Ministry of Jesus

The period of Jesus’s public activity, traditionally dated to the early first century, as recounted in the Gospels. It includes his teaching, preaching, healing, travels, and gathering of disciples.

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Sermon on the Mount: A collection of Jesus’s teachings in Matthew, including the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer. It presents a sustained example of Jesus teaching disciples and crowds.
Kingdom of God: The reign or rule of God, a central theme in Jesus’s teaching and Jewish religious thought. Jesus’s proclamation of God’s kingdom gives a recurring focus to his preaching.
Historical Jesus: The first-century Jewish person who lived in Galilee and Judea and is studied through historical methods. Historical study distinguishes evidence about Jesus from later theological interpretation.
Twelve Apostles: The twelve followers whom Jesus appoints in the Gospels as a distinctive group of disciples. They are central companions and representatives within the Gospel accounts of the ministry.
Pauline Christianity: Early Christian teaching and communities shaped by the letters and missionary activity of Paul the Apostle. Paul’s letters focus on the significance of Jesus rather than narrating his public ministry.
Parables of Jesus: Short narratives and comparisons attributed to Jesus that communicate religious and ethical teaching. Parables were a recurring form of Jesus’s public instruction.
Discipleship: The practice of following and learning from a religious teacher or leader. Jesus’s ministry takes shape through calling and instructing followers.
Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, whose accounts of Jesus share substantial material and narrative structure. Their overlapping accounts are central sources for reconstructing Jesus’s public activity.
Mary Magdalene: A follower of Jesus from Galilee who appears in the Gospel accounts of his crucifixion and resurrection. Her presence connects Jesus’s public movement to its final events.
Synoptic problem: The scholarly question of how Matthew, Mark, and Luke are literarily related. Their shared and differing accounts complicate comparisons of Jesus’s ministry.