paradox3 ----your quote ---- So it seems to be a fairly mainstream idea. However, googling shows me that not all scholars support it. Some say we can only state confidently than Jesus' ministry was between one and three years.
unsafe posting what Got Questions says -------it seems it could have been 3and one half years also -----so who knows for sue ??????
unsafe says to be fair --I don't think you can separate John's Gospel from the time line of His Ministry -cause John gives in formation on this subject -----this being one from the article below ------
According to John’s Gospel, Jesus attended at least three annual Feasts of Passover through the course of His ministry
https://www.gotquestions.org/length-Jesus-ministry.htmlfor sure
Question: "How long was Jesus' ministry?"
Answer: According to
Luke 3:1, John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign. Tiberius was appointed as co-regent with Augustus in AD 11, and 15 years later would be AD 26.
Jesus began His ministry shortly thereafter at approximately the age of thirty (Luke 3:23). This gives us a basis upon which we can approximate what year Jesus began His public ministry: around AD 26. As for the end of His ministry, we know that it culminated with His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
According to John’s Gospel, Jesus attended at least three annual Feasts of Passover through the course of His ministry: one in
John 2:13, another in 6:4, and then the Passover of His crucifixion in 11:55–57. Just based on that information, Jesus’ ministry lasted 2 years, at the very least.
Because of the amount of things that Jesus accomplished and the places He traveled during His ministry,
many scholars believe there was another Passover, not mentioned in the Gospels, which fell between the Passovers of John 2 and John 6. This would lengthen Jesus’ ministry to at least 3 years.
We can add more time because of all that took place before the first Passover of Jesus’ ministry in
John 2. By the time of that first Passover (in the spring of 27), Jesus had already traveled from the area of the Jordan to Cana to Capernaum to Jerusalem. He had been baptized by John (
Matthew 3:13–17), been tempted in the wilderness (
Matthew 4:1–2), began His preaching ministry (
Matthew 4:17), called His first disciples (
John 1:35–51), performed His first miracle (
John 2:1–11), and made a trip to Capernaum with His family (
John 2:12). All this would have taken several months, at least.
Add to that the 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension (
Acts 1:3), and we have a total length of Jesus’ earthly ministry. From His baptism to His ascension, the late summer of 26 to the spring of 30, we have approximately 3½ years.
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Second article on this ------
What was the length of Jesus' public ministry?
What was the length of Jesus' public ministry?
The Bible does not tell us the exact number of days Jesus Christ served in public ministry. However, a close look at the chronological data revealed in the Gospels allows us to carefully reconstruct a timeline with a good degree of accuracy.
To begin, Luke noted that the ministry of John the Baptist began in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar's reign, which was the year AD 26. Jesus began to minister shortly after this time at approximately the age of 30 (or perhaps "early 30s";
Luke 3:23). His crucifixion took place in either AD 30 or 33, indicating that His public ministry took place within the AD 26—33 timeframe.
More specifically, scholars note that if Jesus began His public ministry between mid to late AD 26 and died in the spring of AD 30, His ministry would have been a total of 3½ years (including His resurrection, 40 days of appearances, and ascension). Others who argue for the crucifixion taking place in AD 33 argue that Jesus did not begin His ministry until AD 29, calculating the starting date of Tiberius Caesar's reign based upon the death of his predecessor Augustus Caesar in AD 14, meaning that the ministry of John the Baptist began in AD 29. In either case, a public ministry of about 3½ years is still the conclusion.
Further evidence for this length of time can also be found in the Jewish festivals. In John's Gospel, Jesus attended at least three annual Passover feasts (
John 2:13;
6:4;
11:55-57). At the shortest, His ministry would have been 2½ years. If one additional Passover occurred during this time, sometime between
John 2 and
6, the information regarding 3½ years fits nicely.
In fact, this unmentioned Passover likely took place prior to the three occasions mentioned in John. By the time of the first Passover mentioned in
John 2:13, Jesus had already been baptized, spent 40 days being tempted in the wilderness, had started preaching in various towns and villages (
Matthew 4:17), selected His first followers (
John 1:35-51), performed His first miracle at Cana in Galilee (
John 2:1-11), and traveled to Capernaum north of the Sea of Galilee (
John 2:12).
These efforts would have covered the course of several months, adding enough time to easily fit the 3½ years mentioned above.
Based on this information, the public ministry of Jesus holds profound implications. In only about 1,200 days, Jesus gathered a small group of followers, taught crowds in a variety of towns, performed miracles, healed diseased, cast out evil spirits, and became such a "threat" to the Jewish religious leaders that they sought to put Him to death. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to many people over 40 days, preparing His followers to continue His mission to take the good news to "all nations" (
Matthew 28:18-20) until His return.
