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CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF THE

LORD JESUS CHRIST By Saint John the Christodox

18.02.2015, Brașov, Romania

partbv@gmail.com

In an attempt to establish a chronology of the earthly life of Jesus, it is

necessary to take into consideration the historical proofs and biblical truth,

but at the same time it is important to avoid traditionalist prejudice, which

exists towards certain historical aspects. Here are some of these

prejudices:

1. Jesus was born in the month of December, around the day of 25th December;

2. In the year of His crucifixion, the Sabbath of the Passover (the Feast of the Unleavened Bread) had coincided with the weekly Sabbath;

3. The triumphant entry in Jerusalem took place on a Sunday morning; The Ressurection took place on a Sunday morning.

4. Magi came at the birth of Jesus.

The current chronologies, apart from the historical mismatches, don’t

answer a few biblical questions, such as:

1. Is it plausible doing a baptism in the Jordan river in the month of January, as it is presumed that's when Jesus was baptized?

2. Why did king Herod kill children who had below the ages of 2 years, and not just the ones with ages below of 1 year?

3. How did Jesus fulfil His promise of being with the thief (the criminal/ malefactor who was crucified besides Him) in Heaven in the same day, when in that day He went in Hades carrying our sins, and the third day, after the resurrection, He told Mary Magdalene that He had not ascended yet to the Father?

4. How did Jesus stay three days and three nights in the grave, if He was buried Friday evening and resurrected Sunday morning?

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5. What is the meaning of Isaiah’s 61:2 prophecy mentioned in Luke 4:18-19, according to which Jesus announces “the year of mercy of the Lord”; which year does He refer to?

Another aspect we should take into account, is the calendar of God, expressed in the Jewish calendar marked by the celebrations (Feasts) He established and which surely have a prophetic meaning.

The beginning of Jesus’ ministry

We will start by setting the year when Jesus began to

minister, to conclude then, the year of His birth.

1. Jesus had “about 30 years” when He began His ministry (Lk 3:23);

2. The minimum age for a public service in Israel was 30 years old.

D1. From here we conclude that when He began His ministry, Jesus

had already 30 years, and probably He had not reached 31 years.

3. The public ministry of Jesus began right after His baptism; 4. After several months of service, at the first Passover from the start

of His service, a statement was made that “Forty and six years was this temple in building …” (John 2:19-20). This means that 46 years had passed from the beginning of the reconstruction until the reconstruction phase in which the Temple was in that moment.

5. Herod began the reconstruction of the temple of Jerusalem in the year of 20 (Before Christian Era = BCE)

D2. From here we conclude that in the year of 27 (Christian Era =

CE) took place that first Passover.

D3. Another conclusion is that the year when His ministry began, or

the year of His baptism, took place one year before, namely in 26 CE.

D4. Taking into consideration that He was almost 31 years old, we

can calculate his birth year, which is 6 BCE.

Correlations:

Daniel’s prophecies

a. The prophet Daniel prophesied that ”from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the

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Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks...” (Daniel 9:25).

b. We will count the year of the going forth of the commandment for the spiritual restoration of Jerusalem, namely 458 BCE (Ezra chap 7). If we were to consider the years of the physical reconstruction of the Temple: through Zerubbabel (536 BCE) would lead us to “the Year of the Anointed one” in 53 BCE; and the year of the reconstruction through Jeremiah (445 BCE) would lead us to the “Year of the Anointed one” in 39 CE , none of which correlate with the historical and biblical data.

c. The time until Christ’s arrival is of „seven weeks and sixty two weeks”, in total 69 weeks. These are weeks “of years”, not of days, which give a total of 69x7= 483 years.

D: Calculating 483 years starting from year 458 BCE we get year 26 CE, which equals the year when Jesus began His ministry.

2. John the Baptist, began his ministry while „Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea” (Lk 3:1). Historical data show that Pontius Pilate was roman governor of Judaea in the period of 26-36 CE. The year 26 CE, in which John the Baptist begins his ministry, is also, the first year of prosecution of Pontius Pilate.

3. Jesus began to preach in the same year with John the Baptist, „in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” (Lk 3:1). Tiberius began his reign on 19th august year 14 CE, being co-reigner with Octavian Augustus still from the year of 12 CE. If we take into consideration this last data concerning the day of co-reigning of the Roman Empire beginning in the year of 12 CE, it results that the time Jesus began his activity of preaching is the year of 26 CE.

4. Macrobius (aproximately 400 CE), one of the last pagan writers of Rome, in his work, Saturnalia, wrote about the killing of children below the ages of 2 years, which was one of the last, if not even the last brutal crimes of Herod, before his death (4 BCE). This reference about killing the children shows that this fact was well known in the time of Macrobius and that it wasn’t contested by the pagan nations1.

5. Historians establish the date of Herod the Great’s death around 12 March 4 BCE when it was a moon eclipse. Thereby, Jesus could not have been born after this date.

1 Source: Ioan Lucian Radu. Uciderea pruncilor din Betleem: mit sau realitate istorică?.basilica.ro

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The birth of the Saviour

Let us identify now the period of the birth of the Saviour in

the year of 6 BCE

1. Biblical historians claim that 1446 BCE is the year of exiting Egipt with Moses, and 1406 BCE is the year of entering Canaan with Joshua;

2. Starting with this year the Hebrew feasts commanded by God (Leviticus 23 and 25) come into force, including also the year of jubilee;

3. The year of jubilee took place every 50 years;

D1: thus we conclude that the year 6 BCE, was a year of Jubilee

(1400 years= 28X50 years, and 1406-1400=6)

4. Historians claim that a census began throughout the Roman Empire:

After the Gospel of Luke (2: 1-2), the Saviour was born in the Holy

Nation during the conduct of a census, commanded by the Roman

emperor Octavian August (27 CE – 14 CE), and "while Quirinius was

governor of Syria" , time during which the title of imperial governor of

the Province of Syria - which also included the kingdom of Herod - was

occupied by Publius Sulpicius Quirinius.

Augustus's famous autobiographical inscription on the temple at

Ancyra, Ankara of today, attests that during his reign, three censuses

were conducted, one of which is attested in Gaul in 12 BCE, and another

in the Holy Land year 6-8 CE mentioned by Joseph Flavius.

In this respect, there may be a mismatch between the Gospel of Luke

and Josephus’ story, which is admitting that the Holy Land held a

census, but between 6-8 CE, after the dismissal of Archelaus, son of

Herod the Great , back when Quirinius was governor of Syria, who met

a resistance because of this, which was led by Judas the Galilean (Acts 5,

37). Like Herod, Quirinus was a historical figure known with certainty

that he was appointed governor of Syria in 6 CE, at an interval of 10

years from the death of Herod.

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However, there should be another census, more than ten years

before, in the time of Herod’s reign, to be in concordance with the Gospel

accounts, as the recognized historical accuracy of St. Luke the Evangelist

suggests that it was based on reliable data when speaking of this census.

In this respect, based on inscriptions found in Tivoli, Italy, and

Antioch of Pisidia, southern Asia Minor, it was proven that Quirinius

was governor of Syria also during 4-1 BCE, but also more importantly,

that even before that, during BCE 10-8, he conducted a census in

Palestine. On the other hand, Christian writer Tertullian attributes the

census which St. Luke speaks of, to Sentius Saturninus, governor of Syria

between 8 and 6 BCE. This apparent contradiction is resolved by the

words of St. Luke: "The first entry was made while Quirinius was

governing Syria (1: 2). The term "first" of the evangelist’s expression

suggests that, the registry which he refers to - the one which righteous

Joseph and St. Mary took part in – isn’t actually the first census, but is a

continuation of the census of Quirinius initiated a few years before, so

that it remains plausible to date the birth of the Lord between years 7-6

BCE.2

5. It was easier to do a census in a year of Jubilee, because families gathered together to recover their lands. It is thus very likely for this year to have been chosen for a census.

It may be that the census was organized to be exactly during an

occasion of celebration, because apparently there was a Roman practice

of realizing such censuses especially on occasions of celebration specific

to each nation. For example, a document by the year of 104 mentions

such a census in Egypt, where all residents were required to return to

their home cities, event that occurred during a popular festival. Then the

Roman practice shows, that they preferred not to fix censuses during

winter, because the roads became impracticable and the movement of

people was slow.3

2 Streza, Dan Alexandru, Dr.. Consideraţii istorice privind data naşterii Domnului. www.revistateologica.ro 3. Necula, Marius. Când s-a născut Iisus?. http://necula.info/cand-s-a-nascut-iisus/

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6. The Year of Jubilee, as a new year, began together with the Feast of Trumpets (1 Tishri) and was celebrated on the Day of Atonement (10 Tishri) according to Leviticus 25: 9-10

D2: Considering that the census was held with the occasion of this

holiday, we are entitled to consider the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ

as the Day of Atonement of that year, namely Wednesday, September

22 year 6 BCE (10 Tishri 3756 Heb)

This would have at least two symbolic meanings:

a) Jesus as High Priest entered His tent (His body) to minister on the Day of Atonement

b) Explains the phrase "to proclaim the year of mercy (of joy) of the Lord" Luke 4:19, Isaiah 61.2. The original greek word for the year of "mercy" can also mean year of "pleasure", approval or joy. In other words, it says that the year of liberation, redemption came through the birth of the Saviour, year of jubilee being the year in which the slaves were freed.

The baptism of Jesus

1. Jesus would have turned 31 years old on 10 Tishri 3787, in other

words on October 9, 26 CE.

2. Considering that at the time of His baptism Jesus was not yet 31 years

old, this means that he was baptized before October 9, 26 CE. We can

appreciate the baptism date somewhere in late September and early

October, which is a realistic period for a baptism. I doubt that in

January John was still doing baptisms in the Jordan River.

D: Given the meanings it is, I believe, justified to assume the baptism date

the day of 1 Tishri 3787, the Feast of Trumpets (meaning September 30

year 26 CE.), for at His baptism the voice of God was heard from heaven,

which had not been heard since the time of Moses.

Moses prophesied that after his death, God will send to the Hebrews

a prophet "like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken" (Deut 18:15-16; Acts

3:22)

In the Gospels we are told that on three occasions the voice of the

heavenly Father was heard: first at the baptism of Jesus(Mt 3:17), then at

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the mount of transfiguration (Lk 9:35) and finally at the Temple, before

the last Passover (Jn 12:28)

The date of 1 Tishri 3787 marks the beginning of a new year (Hebrew

New Year); the baptism of Jesus in this day is associated with the

beginning of a new period in the history of the Jews and of all mankind.

Correlations:

From the date of birth (09/22/06 BCE meaning 10 Tishri 3756) and

until the first Passover (14 Nissan 3787 that is 04/09/27 CE) are about 31

years and 6 months.

From the date of the baptism, until the first Passover (April 9 to 16,

year 27) are approximately 6 months.

Given that His crucifixion took place on the occasion of the 4th

Easter, His ministry took place for 3 and a half years.

The date of birth of John the Baptist

“Elizabeth, mother of John, was a cousin of St. Mary and the wife of

the priest Zechariah, who was part of the" priesthood "of Abijah (Jewish

priests were divided into 24 "companies" and each company served at

the Temple for one week, from one sabbath to another). When the

Temple was destroyed by the Romans on August 5, year 70 CE, the first

company of priests had just taken on the service. Since the company of

Abijah was the eighth company, we can go back” to calculate when

Zacharias served.4

If I calculated correctly, Zechariah ended his service on 23

May, year 7 BCE. Given that Elizabeth conceived "after some time",

probably in the next month, we can estimate the birth of John the Baptist,

after nine months in March of 6 BCE, somewhere between March 3 (Feast

of Esther / Purim) and 3 April (Passover Feast).

4 Bogdan Mateciuc Când s-a născut Domnul Iisus Hristos?. www.odaiadesus.ro/nastere.html

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Correlations:

John the Baptist being born in March, and Jesus in September, we

see that the difference in age between them, resulting from the calculation,

is of 6 months; which corresponds to the biblical account (Lk 1:26).

Considering that the shift to serving in Zacharia's family, came every

6 months, more precisely every 24 weeks, an artificial "matching" date

would be difficult.

The Magi

8 days after the birth of Jesus, the child was circumcised; then a

month later He was taken to the temple where Simeon and Anna

prophesied over Him; then Joseph, Mary and the child returned to

Nazareth. (Luke 2: 21-38)

This means that Joseph and Mary stood about a month in

Bethlehem.

From here it follows that the Magi did not come at His birth, because

immediately after the arrival of the Magi, the family hurried towards

Egypt.

However, the Magi met the child in Bethlehem. How was this

possible?

In Israel there were 3 holidays to which people came to the Temple,

Passover and Pentecost in the spring and in the autumn the Feast of

Tabernacles.

We can assume that the Magi arrived in one of those occasions when

Joseph's family came to the temple. It is realistic to believe that Joseph,

Mary and the child visited or even lived in Bethlehem at a family who

hosted them (a period of) after His birth, until their departure back to

Nazareth.

Herod must have had a reason to kill all children aged up to 2 years,

not just those under the age of one year; so it is plausible to consider that

about a year had passed since His birth, and that the visit of the Magi took

place on the Feast of Tabernacles.

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The Feast of Tabernacles was held on 15-21 Tishri 3757 (10/16/05-

10/23/05 BCE) in other words a few days after Jesus turning one year old

(10 Tishri 3757).

Because more than a year had passed since the birth of the "King of

the Jews", Herod, to be sure, ordered the killing of all infants aged up to 2

years.

From this date until Herod's death in March 4 BCE are

approximately 5 months, which correlates with all the other events.

Year of crucifixion

Considering that the first Easter Jesus has attended was in the year

27 CE, (when He was aged 31 years and 6 months) and that He was

crucified also during an Easter, three years later, we can conclude that the

year of crucifixion is 30 CE. A simple calculation shows that at the date of

crucifixion Jesus was aged 34 years and 6 months.

Jews have two kinds of Sabbaths: weekly Sabbath Sabbaths and

Sabbaths of certain holidays.

The Feast of Passover itself contains 3 holidays and lasts 8 days

between 14-21 Nissan as it follows:

- 14 Nissan is on Passover.

- In 15 Nissan begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread which begins with

a day of Sabbath (starts at 14 Nissan evening 6 pm until 15 Nissan

evening 6 pm).

- In 16 Nissan is the feast of the firstfruits(the day of waving the sheaf).

It all ends with another Sabbath in 21 Nissan.

It was assumed that in the year of crucifixion, the Sabbath of

Unleavened Bread coincided with the weekly Sabbath.

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Here is the schedule for that period of time:5

Year CE,

month

Nissan, 14 Nissan, 15 Passover Sabbath

Nissan 16

First-fruits Feast

26, month

April

Friday ,

04/19/26

Saturday,

04/20/26 Weekly Sabbath

Sunday,

04/21/26

27, month

April

Wednesday,

04/09/27

Thursday,

04/10/27

Friday ,

04/11/27

28, month

April

Monday,

04/26/28

Tuesday,

04/27/28

Wednesday,

04/28/28

29, month

April

Saturday,

04/16/29 Weekly Sabbath

Sunday,

04/17/29

Monday,

04/18/29

30, month

April

Wednesday,

04/05/30

Thursday,

04/06/30

Friday ,

04/07/30

31, month

April

Wednesday,

04/25/31

Thursday,

04/26/31

Friday ,

04/27/31

32, month

April

Monday,

04/14/32

Tuesday,

04/15/32

Wednesday,

04/16/32

33, month

April

Friday ,

04/03/33

Saturday,

04/04/33 Weekly Sabbath

Sunday,

04/05/33

34, month

April

Wednesday,

04/21/34

Thursday,

04/22/34

Friday ,

04/23/34

Because, in this period, only in the years of 26 CE and 33 CE Easter

Sabbath overlaps weekly Sabbath, researchers have tried to adjust the

chronology of the life of Jesus to these data.

Year 26 doesn’t correspond to historical evidence:

If Jesus was crucified in Year 26, it would have meant that the first Easter was at the Year 22 CE, and John would have started ministry in Year 21 CE. John could not start so soon, because he began his activity "when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea" (Lk 3, 1). Pontius Pilate was in function only at the beginning of Year 26 CE.

5 Source: http://www.cgsf.org/dbeattie/calendar/?roman=26

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Year 33 doesn’t correspond to historical evidence:

If Jesus was crucified in 33 CE and His ministry would have started in 29 CE, this would mean that He should have been born in year 2 BCE, in other words after Herod's death, which took place in 4 BCE.

Thus, none of these years do not meet the historical requirements.

Other researchers assume that there were two Sabbaths that week on

consecutive days, Friday and Saturday namely, but this does not appear in

any year of the period.

As noted, the above calculations lead to the crucifixion

date of Year 30 CE.

In that year, there were two Sabbaths in the crucifixion week, on

Thursday 6 April Passover Sabbath, and Saturday 8 April, the weekly

Sabbath.

In this case, how did the events take place in the last week of the

earthly life of Jesus?

The last week SCHEDULE EVENTS

FRIDAY

03/31/30

The journey from Jericho to Bethany took place 6 days before the

Passover (John 12: 1). Jericho was at a greater distance (from

Bethany) than a jew was allowed to travel on a Sabbath Day, so as

a faithful Jew, Jesus could not make this trip on a Saturday.

The journey was made Friday , 31, keeping in mind that the

Passover was Thursday 6 April 30 CE, 6 days after

The weekly Sabbath begins at 6 pm

Lazarus gives a Sabbath meal.

SATURDAY

04/01/30

Sabbath until 6 pm.

The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was the day after His arrival

at Bethany (John 12.12)

Because Bethany is located about 2.7 kilometers from Jerusalem,

which is about 30 minutes away on foot, longer than a Sabbath

road (960 m), this trip could not be done in the morning, but it

was done in the evening, after end of the Sabbath.

When he approached Jerusalem Jesus wept over the city.

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At the temple He just watched without doing anything because it

was evening, and returned to Bethany (Mark 11:11)

SUNDAY

04/02/30

Cursing the fig tree

The second cleansing of the Temple

Return to Bethany

MONDAY

04/03/30

The fig tree found dried

The last public sermon of Jesus in the Temple

dating of the crucifixion

The prophecy concerning the end

Teachings on the Mount of Olives

Return to Bethany.

Anointing by Mary in the house of Simon the Leper

TUESDAY

04/04/30

Preparation of the Passover in the upper room. In Mt 26:17

"protos" can also mean "before" not only "first" (see also John

1:15, 30; 2Pet 2:20; Mt 12:45)

Passover Dinner

Washing of the Feet

Discovering the seller

Establishment of the Supper

Last lessons for disciples

Notification of Peter's denial and betrayal of others

Going to the Mount of Olives

Prayer on the Mount of Olives

The agony in Gethsemane

Catching of Jesus

Jesus at Annas and Caiaphas

WEDNESDAY

04/05/30

14 Nissan

3790

Condemnation of the Sanhedrin

Suicide of Judas

Jesus at Pilate and Herod

Jesus condemned

Crucifixion

Saving the thief on the cross

The death of Jesus confirmed

Burial

Begining of the Sabbath of Passover

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THURSDAY

04/06/30

15 Nissan

3790

Sabbath of Passover

At the end of the day of Thursday and the beginning of

Sabbath day Friday, the Feast of firstfruits (in other words

Thursday evening around 6 pm) Jesus was resurrected in

spirit and passed from the "prison Hades" into "Abraham's

bosom" or "paradeisos" which is heaven, where he met ("the

same day)" with the cruxified thief whom He forgave (Luke

23:43).

Then, once raised, He went to preach to the spirits in prison of

Hades, as Peter says: He was killed in the flesh, but made alive in

the in spirit in which he went and preached unto the spirits in

prison, 1Peter 3: 18,19

It is significant the fact that Jesus rose during the feast of

firstfruits. (1 Corinthians 15:23)

FRIDAY

04/07/30

16 Nissan

3790

Having passed the Sabbath Day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the

mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might

come and anoint him. (Mark 16: 1)

Friday, the day between the two Sabbaths, the multitude participated in the feast of firstfruits (the day of waving the sheaf). Friday morning the women bought spices, then attended the

celebration and in the evening, after the feast, they prepared

them.

Then, at 6 pm started The weekly Sabbath.

SATURDAY

8 April 30

Weekly Sabbath

The declaration of the resurrection was made only Sunday

morning, but the body of Jesus was transformed into glorified

body on the evening of Saturday, when His spirit entered him,

after reaching the 3 days and 3 nights;

SUNDAY 9

April 30 CE

At the end of the Sabbaths, when it began to dawn toward

the first Day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary

and others with them, came to see the tomb.

In Mt 28: 1 in the original "Sabbath" is plural, in other words

"Sabbath" or "Sabbaths", which confirms the fact that there

were two Sabbaths that week.

The women come to the tomb with spices bought Friday. They

could not buy them at Sunday dawn, then go home to prepare

them, and then go to the tomb "while it was still dark."

The declaration of resurrection

Peter comes to the tomb

Jesus appears to Mary Magdalena

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Jesus appeared to the disciples on the way to Emmaus

Jesus shows Himself to the 12

In the next 40

days

Teachings concerning the kingdom of God

After 40 days The Ascension

After another

10 days

Descent of the Holy Ghost

Holidays of the Old Covenant in the New Covenant

It is remarkable to see the fulfillment of the Old Testament holidays in the

New Testament:

1. Old Testament Passover= the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus

Christ

2. Feast of Unleavened Bread = Burial of Lord Jesus

3. Day of the first fruits(day of waving the sheaf) = resurrection of the

Lord Jesus in spirit

4. Pentecost = Descent of the Holy Ghost

5. Year of jubilee= Year of birth of the Lord Jesus

6. Day Atonement = Day of birth of the Lord Jesus

7. Feast of Trumpets = The Baptism of Jesus

What remains to be fulfilled is the Feast of the Tabernacles.

Jews and nations have the same holidays and I believe that they

should be celebrated simultaneously and after the Jewish calendar, which

is the calendar of God; this is expected in Scripture referring to the Feast of

Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16).

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TIMELINE

3754 8 BCE

7 BCE

May, 7 BCE. Announcing the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah

3755 December, 7 BCE. Announcing the birth of Jesus to Mary

March 6 BCE. Birth of John the Baptist.

Announcing the birth of Jesus to Joseph

6 BCE

3756 10 Tishri 3756 meaning 09/22/06 BCE. Birth of Jesus

5 BCE

3757 15-21 Tishri 3757 meaning 10/16/05 - 10/23/05 BCE. The coming of

the Magi; Flight to Egipt; Killing of the infants

March, 4 BCE. Herod the Great dies 4 BCE

3758

3 BCE

3759

2 BCE

3760

1 BCE

3761

1 CE

3762

2 CE

3763

3

3764

4

3765

16

5

3766

6

3767

7

3768

8

Passover 04/9/08/ - 04/16/08 CE. Jesus in the Temple at 12 years old

+17 years

3785 March, John turns 30 years old 25

3786 10 Tishri 3786 meaning 09/20/25 Jesus turns 30 years old

It begins the ministry of John the Baptist, 26 CE, after Pilate is put into service.

26

3787 1 Tishri 3787 meaning 09/30/26 CE. The baptism of Jesus. He also

begins His ministry.

10 Tishri 3787 meaning 10/09/26 Jesus turns 31 years old.

27

14-21 Nissan 3787 meaning 04/9/27 - 04/16/27 CE. First Passover

3788

28

14-21 Nissan 3788 meaning 04/26/28 - 05/03/28 CE. Second

Passover

3789

29

14-21 Nissan 3789. meaning 04/16/29 - 04/23/28 Third Passover

3790 Feast of the Tabernacles 15-22 Tishri 3790 meaning 10/11/29 – 10/18/29

Feast of the Dedication Hanukah 25 Kislev-2 Tebet. 3790

meaning 12/19/29 – 12/26/29

30

14-21 Nissan 3790 meaning 04/05/30 – 04/12/30 Fourth Passover.

Crucifixion; Burial; Resurrection in spirit; preaching in Hades;

Incarnation in glorified body