Chronology of the Life of Jesus Christ

In the following paragraphs we shall endeavour to
establish the absolute and relative chronology of our
Lord's life, i.e. we shall show first how certain facts
connected with the history of Jesus Christ fit in with
the course of universal history, and secondly how the
rest of the life of Jesus must be arranged according to
the inter relation of its single elements.

A. ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

The incidents whose absolute chronology may be
determined with more or less probability are the year
of Christ's nativity, of the beginning of His public
life, and of His death. As we cannot fully examine the
data entering into these several problems, the reader
ought to compare what has been said on these points in
the article BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY.

(1) The Nativity

St. Matthew (ii, 1) tells us that Jesus was born "in
the days of king Herod". Josephus (Ant., XVII, viii, 1)
informs us that Herod died after ruling thirty four
years de facto, thirty seven years de jure. Now Herod
was made rightful King of Judea A.U.C. 714, while he
began his actual rule after taking Jerusalem A.U.C.
717. As the Jews reckoned their years from Nisan to
Nisan, and counted fractional parts as an entire year,
the above data will place the death of Herod in A.U.C.
749, 750, 751. Again, Josephus tells us from that an
eclipse of the moon occurred not long before Herod's
death; such an eclipse occurred from 12 to 13 March,
A.U.C. 750, so that Herod must have died before the
Passover of that year which fell on 12 April (Josephus,
"Ant"., iv, 4; viii, 4). As Herod killed the children
up to two years old, in order to destroy the new born
King of the Jews, we are led to believe that Jesus may
have been born A.U.C. 747, 748, 749. The enrolment
under Cyrinus mentioned by St. Luke in connection with
the nativity of Jesus Christ, and the remarkable
astronomical conjunction of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
in Pisces, in the spring of A.U.C. 748, will not lead
us to any more definite result.

(2) Beginning of the Public Ministry

The date of the beginning of Christ's ministry may be
calculated from three different data found respectively
in Luke, iii, 23; Josephus, "Bel. Jud." I, xxi, 1; or
"Ant.", XV, ii, 1; and Luke, iii, 1. The first of these
passages reads: "And Jesus himself was beginning about
the age of thirty years". The phrase "was beginning"
does not qualify the following expression "about the
age of thirty years", but rather indicates the
commencement of the public life. As we have found that
the birth of Jesus falls within the period 747-749
A.U.C., His public life must begin about 777-779 A.U.C.
Second, when, shortly before the first Pasch of His
public life, Jesus had cast the buyers and sellers out
of the Temple, the Jews said: "Six and forty years was
this temple in building" (John , ii, 20). Now,
according to the testimony of Josephus (loc.cit.), the
building of the Temple began in the fifteenth year of
Herod's actual reign or in the eighteenth of his reign
de jure, i.e. 732 A.U.C.; hence, adding the forty six
years of actual building, the Pasch of Christ's first
year of public life must have fallen in 778 A.U.C.
Third, the Gospel of St. Luke (iii, 1) assigns the
beginning of St. John the Baptist's mission to the
"fifteenth year of the Tiberius Caesar". Augustus, the
predecessor of Tiberius, died 19 Aug., 767 A.U.C., so
that the fifteenth year of Tiberius 's independent
reign is 782 A.U.C.; but then Tiberius began to be
associate of Augustus in A.U.C. 764, so that the
fifteenth year reckoned from this date falls in A.U.C.
778. Jesus Christ's public life began a few months
later, i. e. about A.U.C. 779.

(3) The Year of the Death of Christ

According to the Evangelists, Jesus suffered under the
high priest Caiphas (A.U.C. 772-90, or A.D. 18-36),
during the governorship of Pontius Pilate A.U.C. 780
90). But this leaves the time rather indefinite.
Tradition, the patristic testimonies for which have
been collected by Patrizi (De Evangeliis), places the
death of Jesus in the fifteenth (or sixteenth) year of
Tiberius, in the consulship of the Gemini, forty two
years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and twelve
years before the preaching of the Gospel to the
Gentiles. We have already seen that the fifteenth year
of Tiberius is either 778 or 782, according to its
computation from the beginning of Tiberius's associate
or sole reign; the consulship of the Gemini (Fufius and
Rubellius) fell in A.U.C. 782; the forty second year
before the destruction of Jerusalem is A.D. 29, or
A.U.C. 782, twelve years before the preaching of the
Gospel to the Gentiles brings us to the same year, A.D.
29 or A.U.C. 782, since the conversion of Cornelius,
which marks the opening of the Gentile missions, fell
probably in A.D. 40 or 41.

(4) The Day of the Death of Christ

Jesus died on Friday, the fifteenth day of Nisan. That
He died on Friday is clearly stated by Mark (xv, 42),
Luke (xxiii, 54), and John (xix, 31). The few writers
who assign another day for Christ's death are
ptactically lost in the multitude of authorities who
place it on Friday. What is more, they do not even
agree among themselves: Epiphanius, e.g., places the
Crucifixion on Tuesday; Lactantius, on Saturday;
Westcott, on Thursday; Cassiodorus and Gregory of
Tours, not on Friday. The first three Evangelists are
equally clear about the date of the Crucifixion. They
place the Last Supper on the fourteenth day of Nisan,
as may be seen from Matt., xxvi, 17, 20; Mark, xiv, 12
17; Luke, xxii, 7 14. Nor can there be any doubt about
St. John's agreement with the Synoptic Evangelists on
the question of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion.
The supper was held "before the festival day of the
Pasch" (John, xiii, 1), i. e. on 14 Nisan, as may be
seen from Matt., xxii, 7 14. Nor can there be any doubt
about St. John's agreement with the Synoptic
Evangelists on the question of the Last Supper and the
Crucifixion. The Supper was held "before the festival
day of the pasch" (John, xiii, 1), i. e. on 14 Nisan,
since the sacrificial day was computed according to the
Roman method (Jovino, 123 sqq., 139 sqq. ). Again, some
disciples thought that Judas left the supper table
because Jesus had said to him: "Buy those things which
we have need of for the festival day: or that he should
give something to the poor" (John, xiii, 29). If the
Supper had been held on 13 Nisan this belief of the
disciples can hardly be understood, since Judas might
have made his purchases and distributed his alms on 14
Nisan; there would have been no need for his rushing
into the city in the middle of the night. On the day of
Christ's Crucifixion the Jews "went not into the hall,
that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat
the pasch" (John, xviii, 28). The pasch which the Jews
wished to eat could not have been the paschal lamb,
which was eaten on 14 Nisan, for the pollution
contracted by entering the hall would have ceased at
sundown, so that it would not have prevented them from
sharing in the paschal supper. The pasch which the Jews
had in view must have been the sacrificial offerings
(Chagighah), which were called also pasch and were
eaten on 15 Nisan. Hence this passage places the death
of Jesus Christ on the fifteenth day of Nisan. Again,
Jesus is said to have suffered and died on the
"parasceve of the pasch", or simply on the "parasceve"
(John, xix, 14, 31); as "parasceve" meant Friday, the
expression "parasceve" denotes Friday on which the
pasch happened to fall, not the before the pasch.
Finally, the day following the parasceve on which Jesus
died is called "a great sabbath day" (John, xix, 31),
either to denote its occurrence in the paschal week or
to distinguish it from the preceding pasch, or day of
minor rest.

B. RELATIVE CHRONOLOGY

No student of the life of Jesus will question the
chronological order of its principal divisions:
infancy, hidden life, public life, passion, glory. But
the order of events in the single divisions is not
always clear beyond dispute.

(1) The Infancy of Jesus

The history of the infancy, for instance, is recorded
only in the First Gospel and in the Third. Each
Evangelist contents himself with five pictures: St.
Mathew describes the birth of Jesus, the adoration of
the Magi, the flight into Egypt, the slaughter of the
Holy Innocents, and the return to Nazareth. St. Luke
gives a sketch of the birth, of the adoration of the
shepherds, of the circumcision, of the purification of
the Virgin, and of the return to Nazareth. The two
Evangelists agree in the first and the last of these
two series of incidents (moreover, all scholars place
the birth, adoration of the shepherds, and the
circumcision before the Magi), but how are we to
arrange the intervening three events related by St.
Mathew with the order of St. Luke? We indicate a few of
the many ways in which the chronogical sequence of
these facts has been arranged.

* The birth, the adoration of the shepherds, the
circumcision, the adoration of the Magi, the flight
into Egypt, the slaughter of the Innocents, the
purification, the return to Nazareth. This order
implies that either the purification was delayed beyond
the fortieth day, which seems to contradict Luke, ii,
22 sqq., or that Jesus was born shortly before Herod's
death. so that the Holy Family could return from Egypt
within forty days after the birth of Jesus. Tradition
does not seem to favour this speedy return.

* The birth, the adoration of the shepherds, the
circumcision, the adoration of the Magi, the
purification, the flight into Egypt, the slaughter of
the Innocents, the return to Nazareth. According to
this order the Magi either arrived a few days before
the purification or they came on 6 Jan.; but in neither
case can we understand why the Holy Family should have
offered the sacrifice of the poor, after receiving the
offrings of the Magi. Moreover, the firsr Evangelist
intimates that the angel appeared to St. Joseph soon
after the departure of the Magi, and it is not at all
probable that Herod should have waited long before
inquiring concerning the whereabouts of the new born
king. The difficulties are not overcome by placing the
adoration of the Magi on the day before the
purification; it would be more unlikely in that case
that the Holy Family should offer the sacrifice of the
poor.

* As Luke 2:39 appears to exclude the possibility of
placing the adoration of the Magi between the
presentation and return to Nazareth, there are
interpreters who have located the advent of the wise
men, the flight to Egypt, the slaughter of the
Innocents, and the return from Egypt after the events
as told in St. luke. They agree in the opinion that the
Holy Family returned to Nazareth after the
purification, and then left Nazareth in order to make
their home in Bethlehem. Eusebius, Epiphanius, and some
other ancient writers are willing to place the
adoration of the Magi about two years after Christ's
birth; Paperbroch and his followers allow about a year
and thirteen days between the birth and the advent of
the Magi; while Patrizi agrees with those who fix the
advent of the Magi at about two weeks after the
purification . The text of Matt., ii, 1, 2, hardly
permits an interval of more than a year between the
purification and the coming of the wise men; Patrizi's
opinion appears to satisfy all the data furnished by
the gospels, while it does not contradict the
particulars added by tradition.

(2) The Hidden Life of Jesus

It was in the seclusion of Nazareth that Jesus spent
the greatest part of His earthly life. The inspired
records are very reticent about this period: Luke,
2:40-52; Mark 6:3; John 6:42; 7:15, are about the only
passages which refer to the hidden life. Some of them
give us a general view of Christ's life: "The child
grew, and grew in strength and wisdom; and the grace of
God was in him" is the brief summary of the years
following the return of the Holy Family after the
ceremonial purification in the Temple. "Jesus advanced
in wisdom , and age, and grace with God and men", and
He "was subject to them" form the inspired outline of
Christ's life in Nazareth after He had attained the age
of twelve. "When he was twelve years old" Jesus
accompanied His parents to Jerusalem, 'according to the
custom of the feast'; When they returned, the child
Jesus remained in Jerusalem; and his parents knew it
not." After three days, they found him in the Temple,
sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and
asking them questions." It was on this occasion that
Jesus spoke the only words that have come down from the
period of His hidden life: "How is it that you sought
me? Did you not know, that I must be about my Father's
business [or, "in my father's house"]?" The Jews tell
us that Jesus had not passed through the training of he
Rabbinic schools: "How doth this man know letters,
having never learned?". The same question is asked by
the people of Nazareth, who add, "Is not this the
carpenter?" St. Justin is authority for the statement
that Jesus specially made "ploughs and yokes' (Contra
Tryph., 88). Though it is not certain that at the time
of Jesus elementary schools existed in the Jewish
villlages, it may be inferred from the Gospels that
Jesus knew how to read (Luke 4:16) and write (John
8:6). At an early age He must have learned the so
called Shema (Deut. 6:4), and the Hallel, or Psalms
113-118 (Hebr.); He must have been familiar with the
other parts of the Scriptures too, especially the
Psalms and the Prophetic Books, as He constantly refers
to them in His public life. It is also asserted that
Palestine at the time of Jesus Christ was practically
bilingual, so that Christ must have spoken Aramaic and
Greek; the indications that He was acquainted with
Hebrew and Latin are rather slight. The public teaching
of Jesus shows that He was a close observer of the
sights and sounds of nature, and of the habits of all
classes of men. For these are the usual sources of His
illustrations. To conclude the hidden life of Jesus
extending through thirty years is far different from
what one should have expected in the case of a Person
Who is adored by His followers as their God and revered
as their Saviour; this is an indirect proof for the
credibility of the Gospel story.

(3) The Public Life of Jesus

The chronology of the public life offers a number of
problems to the interpreter; we shall touch upon only
two, the duration of the public life, and the
successive journeys it contains.

(a) Duration of the Public Life

There are two extreme views as to the length of the
ministry of Jesus: St. Irenaeus (Contra Haer., II,
xxii, 3-6) appears to suggest a period of fifteen
years; the prophetic phrases, "the year of
recompenses", "the year of my redemption" (Is., xxxiv,
8; lxiii, 4), appear to have induced Clement of
Alexandria, Julius Africanus, Philastrius, Hilarion,
and two or three other patristic writers to allow only
one year for the public life. This latter opinion has
found advocates among certain recent students: von
Soden, for instance, defends it in Cheyne's
"Encyclopaedia Biblica". But the text of the Gospels
demands a more extensive duration. St. John's Gospel
distinctly mentions three distinct paschs in the
history of Christ's ministry (ii, 13; vi, 4; xi, 55).
The first of the three occurs shortly after the baptism
of Jesus, the last coincides with His Passion, so that
at least two years must have intervened between the two
events to give us the necessary room for the passover
mentioned in vi, 4. Westcott and Hort omit the
expression "the pasch" in vi, 4 to compress the
ministry of Jesus within the space of one year; but all
the manuscripts, the versions, and nearly all the
Fathers testify for the reading "En de eggysto pascha
heeorteton Ioudaion": "Now the pasch, the festival day
of the Jews, was near at hand". Thus far then
everything tends to favour the view of those writers
and more recent commentators who extend the period of
Christ's ministry a little over two years.

But a comparison of St. John's Gospel with the Synoptic
Evangelists seems to introduce another pasch, indicated
in the Fourth Gospel, into Christ's public life. John,
iv, 45, relates the return of Jesus into Galilee after
the first pasch of His public life in Jerusalem, and
the same event is told by Mark, i, 14, and Luke iv, 14.
Again the pasch mentioned in John, vi, 4 has its
parallel in the "green grass" of Mark, vi, 39, and in
the multiplication of loaves as told in Luke, ix, 12
sqq. But the plucking of ears mentioned in Mark, ii,
23, and Luke, vi, 1, implies another paschal season
intervening between those expressly mentioned in John,
ii, 13, and vi, 4. This shows that the public life of
Jesus must have extended over four paschs, so that it
must have lasted three years and a few months. Though
the Fourth Gospel does not indicate this fourth pasch
as clearly as the other three, it is not wholly silent
on the question. The "festival day of the Jews"
mentioned in John, v, 1, has been identified with the
Feast of Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast
of Expiation, the Feast of the New Moon, the Feast of
Purim, the Feast of Dedication, by various
commentators; others openly confess that they cannot
determine to which of the Jewish feasts this festival
day refers. Nearly all difficulties will disappear if
the festival day be regarded as the pasch, as both the
text (heorte) and John, iv, 35 seem to demand (cf.
Dublin Review, XXIII, 351 sqq.).

(b) Journeys of Jesus during His Public Life

The journeys made during His public life may be grouped
under nine heads: the first six were mainly performed
in Galilee and had Capharnaum for their central point;
the last three bring Jesus into Judea without any
pronounced central point. We cannot enter into the
disputed questions connected with the single incidents
of the various groups.

(i) First Journey -- December, A.U.C. 778- Spring, 779.
(Cf. John, i, ii; Matt.,iii, iv; Mark, i; Luke, iii,
iv.) Jesus abandons His hidden life in Nazareth, and
goes to Bethania across the Jordan, where He is
baptized by John and receives the Baptist's first
testimony to His Divine mission. He then withdraws into
the desert of Judea, where He fasts for forty days and
is tempted by the devil. After this He dwells in the
neighbourhood of the Baptist's ministry, and receives
the latter's second and third testimony; here too He
wins His first disciples, with whom He journeys to the
wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, where He performs His
first miracle. Finally He transfers His residence, so
far as there can be question of a residence in His
public life, to Capharnaum, one of the principal
thoroughfares of commerce and travel in Galilee.

(ii) Second Journey -- Passover, A.U. C. 779 - about
Pentecost , 780. (Cf. John, ii-v; Mark, i-iii; Luke,
iv-vii; Matt., iv-ix.) Jesus goes from Capharnaum to
Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover; here he expels
the buyers and sellers from the Temple, and is
questioned by the Jewish authorities. Many believed in
Jesus, and Nicodemus came to converse with Him during
the night. After the festival days He remained in Judea
till about the following December, during which period
He received the fourth testimony from John who was
baptizing at Ennon (A. V. Aenon). When the Baptist had
been imprisoned in Machaerus, Jesus returned to Galilee
by way of Samaria where He met the Samaritan woman at
Jacob's well near Sichar; He delayed two days in this
place, and many believed in Him. Soon after His return
into Galilee we find Jesus again in Cana, where He
heard the prayer who pleaded for the recovery of his
dying son in Capharnaum. The rejection of Jesus by the
people of Nazareth, whether at this time as, St. Luke
intimates, or at a later period, as St. Mark seems to
demand, or again both now and about eight months later,
is an exegetical problem we cannot solve here. At any
rate, shortly afterwards Jesus is mostly actively
engaged in Capharnaum in teaching and healing the sick,
restoring among others Peter's mother-in-law and a
demoniac. On this occasion He called Peter and Andrew,
James and John. Then followed a missionary tour through
Galilee during which Jesus cured a leper; soon he again
taught in Capharnaum, and was surrounded by such a
multitude that a man sick of the palsy had to be let
down through the roof in order to reach the Sacred
Presence. After calling Mathew to the Apostleship, He
went to Jerusalem for the second pasch occurring during
His public life, it was on this occasion that He healed
the man who been sick for thirty-eight years near the
pool at Jerusalem. The charge of violating the Sabbath
and Christ's answer were the natural effects of the
miracle. The same charge is repeated shortly after the
pasch; Jesus had returned to Galilee, and the disciples
plucked some ripe ears in the corn fields. The question
became more acute in the immediate future; Jesus had
returned to Capharnaum, and there healed on the Sabbath
day a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees now
make common cause with the Herodians in order to
"destroy him". Jesus withdraws first to the Sea of
Galilee, where He teaches and performs numerous
miracles; then retires to the Mountain of Beatitudes,
where He prays during the night, chooses His Twelve
Apostles in the morning, and preaches the Sermon on the
Mount. He is brought back to Capharnaum by the prayers
of the centurion who asks and obtains the of his
servant.

(iii) Third Journey -- About Pentecost, A.U.C. 780-
Autumn, 780. (Cf. Luke, vii, viii; Mark, iii, iv;
Matt., iv, viii, ix, xii, xiii.) Jesus makes another
missionary tour through Galilee; He resuscitates the
son of the widow at Naim, and shortly afterwards
receives the messengers sent by John from his prison in
Machaerus. Then follows the scene of the merciful
reception of the sinful woman who anoints the feet of
the Lord while He rests at table in Magdala or perhaps
in Capharnaum; for the rest of His missionary tour
Jesus is followed by a band of pious women who minister
to the wants of the Apostles. After returning to
Capharnaum, Jesus expels the mute devil, is charged by
the Pharisees with casting out devils by the prince of
devils, and encounters the remonstrances of His
kinsmen. Withdrawing to the sea, He preaches what may
be called the "Lake Sermon", consisting of seven
parables.

(iv) Fourth Journey -- Autumn, A.U.C. 780- about
Passover, 781. (Cf. Luke, viii, ix; Mark, iv-vi; Matt.,
viii, ix, x, xiii, xiv.) After a laborious day of
ministry in the city of Capharnaum and on the lake,
Jesus with His Apostles crosses the waters. As a great
storm overtakes them, the frightened Apostles awaken
their sleeping Master, Who commands the winds and the
waves. Towards morning they meet in the country of the
Gerasens, on the east of the lake, two demoniacs. Jesus
expels the evil spirits, but allows them to enter into
a herd of swine. The beasts destroy themselves in the
waters of the lake, and frightened inhabitants beg
Jesus not to remain among them. After returning to
Capharnaum he heals the woman who had touched the hem
of His garment, resuscitates the daughter of Jairus,
and gives sight to two blind men. The second Gospel
places here Christ's last visit to and rejection by the
people of Nazareth. Then follows the ministry of the
Apostles who are sent two by two, while Jesus Himself
makes another missionary tour through Galilee. It seems
to have been the martyrdom of John the Baptist that
occasioned the return of the Apostles and their
gathering around the Master in Capharnaum. But, however
depressing this event may have been, it did not damp
the enthusiasm of the Apostles over their success.

(v) Fifth Journey -- Spring, A.U.C. 781. (Cf. John, vi;
Luke, ix; Mark, vi; and Matt., xiv.) Jesus invites the
Apostles, tired out from their missionary labours, to
rest awhile. They cross the northern part of the Sea of
Galilee, but, instead of finding the desired solitude,
they are met by multitudes of people who had preceded
them by land or by boat, and who were eager for
instruction. Jesus taught them throughout the day, and
towards evening did not wish to dismiss them hungry. On
the other hand, there were only five loaves and two
fishes at the disposal of Jesus; after His blessing,
these scanty supplies satisfied the hunger of five
thousand men, besides women and children, and remnants
filled twelve baskets of fragments. Jesus sent the
Apostles back to their boats, and escaped from the
enthusiastic multitudes, who wished to make Him king,
into the mountain where He prayed till far into the
night. Meanwhile the Apostles were facing a contrary
wind till the fourth watch in the morning, when they
saw Jesus walking upon the waters. The Apostles first
fear, and then recognize Jesus; Peter walks upon the
water as long as his confidence lasts; the storm ceases
when Jesus has entered the boat. The next day brings
Jesus and His Apostles to Capharnaum, where He speaks
to the assembly about the Bread of Life and promises
the Holy Eucharist, with the result that some of His
followers leave Him, while the faith of His true
disciples is strenghened.

(vi) Sixth Journey -- About May, A.U.C. 781- Sept.,
781. (Cf. Lk., ix; Mk., vii-ix; Matt., xiv- xviii;
John, vii.) It may be owing to the enmity stirred up
against Jesus by His Eucharistic discourse in
Capharnaum that He began now a more extensive
missionary tour than He had made in the preceding years
of His life. Passing through the country of Genesar, He
expressed His disapproval of the Pharisaic practices of
legal purity. Within the boarders of Tyre and Sidon He
exorcized the daughter of the Syrophenician woman. From
here Jesus travelled first towards the north, then
towards the east, then south-eastward through the
northern part of Decapolis, probably along the foot of
the Labanon, till He came to the eastern part of
Galilee. While in Decapolis Jesus healed a deaf-mute,
employing a ceremonial more elaborate than He had used
at any of His previous miracles; in the eastern part of
Galilee, probably not far from Dalmanutha and Magedan,
He fed four thousand men, besides children and women,
with seven loaves and a few little fishes, the
remaining fragments filling seven baskets. The
multitudes had listened for three days to the teaching
of Jesus, previously to the miracle. In spite of the
many cures performed by Jesus, during this journey, on
the blind, the dumb, the lame, the maimed, and on many
others, the Pharisees and Sadduces asked Him for a sign
from heaven, tempting Him. He promised them the sign of
Jonas the Prophet. After Jesus and the Apostles had
crossed the lake, He warned them to beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees; then they passed through
Bethsaida Julias where Jesus gave sight to a blind man.
Next we find Jesus in the confines of Caesarea
Philippi, where Peter professes his faith in Christ,
the Son of the living God, and in his turn receives
from Jesus the promise of the power of the keys. Jesus
here predicts His passion, and about a week later is
transfigured before Peter, James, and John, probably on
the top of Mt. Thabor. On descending from the mountain,
Jesus exorcizes the mute devil whom His disciples had
not been able to expel. Bending his way towards
Capharnaum, Jesus predicts His Passion for the second
time, and in the city pays the tribute-money for
Himself and Peter. This occasions the discussion as to
the greater in the kingdom of heaven, and the allied
discourses. Finally, Jesus refuses His brethren's
invitation to go publicly to the Feast of Tabernacles
in Jerusalem.

(vii) Seventh Journey -- Sept., A.U.C. 781- December,
781. (Cf. Luke, ix-xiii; Mark, x; Matt., vi, vii, viii,
x, xi, xii, xxiv; John, vii-x.) Jesus now "steadfastly
set His face to go Jerusalem", and as the Samaritans
refused Him hospitality, He had to take the east of the
Jordan. While still in Galilee, He refused the
discipleship of several half-hearted candidates, and
about the same time He sent other seventy-two, two by
two, before His face into every city and place whither
He Himself was to come. Probably in the lower part of
Peraea, the seventy-two returned with joy, rejoicing in
the miraculous power that had been exercised by them.
It must have been in the vicinity of Jerico that Jesus
answered the lawer's question, "Who is my neighbour?"
by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Next Jesus was
received in the hospitable home of Mary and Martha,
where He declares Mary to have chosen the better part.
From Bethania went to Jerusalem for the Feast of
Tabernacles, where he became involved in discussions
with the Jews. The Scribes and Pharisees endeavoured to
catch Him in the sentence which they asked Him to
pronounce in the case of the woman taken in adultary.
When Jesus had avoided this snare, He continued His
discussions with the hostile Jews. Their enmity was
intensified because Jesus restored sight to a blind man
on the Sabbath day. Jesus appears to have His stay in
Jerusalem with the beautiful discourse on the Good
Shepherd. A little later He teaches His Apostles the
Our Father , probably somewhere on Mt. Olivet. On a
subsequent missionary tour through Judea and Peraea He
defends Himself against the charges of Pharisees, and
reproves their hypocrisy. On the same journey Jesus
warned against hypocrisy, covetousness, worldly care;
He exhorted to watchfulness, patience under
contradictions, and to penance. About this time, too,
He healed the woman who had the spirit of infirmity

(viii) Eighth Journey

December, A.U.C. 781-February, 782. (Cf. Luke, xiii-
xvii; John, x, xi.) The Feast of Dedication brought
Jesus again to Jerusalem, and occasioned another
discussion with the Jews. This is followed by another
missionary tour through Peraea, during which Jesus
explained a number of important points of doctrine: the
number of the elect, the choice of one's place at
table, the guests to be invited, the parable of the
great supper, resoluteness in the service of God, the
parables of the hundred sheep, the lost groat, and the
prodigal son, of the unjust steward, of Dives and
Lazarus, of the unmerciful servant, besides the duty of
fraternal correction, and the efficacy of faith. During
this period, too, the Pharisees attempted to frighten
Jesus with the menance of Herod's persecution; on his
part, Jesus healed a man who had drospy, on a Sabbath
day, while at table in the house of a certain prince of
the Pharisees. Finally Mary and Martha send messengers
to Jesus, asking Him to come and cure their brother
Lazarus; Jesus went after two days, and resuscitated
His friend who had been several days in the grave. The
Jews are exasperated over this miracle, and they decree
Jesus must die for the people. Hence He withdrew "into
a country near the desert, unto a city that is called
Ephrem". (ix) Ninth Journey.-- February, A.U.C. 782-
Passover, 782. (Cf. Luke, xvii-xxii; Mark., x, xiv;
Matt., xix-xxvi; John, xi, xii.) This last journey took
Jesus from Ephrem northward through Samaria, then
eastward along the border of Galilee into Peraea, then
southward through Peraea, westward across the Jordan,
through Jericho, Bethania on Mt. Olivet, Bethphage, and
finally to Jerusalem. While in the most northern part
of the journey, He cured ten lepers; a little later, He
answered the questions raised by the Pharisees
concerning the kingdom of God. Then He urged the need
of incessant prayer by proposing the parable of the
unjust judge; here too belong the parable of the
Pharisee and Publican, the discourse on marriage, on
the attitude of the Church towards the children, on the
right use of riches as illustrated by the story of the
rich young ruler, and the parable of the labourers in
the vineyard. After beginning His route towards
Jerusalem, He predicted His Passion for the third time;
James and John betray their ambition, but they are
taught the true standard of greatness in the Church. At
Jerico Jesus heals two blind men, and receives the
repentance of Zacheus the publican; here He proposed
also the parable of the pounds entrusted to the
servants by the master. Six days before the pasch we
find Jesus at Bethania on Mt. Olivet, as the guest of
Simon the leper; Mary anoints His feet, and the
disciples at the instigation of Judas are indignant at
this seeming waste of ointment. A great multitude
assembles at Bethania, not to see Jesus only but also
Lazarus; hence the chief priests think of killing
Lazarus too. On the following day Jesus solemnly
entered Jerusalem and was received by the Hosanna cries
of all classes of people. In the afternoon He met a
delegation of Gentiles in the court of the Temple. On
Monday Jesus curses the barren fig tree, and during the
morning He drives the buyers and sellers from the
Temple. On Tuesday the wonder of the disciples at the
sudden withering of the fig tree provokes their
Master's instruction on the efficacy of faith. Jesus
answers the enemies' questions as to His authority;
then He proposes the parable of the two sons, of the
wicked husbandmen, and of the marriage feast. Next
follows a triple snare: the politicians ask whether it
is lawful to pay tribute to Caesar; the scoffers
inquire whose wife a woman, who has had several
husbands, will be after ressurection; the Jewish
theologians propose the question: Which is the first
commandment, the great commandment of the law? Then
Jesus proposes His last question to the Jews: "What
think you of Christ? whose son is he?" This is followed
by the eightfold woe against the Scribes and Pharisees,
and by the denunciation of Jerusalem. The last words of
Christ in the Temple were expressions of praise for the
poor widow who had made an offering of two mites in
spite of her poverty. Jesus ended this day by uttering
the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem,
His second coming, and the future judgement; these
predictions are interrupted by the parable of the ten
virgins and the talents. On wednesday Jesus again
predicted His Passion; probably it was on the same day
that Judas made his agreement with the Jews to betray
Jesus.

(4) The Passion of Jesus

The history of Christ's Passion comprises three parts:
the preparation for the Passion, the trial of Jesus,
and His death.

(a) Preparation for the Passion

Jesus prepares His disciples for the Passion, He
prepares Himself for the ordeal and His enemies prepare
themselves for the destruction of Jesus.

(i) Preparation of the Apostles -- Jesus prepares His
Apostles for the Passion by the eating of the paschal
lamb, the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the
concomitant ceremonies, and His lengthy discourses held
during and after the Last Supper. Special mention
should be made of the prediction of the Passion, and of
the betrayal one of the Apostles and the denial by
another. Peter, james, and John are prepared in a more
particular manner by witnessing the sorrow of Jesus on
Mt. Olivet.

(ii) Preparation of Jesus -- Jesus must have found an
indirect preparation in all He did and said to
strengthen His Apostles. But the preparation that was
pecularly His own consisted in His prayer in the grotto
of His Agony where the angel came to strengthen Him.
The sleep of His favoured Apostles during the hours of
His bitter struggle must have prepared Him too for the
complete abandonment He was soon to experience.

(iii) Preparation of the Enemies -- Judas leaves the
Master during the Last Supper. The chief priests and
Pharisees hastily collect a detachment of the Roman
cohort stationed in the castle of Antonia, of the
Jewish temple-watch, and of the officials of the
Temple. To these are added a number of the servants and
dependents of the high-priest, and a miscellaneous
multitude of fanatics with lanterns and torches, with
swords and clubs, who were to follow the leadership of
Judas. They took Christ, bound Him, and led Him to the
high-priest's house.

(b) Trial of Jesus

Jesus was tried first before an ecclesiastical and then
before a civil tribunal.

(i) Before Ecclesiastical Court -- The ecclesiastical
trial includes Christ's appearance before Annas, before
Caiphas, and again before Caiphas, who appears to have
acted in each case as head of the Sanhedrin. The Jewish
court found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, and condemned
Him to death, though its proceedings were illegal from
more than one point of view. During the trial took
place Peter's triple denial of Jesus; Jesus is insulted
and mocked, especially between the second and third
session; and after His final condemnation Judas
despaired and met his tragic death (ii) Before the
Civil Court.-- The civil trial, too, comprised three
sessions, the first before Pilate, the second before
Herod, the third again before Pilate. Jesus is not
charged with blasphemy before the court of Pilate, but
with stirring up the people, forbidding to give tribute
to Caesar, and claiming to be Christ the king. Pilate
ignores the first two charges; the third he finds
harmless when he sees that Jesus does not claim royalty
in the Roman sense of the word. But in order not to
incur the odium of the Jewish leaders, the Roman
governor sends his prisoner to Herod. As Jesus did not
humour the curiosity of Herod, He was mocked and set at
naught by Tetrach of Galilee and his court, and sent
back to Pilate. The Roman procurator declares the
prisoner innocent for the second time, but, instead of
setting Him free, gives the people the alternative to
choose either Jesus or Barabbas for their paschal
freedman. Pilate pronounced Jesus innocent for the
third time with the more solemn ceremony of washing his
hands; he had recourse to a third scheme of ridding
himself of the burden of pronouncing an unjust sentence
against his prisoner. He had the prisoner scourged,
thus annihilating, as far as human means could do so,
any hope that Jesus could ever attain to the royal
dignity. But even this device miscarried, and Pilate
allowed his political ambition to prevail over his
sense of evident justice; he condemned Jesus to be
crucified.

(c) Death of Jesus

Jesus carried His Cross to the place of execution.
Simon of Cyrene is forced to assist Him in bearing the
heavy burden. On the way Jesus addresses his last words
to the weeping women who sympathized with His
suffering. He is nailed to the Cross, his garments are
divided, and an inscription is placed over His head.
While His enemies mock Him, He pronounces the well-
known "Seven Words". Of the two robbers crucified with
Jesus, one was converted, and the other died
impenitent. The sun was darkened, and Jesus surrendered
His soul into the hands of His Father. The veil of the
Temple was rent into two, the earth quaked, the rocks
were riven, and many bodies of the saints that had
slept arose and appeared to many. The Roman centurion
testified that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. The
Heart of Jesus was pierced so as to make sure of His
death. The Sacred Body was taken from the Cross by
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and was buried in
the new sepulchre of Joseph, and the Sabbath drew near.

(5) The Glory of Jesus

After the burial of Jesus, the Holy women returned and
prepared spices and ointments. The next day, the chief
priests and Pharisees made the sepulchre secure with
guards, sealing the stone. When the Sabbath was passed,
the Holy women brought sweet spices that they might
anoint Jesus. But Jesus rose early the first day of the
week, and there was a great earthquake, and an angel
descended from heaven, and rolled back the stone. The
guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men.
On arriving at the sepulchre the holy women found the
grave empty; Mary Magdalen ran to tell the Apostles
Peter and John, while the other women were told by an
angel that the Lord had arisen from the dead. Peter and
John hasten to the sepulchre, and find everything as
Magdalen has reported. Magdalen too returns, and, while
weeping at the sepulchre, is approached by the arisen
Saviour Who appears to her and speaks with her. On the
same day Jesus appeared to the other Holy Women, to
Peter, to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, and
to all the Apostles excepting Thomas. A week later He
appeared to all the Apostles, Thomas included; later
still He appeared in Galilee near the Lake of
Genesareth to seven disciples, on a mountain in Galilee
to a multitude of disciples, to James, and finally to
His disciples on the Mount Olivet whence He ascended
into heaven. But these apparitions do not exhaust the
record of the Gospels, according to which Jesus showed
Himself alive after His Passion by many proofs, for
forty days appearing to the disciples and speaking of
the kingdom of God.

A. J. MAAS Transcribed by Joseph P. Thomas In Memory of
Archbishop Mathew Kavukatt

[New Advent Catholic Website]
http://www.knight.org/advent

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright �
1996 by New Advent, Inc., P.O. Box 281096, Denver,
Colorado, USA, 80228. ([email protected])

If you would like to contribute to this  worthwhile
project, please contact Kevin Knight by e-mail at
(knight.org/advent). For  more information please
download the file cathen.txt/.zip.

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