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 length of the ministry

GradeDisputed

Source: Mark (one Passover) against John (three)
Points to: one to three years

The Christian case

John's Gospel gives the fullest timeline of Jesus' ministry, naming three Passovers (; 6:4; 11:55) and possibly a fourth unnamed feast (). The first three Gospels mention only the last Passover; they do not say how long the ministry lasted. Read together, the accounts are compatible with a ministry of one to three years, the range historians generally allow, and either length fits one of the two dates the astronomy leaves open.

What the research found

Disputed. A ministry of about a year beginning in 29 CE fits a crucifixion in 30. A ministry of two to three years beginning in 29 fits 33. This is the main reason the evidence cannot decide between the two years.

Explore the counterarguments

The Synoptic outline fits a single year, while John's requires two or more, so the Gospels give different pictures of the ministry's length. Neither can be preferred on the dating evidence alone, and so the choice between 30 and 33 stays open.