Jesus' Year of Solitary Wanderings 

Jesus was thirty-one years old in the year 25 CE. In the spring of that year, he returned from his trip to the Caspian Sea as a caravan conductor. He visited Capernaum for a short time and then spent a few days visiting his family in Nazareth. But in the middle of April, he embarked on a year of solitary travels through Palestine and Syria. People in various towns knew him by different names during this time: the carpenter of Nazareth, the boatbuilder of Capernaum, the scribe of Damascus, and the teacher of Alexandria.

Jesus went first to Tyre, then Sidon, but his first major destination was Antioch. Jesus lived in Antioch for more than two months, during which time he continued to study and minister to the people he encountered during that time. He was still gathering knowledge of his fellow mortals and how they lived, thought, and felt about their lives. For three weeks, Jesus worked as a tentmaker. His visit to Antioch was the longest of any of his visits to other towns during this year. Long after Jesus left this earth, the Apostle Paul heard some of his followers in Antioch speaking about the teachings of the Damascus scribe; but Paul never knew that this scribe was the Master himself.

When Jesus left Antioch, he traveled south to Caesarea, then to Joppa. From Joppa, he went inland to Jamnia, Ashdod, and Gaza, and from there he took an inland trail to Beersheba. Now, Jesus, as a private individual, continued his travels through the heart of Palestine, going from Beersheba in the south to Dan (Caesarea-Philippi) in the north.

The towns that he visited included the following: Hebron, Bethlehem (where he saw his birthplace), Jerusalem, Beeroth, Lebonah, Sychar, Schechem, Samaria, Geba, En-Gannim, Endor, and Madon. He passed through Capernaum and Magdala but continued north, where he passed east of the Waters of Merom on his way to Dan (or Ceasarea-Philippi), by way of Karahta.

In August of 25 CE, Jesus was led by his indwelling spirit to come away from his travels among the cities and towns and make a journey to Mount Hermon for the purpose of completing the mastery of his human mind and to make a full consecration of himself to his mission on earth. And it was on this solitary journey to the hills of Mount Hermon that Jesus lived alone with God for six weeks. This sojourn was the occasion of Jesus’ "great temptation," and was the effective ending of his purely human career.

When Jesus returned from Mount Hermon, summertime was about over. Jesus met with his family in Capernaum and then started on a three-week trip to Jerusalem with John Zebedee for the day of atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. On the way to Jerusalem, they spent the night at Bethany with Lazarus and his sisters. Once they arrived in Jerusalem, John spent much of his time in and around the city; but Jesus preferred to be alone, wandering the hills and communing with the Father in heaven. They did not do a lot of visiting together; John saw that Jesus had undergone a great change.

For several years, Jesus had been undergoing a great transformation of mind and spirit – a transformation that was completed during his time on Mount Hermon. This change was so profound that people who had known him during these times of his travels and personal ministry often did not recognize him in his later role as a public teacher of spiritual truth.

On the day of atonement, when Jesus was with John for the temple service, he longed to give voice to the real truth of the heavenly Father’s loving character and his merciful nature, but his indwelling spirit advised him against it, telling him that his hour had not yet come. Nevertheless, Jesus did enjoy the remainder of his time in Jerusalem with John as they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles; it was clear to see that he delighted in the lighthearted enjoyment of both the young and the old.

Jesus left John before the festivities were finished and headed off alone once more to the hills nearby Bethany, where he spent another week in solitude. On his way back to Capernaum, he spent one night in the hills of Mount Gilboa. When he arrived home, he seemed more cheerful than he was when he and John parted in Jerusalem.

The next day, Jesus put on his apron and went back to work in Zebedee’s boat shop, where he remained for the rest of the year, working side-by-side with his brother James. Jesus worked on some of the larger boats, exhibiting a great deal of human satisfaction when he felt he had done a good job; Jesus took great pains in his work to achieve a high level of workmanship.

This arrangement continued with Jesus making boats at Zebedee’s workshop even as word reached Capernaum that John had begun baptizing believers in the Jordan, preaching, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent and be baptized." In January of 26 CE, when John had come to a point near Pella, Jesus laid down his tools and declared "My hour has come." He then traveled to John to present himself for baptism.

On January 14, 26 CE, Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately after this momentous event, he retired alone to the Perean hills, where he spent forty days in communion with God, making plans and decisions that would affect his upcoming public ministry. Jesus returned to John’s encampment on February 23, 26 CE, just about one year after his time of solitary wandering had begun.