This project is only available because of the great work of the World English Bible people. Your copyright free English translation of the Bible has removed our Scripture’s captivity to money and power – good job.

An anti-acknowledgement is given to the other Bible publishers I contacted (who assured me that I would be financially liable for “using our copyrighted text without written permission”) – which none of you would allow.

………………. <-- sandal dust

Thank you also to Google, which has likely been integral to every book written in the last decade (with or without recognition) and has certainly been a central tool in this composition. Your work is changing our world, and the results of your image search offers a wonderful texture to this story of the one I live my life to follow.

Thank you!

This is compiled for all who follow Jesus and consider our four historically verified stories of his life to be a solid foundation to recognize him (and what he said).

My hope herein is to encourage all of us to grow in goodness, act right, and speak truth. I pray that my eternal family begins to live free from feeling scared of the person on the stage, screen, or with the mic. We have the same spirit living through us who lives in Jesus… and we do not need permission from “they” to think and believe and know that we are full of his Holy Spirit of Truth!

Most directly, this is for all committed followers who aim to reflect Jesus (but are afraid they are doing it wrong).

We are loved and cherished… dearly forever.

We have nothing to be afraid of.

God is on our side.

First… whether you count with BC/AD or BCE/CE, Jesus is the centerpiece of our time! It seems rational to know his story (clear of the pollutants added by the same factions and power-players responsible for killing him).

Jesus’ life (and his follower’s influence) built most of the selfless institutions in our culture, and still… today’s political and religious leadership who carry Jesus’ name typically look more like the political and religious leadership Jesus identified as working against him. Each of Jesus’ four Gospels describe a leader who would likely be assassinated today (or at least forcibly silenced).

Honesty exposes that, in our time, most of our churches personify the Pharisees and Sadducees of the gospels. However, any staff or church member willing to stand up in defense of Jesus’ anti-religious words will often be shunned from community with righteous sounding justification and terminology… or (when in leadership) typically directed to “voluntarily resign.”

Some may have no time for “outdated” belief systems and religion… and to those I say (through my smile) that you sound just like Jesus.

If, in reading this, some may begin the practice of thinking on the being of God, it will more than repay the effort required to produce it.

To propose an adjustment to the probable timeline for the public work of Jesus, we must first recognize the existing historically verifiable timelines. There are two; One from Luke, and one from John. What if both John and Luke describe the same year as Isaiah and Irenaeus? Moreover, the only requirement for us to calculate that Jesus’ public life was likely not 3 years – is the law of mathematics.

It has been just over 2000 years since Jesus walked the Earth. Our best theological minds will tell us that there are two options for how long he taught and worked publicly (and that only one of them is likely). The only academically accepted position states that Jesus had a three-year ministry. The primary reasoning for this is that “Passover” is mentioned in the Book of John three times. This exercise is better if we all have our Bibles, so grab it and open (if available) to: John 2:13, 6:4 and 12:1. Maybe read each for context.

Those verses in mind, the question is: if we count from your last birthday – to this birthday – to your next birthday… how many years will have passed? (Answer is found at the bottom of page 2). So, if there are three Passovers mentioned, how many years would have passed in Jesus’ ministry (represented in John)?  This does not cast doubt on anything of God, but only on the religious experts who are offended by questions. If they have missed something as simple as this for that long, maybe we should each know Jesus’ good news first-hand. Read it for yourself. (Every word of all four historically verified books are in here.)

On one hand we have John’s gospel mentioning three Passovers, but on the other hand Luke includes Jesus reading that the Messiah was coming, “…to announce the acceptable year of the Lord.” The gospels say nothing else about how long Jesus’ public life spanned. This one-year chronological timeline proposes that anyone willing to read the gospels through will find it probable that Luke and John describe the same single year.

An interesting fact about John’s book is that he only tells of four main events between the first and last Passovers (both of which Jesus tossed tables and chased vendors out of the Temple). The third mention of Passover seems to be in passing… where it appears figurative.

The middle mention of a Passover in John states, “the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand,” leading up to the scene being set when Jesus asked Phillip about how to feed the 5000 (followed by Jesus taking two fish and five loaves of bread to feed 5000 men, plus women and children, with enough left over to fill 12 baskets). Following this event, Jesus did not go to Jerusalem for the afore mentioned Passover, nor was the next event in Jerusalem (as referenced by John) a Passover. It was the Jew’s fall holiday called “Booths.”

While it is possible that this miracle meal of God’s provision for his people happened immediately following an otherwise unremarkable middle Passover… which has no other details recounted, except one line (without context)… that would appear to make less sense than the reference being figurative. (see: John 6)

The next Passover mentioned in John’s story is the final Passover (which Christians call “Passion Week” ending with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection from the dead). The middle reference to “Passover” in John’s gospel appearing to be figurative language is notable, because figurative vs. literal language (especially as related to God) is where we seem to get confused most often.

See the following list of events from the book of John, with the references to “Passover” in bold text.

John’s outline of events (with chapter & verse reference):

• Events leading up to Jesus’ opening Passover
  • John 1:1-2:12
• Opening Passover (& days before 2^nd miracle)
  • John 2:13-4:54
• Shavout/Pentecost (7 wks. after Passover holiday)
  • John 5:1-47
• Feeding 5000 (that night & the day after)
  • John 6:1-71
• Succoth/Booths (fall holiness week)
  • John 7:1-10:21
• Hanukkah (winter independence holiday)
  • John 10:22-42
• Final Passover (with Lazarus raised from dead)
  • John 11:1-19:42
• After resurrection Sunday (following Passover)
  • John 20:1-21:25

Reading the above outline format may present a feasible timeline that some can accept or reject. However, for any who personally read the book of John (especially with consideration of the annual Jewish holiday cycle), they will likely recognize a one-year timeline is outlined by John also.

Sections which are out of order are highlighted in yellow. These days are addressed in Part VII below.

P.S. There are 5-7 of the days listed which are separated in this outline (even though the events occurred within the same 24-hour period). These days have been split-up to aid readability and story comprehension.

• Most segmented days in the one-year timeline outline took place on the Thursday evening in which Jesus was arrested.
• The other detached days include a change of scene or setting (like when one event occurs during the day and another at night).

Combining all four of Jesus’ Gospels into one timeline grew out of a desire to have a consistent storyline of Jesus’ life (with all details included). In search of the fewest exceptions or contradictions, a one-year timeline of Jesus’ public life has been revealed.

Based on theological confusion-inducing phrases like “synoptic gospels” and “Matthew is thematic,” most efforts to line up the four gospels have not included all verses – but merely line up stories and scenarios. Eight Gospel parts (in this chronology) do not line up exactly with one or more of the other Gospels.

These eight timeline discrepancies are grouped into three types of incongruity.

• The first four (4) “days” which are out of order are not contradictions, but rather examples of an author’s choice when telling a story (and only occur in this one-year timeline).
• The second three (3) “days” which do not line up, identify events which could have happened twice… but appear unique enough to justify recognizing a discrepancy between the Gospel writer’s stories.
• The final (1) “day,” or eighth (8^th) event, includes enough story specifics as to require a recognition that one of the Gospel writers appears to record the day in a different order than the other two writers (who also record the event in detail).
• First four (4) discrepancies which are only in this one-year chronology, are the author’s choice:

On Day 2 – Luke 3:23b-38 is out of order: Matthew’s Gospel begins with Joseph’s ancestries, whereas Luke does not address Joseph’s family line until chapter three (3). It makes no difference at which point in the story that these genealogies are listed… but (being out of order) this first discrepancy to appear is listed below.

On Days 13 & 14 – John 1:6-8 & 1:15 are out of order): John’s introduction is one of the most beautiful in all literature. He weaves John the Baptist seamlessly into Jesus’ eternal being entering this world. However elegant… this wordsmithing leaves two snippets of John out of order.

On Day 24 – Luke 3:19-20 is out of order: No gospel tells of John’s imprisonment in real time. Placement of this event into each story is obviously the author’s choice, but Luke places it earlier than Matthew and Mark.

• The next three (3) discrepancies could have been duplicate days with similar events but appear unique enough to justify recognizing a discrepancy between the Gospel writer’s stories.

On Day 47 – Matthew 10:5-11:1 is out of order: Matthew pairs up Jesus calling “The 12” and sending out “The 12” as if Jesus’ calling immediately preceded his sending them out. While it is possible that Jesus is recorded sending his 12 apostles out twice, the official nature of both these circumstance hints otherwise. In consideration that this was the central event in Matthew’s life… it seems more likely that Matthew told the stories together because one day was eternally tied to the next (in his experience). All three Gospels by Matthew, Mark and Luke describe Jesus calling “The 12” and sending out “The 12,” but there are a few synchronized happenings between these two “days” (in Mark and Luke). Matthew’s telling that Jesus called and sent his 12 Apostles in succession – makes perfect sense and is entirely within the author’s prerogative when telling the story. One leads directly to the other. Even so, the day is out of order when organized chronologically, and is therefore included here as the fifth discrepancy.

On Day 84 – Mark 11:15-19 seems to intentionally correct Matthew and Luke’s order of events: The sixth (6^th) discrepancy takes place at the end of Jesus’ “Triumphant Entry” into Jerusalem on that final Passover. Matthew and Luke cap this majestic procession of Jesus with a zealous clearing of the temple… chasing animals and vendors out (with force). Even though those two authors describe the temple confrontation as a capstone finalization of Jesus’ triumphant entry, Mark (in contrast) appears to make a point of recognizing that Jesus, at the end of the triumphant entry, “looked around the temple and, being evening, went home.” It is possible that Mark had become stuck in the crowd and did not recognize Jesus’ clearing the temple that evening, but (if that was the case) why would he specifically articulate Jesus’ surveying the temple and leaving without action. Mark, then, goes on to tell of Jesus clearing the temple the next day, which creates a discrepancy between Mark’s version and Matthew and Luke’s recollection.

On Day 88 – John 12:1-11 is the seventh (7^th) timeline discrepancy, but the only one with a contradictory number of days referenced: This section is especially problematic for churches requiring members to vow that the Bible is without error (aka. “inerrant”), because Matthew and John both write the number of days before Passover that Mary washed Jesus’ feet… yet the number of days differ. Matthew states that this event took place two (2) days before the Passover… John writes that it happened six (6) days before Passover. While it is possible that Mary washed Jesus’ feet more than once, this too is assumed a single event (that is out of order).

• A final conflict includes too many unique details to justify duplication, and yet Matthew places it many days earlier than Mark and Luke’s storylines.

On Day 45 – Matthew 9:18-26 is the eighth (8^th) and final out of order scene: This sequence is full of details which are consistent in Matthew, Mark and Luke. A ruler fell at Jesus feet and asked him to come to his house to heal his daughter. Jesus agreed and began to follow him with a large crowd surrounding them. On the way, a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years (which was very problematic living under Jewish law) snuck up through the crowd and secretly touched the fringe of Jesus’ clothes – hoping to be healed.  After giving effort to locate her in the crowd, Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” Arriving at the ruler’s house, Jesus was ridiculed for saying, “The girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” Removing the crowd, Jesus took her by the hand and raised her up – alive! All these details are in all three gospels, and yet… this day either happened before Jesus called “The 12” (Day 39) and the Sower Sabbath (Day 44) – like Matthew lists… or it happened after – like Mark and Luke record. There are too many details to justify duplicating the story as happening twice, and (with Matthew, Mark and Luke each including all the days mentioned) this day must have occurred before or after Days 39 and 44. I encourage you to compare passages and decide for yourself.