This is the story of a three-year adventure that begins when Jesus is about thirty years of age. It is packed with every imaginable kind of drama possible. After his baptism in the Jordan, and his temptation by the devil in the wilderness of Judea, Jesus takes on the work he has been sent to accomplish. There are four major phases of that work that can be followed geographically as well as chronologically.
Jesus first spends about three months in and around Jerusalem in what is known as his “Early Judean Ministry.” He then moves to Galilee for about eighteen months. Scholars refer to this time as his “Great Galilean Ministry.” After this extensive time in Galilee, Jesus eventually crosses over the Jordan to the region of the Decapolis and Perea. This period is often called “The Perean Ministry.” Most of the action of this period of time is recorded only in Luke’s account. Finally, the “Later Judean Ministry” involves all that Jesus says and does as he heads toward Jerusalem. It culminates in his arrival in that city on what we call Palm Sunday. He triumphantly enters Jerusalem to the cheers of a crowd that by the end of the week will be asking for his execution.
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