. Saturday. The Sealed Tomb

    Saturday, Nisan 15, the Sabbath. The tomb, and wherever the disciples were hiding

    The one full day of the story where nothing happens. A stone, a seal, a guard, and the women resting because the law said to.

    • Matthew 27:62-66
    • Luke 23:56

Seven words

The seven sayings from the cross, in the traditional order, spoken across those six hours on the Friday.

  1. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

    Luke 23:34

  2. Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.

    Luke 23:43

  3. Woman, behold, your son. Behold, your mother.

    John 19:26-27

  4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

    Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34

  5. I thirst.

    John 19:28

  6. It is finished.

    John 19:30

  7. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

    Luke 23:46

Resurrection and Appearances

9

Nisan 16, AD 33, and the forty days after

At least a dozen recorded appearances over roughly six weeks, to individuals, to the Eleven, and once to a crowd of more than five hundred.

  1. The Empty Tomb

    In deck

    Sunday, Nisan 16, at dawn. The garden tomb, Jerusalem

    The stone is rolled away and the face cloth is folded.

    • Matthew 28:1-8
    • Mark 16:1-8
    • Luke 24:1-12
    • John 20:1-10

  2. Mary Magdalene in the Garden

    In deck

    Sunday morning. The garden

    He says one word. “Mary.”

    • John 20:11-18
    • Mark 16:9

  3. The Guards Are Paid to Lie

    Sunday morning. Jerusalem

    The official story requires the tomb to be empty. Everyone agreed on that part from day one.

    • Matthew 28:11-15

  4. The Road to Emmaus

    In deck

    Sunday afternoon. The road to Emmaus, seven miles out

    He teaches Old Testament Christology to two nobodies on a back road.

    • Luke 24:13-35
    • Mark 16:12-13

  5. Appearing to the Disciples

    In deck

    Sunday evening. A locked room in Jerusalem

    He asks for something to eat.

    • Luke 24:36-43
    • John 20:19-25
    • Mark 16:14
    • 1 Corinthians 15:5

  6. Thomas, Eight Days Later

    The following Sunday. The same room in Jerusalem

    He names the exact evidence he requires, and gets offered it by name.

    • John 20:24-29

  7. Breakfast on the Beach

    In deck

    Within the forty days. The shore of the Sea of Galilee

    Three questions, one for each denial.

    • John 21

  8. More Than Five Hundred at Once

    Within the forty days. Galilee

    Paul writes this down while most of those witnesses are still alive, and says so.

    • 1 Corinthians 15:6-8

  9. The Great Commission

    In deck

    Within the forty days. A mountain in Galilee

    “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

    • Matthew 28:16-20
    • Mark 16:15-18
    • Luke 24:44-49

That morning

The four accounts of the resurrection morning differ on how many women went, how many angels they saw, and in what order any of it happened. One standard reconstruction, offered as a reading aid rather than as the answer:

  1. The women set out togetherBefore dawn, carrying spices to finish the burialMark 16:1-2
  2. They find the stone rolled awayThe tomb is open and the body is goneLuke 24:2-3
  3. Mary Magdalene runs to Peter and JohnShe assumes the body has been movedJohn 20:2
  4. Peter and John run to the tomb, then leaveJohn outruns Peter. Peter goes in firstJohn 20:3-10
  5. Mary stays behind and meets Jesus“Mary.” Then: “Rabboni.”John 20:11-18
  6. The other women see angels, then meet JesusThey take hold of his feet on the roadMatthew 28:5-10

The Ascension

2

AD 33

Forty days after the resurrection. The story does not end here so much as hand itself over.

  1. Wait for the Promise

    During the forty days. Jerusalem

    They ask about the timetable for the kingdom. He gives them a job instead.

    • Acts 1:3-8

  2. The Ascension

    In deck

    Forty days after the resurrection. The Mount of Olives, near Bethany

    The last thing they see is his hands raised in blessing.

    • Luke 24:50-53
    • Acts 1:9-11
    • Mark 16:19

Notes and sources

Translation
Scripture quotations and phrasing follow the English Standard Version. References are given so you can read the passage rather than take a summary's word for it.
Ordering
A standard evangelical Gospel harmony. Acts 1 supplies the Ascension, and 1 Corinthians 15 supplies Paul's list of resurrection appearances.
The dates
Baptism around AD 29, a ministry of roughly three and a half years, and the crucifixion on Friday, April 3, AD 33. Friday, April 7, AD 30 is the other serious candidate, and shifts every date on this page by about three years.
The temple cleansing
Treated here as one event, in Passion Week. John 2:13-22 places the same scene at the front of his Gospel. Many careful readers hold that there were two cleansings, one at each end of the ministry.
The genealogies
Matthew gives Joseph's legal and royal line. Luke is usually read as giving Mary's bloodline. Both are doing something deliberate rather than making a clerical error.
Disputed texts
John 7:53-8:11 and Mark 16:9-20 are absent from the earliest manuscripts, and the ESV brackets both. Where this page cites Mark 16:9-20, it is following the traditional text and flagging it here.
What is not here
This is the big picture, not a concordance. Individual healings, most of the shorter parables, and much of the travel between them are left out to keep the shape of the life visible.

84 events across seven eras. Where the Gospels disagree about order, this page picks one and says so rather than quietly choosing for you.