The life of John the Baptist and the life of Jesus Christ

The great theme of the articles that belong to this part of the website is Biblical History. Within this context the articles almost exclusively deal with the life and the acts of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. In articles following these chapters the central role of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ in God's great plan of salvation for the earth and for mankind will be dealt with separately and extensively.

	Important prophecies about Jesus which are to be found in the Hebrew Scriptures For us in the 21st century it is almost unimaginable why the Jews in the days of Jesus have not immediately and without any doubt acknowledgded Him as the Messiah. They must have known that the Messiah would be a descendent of David, would be born in Bethlehem, would spend some time in Egypt, would bear their disease.
	Why is it that so many Jews did not recognize Jesus as their Messiah? For people who live in the 21st century the large majority of the texts mentioned in the previous article are obvious references to the life and the actions of Jesus. But the reason may well be that from our point of view this life and these actions lie in the past and are known to us.
	The birth and childhood of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ Jesus was born from very simple parents in a very simple environment: in a stable where Joseph and Mary spent the night because they could not find themselves a place in any inn. Shortly after the birth of Jesus an angel appeared to shepherds who were tending their flocks in the neighbourhood of the stable where Jesus was born.
	The year 29. A.D. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ begin their life-work In the year 29 A.D. John the Baptist and Jesus started their public ministry. Both were 30 years old then. John started his preaching in the spring of the year 29 and Jesus followed half a year later in the autumn. In those days many people were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah
	30 A.D. John the Baptist is put in prison. Jesus fulfills His mission In the year 30 A.D. Jesus and His disciples began to preach in the same territory where John and his disciples were working. When John heard this he said again that he was not the Messiah, but that Jesus was and he also said that the extent of the work of Jesus would increase and the extent of his work would decrease.
	31 A.D. Jesus preaches all over Galilee and John the Baptist is beheaded. Eleven of the twelve apostles came from Galilee. Only Judas, who betrayed Him later on, came from Judea. Just like Jesus Himself they were very ordinary people. They had not received more education than all Jewish children received in those days.
	The first nine months of the year 32 A.D. Jesus continues preaching in Galilee In the spring of the year 32 A.D. Jesus gave His disciples an extremely clear exposition on how they could achieve eternal life in God's Kingdom through believing in Him. In this context He called His body food and His blood wine and told them that in order to acquire eternal life they had to eat His body and drink His blood.
	The autum of the year 32 A.D. and the spring of the year 33 A.D. When one day one of His disciples asked Jesus what He thought was the best way of praying Jesus gave him, as an example to be followed, the Lord's Prayer: Father, may Thy name be sanctified, may Thy Kingdom come soon, give us each day sufficient food and forgive us our sins.
	The first month of the spring in the year 33 A.D. The last week of Jesus' stay on earth By the time of the Passover celebration of the year 33 A.D. Jesus began His last journey towards Jerusalem. For the third time He pointed out to His apostles that this time He would be handed over to the leading priests and the scribes and that He would be made fun of, spat at, flogged and killed.
	Jesus' last Wednesday and Thursday as a human on earth On Wednesday 12 Nisan the higher priests and the religious leaders of the Jewish people met in the courtyard of the house of the High Priest Caiaphas. They decided to go all out to arrest Jesus as soon as possible and to have Him killed. That same day they were approached by one of Jesus' apostles: Judas Iscariot.
	Jesus is sentenced to death and executed on Friday; resurrected on Sunday On Sunday morning, 16 Nisan, Mary Magdalene was the first one to go to Jesus' grave. She noticed that the big stone which blocked the entrance had been rolled away and that Jesus' body had disappeared. Highly upset she ran away and came across Peter and John who were on their own way to the grave.

Forty days after His resurrection Jesus ascended to heaven. Many of His disciples were present when He left the earth. When the apostles were looking into the air to see Him leave, there were suddenly two angels with them, who told them that He had not gone away for good, but that He would come back.