The Ministry of Jesus, spanning the three years or so between his baptism and his death, laid the foundation for the ministry of all Christians.

You may wish to view "The Ministry of Jesus" for more information of Christ's earthly ministry, including a four-gospels summary.

1st To Manifest and Explain God

Jhn 1:1-5,14  
"The Word became flesh" and manifested the glory of God as "the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth".

1Tm 3:16  
He was God "revealed in the flesh".

2Co 5:18-19  
"God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself".

Php 2:5-11  
"Christ Jesus... existed in the form of God" but took "the form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of men".

Jhn 14:9  
Jesus showed us the Father. "He who has seen me has seen the Father".

Lke 5:18-26  
Jesus demonstrated the power and authority of God.

2nd To Explain and Fullfill the Old Testament Prophets

Lke 24:27  
"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures".

Lke 24:44-45  
"I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled".

Mtt 5:17  
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill".

3rd To Choose and Train His Apostles

Mtt 28:16-20  
Jesus told the eleven disciples to teach "all that I have commanded you".

Jhn 14:25-26  
"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you, but the Helper... will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you".

4th To Begin the Preaching of the Gospel

Lke 16:16  
"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since then the gospel of the kingdom is preached..."

Lke 20:1  
"He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel..."

Heb 1:1-2  
"God... in these last days has spoken to us by his Son..."

Heb 2:3  
"How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was first spoken by the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard..."

Footnotes

Jesus Acting as God

Occasionally you will hear objection to the statement that Jesus while on earth was God and acted as God. Some interpret 2Co 5:19 by inserting commas, "God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself" which takes the punch out of the phrase "God was in Christ".

In these things he acted as God and showed himself to be God

Jesus Preaching the Gospel

Objection is also sometimes heard to the statement that Jesus preached the gospel, and it is claimed that he preached the law of Moses. However Lke 16:16 and Heb 2:3 clearly show that the gospel was first spoken by the Lord. Certainly the Lord explained the Law and the Prophets, but he did so by revealing the gospel in them and the things concerning himself. Any commentary Jesus made on the law of Moses was incidental (eg Mtt 15:1-9).

We often hear Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) called "the first gospel sermon". However this is intended to mean only that this is the first record of the disciples of Jesus preaching the gospel after they were empowered and after Jesus established his church. It is not meant to imply that the gospel had not been previously preached.

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