An Illustrated Introduction to Jesus's Life and Ministry: A Zondervan Digital Short

By Henry H. Halley

Derived from Halley’s Bible Handbook, a world-renowned, accessible guide to the Bible now in its twenty-fifth edition, this digital short explains simply and clearly who Jesus was, what He was like, and what He did to save humanity from sin and death. Clear and understandable, An Illustrated Introduction to Jesus’ Life and Ministry will be useful for beginning students of the Bible, people curious about Jesus, and teachers who want a straightforward introduction to Jesus they can share with others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Jul 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9780310496267

Henry H. Halley

Dr. Henry H. Halley was a well-respected author, minister, and Bible lecturer, dedicating his life to spreading his passion for Bible study and memorization. The original "Halley's Bible Handbook" grew from small pamphlets about the Bible that he gave away to encourage churches and individuals in Bible study.

Book preview

The Life of Jesus: An Overview

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did not simply write about what happened in the past. They wrote from the perspective of the Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The did not write a story that had an ending, but a story that was a beginning—the beginning of the church and the beginning of the coming of the kingdom of God.

They arranged their material in slightly different ways because they each had a somewhat different audience and purpose. Sometimes the Gospel writers indicate that certain stories happened one after the other, at other times they put together a number of stories and events because they have a similar theme, without any indication that they happened in that particular sequence. Besides, during the two years or more that the disciples spent with Jesus, He must have taught and preached similar messages many times, and He must have performed similar miracles many times—many lame people were healed, many blind people could see again, and so forth.

All this means that it is not easy to fit all the materials in the Gospels neatly into a single narrative. But the broad outlines are clear.

The Eight Periods of Jesus’ Life

For convenience’ sake, the life of Jesus can be divided into eight periods, as follows:

image270

All four Gospels give more space to the last week of Jesus’ life, His crucifixion, and His resurrection (Period 7) than to any other period. The chart below shows the difference in the