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1st century BC – AD, Nazareth → Jerusalem
Young woman of Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph. Said yes to Gabriel. Bore Jesus in Bethlehem. Stood at the foot of the cross. Pondered these things in her heart.
Nazareth and Bethlehem, late 1st century BC – early 1st century AD
Husband of Mary, earthly father of Jesus. A carpenter of Nazareth from the line of David. He received the angel's command in a dream and did not put Mary away. He fled with the family to Egypt, returned to Nazareth, and raised the boy Jesus in his workshop.
1st century AD, the Judean wilderness
Wilderness prophet. Camel’s hair and locusts. Baptized Jesus in the Jordan. Said he must increase, and I must decrease. Beheaded by Herod for telling the truth about a wedding.
1st century AD, Roman Judea (~4 BC – 33 AD)
Itinerant Jewish teacher, healer, and prophet from Galilee. Central figure of the Christian gospels.
Heard by 4 souls, in 4 conversations.
Jerusalem and the hill country of Judea, c. 6–5 BC
A priest of the division of Abijah, husband of Elizabeth, father of John the Baptist. The angel Gabriel appeared to him in the Temple while he burned incense and told him his barren wife would conceive a son. He asked how he could know this, given their age. Gabriel struck him mute. When the child was born and he wrote on a tablet "His name is John," his mouth opened and he spoke the Benedictus — one of the great prophecies of Luke.
The hill country of Judea, c. 6–5 BC
Wife of Zechariah the priest, kinswoman of Mary, mother of John the Baptist. She was barren all her life. In her old age, after the angel's word to Zechariah, she conceived. When Mary visited during her own pregnancy, the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. She spoke the first blessing over Mary: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." She recognized what Mary carried before anyone told her.
Jerusalem, c. 5–4 BC
An aged, righteous man in Jerusalem to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed he would not die before he saw the Lord's Messiah. He came to the Temple that day led by the Spirit. When Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus for the presentation, he took the child in his arms, blessed God, and said: "Lord, now let your servant depart in peace." He then spoke to Mary alone: "A sword will pierce your own soul also."
Jerusalem, c. 5–4 BC
A prophetess, daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. Widowed after seven years of marriage, she had remained in the Temple, worshiping night and day with fasting and prayer, for 84 years (or was 84 years old — the Greek is ambiguous). When she saw the infant Jesus at his Temple presentation, she gave thanks to God and spoke of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. She is the oldest woman in the gospels.
1st century AD, Galilee → Rome
Galilean fisherman, leading apostle, and traditional first bishop of Rome. Impulsive, devoted, denied Jesus three times.
Galilee and Jerusalem, c. AD 26–60
First disciple called, brother of Simon Peter. A fisherman from Bethsaida, formerly a follower of John the Baptist. Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. He found the boy with five loaves and two fish before the feeding of the five thousand, and brought Greeks who wished to see Jesus to Philip and then to him.
Galilee and Jerusalem, c. AD 26–44
Son of Zebedee, brother of John, one of the inner three. Jesus called the brothers Boanerges — Sons of Thunder. James was the first apostle to be martyred, killed by the sword under Herod Agrippa around AD 44.
Galilee and Jerusalem, c. AD 26–resurrection appearances
Called Didymus, the Twin. One of the twelve. He was not present when the risen Lord first appeared to the disciples, and refused to believe until he could touch the wounds. But when Jesus appeared again and offered his hands and side, Thomas said: "My Lord and my God" — the most direct confession of Jesus's divinity in all four gospels. He was also the one who said, at Lazarus's tomb, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
Galilee and Judea, c. AD 26–30s
Tax collector at Capernaum, called Levi in Mark and Luke, son of Alphaeus. Jesus walked past his toll booth and said "Follow me," and he did — that same hour. He threw a great feast for his old associates with Jesus at the table, which scandalized the Pharisees. He became one of the twelve, and his gospel opens with a genealogy that situates Jesus in the full sweep of Israel's history.
Jerusalem, c. AD 28–30
A Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin who came to Jesus by night to ask his questions away from the eyes of his colleagues. Jesus told him he must be born again. Nicodemus appeared again to urge due process for Jesus at a Sanhedrin meeting, and a third time — at the cross and tomb — bringing myrrh and aloes for the burial.
Jericho, c. AD 29–30
Chief tax collector of Jericho — wealthy, despised, short in stature. He climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus over the crowd. Jesus looked up, called him by name, and said he would eat at his house. The crowd murmured. Zacchaeus stood and pledged to give half his possessions to the poor and repay fourfold anyone he had cheated.
Bethany, Judea, c. AD 28–30
Sister of Mary and Lazarus, of Bethany near Jerusalem. She opened her home to Jesus and his disciples. She complained that her sister Mary left her to serve alone while she sat at Jesus's feet. When Lazarus died, she went out to meet Jesus on the road and made the confession: "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world" — as theologically significant as Peter's, but rarely remembered.
Bethsaida and Judea, c. AD 26–60
One of the Twelve, from Bethsaida — the same town as Peter and Andrew. He brought Nathanael to Jesus. When Greeks came wanting to see Jesus before the Passover, they came first to Philip. At the Last Supper he asked: "Show us the Father, and it is enough for us." He is the apostle of honest, ordinary questions.
1st century AD, Galilee → Judea
Disciple of Jesus, healed of seven demons, first witness to the resurrection. Frequently misidentified in later tradition.
Heard by 1 soul, in 1 conversation.
Cana of Galilee and Judea, c. AD 26–60
One of the Twelve, traditionally identified with Bartholomew. Philip found him and told him about Jesus of Nazareth. His first response: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" He was sitting under a fig tree when Jesus already knew him. Jesus called him "an Israelite in whom there is no guile." He represents the person who speaks his doubt plainly and gets seen for it.
Galilee and Judea, c. AD 26–60
One of the Twelve, identified in all four apostle lists as "the Zealot." He was likely affiliated with or sympathetic to the Zealot movement — violent anti-Roman resistance. He was chosen alongside Matthew, a Roman tax collector and collaborator. That these two were both in the Twelve is itself a theological statement about what the kingdom does to politics.
Jerusalem, c. AD 1–62
Brother of Jesus, leader of the Jerusalem church. He did not believe in Jesus during the ministry (John 7:5). He was converted by a post-resurrection appearance (1 Cor 15:7). He then became the pillar of the Jerusalem church — the Jewish Christian center Paul sometimes had to negotiate with. His letter is practical wisdom, Torah-shaped. He was killed by the Sanhedrin in AD 62.
Sychar, Samaria, c. AD 28
An unnamed Samaritan woman (tradition calls her Photini) who met Jesus at Jacob's Well in Sychar. She had five husbands; the current man was not her husband — Jesus named this not as condemnation but as evidence of knowing her. She deflected with theological questions (the mountain vs. Jerusalem dispute). She then became the first evangelist in John's gospel, running back to her village to announce what she had seen.
Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, c. AD 50–65
Priscilla (also called Prisca), wife of Aquila, tent-maker, theologian, and church leader. She is named before her husband in four of six New Testament references — unusual in Roman literature, indicating greater prominence. With Aquila she taught Apollos, an eloquent and learned man who "knew only the baptism of John," explaining to him "the way of God more accurately." She was a patron and anchor of the Pauline mission.
Lystra, Macedonia, Ephesus, c. AD 47–65
Timothy, son of Eunice (Jewish) and an unnamed Greek father, from Lystra. He was circumcised by Paul as an adult for strategic missionary reasons. Paul's closest protégé — "my true child in the faith." He was apparently timid; Paul wrote repeatedly to encourage him not to let people despise his youth, to stir up the gift, to not be ashamed. He led the church at Ephesus.
Alexandria, Ephesus, Corinth, c. AD 50–65
Apollos of Alexandria, described in Acts as eloquent, learned in the scriptures, fervent in spirit, and accurate in what he taught — which was the baptism of John. Priscilla and Aquila heard him in Ephesus and privately explained "the way of God more accurately." Some Corinthians then formed a faction saying "I am of Apollos" — which he did not ask for and which Paul had to address, saying that Apollos and he were merely workers planting and watering.
Jerusalem, c. AD 29–30
Unnamed woman brought before Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees who caught her in adultery (John 7:53–8:11). Used as a trap to force Jesus to choose between Roman law and the Law of Moses. Jesus wrote in the dirt. "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." The crowd dispersed. "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."
1st century AD, Judea
One of the twelve. Betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Returned the money, hanged himself.
Jericho, c. AD 29–30
Blind beggar of Jericho, son of Timaeus — one of the few miracle recipients named in Mark (10:46-52). Sitting beside the road as Jesus passed, he shouted over the crowd's objections: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" When called, he threw off his cloak — his only real possession — and jumped up. Jesus asked what he wanted. He did not ask for status or position; he asked to see. He received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Capernaum, Galilee, c. AD 27–28
A Roman centurion stationed at Capernaum (Matthew 8, Luke 7) whose servant was gravely ill. He sent Jewish elders to ask Jesus, then sent word through friends: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me..." Jesus declared he had not found such faith in all Israel. The servant was healed at a distance.
A parable, the context of Luke 15
Unnamed father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15). He gave his younger son the inheritance early — in that culture, effectively as though the father were already dead. He watched the road. He ran when the son was still a long way off, which was undignified for a man of his standing. He threw a party. He went out to the elder son who would not come in, and did not dismiss his grievance.
Bethany, Judea, c. AD 30
Brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany, raised from the dead by Jesus four days after burial. Jesus wept at the tomb before calling him out. After the resurrection, Lazarus became a target of the chief priests who wanted to kill him again, as his existence was causing many to believe in Jesus. The gospel records not one word from him after he came out of the tomb.
1st century AD, Roman prefect of Judea (~26–36 AD)
Roman prefect who presided over the trial of Jesus. Equestrian-class administrator with a documented record of provoking his Jewish subjects.
Jerusalem, c. AD 30 — the crucifixion
Traditional name for the penitent thief crucified beside Jesus (Luke 23:39-43). He rebuked the other criminal: "Don't you fear God? We are punished justly — this man has done nothing wrong." Then: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Answer: "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." No theological training. Just the clarity of a man at the end of a wrong life who made one right move.
1st century AD, Roman Empire (~5 – 67 AD)
Pharisee turned apostle. Author of the majority of the New Testament epistles. Roman citizen, tentmaker by trade.
Jerusalem, c. AD 33–35
First Christian martyr. One of seven chosen to serve the Jerusalem church in its early days. Filled with wisdom and power, he performed signs among the people. Arrested on charges of blasphemy, he gave a speech before the Sanhedrin rehearsing all of Israel's history as a record of the people's rejection of God's messengers — ending with the accusation that they had murdered the Righteous One. He died by stoning seeing a vision of the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
Jerusalem and the eastern Mediterranean, c. AD 33–48
A Levite from Cyprus, born Joseph, renamed by the apostles Barnabas — "Son of Encouragement." He sold a field and gave the proceeds to the Jerusalem church. He was the first to vouch for the converted Paul when the disciples were afraid of him. He and Paul carried famine relief to Jerusalem and then embarked on the first missionary journey together — until a sharp disagreement over John Mark ended their partnership.
Philippi, Macedonia, c. AD 49–50
A seller of purple cloth from Thyatira, living in Philippi. She was among a group of women at a place of prayer by the river outside the city — where Paul and his companions spoke the gospel for the first time on European soil. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message, and she and her household were baptized. She insisted Paul and his companions stay at her house, which became the first church in Europe.
Caesarea Maritima, c. AD 40
A Roman centurion of the Italian Cohort at Caesarea (Acts 10). He gave alms generously and prayed to God regularly. An angel told him his prayers had been heard — send for a man named Peter in Joppa. Peter came. While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his household — uncircumcised Gentiles receiving what had been given to Jews at Pentecost. Peter baptized them. This was the hinge on which the Gentile mission turned.
Galilee and Jerusalem, c. AD 26–resurrection appearances
The unnamed disciple who refers to himself in the Gospel of John only as "the one Jesus loved." He leaned against Jesus at the Last Supper. He stood at the foot of the cross when all the others had fled. Jesus gave his mother into his care from the cross. He ran to the tomb with Peter on the morning of the resurrection, outran Peter, but waited at the entrance and let Peter enter first. He wrote his gospel in the third person to make space for the reader.
Late 1st century AD, Aegean exile
Author of the Apocalypse, exiled to the island of Patmos. Identification with John the apostle is traditional but contested.
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