The Birth of Jesus and His First Thirty Years

We see, then, the birth of Jesus. Indeed, that passage in Galatians 4:4 speaks specifically that “…when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son.” That occurred at just the right moment in time, at just the right moment in history.

We don’t have any secular historical record of the birth of Jesus. And so, for that reason it is necessary that we rely exclusively upon the Scriptures for this knowledge about the birth of Jesus, about His ministry, and so on. Of course, we read about that, we learn about these things, in the four Gospels primarily [Matthew, Mark, Luke and John]. And we see that they really speak of His birth, three of the four at least, but then they pass rather rapidly over the next thirty years of His life. We know very little about Jesus, as He was growing up. The only things, as a matter of fact, that we do know are that His parents were forced to flee to Egypt, Matthew 12, and that after the death of Herod, the Roman appointed king over the region, they returned from Egypt and went to Nazareth, Matthew 2. And then, Luke records for us an episode when Jesus was about twelve years old, Luke 2, when the family went to Jerusalem. And that’s all we know about the young man, Jesus.

Ministry of John and Jesus

When Jesus was about thirty years old, we know that His kinsman, His cousin actually, John the Baptist, had begun a campaign. He had begun a ministry to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus the Christ. He had gone out into the wilderness area, and he was proclaiming a Message, “Repent.” It was strikingly similar to the same Message that had been presented to the Jews, to the children of Israel, by the prophets of old. The prophets of old consistently and continually called out to the people to “repent.” However, in John’s Message, he adds, “…for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Well, that was, then, the same Message that Jesus undertook, as well. As He began His ministry, He would have the same Message for those who would hear, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus conducted His ministry for three years, and then, of course, there was His death and burial. He would spend three days in the tomb and then He would be resurrected to life and ascend back to the Father in heaven.

Pentecost; AD 30

And we have talked about, the fact that this reference to the “kingdom” is a reference to the “church,” it is a reference to this special institution that would be established, that would be built, upon the foundation of Christ Jesus being the Son of God. It would be built by Him, and it would be built on God’s timetable, and that timetable, we see, takes place at about AD 30. This is, of course, following the ministry—that three-year earthly ministry, following His death, His burial, and His resurrection. We see that His instructions to His apostles, to those who were faithful to Him, were to go back to Jerusalem, Acts 1, and wait there, which they did.

And we know that, because we have looked at that previously, that what happened thereafter, that’s recorded for us in Acts, chapter 2, was that all of these things that were previously prophesied came to pass. The culmination of those things was right there on that Jewish holy Day of Pentecost, in the city of Jerusalem, just ten days after the ascension. On that Pentecost, the church was established. All of the things that we studied previously about the identifying marks of the church, we see come to pass, all of those things come together in Jerusalem. It came with power and it came in that generation. All the prophecies concerning the coming of the church were fulfilled. And we see, then, that there were converts who were made and that after they were converted, “they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers,” Acts 2:42.

Saul of Tarsus Becomes Paul the Apostle

We see that the church continued to grow, but as it continued to grow, it attracted attention. First, the attention seemed to be favorable attention, but then, the attention became unfavorable. Eventually persecution would set in. In a fairly short period of time, the peace and the harmony that those who were a part of the church in Jerusalem realized, would be shattered when a young man named Stephen would be killed, would be stoned. He became the first martyr, Acts 6 and 7. And a young man named Saul held the garments of those who stoned him.

In Acts 8, there is a great persecution which breaks out against the church. This persecution is brought upon them by their fellow Jews, because those who were converted to the church initially there in Jerusalem were converted from Judaism.

Paul’s Missionary Efforts

What happens then? Well, they are scattered. They travel on those Roman roads and they go to other places, some familiar, some, no doubt, unfamiliar. Maybe they can’t speak the local dialect, but they have a common language, and that’s the Greek language that they can get by with. And so, we see, then, that the church begins to spread.

We also read in Acts 8 that they “went everywhere preaching the Gospel.” No, they didn’t run away and hide. They went away, sharing the Gospel. We begin to see, then, that there are pockets of Christians, that there are churches that are established, in other areas. That is only a small beginning as to what is going to occur with the church, because there is going to be a faithful Pharisee, named Saul, who began as a persecutor of the church, who would be converted to Christ, and he would, then become, perhaps, the greatest traveling missionary of all times.

When Paul and Barnabas were preaching the Gospel in Antioch, they went first to the Jews. But the Jews were envious and spoke against what Paul was preaching. Paul then turned to the Gentiles, Acts 13:42-52. The result was that the Lord’s Word spread throughout all that region. [“So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these Words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the Word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us: “I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.”’ 48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the Word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the Word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”]

In summation, as all of the factors, all of the prophecies, came together, that ushered in the establishing of the church and the spreading of the church throughout the Roman Empire, using the network of roads that were built by the Romans, using the common language of the Greeks. The church, then, began to grow and to spread.