Key Events in the Bible

EVENT

DESCRIPTION

WHERE FOUND?

Birth of Jesus Christ	Joseph and Mary travelled to Bethlehem in Judea to comply with the census of the Roman emperor Augustus, where Mary gave birth to her son Jesus.	Matthew 1-2 Luke 1-2
The Magi visit Jesus	The Magi, three 'wise men from the East', visited Bethlehem to pay homage to the infant Jesus.	Matthew 2:1-12
Baptism of Jesus	John the Baptist spent years preaching the importance of repentance. John's work culminated in his baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.	Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22
Temptation	While Jesus spent 40 days fasting and meditating in the wilderness, the devil tried to tempt him.	Matthew 4:1-11 Mark 1:12-13 Luke 4:1-13
The wedding at Cana	Jesus performed his first miracle, changing water into wine at a wedding in Cana.	John 2:1-11
Jesus feeds the 5,000	This passage describes the miracle in which Jesus fed 5,000 of his followers with just 5 loaves and 2 fishes. The leftover food filled 12 baskets.	Mark 6:30-44 Luke 9:10-17 John 6:1-15
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead	Jesus visited the town of Bethany, where he miraculously raised Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb.	John 11:1-46
The parable of the Good Samaritan	The parable of the Good Samaritan demonstrates the Christian message of inclusiveness, in which qualities such as compassion and 'neighbourliness' should be shown to all, regardless of geographical and cultural divisions.	Luke 10:30-37
Transfiguration	Jesus took three of his Apostles, Peter, James, and John, to a high mountain, where he revealed himself to them as the Son of God.	Matthew 17:1-3; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36
Jesus enters Jerusalem	On the Sunday before the Passover, Jesus entered Jerusalem, where he was met by crowds of people who greeted him enthusiastically.	Matthew 21:1-13 Mark 11:1-19; Luke 19:28-48; John 2:13-25
The Last Supper	On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus Christ shared a meal with the 12 Apostles and presented them with bread and wine as emblems of his body and blood.	Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-38; John 13:21-30
Jesus is betrayed by Judas Iscariot	After the Last Supper, Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and meditate. A crowd sent by the chief priests and the elders of the Jews arrived and Judas identified Jesus to them. Jesus was then arrested and led away.	Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-50; Luke 22:1-6; John 18:1-11
Peter denies Jesus	After Jesus's arrest, Peter denied knowing him three times. This denial had earlier been predicted by Jesus.	Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:15-18, 25-27
Trial and Crucifixion	The Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme council and tribunal, found Jesus guilty of blasphemy and committed him to the Roman court, which sentenced him to death. Jesus was taken to Golgotha and nailed to a cross-the Roman punishment for political offenders and criminals.	Matthew 26:57- 27:66; Mark 15:1-47; Luke 22:66 - 23:56; John 18:1-11
Resurrection	On the third day following the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene went to anoint Jesus's body for burial and found the tomb empty. 'A young man' clothed in white announced that Jesus had risen. Jesus later appeared to the Apostles in various places in and around Jerusalem.	Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-21, 25
Ascension	Jesus Christ ascended into heaven in the presence of the Apostles 40 days after his resurrection.	Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-14
The descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost	The Holy Spirit appeared to the Apostles 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ, as they celebrated the ancient Jewish feast of Shabuoth.	Acts 2
Conversion of St Paul	Originally called Saul, Paul became a Christian after seeing a vision of Christ and being blinded while travelling from Jerusalem to Damascus.	Acts 9:1-31

EVENT

DESCRIPTION

WHERE FOUND?

Creation	The events of each of the six days of God's Creation of the universe are told here. On the seventh day, God rested and sanctified the day. God's first human creations were Adam and Eve. Adam was created from the dust of the earth and placed in the Garden of Eden; Eve, the first woman, was created from one of Adam's ribs.	Genesis 1-2
The first sin	Christianity depicts the world conceived by God as the Garden of Eden, a place of total peace and innocence. This innocence ended, however, as soon as Adam, tempted by Eve, ate the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thus committing the original sin of humankind. The two were expelled from the Garden of Eden for their disobedience.	Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7-8, 18-24; 3:1-24
Cain kills Abel	Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. Both brothers made an offering to God: Cain gave a portion from his harvest, while Abel offered the firstborn of his flock of sheep. When God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's, Cain became jealous and killed Abel.	Genesis 4
Noah and the Flood	When God became angry at the corruption of the world, he destroyed it with a great Flood lasting 40 days and 40 nights; Noah was the only man pious enough to be saved. Noah had been warned to build the ark, a great ship, and to take on board with him his wife, his three sons and their wives, and two mated specimens of every species of animal on Earth.	Genesis 6-9
Joseph's coat of many colours	Joseph was envied by his brothers, particularly after his father expressed favouritism towards him by giving him a 'coat of many colours'. His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, where he won the favour of the pharaoh by interpreting his dreams.	Genesis 37
Moses in the bulrushes	Just before the birth of Moses, Pharaoh had ordered that all Hebrew male infants were to be put to death. To save her child, Moses's mother placed him in a basket and set it afloat on the River Nile. He was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh, who brought him up as her own child.	Exodus 2
The Exodus and parting of the Red Sea	Moses led the Exodus of the Israelites from persecution and slavery in Egypt. He parted the waters of the Red Sea so that they were able to cross safely to the Sinai Peninsula.	Exodus 12-14
Moses receives the Ten Commandments	God gave the Ten Commandments directly to Moses on Mount Sinai, and they became the fundamental laws of the Hebrews.	Exodus 20
The Fall of Jericho	Under Joshua, the successor to Moses, the Israelites crossed the River Jordan and besieged the city of Jericho. God commanded the Israelites to march around the walled city, and ordered their priests to blow trumpets. At the sound of the trumpets, the walls collapsed and Joshua's troops were able to conquer the city.	Joshua 6
Samson and Delilah	Delilah, a Philistine woman, befriends Samson, the judge of Israel, but later betrays him by cutting off his hair, in order to make him lose his supernatural strength.	Judges 13-16
David and Goliath	In a battle between the Philistines and the Israelites, David, the youngest son of a shepherd from Bethlehem, killed the giant Philistine warrior Goliath with a stone from his sling.	1 Samuel 17
Daniel in the lion's den	The prophet Daniel was thrown into a den of lions for killing a dragon revered by the Babylonians. The story of his miraculous survival is told here.	Daniel 6
Jonah and the great fish	Jonah was swallowed by a 'great fish' when he failed to obey the commands of God; he was later spat out on the shore of Nineveh to spread the word of God.	Jonah 1