When Did Jesus Start His Ministry While On Earth?

What age did Jesus begin His earthly ministry?

The Prophesied Messiah or Christ

Jesus has always existed as God but He had not yet dwelled in the flesh (John 1:1, 14) and Isaiah wrote “the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (7:14) “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) and “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7a). Luke writes that this was fulfilled in the Virgin Mary’s birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:26-31).

The Birth of Jesus Christ

Jesus’ birth also fulfilled a prophecy of the Old Testament. This one was written by Micah the Prophet who wrote that Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2a) and He will be the “one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2b). Apparently, many were expecting Jesus’ coming as Anna the Prophetess was (Luke 2:36) and she “began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” when she saw Jesus (Luke 2:38).

The Youth of Jesus Christ

Jesus apparently learned His step-father’s trade which was carpentry and must have worked as a carpenter too because that was what He was sometimes referred to. This meant that Jesus was employed as a carpenter or at least took over His step-father’s shop up until age thirty. We don’t really know what happened to Joseph because the last time we hear from Joseph is when he and Mary go back to the feast to pick up Jesus Who was only twelve at the time but sitting in the temple asking questions “And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:47). After this, Joseph is never heard from again in Scripture so we presume that he died. Jesus, at age twelve, was old enough to speak in the temple since the Jews believed that was the age of responsibility, therefore the boy moved from being a child to a young man at age twelve. That’s why they have Bar Mitzvah at that age which is the age of their taking on the obligations of the commandments (mitzvoth).

The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry

There is little argument that Jesus began His earthly ministry at or around age thirty but there is significance to the number thirty in the Bible and in our culture. Joseph began his rule in Egypt at age thirty, thirty is the minimum age to be a U.S. Congressman, Jewish law requires the congregants to seek certain qualities when choosing a cantor to lead the services on the High Holidays but they must be at least age thirty, so to the Jews, thirty seems to be the “moment of truth.” There is no mystery about when Jesus began His earthly ministry because Luke writes that “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli” (Luke 3:23). What the real mystery might be is why don’t more people believe in Christ?

John’s Ends, Jesus’ Begins

In the beginning, John the Baptist had more followers than Christ did and it was only after John the Baptist was arrested that Jesus began His earthly ministry which coincided with His defeat of Satan in the temptation in the wilderness. Mark writes, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). Jesus’ gospel message is the same as John’s was. It was the message of repent and forgiveness. Jesus’ said “repent and believe” so Jesus must have been around thirty years of age when John was arrested and later beheaded.

Conclusion

By the time Jesus reached the age of thirty, He had already been well studied in the Scriptures as evidenced by His sitting in the temple as a twelve year old and amazing His listeners. Jesus is still working on the earth today but not in His physical presence but through human agents who are yielded to the Holy Spirit. There is still a faithful remnant doing what Jesus’ would have them do (Matt 28:19-20; Act 1:8) and the Head of the Church still offers His open invitation today for all to come to Him that they might have eternal life (2nd Cor 6:2), to repent and believe (Mark 1:15) or face the everlasting wrath of God abide on you (John 3:36b) at His return or after your death when the judgment comes (Heb 9:27).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.