How far into his ministry was he when Christ called his first disciples?

[BrotherTony]

I was talking with a preacher the other day that told me that the Bible clearly taught that Christ called his disciples the last six months he was alive. I can't find that anywhere. I have looked at several timelines from several different denominations, and I'm finding that they vary greatly on how far into his ministry he was...anywhere from several weeks to over two years. In one Bible college I was taught that Christ called his first disciples about six weeks into his public ministry, right after his baptism and testing by the adversary for 40 days. I'd like to see what others think. I am still studying this, but I believe that he had to have called his disciples early on in his ministry to have been able to send them out to preach, cast out demons, etc. I don't think that would all fit into the last six months of his ministry. I find that position implausible. What about you?

[SureWord]

1 hour ago, BrotherTony said:

I was talking with a preacher the other day that told me that the Bible clearly taught that Christ called his disciples the last six months he was alive. I can't find that anywhere. I have looked at several timelines from several different denominations, and I'm finding that they vary greatly on how far into his ministry he was...anywhere from several weeks to over two years. In one Bible college I was taught that Christ called his first disciples about six weeks into his public ministry, right after his baptism and testing by the adversary for 40 days. I'd like to see what others think. I am still studying this, but I believe that he had to have called his disciples early on in his ministry to have been able to send them out to preach, cast out demons, etc. I don't think that would all fit into the last six months of his ministry. I find that position implausible. What about you?

40 days after his baptism by John.  Christ immediately went to the desert to be tempted 40 days then when he returned he called the Twelve to follow him.  

The Transfiguration and the raising of Lazarus was probably during the final months.

Edited April 21, 2021 by SureWord

[BrotherTony]

1 hour ago, SureWord said:

40 days after his baptism by John.  Christ immediately went to the desert to be tempted 40 days then when he returned he called the Twelve to follow him.  

The Transfiguration and the raising of Lazarus was probably during the final months.

This fits in with the timeline I had in mind and was taught in college. Hearing that preacher say that Christ called the disciples during his last six months of ministry made me cringe. I'm having to watch what some of these preachers I know are preaching. I don't want to confrontationally ask him for his reasoning behind this assumption, but I don't want to be too lax, either. I want to "entreat him as a father" since he's an older preacher. I would like to be able to make sure he's got an accurate timeline, though. Thank-you for your input.

 

[John Young]

7 hours ago, BrotherTony said:

I was talking with a preacher the other day that told me that the Bible clearly taught that Christ called his disciples the last six months he was alive.

Its pretty clear it was just after his baptism that they went full time following Jesus on his three year evangelistic ministry. Some think his ministry was only six months long though, other s claim only a year and a half, so maybe that was what he was thinking but I think for those numbers you really have to mess with the scriptures structure too much.