This page uses short quotations from the Bible to trace some of the major events in Christ’s life. References are included in case you would like to read the longer passages they come from in your own Bible.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6; NLT).
Christ is present at creation
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him (John 1:1-3; NLT).
The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favour with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:30-32; NLT).
Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria). All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He travelled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant (Luke 2:1-5; NLT).
Jesus is born in Bethlehem
She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them (Luke 2:7; NLT).
Shepherds visit him
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger (Luke 2:16; NLT).
Wise men bring gifts
After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary his mother; and they fell to the ground and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11; NLT).
Jesus is presented at the temple
When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (Luke 2:22; NIV).
The flight into Egypt
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him” (Matthew 2:13; NLT).
In the temple at Jerusalem, aged 12
Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions (Luke 2:46; NLT).
Home-life in Nazareth
Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them (Luke 2:51; NLT).
Jesus calls his first disciples
Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed him (Matthew 4:18-20; NKJV).
Christ turns water into wine at Cana
This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him (John 2:11; NLT).
Jesus is baptised by John
After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy” (Matthew 3:16-17; NLT).
He is tempted in the desert
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil (Matthew 4:1; NLT).
Jesus calms the storm
As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm (Luke 23-4; NLT).
Jesus walks on water
About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water (Matthew 14:25; NLT).
The transfiguration
Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light (Matthew 17:1-2; NASB95).
Jesus heals many people
A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all (Matthew 15:30; NLT).
The raising of Lazarus
Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave-clothes, his face wrapped in a head-cloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” (John 11:43-4; NLT).
The cleansing of the temple
Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Luke 19:45-6; NLT).
Christ’s feet are washed with tears
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair” (Luke 7:44; NLT).
The triumphal entry into Jerusalem
Jesus was in the centre of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9; NLT).
The last supper
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many” (Mark 14:22-4; NLT).
Jesus washes the disciples’ feet
He got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him (John 13:4-5; NLT).
The agony in the Garden of Gethsemane
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed (Matthew 26:36-7; NLT).
Jesus is betrayed and arrested
Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss. Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.” Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him (Matthew 26:47-50; NLT).
Jesus carries his cross
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (John 19:16-17; NIV).
He comforts his followers
A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23:27-8; NLT).
Simon helps him to carry his cross
A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21; NLT).
The crucifixion
Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross (Mark 15:24; NLT).
Jesus provides for his mother’s future
When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son” (John 19:26; NLT)
The death of Jesus
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30; NIV).
Pierced with a lance
The soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out (John 19:32-4; NLT).
His body is taken down from the cross …
When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross (Acts 29: NLT).
… and placed in a tomb
He … laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance (Mark 15:46; NLT).
The resurrection
He peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened (Luke 24:12; NLT).
Jesus appears to Mary
She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”) (John 20:14-16; NLT).
The road to Emmaus
That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognising him (Luke 24:13-16; NLT).
Christ appears to Thomas and the disciples
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me” (John 20:26-9; NLT).
The ascension
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven (Luke 24:51; NLT).