Dating the crucifixion.

Every clue used to date Jesus' death, from the terms of Pilate and Caiaphas to the phases of the moon, each graded for how firm it is. The Passover dates for 26-36 CE are worked out from astronomy, with the method explained.

The resurrection What outsiders said Archaeology Dating the crucifixion

Firm 3Computed 1Probable 3Disputed 2Weak 3

Josephus, Ant. 18.89; Tacitus, Annals 15.44; the Pilate stone

Pilate was prefect of Judaea

Pilate governed Judaea for about ten years, from 26 to late 36 or early 37.

Firm

Josephus, Ant. 18.35, 18.95

Caiaphas was high priest

Joseph Caiaphas held the high priesthood through the whole of Pilate's term.

Firm

Mark 15:42; Matt 27:62; Luke 23:54; John 19:31, 42

The crucifixion was on a Friday

All four Gospels place the death on the "Preparation", the day before the Sabbath.

Firm

John 18:28; 19:14 against Mark 14:12-17

Passover eve or Passover day

John has Jesus die as the Passover lambs were killed; the first three Gospels place a Passover meal the night before.

Disputed

Astronomy (lunar calculation)

Friday Passovers, 26-36 CE

Of the years 26-36, the Friday dates are 7 April 30 and 3 April 33 for Nisan 14; Nisan 15 fits only under looser assumptions.

Computed

Luke 3:1-2

"The fifteenth year of Tiberius"

Luke dates the start of John the Baptist's preaching to Tiberius' fifteenth year.

Probable

John 2:20; Josephus, Ant. 15.380

"Forty-six years" building the Temple

John's figure, counted from Herod's start in about 20/19 BCE, gives a Passover early in Jesus' ministry around 27/28.

Probable

Mark (one Passover) against John (three)

The length of the ministry

The Synoptic outline fits a single year; John mentions three Passovers.

Disputed

Gal 1:18; 2:1; Acts 18:12 (Gallio)

Paul's chronology

Counting back from Paul's dated stay in Corinth, his conversion falls within a few years of the crucifixion.

Probable

Luke 3:23

"Jesus was about thirty"

Luke's "about thirty" at the start of the ministry is an approximation.

Weak

Acts 2:20; the lunar eclipse of 3 April 33

The "moon turned to blood"

A partial lunar eclipse rose over Jerusalem on 3 April 33; some read Peter's quotation of Joel as an allusion to it.

Weak

Africanus; Origen

The darkness reported by Thallus and Phlegon

No solar eclipse can occur at Passover, which falls at full moon.

Weak

← All clues

The crucifixion was on a Friday

GradeFirm

Source: ; ; ; , 42
Points to: a Friday

The Christian case

All four Gospels agree that Jesus died on the day before the Sabbath. Mark explains that "it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath" (), and Luke says, "that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on" (). John adds that "that sabbath day was an high day" (), a Sabbath that coincided with a feast day. The account of the resurrection "the first day of the week" () assumes the same timing. The four accounts agree on the weekday, and it turns out to be the most useful single clue of all: combined with the Passover, it rules out most of the years in Pilate's term.

What the research found

Firm. This is the strongest single datum for dating the crucifixion, because a Friday that also falls at Passover occurs only in a few years.

Explore the counterarguments

No serious objection to the Friday was found. Its limit is that, on its own, it gives only a day of the week. It narrows the date only when combined with the Passover and with the moon's phases, and there the Gospels disagree about which day of the feast it was (see the next clue).