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 fifteenth year of Tiberius"

GradeProbable

Source
Points to: John's ministry from 28/29 CE (or 26/27)

The Christian case

Luke dates the beginning of John the Baptist's preaching with a historian's care: "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa ... Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John" (). His Pilate and Caiaphas fit the window that Josephus and the Pilate inscription give for their terms of office. Counting Tiberius' reign from the death of Augustus in August 14 CE, the fifteenth year is 28/29 CE. Jesus' ministry followed John's, so Luke's date fits well with a crucifixion in 30 or 33.

What the research found

Probable. On the usual count John began in 28/29 CE. Which crucifixion year this supports depends on the length of Jesus' ministry: about one year favours 30, and about three years favours 33.

Explore the counterarguments

The verse dates John's preaching, not the crucifixion, so it decides between 30 and 33 only through the disputed length of the ministry. Some count Tiberius' years from a supposed co-regency with Augustus beginning about 12 CE, which would put the fifteenth year in 26/27; that reckoning is reported not to be attested in the coins or the historians.