Section 2 brief chronology of the life of Christ

A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF

THE LIFE OF CHRIST

chronology |krəˈnɒlədʒi| nounthe arrangement of events or dates in the order of their occurrence

Saturday, 20 July 13


Dating the life of Christ is not an easy task, there are many uncertainties when trying to be specific - so we use reasonable approximations or ‘best guesses’ at times. For example: The first century was when?


Dating the life of Christ is not an easy task, there are many uncertainties when trying to be specific - so we use reasonable approximations or ‘best guesses’ at times. For example: The first century was when?Romans: 754-854 (from the supposed founding of Rome)


Dating the life of Christ is not an easy task, there are many uncertainties when trying to be specific - so we use reasonable approximations or ‘best guesses’ at times. For example: The first century was when?Romans: 754-854 (from the supposed founding of Rome)Jews: 3760-3860 (from the supposed date of the creation of the world)


Dating the life of Christ is not an easy task, there are many uncertainties when trying to be specific - so we use reasonable approximations or ‘best guesses’ at times. For example: The first century was when?Romans: 754-854 (from the supposed founding of Rome)Jews: 3760-3860 (from the supposed date of the creation of the world)However ancient historians tend to talk in terms of a kings reign - and the nth year of that reign.


This provides a problem as they use different ways to measure the length of a reign:- some go from the exact date in the year of accession to the throne- some from the first full calendar year- some use “exclusive reckoning” where the 2nd through 5th years would be three yearsOthers use “inclusive reckoning” where the 2nd through 5th years would be four yearsThis results in some confusion when consulting different textbooks


THE BIRTH OF CHRISTTook place somewhere between 6 and 4 BC.Use of AD and BC was developed by Christians but did not gain wide recognition and acceptance until the 1500’s under Pope Gregory XIII.In the early 6th century Dionysus Exiguus made the first attempt to date Christ’s birth and so we get 1AD - which became so well accepted it was impossible to change.


Later using the work of Josephus it was found that Herod must have died by 4BC - and as he had all the babies in Bethlehem slaughtered shortly before his death, in accordance with the date he learned from the Magi (Matt 2:16) Christ could have been born up to 2 years earlier.People have also tried to link the “star of Bethlehem” with a strange conjunction of planets in 7 and 6BC (Matt 2:2, 9, 10) and also a comet in 5BC. (If the star was “supernatural” then this is not valid.)


What of Quirinius in Luke 2:2? Historically we only know of a governor of Syria by this name in AD6 - maybe governor is a general term or maybe he held another position before being governor?There are references of Roman censuses taking place in Egypt every 14 years - if this edict came from Rome (Augustus refers to one in 8AD) then it is possible compliance was still taking place in Judea in 7-6BC.Whilst not totally certain we do have good approximations for the date.


What day was Jesus born on?December 25th was in the Western Roman Empire the day of celebrating Sol Invictus (the unconquerable sun) - Christians by 3rd century had started to celebrate the birth of Christ on this day: In the East they celebrated on January 6th.Christians probably did not know the date they simply took a regular holiday and celebrated at that time, in this way they had nothing to fear.Lk 2:8 talks of shepherds watching lambs at night - a spring activity - so maybe Jesus was born in the spring?


BEGINNING OF MINISTRYA number of lines of evidence are drawn together to get a date for the start of Jesus’ adult ministry:1. LK 3:1 - JTB was preaching in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar (who started to reign in 14AD) - so 28/29ADHowever in 12AD Tiberius took joint reign of the Eastern provines - so could be 26/27AD2. LK 3:23 - Jesus is about 30 years of age - the above dates fit in with this


3. Jn 8:57 - Jesus is not yet 50 - a number used to show he is not yet old4. Jn 2:20 - 46 years to build the temple... - Josephus says rebuilding began in the 18th year of Herod’s reign (began in 37BC), hence 20/19BC - add 46 and we get 27/28AD5. How many years did Christ minister? When was the crucifixion? Both of these also affect your choice of date. Blomberg suggests 27 or 28 seems the most probable for the start of Jesus’ ministry.


LENGTH OF MINISTRY

Historically 1, 2, 3 or even 4 years have been suggested. Most commonly accepted is 3 years (+/- few months)The synoptics only mention 1 Passover but John mentions 3 (2:13, 6:4, 12:1).Jn 5:1 speaks of an unnamed feast - for Jews the feast would be Tabernacles whilst for Christians it would be Passover - this could lead to a 4th Passover (year) being included.


LENGTH OF MINISTRY

Historically 1, 2, 3 or even 4 years have been suggested. Most commonly accepted is 3 years (+/- few months)The synoptics only mention 1 Passover but John mentions 3 (2:13, 6:4, 12:1).Jn 5:1 speaks of an unnamed feast - for Jews the feast would be Tabernacles whilst for Christians it would be Passover - this could lead to a 4th Passover (year) being included.

In Jn 2:13-15 Jesus clears the temple - is this another incident, or is it the same as in Mk 11:12-19 and John simply puts it at the start to add emphasis (like a headline) to the event?The Synoptics indicate at least 2 spring times - Mk 2:23-38 picking at eating grain - then Mk 6:39 talks of green grass which was found in the wilderness (v32) in the spring only after winter rains.We can conclude 2-3 year ministry (and possibly a little longer) is most probable.


If a 3 year period is accepted then it is usually divided:Year 1 - obscurity (all the events prior to the Galilean ministry of Jesus)Year 2 - popularity (up until the events after feeding the 5000 after which many more casual followers left Jesus, Jn 6:66)Year 3 - rejection (feeding of 500 up until his death)Remember these are not definite and may vary by a few months - but as generalisations they help give a memorable outline.


THE CRUCIFIXIONTook place during:- reign of Pilate (AD 26-36)- Caiaphas was High Priest (AD 18-36)- Tetrarch Antipas (4BC-37AD)- was on a Friday (before Sabbath, Saturday Mk 14:52, and the day on which the initial Passover was celebrated)Some suggest Jn 13:1, 18:28, 19:14, 31 indicate Christ being crucified on the day of the Passover celebration.


THE CRUCIFIXIONTook place during:- reign of Pilate (AD 26-36)- Caiaphas was High Priest (AD 18-36)- Tetrarch Antipas (4BC-37AD)- was on a Friday (before Sabbath, Saturday Mk 14:52, and the day on which the initial Passover was celebrated)Some suggest Jn 13:1, 18:28, 19:14, 31 indicate Christ being crucified on the day of the Passover celebration.

Jews counted days from sundown to sundown - so was Passover Thurs-Fri or Fri-Sat?Passover was 15th of Nisan and calculated by the new moon appearing - so astronomical data can be used to help (but due to weather conditions, clouds etc. We cannot be absolutely certain of the date.A good case is made for Passover being on a Friday or Saturday in AD 30 or 33 (though it is hard to make the latter date a Friday)


So which date do we choose?- If the cosmic disruptions of Mk 15:33, Acts 2:19-20 are a lunar eclipse then AD33 is best. (If the dark was supernatural then such info does not help)- if the earliest reasonable date for Christ’s ministry starting was AD28 or 29, and was 3-4 years, then AD33 fits best.- if his ministry was only 2 years then it took place in AD 28-30


So which date do we choose?- If the cosmic disruptions of Mk 15:33, Acts 2:19-20 are a lunar eclipse then AD33 is best. (If the dark was supernatural then such info does not help)- if the earliest reasonable date for Christ’s ministry starting was AD28 or 29, and was 3-4 years, then AD33 fits best.- if his ministry was only 2 years then it took place in AD 28-30

- what of the dates in Acts? A period beginning in AD30 fits best for these (AD33 becomes a harder fit).For us a date of AD30 fits best with taking the Gospel data seriously - and is commonly viewed in this way.Blomberg does comment that “little of great exegetical significance rests on these exact dates”


PROBABLE TIMELINE OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST



6 BC Birth



6 BC Birth

4 BC Flight and return from Egypt



6 BC Birth


AD7 Teaching in the Temple aged 12



6 BC Birth



Working as a carpenter in Nazareth



6 BC Birth




AD 27 JTB’s ministry begins



6 BC Birth





AD 28 First Passover of Jesus’ ministry



6 BC Birth





AD 28 First Passover of Jesus’ ministry

AD 30 Crucifixion and resurrection


FURTHER DETAILS- usually it is assumed Jn 1:19-4:42 comes before Jesus’ Galilean ministry in the synoptics. This is based on healing the rich rulers servant in Jn 4:43ff being considered the same event as healing the centurions servant in Matt 8:1ff which signals the start of Galilean ministry in the synoptics.- Jn 2:13-4:42 all take place further south


- if Jn 5:1 refers to Tabernacles then it punctuates Galilean ministry as Jn 6:1 (feeding 5000) is back in the North- Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem (Mk 10:1ff, Lk 9:51ff) does not allow for a return to Galilee and so it is assumed to be after the penultimate trip of Jn 7:1-10:21- after ministry in Jerusalem at Hanukkah (Jn 10:40-11:57) Jesus seems to remain in S Israel until his final entry into Jerusalem a week before his death.This then looks like this:


Date Event

Late 27?Appearance of JTB

Late 27?Baptism of Jesus

Early 28Early events of Jn 1-2

Early 28Passover of Jn 2:13

Spring 28 Rest of events of Jn 3-4

Spring-Fall 28 Ministry in Galilee (as in Synoptics)Tabernacles of Jn 5:1

Fall 28 until spring 29 More Galilean ministry (as in Synoptics)


Date Event

Spring 29-fall 29

Passover time feeding of 5000 (Jn 6:4 etc.)Spring 29-fall

29 End of ministry in Galilee, withdrawal and return

Nov-Dec 29Tabernacles (Jn 7:1-10:21) and return to Galilee

Nov-Dec 29“Perean ministry” - Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem

Winter-spring 30

Hanukkah in Jerusalem (Jn 10:22)Winter-spring 30 Ministry in and around Judea and Jerusalem

April 2-6 30 “Triumphal entry”, “Passion week”

April 7-9 Crucifixion and resurrection


We cannot give greater detail than in this table. However Blomberg asserts that with care you can construct a complete harmony of the life of Christ. He also refutes the idea that there is only one way to fit all the data together - there exist valid differing harmonies and we do not have enough information to decide which is the best chronology.


We cannot give greater detail than in this table. However Blomberg asserts that with care you can construct a complete harmony of the life of Christ. He also refutes the idea that there is only one way to fit all the data together - there exist valid differing harmonies and we do not have enough information to decide which is the best chronology.

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The End


Spiritual

Section 2 brief chronology of the life of Christ