The Divine Ministry of Jesus Christ 
when He was closer to 30 years old than to 29, in the 30th year since the Incarnation, between the 29th and 
30th Passovers (
A.D.
 15, 
A.D.
 16) since His Birth, and 3  years before the Crucifixion. 
The Baptism of Jesus by John 
     Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the 
heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from 
heaven, `Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.'   (Lk 3:21 22). 
    Immediately after telling us about the Baptism of Jesus, the Gospel of Luke gives us the age of Jesus when 
He began His Ministry (Lk 3:23). So, the Gospel of Luke counts the Ministry of Jesus as having begun at the 
time of His Baptism. Each of the other Gospels also marks the Baptism of Jesus by John as the beginning of 
Jesus' Ministry (Mt 3:13 17; Mk 1:9 15; Jn 1:19 34). 
    Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the river Jordan (Mt 3:6; Mk 1:9; Lk 4:1; Jn 1:28). The place of 
Baptism must have been between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee, which are connected to one another by 
the Jordan River. Also, Sacred Scripture tells us that those who came to be baptized were from Judea and 
Jerusalem (Mt 3:5; Mk 1:5). So, one place where John baptized was in the region of Judea.
405
    The Gospel of John tells us that John baptized  at Aenon, near Salem, because there was much water 
there.  (Jn 3:23). Aenon is located in Samaria, not in Judea, and is closer to the Sea of Galilee than to the 
Dead Sea. Thus, John baptized in more than one location. 
    Blessed Anne Catherine provides some additional details about the places where John baptized people.
406
She names three places along the Jordan River, between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. First John 
baptized at Ainon (Aenon), near Salem (Salim). Then John baptized  at On opposite Beth Araba on the west 
side of the Jordan, and not far from Jericho. 
407
 That location is close to the north end of the Dead Sea.
408
 The 
third place where John baptized is not given a name by Blessed Anne Catherine, but she tells us it was located 
 a couple of hours further north  than the second place.
409
 Lastly, John returned to the first place, Aenon, to 
baptize for the last time before being arrested and put in prison. The Gospel of John mentions John's 
impending imprisonment immediately after telling us that John baptized at Aenon. 
    At which of these locations was Jesus baptized? The Gospel of John gives us some indication that the 
Baptism of Jesus by John occurred near the Dead Sea, not at Aenon, which is nearer the Sea of Galilee. The 
Gospel of John describes a conversation between John the Baptist and some priests and Levites sent by the 
Pharisees.  This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.  (Jn 1:28). Bethany is a 
short distance, about a Sabbath's walk, from Jerusalem (Lk 24:50; Acts 1:12). Bethany is somewhat less than 
20 miles from the Jordan river, but is over 50 miles from Aenon. The next day after the conversation at 
Bethany, John saw Jesus at a distance and spoke about the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus at His (recent) 
Baptism (Jn 1:29 34). It is not until much later in the Gospel of John (Jn 3:23) that Aenon is mentioned as a 
place where John baptized. Therefore, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, in the region of Judea, not at Aenon, 
but at a place closer to the Dead Sea than to the Sea of Galilee. 
    Jesus was baptized by John in the fall of 
A.D.
 15, after John had spent several months preparing the way for 
Christ's Ministry. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich provides some more specific information about when the 
Baptism of Christ occurred. When speaking a settlement of lepers that Jesus had visited, she tells us:  Jesus 
healed here on September 30th before His Baptism. 
410
 So, the Baptism of Jesus occurred on or after Sept. 30 
of 
A.D.
 15. In another place, she states:  It is the same house in which thirty years later Jesus spent the night of 
October 11th before the morning on which he passed near the Baptist for the first time after His Baptism. 
411
So, the Baptism of Jesus occurred on or before Oct. 11 of 
A.D.
 15. 
    In describing the day on which Jesus was baptized by John, Blessed Anne Catherine tells us that Jesus 
traveled that morning along with Lazarus, but that He walked more quickly than Lazarus and so He arrived 2 
hours before him.
412
 They must have both walked a long distance for Jesus to arrive so long ahead of Lazarus. 
Later in the day, after His Baptism, Jesus also traveled with some of His followers to a place a couple of hours 
away.
413
 Since Jesus and Lazarus and some other disciples traveled much that day, it could not have been a 
Jewish Sabbath (on which Jews were not permitted to travel more than a short distance). 
103






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