The Jesus Diary – The Jesus Diary

‘The Jesus Diary’ is the most comprehensive chronology of the events in the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God ever written.

Jesus, the Son of God visited this earth at a point in history. The Gospels in the Bible give four accounts of the one story of Jesus’ birth, baptism in the Holy Spirit, his ministry, death and resurrection. The Jesus diary records all of those events in the correct order then places each one on a specific date in history. The result is the most detailed timeframe of the events in Jesus’ life ever compiled.

The Chronology of Jesus’ Life Part 1

‘The Jesus Diary’ is Part 1 of the Chronology of Jesus’ Life series. This is a four-part series. Part 1 is the chronology of Jesus’ life as a human on planet Earth. ’24 – Jesus’ Final Hours is Part 2 of the series, which gives an hour-by-hour breakdown of Jesus’ final day in human form. Part 3 of the series is, ’40 Days of Jesus’ Resurrection Appearances’, which gives a day-by-day breakdown of his resurrection appearances. And Part 4 of the Chronology of Jesus’ Life series is, ‘Jesus’ Birth’, which looks at the chronology of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God in human form.

How I came to write The Jesus Diary

One Sunday I was sitting in Westminster Chapel in London minding my own business, trying to learn God’s business when the gifted guest speaker, Dr. Michael Eaton preached on the chronology of events in Jesus’ life. He called it, ‘the Quest for the Historical Jesus’. He said many had tried to write a chronology of his life and failed because they did not believe the Gospel accounts. He told how Edwin Thiele solved the problem of the conflicting records in the Bible concerning the reigns of kings of Israel and Judah by believing what was written in the Bible. He harmonised the discrepancies by applying the more than thirty calendars used in that period of history¹. When Dr. Eaton put out a challenge to approach the chronology of events in Jesus’ life believing what was written in the Gospels something stirred within me.

Could I succeed where so many had failed? I didn’t know. If Jesus, God’s Son visited earth for a set time in history and the Gospels are accurate records of all he said and did (though not recorded in sequence or in a historical context) then the teachings and events found there must have happened in a set order, on different dates in a set time in history. At a deep level it disturbed me that the wonderful teachings, healings and miracles of Jesus had not been cemented in history. It bothered me that some think Jesus is a pie in the sky figure. My hope in writing this book is that if events in his life are set in history it will make him real to them. And not just to them. If it helps strengthen the faith of those who believe by knowing exactly when events in Jesus’ life happened in history then it had to be worth a try.

Even if I could not achieve it myself, I wanted to get the ball rolling. I wanted to put material out there to start a discussion, in the hope others would contribute and together a fixed chronology of events in his life might be established. It was a journey I was willing to take.

Methodology

Firstly, I began reading the Gospels. They did not contain much chronological information, just enough to keep me going. At the same time I was getting to know Jesus and his character better. As I established an order of events and set them in history my faith became more cemented in God’s word. However, there were many times when I hit a brick wall, when I could not place an event in a fixed point in history. Sometimes I had to step away for a time so I could see things afresh. Other times all I could do was pray and ask God for help. Each time He would say, ‘The answer is in the Word’. So I would read the Bible again. Then came a revelation or a word I had missed that revealed the chronology of the event I was struggling with: such as how long baby Jesus stayed in Egypt; when John the Baptist was killed: and when the cock crowed as Peter disowned Jesus. This process increased both my prayer life and my patience as I learned to wait on God.

Seeing the chronology of events in Jesus’ life revealed the timeline of his relationships with his disciples, his family, the Jewish people and their leaders in a different light. It showed even more of his love, compassion and selfless character than I had ever seen before. My hope is that in reading this book it will do the same for you.

Premise

Many people read the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life not knowing when the events of his life happened in history or even in what order they took place. The Jesus Diary sets the events in the order they occurred and places each one on a specific date in history. Seeing events in Jesus’ life set in history will solidify the faith of those who believe in him and will satisfy the curiosity of those who seek to know if and when God’s Son walked on Earth.

The Jesus Diary helps church leaders, pastors and preachers in their sermons by eliminating chronological inaccuracies that can detract from the impact of their message. Students of the Bible, be they at college or at home will find this a great aid to their studies.

Because the book will…

Give revelations of timings of events in Jesus’ life that have not been seen before. The information contained will give believing Christians more insight than their leaders. The book establishes timelines that give greater insights into Jesus’ loving, selfless character, his developing relationship with his disciples, his family, the Jewish people and their leaders.

From this book you will learn:

When Jesus was born
How long baby Jesus spent in Egypt
How long John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus
When Jesus was baptised then tempted in the desert for forty days
How long John and Jesus baptised alongside one another at the Jordan river
How long John spent in prison before he was beheaded
How long Jesus was in Judea before he began his Galilean ministry
When Jesus’ Galilean ministry began
How long he knew his disciples before calling them to leave everything & follow him
How long the Apostles went around preaching and healing on their own
When John the Baptist died
When Jesus fed the Five Thousand and walked on the Sea of Galilee
When Jesus was transfigured
When Jesus set out on his final journey to Jerusalem
The very hour that Peter denied Jesus
The hour-by-hour breakdown of Jesus’ final twenty-four hours
The hour, the day and the year that Jesus died
The date Jesus rose to life again
The date Jesus ascended into heaven

Each of the four Gospels tells the story of Jesus in its own style and the one story that lies behind the four stories is not always immediately obvious. If the four Gospels are read in order they give the impression that the sequence of events recorded by the four different writers is often contradictory. The Jesus Diary unearths that one story line of Jesus’ life and records all the events in their correct chronological order.

Christians are called to believe and trust in Jesus by hearing the Good News of the Gospel message. Being told and knowing what really happened in his ministry in a sequential and chronological manner will solidify that faith and trust, whilst satisfying Bible believing Christians’ desire to know Jesus even more.

If you asked the majority of Christians to tell you the one story of Jesus as it emerges from the four Gospels – very few would be able to do it. They would know the story of his birth and his visit to the temple at the age of twelve and perhaps they could tell you John the Baptist prepared the way before Jesus’ baptism and temptation. Then things would become a bit vague. They may recall some of Jesus’ teachings, like the Sermon on the Mount or the Parable of the Lost Son and some of his miracles or healings, like the Feeding of the Five Thousand or raising Lazarus from the dead, but their memory of events leading up to his final visit to Jerusalem would become less clear and more disordered. They might remember the events and some of the words spoken around the Crucifixion and resurrection, but to recount them in order would be almost impossible. This is probably as far as most Christians could go in telling the one story of Jesus. If faith comes by hearing, the chances are most Christians have not heard the one story of his life being told from the pulpit. A lot of pastors, Christian leaders and theologians would be unable to recount Jesus’ story any better.

By knowing the one full story of his life we will truly find out what Jesus was like as a person. Only then will we know why he came to Earth and what he sought to do whilst he was here. That one story reveals the heart and mind of God’s Son and his developing relationships with those around him. Ignorance of his story will deprive us of that insight and knowledge and lessen our relationship with the One who is with us always. “And this is eternal life, that they might know you Father and the one you sent, Jesus Christ”. Jesus is God. If we want to know what God looks like, look at Jesus. If we don’t know the one story of Jesus, how can we fully know him or God or live this eternal life that Jesus came to bring, to its fullness?

Believing the Gospel records

In the past, those who sought to write a chronological record of the events of Jesus’ life have approached the Gospels not believing what is written there or have used the material selectively. Their attempts failed to establish a comprehensive chronology of Jesus’ life. If intellectualism and scepticism failed to establish such a chronology, what would happen if we approached the Gospels believing what is written there? Using this approach, The Jesus Diaryhas produced the most comprehensive chronology of his life ever written.

Chronology of the Gospels

We aim to establish the unified story of Jesus assuming the reliability of the Bible. So let’s approach our quest by believing what is written in the Gospels and see where it leads. The first thing we will see is that Mark’s Gospel is mostly in chronological order. With a few minor exceptions, he records events in sequence. Twice he records events in a day in the life of Jesus (Mark 1:21-39 and Mark 4:35-5:43). Luke matches his order of events more or less up until the Transfiguration. He includes unique material such as the miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1-11) and raising a widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17). But he moves some events, such as Jesus’ visit to Nazareth – to highlight the theme, that all would not go well in Jesus’ life if he is treated like this in his hometown. After the Transfiguration he includes a journal of events Jesus experienced on the way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-18:14). Then his record of events mostly aligns with Mark’s. Matthew follows Mark’s order of events from the death of John the Baptist until Jesus’ ascension. The first seven chapters of his Gospel record Jesus’ birth and teachings. The next six record his miracles as he highlights what Jesus taught and did. However, both his and Luke’s alignment with Mark’s record of events verify a clear sequence of events from his baptism to his ascension. John’s Gospel focuses mainly on Jesus’ time in Judea and his visits to feasts in Jerusalem. It is clear he wrote events in chronological order. He begins with events before a Passover in Jerusalem and ends soon after the Passover where Jesus died. John 6:4 says he fed the Five Thousand before another Passover. The timing of this event enables us to weave his record of events around those in the Synoptic Gospels from the time Jesus was baptised up until the miraculous feeding. Events after that feeding found in the three Gospels can be interwoven with John’s record until Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for Holy Week and until he ascended.

The major sections of the book:

Establishing a timeframe for the Hebrew religious year during Jesus’ time will reveal when he and those he ministered to were in Jerusalem for the main feasts (as recorded in John’s Gospel) and when they were not (for events recorded in the Synoptic Gospels).

The Gospels record events at four Passover Feasts, which means Jesus’ ministry lasted at least three years. Events for each year are examined in separate chapters then placed in the order they happened, before being set in a table on the date in history that they occurred.

A final table records the chronology of all of the events of Jesus’ ministry. An analysis of their timing reveals in greater detail, the different steps in Jesus’ relationships and highlights even more of his loving, compassionate and caring character and nature.

The manuscript is divided into seven distinct parts:

Part i – The Hebrew Religious Calendar in Jesus’ Time. John’s Gospel mainly records events at feasts in Jerusalem. The other Gospels mainly record events in Galilee. An annual Hebrew religious calendar sets the dates of feasts in Jerusalem, which reveal when Jesus ministered there. The dates between those feasts reveal when he ministered in Galilee.

Part ii – Jesus’ Baptism and Temptation. Events surrounding Jesus’ baptism and temptation are recorded in the right order. Believing what is written in the Bible reveals both the timing of those events and the period when Jesus was born on Earth.

Part iii – Jesus’ First Year of Ministry. After examining the events of Jesus’ first year, they are recorded in the order they happened then each is placed in a set time in history.

Part iv – Jesus’ Second Year of Ministry. Establishing the order and chronology of events in his second year reveals the dates John the Baptist died and Jesus fed the Five Thousand.

Part v – Jesus’ Final Year of Ministry. Placing the events of Jesus’ final year in their correct chronology reveals the Transfiguration took place just over a month before the Crucifixion.

Part vi – Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. Timing of the events Jesus’ death and resurrection produces an hour-by-hour breakdown of his last twenty-four hours before he died.

Part vii – Final Table of Events. The final chronology of events gives wonderful insights into the development of Jesus’ relationship with his disciples. Also it gives new insights for preaching and teaching on his miracles, parables and the growing opposition to his ministry.