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Begin with Jesus. Select any connected record to recenter the constellation, reveal another layer, and inspect the evidence behind every line. Every verse in the Bible is a door into the graph.
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Every visible record, in words.
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- Event
The trial before Pilate
At daybreak the council delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate questioned Him about being King of the Jews, found no basis for a charge, sent Him to Herod Antipas, who mocked Him and returned Him, and offered the crowd a Passover release. The crowd chose Barabbas. Pilate washed his hands, had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
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The burial of Jesus
Before the Sabbath began, Joseph of Arimathea, a council member and disciple, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. With Nicodemus he wrapped it in linen with spices and laid it in a new tomb cut into rock in a garden near the place of crucifixion. The women from Galilee saw where He was laid, and Matthew records that the tomb was sealed and guarded.
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The resurrection of Jesus
On the first day of the week the tomb of Jesus was found empty, and He appeared alive to Mary Magdalene, to the disciples, and, according to Paul, to more than five hundred people at once. The New Testament proclaims that God raised Him bodily from the dead.
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Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth is the center of the Christian faith and of FaithGraph. The Gospels present Him as the promised Messiah of Israel, the eternal Word made flesh, who taught, healed, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, rose bodily on the third day, and commissioned His followers to carry the good news to all nations.
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John the apostle
John was a Galilean fisherman, the brother of James and son of Zebedee, called by Jesus beside the Sea of Galilee. With Peter and James he witnessed the raising of Jairus's daughter and the transfiguration, and Christian tradition identifies him with the disciple whom Jesus loved and with the author of the fourth Gospel.
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Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was a follower of Jesus from whom, Luke says, seven demons had gone out. She was present at the crucifixion, went to the tomb early on the first day of the week, and in John's account was the first person to see the risen Jesus and to announce it to the disciples.
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Mary, mother of Jesus
Mary was a young woman of Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph, who received the angel Gabriel's announcement that she would conceive a son by the Holy Spirit and name Him Jesus. Luke records her consent and her song of praise; John places her at the cross.
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Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect of Judea who presided over the trial of Jesus. The Gospels record that he found no basis for a charge, yet handed Jesus over to be crucified under pressure from the crowd and the religious leaders.
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Simon of Cyrene
Simon of Cyrene was a man from North Africa who was coming in from the country as Jesus was led out to be crucified. The soldiers compelled him to carry the cross behind Jesus. Mark names his sons, Alexander and Rufus, as though known to his readers.
Focus this layer - Place
Golgotha
Golgotha, meaning Place of the Skull, was the site just outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was crucified. The Gospels give its name but not a precise location, and two sites in modern Jerusalem are proposed.
Focus this layer - Theme
Covenant
A covenant is a binding relationship God establishes with people by promise. Scripture traces covenants with Noah, Abraham, Israel at Sinai, and David, and the prophets foretell a new covenant that Jesus inaugurates with His blood at the Last Supper.
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Sacrifice and atonement
Sacrifice and atonement is the biblical pattern by which sin is covered and fellowship with God restored through a life given in place of the guilty. From the garments of skin in Eden and the ram in place of Isaac to the Passover lamb and the offerings of the law, the Old Testament teaches that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. The New Testament proclaims that Jesus offered Himself once for all.
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Peter denies Jesus
While Jesus was questioned inside, Peter waited in the high priest's courtyard by a fire. Three times he was identified as a follower of Jesus, and three times he denied it, the last time with an oath. A rooster crowed, Peter remembered Jesus' warning, and he went out and wept bitterly.
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Barabbas
Barabbas was a prisoner held in Jerusalem at Passover, described as notorious, an insurrectionist, and a murderer in the different Gospel accounts. When Pilate offered the crowd a Passover release, the chief priests persuaded them to ask for Barabbas and to demand that Jesus be crucified.
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Caiaphas
Caiaphas was the high priest in Jerusalem during the ministry and trial of Jesus. The chief priests met in his courtyard to plan the arrest, and at his house Jesus was put under oath, declared Himself the Son of Man at God's right hand, and was judged worthy of death. John records that Caiaphas had earlier said it was better for one man to die for the people.
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Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, ruled Galilee and Perea as tetrarch during the ministry of Jesus. He imprisoned and executed John the Baptist, was curious and uneasy about Jesus, and in Luke's account questioned and mocked Him during the Passion before sending Him back to Pilate.
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Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the city David made his capital and where Solomon built the temple. In the Gospels it is where Jesus taught in the temple, shared the Last Supper, was tried, crucified, and rose, and where the church was born at Pentecost.
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Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy member of the council who had not agreed to its verdict against Jesus and who, John says, was a disciple in secret. After the crucifixion he asked Pilate for the body, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in his own new rock-cut tomb before the Sabbath.
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Nicodemus
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews who came to Jesus at night and heard that a person must be born again to see the kingdom of God. He later urged the council to give Jesus a hearing and, after the crucifixion, brought spices to help Joseph of Arimathea bury Him.
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The ascension of Jesus
Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus led His disciples out near Bethany, promised the Holy Spirit, and was taken up into heaven as they watched. Two messengers told them He would return in the same way.
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Cleopas
Cleopas was one of the two disciples who walked to Emmaus on the day of the resurrection. He told the stranger who joined them everything that had happened in Jerusalem, listened as the stranger explained the Scriptures, and recognized Jesus when the bread was broken at their table.
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James, brother of Jesus
James was a brother of Jesus who did not believe during the ministry, saw the risen Jesus according to Paul, and became a leading figure of the church in Jerusalem. He gave the decisive judgment at the Jerusalem council and is traditionally identified as the author of the letter of James.
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Matthias
Matthias was one of two men proposed to fill the place of Judas among the Twelve, having been with Jesus from the baptism of John to the ascension. After prayer and the casting of lots he was added to the eleven apostles. Acts does not record his later ministry.
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Paul
Paul, first known as Saul of Tarsus, was a Pharisee who persecuted the church until the risen Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. He became the apostle to the Gentiles, planted churches across the Roman world, and wrote the letters that make up much of the New Testament.
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Peter
Peter, originally Simon, was a fisherman from Galilee whom Jesus called to follow Him and renamed Peter. He confessed Jesus as the Christ, denied Him during the trial, was restored after the resurrection, and preached the first sermon at Pentecost.
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Thomas
Thomas, called Didymus, was one of the Twelve. John records him offering to die with Jesus, asking how the disciples could know the way, refusing to believe the resurrection without touching the wounds, and then confessing the risen Jesus as his Lord and God.
Focus this layer - Theme
Resurrection
Resurrection is God raising the dead to bodily life. The Old Testament glimpses it in Job, the Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel; the Gospels narrate the raising of Jesus on the third day; and Paul calls Him the firstfruits, the first of a harvest that includes everyone who belongs to Him.
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The birth of Jesus
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea to Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, during the reign of Herod the Great. Luke records the manger and the angels' announcement to shepherds; Matthew records Joseph's obedience and the visit of the magi.
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The presentation in the temple
Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and offer the sacrifice the law required of a poor family. Simeon, promised he would see the Lord's Christ, took the child in his arms and called Him a light for the nations; the prophetess Anna gave thanks and spoke of Him to all who waited for redemption.
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The visit of the magi
Magi from the east followed a star to Jerusalem asking where the king of the Jews had been born. Herod's scribes pointed them to Bethlehem from Micah's prophecy, and the magi found the child with Mary, worshiped Him, and gave gold, frankincense, and myrrh before slipping home by another road.
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The flight to Egypt
Warned in a dream, Joseph took the child and His mother to Egypt by night. Herod, enraged at the magi, had every boy in Bethlehem two years old and under killed. After Herod's death Joseph brought the family back to the land of Israel and settled in Nazareth in Galilee.
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The boy Jesus in the temple
When Jesus was twelve, His family went up to Jerusalem for the Passover. On the way home His parents realized He was missing and found Him three days later in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers. Asked why, He replied that He had to be in His Father's house.
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The baptism of Jesus
Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River. As He came up from the water the Spirit descended on Him like a dove and a voice from heaven declared Him the beloved Son. This marks the public beginning of His ministry.
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The temptation of Jesus
After His baptism the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, where He fasted forty days and was tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread, to throw Himself from the temple, and to gain the kingdoms of the world by worship. He answered each with words from Deuteronomy, and angels ministered to Him.
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The calling of the first disciples
Beside the Sea of Galilee Jesus called two pairs of fishermen, Simon and Andrew, then James and John, to follow Him and become fishers of men, and they left their nets and their father's boat at once. John's Gospel records that Andrew and Simon had first met Jesus near the Jordan after John the Baptist pointed Him out.
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The wedding at Cana
At a wedding in Cana of Galilee the wine ran out, and at His mother's prompting Jesus had six stone jars filled with water and turned it into wine of the best quality. John calls this the first of His signs, by which He revealed His glory and His disciples believed in Him.
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Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the council, came to Jesus at night. Jesus told him that no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again, of water and the Spirit, compared His coming lifting up to Moses's bronze serpent, and spoke of God's love in giving His only Son so that whoever believes may have eternal life.
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The Samaritan woman at the well
At Jacob's well near Sychar Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink and offered her living water. He told her about her life, spoke of worship in spirit and truth, and told her plainly that He is the Messiah. She brought her town to Him, and after two days many Samaritans confessed Him as the Savior of the world.
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The rejection at Nazareth
In the synagogue of His hometown Jesus read Isaiah's words about the Spirit-anointed preacher of good news and declared the Scripture fulfilled that day. The people marveled, then took offense at the carpenter's son, and in Luke's account tried to throw Him from the hill on which the town was built.
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The Sermon on the Mount
On a mountainside in Galilee Jesus taught His disciples and the crowds: the Beatitudes, the call to be salt and light, a righteousness that goes deeper than the law's letter, the Lord's Prayer, trust in the Father, and the two ways ending in the wise and foolish builders. The crowds were astonished at His authority.
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The healing of the paralytic
In Capernaum four men lowered a paralyzed friend through the roof to reach Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus first forgave the man's sins, and when the scribes objected that only God can forgive, He healed the man so that they would know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
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The parables of the Kingdom
Teaching from a boat beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus described the Kingdom in parables: seed on four kinds of soil, weeds among wheat, a mustard seed, leaven, hidden treasure, a pearl, and a net. He explained to His disciples that the parables both reveal and conceal, citing Isaiah's word about a people who hear without understanding.
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The calming of the storm
Crossing the Sea of Galilee by night, the disciples were caught in a violent storm while Jesus slept. They woke Him in fear, He rebuked the wind and the sea and it became perfectly calm, and He asked why they still had no faith. They asked one another who this could be, that even wind and sea obey Him.
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The raising of Jairus's daughter
A synagogue leader named Jairus begged Jesus to heal his dying daughter. On the way a woman who had suffered bleeding for twelve years touched His cloak and was healed, and Jesus told her that her faith had made her well. Word came that the girl had died; Jesus took Peter, James, John, and her parents into the house and raised her with a word.
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The feeding of the five thousand
In a remote place near the Sea of Galilee Jesus fed a crowd of about five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two fish, blessing and breaking the bread until all were satisfied and twelve baskets were left over. John records that the people wanted to make Him king by force, and that Jesus withdrew.
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Jesus walks on the water
The night after the feeding, the disciples were rowing against the wind on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus came to them walking on the water. Matthew records that Peter stepped out toward Him, began to sink, and was caught by Jesus's hand. When Jesus climbed into the boat the wind ceased, and those in the boat worshiped Him as the Son of God.
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Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi
Near Caesarea Philippi Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was, then who they said He was, and Peter answered that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus blessed him, then for the first time told the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day, and rebuked Peter for resisting it.
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The transfiguration
About a week after Peter's confession Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, where His face and clothing shone, Moses and Elijah appeared talking with Him, and a voice from the cloud called Him the beloved Son and told the disciples to listen to Him. Coming down, Jesus told them that Elijah had already come, and they understood He meant John the Baptist.
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The parables of the lost sheep, coin, and son
When the Pharisees grumbled that Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them, He told three parables: a shepherd who searches for one lost sheep, a woman who sweeps her house for one lost coin, and a father who runs to embrace a son who had squandered his inheritance. Each ends in a celebration, and the last with an older brother who refuses to join.
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The raising of Lazarus
When Lazarus of Bethany died, Jesus came four days after the burial, told Martha that He is the resurrection and the life, wept at the tomb, and called Lazarus out alive still bound in grave clothes. Many who saw it believed, and the council resolved from that day to put Jesus to death.
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Jesus sets out for Jerusalem
Luke records that as the time for His departure drew near, Jesus resolutely set His face toward Jerusalem. On the way He kept teaching in towns and villages, and He told the Twelve plainly that in Jerusalem He would be handed over, mocked, killed, and raised on the third day. The disciples did not understand.
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Zacchaeus receives Jesus
Passing through Jericho, Jesus called a wealthy chief tax collector named Zacchaeus down from a sycamore tree and stayed at his house, to the crowd's disapproval. Zacchaeus pledged half his goods to the poor and fourfold restitution to anyone he had cheated, and Jesus declared that salvation had come to his house.
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Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus
Near Jericho a blind beggar, named Bartimaeus by Mark, heard that Jesus was passing and cried out to Him as Son of David. Told to be quiet, he shouted louder. Jesus called him, asked what he wanted, and restored his sight, and the man followed Jesus along the road.
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The anointing at Bethany
At a dinner in Bethany, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, poured costly perfume on Jesus. Judas objected that it should have been sold for the poor, and John notes that he kept the money bag and stole from it. Jesus defended her, saying she had kept it for the day of His burial.
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The triumphal entry
Approaching Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples for a colt and rode into the city while crowds spread cloaks and branches on the road and shouted words from Psalm 118, hailing Him as the Son of David who comes in the name of the Lord. Matthew and John say this fulfilled Zechariah's picture of a humble king on a donkey.
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The Olivet discourse
After leaving the temple, Jesus told His disciples that not one stone of it would be left on another. Seated on the Mount of Olives, He answered their questions about when this would happen and about His coming, warning of deception and persecution, describing the coming of the Son of Man, and calling them to stay awake and ready.
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Gethsemane
After the supper Jesus went with His disciples to a garden on the Mount of Olives called Gethsemane. Taking Peter, James, and John further in, He was deeply distressed and prayed that if possible the cup might pass from Him, yet that the Father's will be done. The disciples slept. He woke them as the betrayer arrived.
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The empty tomb is discovered
Early on the first day of the week, women who had followed Jesus came to His tomb and found the stone moved and the body gone. Messengers told them He had risen. Mary Magdalene ran to Peter and John, who found the linen cloths lying where the body had been.
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Jesus appears to the gathered disciples
That same evening Jesus stood among the disciples in a locked room, greeted them with peace, showed them His hands and side, and ate in front of them to prove He was no ghost. He opened their minds to the Scriptures, breathed on them, and told them they would be His witnesses.
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Jesus appears by the Sea of Galilee
Seven disciples fished all night on the Sea of Galilee and caught nothing until a figure on the shore told them to cast on the right side. Recognizing Jesus, Peter swam ashore. After breakfast Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved Him and three times charged him to care for His sheep.
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The healing at the Beautiful Gate
Going up to the temple to pray, Peter and John healed a man lame from birth in the name of Jesus. Peter preached that the God of Abraham had glorified His servant Jesus, the council arrested them, and the church prayed and was filled again with the Spirit and with boldness. The number of believers grew to about five thousand men.
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Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene
Weeping outside the tomb, Mary Magdalene saw two angels and then Jesus Himself, whom she took for the gardener until He spoke her name. He sent her to tell the disciples, and she became the first to announce that she had seen the Lord.
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The annunciation to Mary
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth to tell Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son named Jesus, who would receive the throne of David and reign forever. Mary answered as the Lord's servant.
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Mary visits Elizabeth
Mary hurried to the hill country to her relative Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with John. At Mary's greeting the child leaped in Elizabeth's womb, Elizabeth blessed Mary and her child, and Mary sang the song of praise known as the Magnificat.
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The Last Supper
On the night before His death Jesus shared a final meal with His disciples in Jerusalem, gave them bread and the cup as His body and blood of the new covenant, washed their feet, and foretold His betrayal.
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The council at Jerusalem
When some taught that Gentile believers must be circumcised to be saved, the church at Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem. After debate Peter recalled Cornelius, Paul and Barnabas reported what God had done among the Gentiles, and James cited Amos to conclude that the Gentiles should not be burdened beyond a few essentials. A letter carried the decision back to Antioch.
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Connections around The crucifixion of Jesus
The trial before Pilate precedes The crucifixion of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidencePilate hands Jesus over to be crucified and the soldiers lead Him away.
Evidence:The crucifixion of Jesus precedes The burial of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe burial follows the death the same evening, before the Sabbath.
Evidence:The crucifixion of Jesus precedes The resurrection of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe Gospels narrate the burial on the day of preparation and the empty tomb on the first day of the week.
Evidence:Jesus participates in The crucifixion of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe passion narratives in all four Gospels record the crucifixion of Jesus.
Evidence:John the apostle participates in The crucifixion of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe disciple whom Jesus loved stands at the cross and takes Jesus' mother into his home; Christian tradition identifies him with John.
Evidence:Mary Magdalene participates in The crucifixion of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceMary Magdalene is named among the women at the cross.
Evidence:Mary, mother of Jesus participates in The crucifixion of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJohn records Jesus' mother standing near the cross and being entrusted to the beloved disciple.
Evidence:Pontius Pilate participates in The crucifixion of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidencePilate presides over the trial and hands Jesus over to be crucified.
Evidence:Simon of Cyrene participates in The crucifixion of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceSimon of Cyrene is compelled to carry the cross on the way to Golgotha.
Evidence:The crucifixion of Jesus occurs at Golgotha
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceAll four Gospels name the Place of the Skull as the site of the crucifixion. The site's modern location is disputed, the name is not.
Evidence:The crucifixion of Jesus develops the theme Covenant
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe cup at the supper is the new covenant in Jesus' blood, and Hebrews presents His death as the sacrifice that inaugurates it.
Evidence:The crucifixion of Jesus develops the theme Sacrifice and atonement
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe New Testament describes Jesus' death as an atoning sacrifice offered once for all.
Evidence:The crucifixion of Jesus develops the theme Sacrifice and atonement
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJesus says His blood is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins, and the apostles describe the cross as a sacrifice for sin.