And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people. – Luke 2:52 (Describing Jesus at the age of 12. . . the final words about Jesus before his reappearance at about the age of 30.)

All we know about these early days in the life of Jesus are recorded in Matthew and Luke. Mark and John both begin with the ministry of John the Baptist. That doesn’t diminish the significance of these years, however. It was during these days that Jesus was developing a growing awareness of who he was as the Messiah in PREPARATION for his redemptive ministry. [Read more…]

This article contains a numbered listing of all recorded events in the Preparation Period. This is not an exhaustive listing of every text in the Gospels. (Luke’s introduction, for example, is not included because it is related to Luke’s writing of the Gospel rather than the events of Jesus’ life.) Further, the number and order of events is not always [Read more…]

Event number 1. John the Baptist’s birth foretold – Luke 1:5-25

Narrative, Luke 1:5-25 (HCSB)

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without [Read more…]

Event number 2. Jesus’ birth foretold – Luke 1:26-38

Narrative, Luke 1:26-38 (HCSB)

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And [the angel] came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” But she was deeply [Read more…]

Event number 3. Mary visits cousin Elizabeth – Luke 1:39-56

Event number 4. The birth and naming of John the Baptist – Luke 1:57-66

Event numer 5. Zachariah’s song at John’s birth – Luke 1:67-80

Event number 6. Joseph’s dream and obedience – Matthew 1:18-24

Event number 7. The birth of Jesus – Matthew 1:25a, Luke 2:1-7

Event number 8. Angelic announcement to shepherds – Luke 2:8-20