Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter every year, but few know when Jesus was actually born and when he died. With Christmas less than 3 months away, some of you may find the following post helpful. Not that any great doctrine rests on the calculations below, but it sure is nice that we can have reasonable confidence that the dates of Jesus’ birth and death are secure and can be gleaned from a combination of biblical and extrabiblical historical data. I may not be willing to stake my life on the accuracy of the data below, but I am confident enough of these calculations that the license plate of my van reads as follows: 5BC–AD33. So here you go:
Jesus’ birth most likely took place in late November of 5 B.C. (the most authoritative treatment of which I am aware is Paul L. Maier, “The Date of the Nativity and the Chronology of Jesus’ Life,” in Chronos, karios, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan [ed. J. Vardaman and E. M. Yamauchi; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989], 113–30). This, incidentally, would allow enough time for Jesus to be born and for Herod (who died in 4 B.C.) to mount his campaign to have all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and vicinity killed (see Matt 2:16, 19).
Jesus’ crucifixion probably occurred on Friday, April 3, A.D. 33. Luke 3:1–3 tells us that John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner, began his ministry “in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.” Both Roman historians Tacitus (Annales 4 §4) and Suetonius (Tiberius 73) date the beginning of Tiberius’s reign at A.D. 14 (the precise date is August 19, the day of Emperor Augustus’s death). Hence the 15th year of Tiberius’s reign, counting from August 19, A.D. 14, brings us to A.D. 29 (14 + 15 = 29).
According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was “about 30 years old” when he began his ministry. If Jesus was born in 5 B.C. (as argued above) and began his ministry, as is indicated by all four Gospels, shortly after that of John the Baptist (that is, in the latter part of the year A.D. 29), this would mean that Jesus was about 33 years old when he began his public ministry (see H. W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977], 31–37 and B. Messner, “’In the Fifteenth Year’ Reconsidered: A Study of Luke 3:1,” Stone-Campbell Journal 1 [1998]: 201–11).
John’s Gospel records Jesus’ appearance at at least 3 Passovers: (1) in Jerusalem (2:13, 23); (2) in Galilee (6:4); and (3) again in Jerusalem (11:55; 12:1). In addition, it is likely that he attended a fourth Passover not recorded in John but recorded in the Synoptics (Matt 12:1 pars.?). This adds up to a length of about 3 ½ years for Jesus’ ministry. If he began his ministry in late A.D. 29, this brings us to A.D. 33 for the crucifixion. It so happens that because of astronomical calculations A.D. 30 and 33 are the only possible dates for Jesus’ crucifixion as far as the date of Passover in these two years is concerned (for the dating of the four Passovers in question see esp. C. J. Humphreys and W. G. Waddington, “The Jewish Calendar, a Lunar Eclipse, and the Date of Christ’s Crucifixion,” Tyndale Bulletin 43 [1992]: 331–51, esp. 335).
Finally, John 2:20 says that the temple was completed 46 years ago (see for this translation A. J. Köstenberger, John [BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004], 109–10). According to Josephus, the renovation of the temple building proper started in 20/19 B.C. (Antiquities 15.11.1 §380), with completion 18 months later in 18/17 B.C. (Antiquities 15.11.6 §421). Again, counting from 18/17 B.C., adding 46 years brings us to A.D. 29 (there was no year zero)—a great way to check our math above!
For Further Study: See the chart in A. J. Köstenberger, John (BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 11–13, and commentary at 1:19 and 2:20, and the previous post on Johannine chronology here. See also H. W. Hoehner, “Chronology,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (ed. J. B. Green, S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992), 118–22.
[...] Dr. Andreas Köstenberger on when Jesus was born, and when He died. [...]
I tried to look up Friday, April 3, 33AD to find out what the week looked like and found that April 3, 33AD, was a Sunday. Even accounting for the 10-day shift in the Gregorian calendar, it doesn’t seem to add up. Did you mean April 8?
Very helpful post, Dr. K (got here from Heidelblog). Quick question for you: does this analysis take into account the difference in calendars from Julian to Gregorian?
Great article! I have one question. The first year of anything (a marriage, a reign, one’s life) starts counting on the first day. Thus, my daughter is 6 years old (almost 6 1/2) but this is the SEVENTH year of her life. Is not the “first” year of the reign of Tiberias the year that begins with 19th August 14? Therefore wouldn’t the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias be 19th August 28 – 18th August 29? I thought the article jumped to AD 29 without saying it would be the year 28 or 29.
When Was Jesus Born, and When Did He Die?
Not that any great doctrine rests on the calculations below, but it sure is nice that we can have reasonable confidence that the dates of Jesus’ birth and death are secure and can be gleaned from a combination of biblical and extrabiblical historical…
[...] Scholar, Andreas Kostenberger, gives us a brief but well-researched picture of what, in all likelihood, happened when. [...]
Thank you, all, for reading my post so carefully, and for your comments and follow-up questions. Here are my attempts at answering them:
(1) Regarding counting the “fifteenth year” or Tiberius:
Tiberius was confirmed by the Roman Senate as Augustus’s successor on either August 19 or September 17, A.D. 14. Most likely, the “fifteenth year” of Tiberius’s reign is to be counted either from the day he took office (see above) or from January 1 of the following year (i.e. A.D. 15).
Thus the earliest possible beginning of the “fifteenth year” of Tiberius’s reign as emperor would have been August 19, A.D. 28 and the latest end would have been December 31, A.D. 29. This would then be the time frame during which John the Baptist (first) and (then) Jesus began their respective ministries. Does this help?
(2) Regarding the various calendars and the date of the Passover in relation to the date of Jesus’ crucifixion:
For those dates I am relying on Humphreys and Waddington, “The Jewish Calendar, a Lunar Eclipse, and the Date of Christ’s Crucifixion,” Tyndale Bulletin 43 (1992): 331-51, esp. 335, as discussed more fully in my BECNT John commentary. As far as I know, they have taken those various calendrical matters (including shifts) into account and arrived at commonly accepted dates for the relevant Passovers.
The matter is complex, and I cannot fully discuss it here, but please try to read their article, and I believe your questions will be answered. If you need help locating it, let me know, and perhaps I can provide relevant excerpts. I believe it is commonly agreed that based on their calculation (and that of others) A.D. 30 and 33 are the only two possible dates for Jesus’ crucifixion. I hope this helps.
Spring 33ad. was in latter part of the 4 year of the 202nd Olympiad as Phlegon states in his history of the Olympiads. This was the year of the great solar eclipse in the middle of Nisan, at the time of the full moon, and a tremendous earthquake ocured at the same time.
Jesus was born in 2bc. Herod died in 1bc. The total eclipse of the moon that Josephus says took place before Herod’s death ocured on Jan. 9th 1bc. Herod died about 2 months after this eclipse. Herod became king in 37 bc. and RULED from Jerusalem for 37 years.
@ Oliver Thomas: The crucifixion cannot have been at a solar eclipse and full moon since Passover was celebrated at new moon. Solar eclipses only occur at new moon.
[...] coinciding with the year of Jesus’ birth, believed to be in about 4 or 5 B.C., Luke 2:1 says, “And it came to pass in those days [...]
Dr. Kostenberger,
Thank you for this informative post. I have a couple questions about the date of Jesus’ birth and crucifixion:
Regarding the “star in the east (Mt. 2:7),” Paul Barnett writes in Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity (page 20) that it could have been the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars which he claims astronomers estimate to have occurred in 7/6 B.C. This triangle of planets would have made a brilliant display. What are your thoughts about this possibility?
Also, could you elaborate more on Luke’s record that Jesus began his ministry when He was “about 30 years old?” Because Luke was such an accurate and reliable historian, I find it difficult to believe that he would speak in only round-about numbers concerning Jesus’ age. I do recognize, however, that 33 AD fits nicely with the evidence you provided.
On the night of John the Baptist’s birth in the Jewish year of 3756, just after sunset there was a spectacular lunar eclipse. Aproximately six months after John was born, Jesus was born, marking to believe the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and yet another remarkable lunar eclipse was visible. I believe Jesus was born in September, however regardless if Jesus was born in September or November the reality of not celebrating Christ birthday on December 25th is most important seeing how it is a pagan holiday created by a pope of earlier times who wanted to worship his evil idols and the birth of the sun which happens to be on the 25th of December and Easter. The two days are a holiday called Saturnalia, the birth of the sun god. The two holidays are another significant trap Satan uses to get God’s children to worship him and his evil ways as well as the celebrating of halloween. Children of God are being fooled but thanks to information we are not fooled for long, thanks to God, his Son and the Holy Spirit.
Why won’t the church leaders with all the information that is available,tell the truth about christmas and how it originated? It’s not about Christ it’s about ‘toys and gift giving. What if it were your birthday and you saw everybody giving gifts to one another but not you? What would you be thinking? It’s selfishness.And how can the world who hates Jesus and removing Him from our schools and from the constitution and not being allowed to pray openly,how can the church think that this has anything to do with Christ!Why you think the world says ‘get in the christmas spirit? Because that’s what it is a spirit!Try singing those christmas carols outside of december not only will it not sound right it won’t feel right.Xmas is a false salvation to the world remember when you weren’t saved and how you felt about Christmas? You thought you were holy.The church won’t even celebrate the ressurrection as hard as they do christmas!If we honored Jesus birthday in the month(correct),and not but gifts but bring in and offering with the same value you would spend on that gift,most all churches would not be lacking and the stocks would plummit!Because we as the church as a whole would be honoring Jesus the Christ and remembering Isaiah 6:9,John 3:16 1John 5:20,21 romans 12:2
In answer to the original question, when was Jesus born, another line of biblical evidence to ponder.
In the Gospel of Luke; Luke reports that the Angel Gabriel first appeared to the priest Zechariah to tell him that his aged wife, Elizabeth was to have a son. Their son was to become John the Baptist. What is to be noted in this account is that Zechariah was serving as a priest at the time. In fact, Zechariah was serving as priest “…in the division of Abijah.” (Luke.1:5) This puts John the Baptists conception at around the time of late Spring, early Summer.
According to Luke chapter 1 and verse 26, the Angel Gabriel next appeared to Mary, to tell her that she was going to conceive and eventually give birth to Jesus. What is of interest here is that verse 26 tells us that it was in Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy with John the Baptist that the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary announcing her pregnancy with Jesus. So, simply put, Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb, six months after the “division of Abijah” or, we could say, Jesus was born 15 months after the “division of Abijah” (6 months + 9 months). The “division of Abijah”, (our starting point) the time of year in which Zechariah was serving as priest, was late spring, early summer. Jesus was thus born late September, early October. This ties in with the shepherds being out with their flocks at night. They certainly would not have been out at night with their flocks in the depths of winter. As for a precise date for Jesus’ birth, the Bible remains silent.
When did Jesus die? Jesus was in Jerusalem with his 11 faithful disciples celebrating the passover- the last super- which started at sundown, Nisan 14. He was betrayed that night in the garden of Gethsemane, and was dead “at the ninth hour” (3pm) on Nisan 14.(Luke 23:44-46) Nisan 14 corresponds to late March, early April on our calendar today.
“Jesus’ crucifixion probably occurred on Friday, April 3, A.D. 33.”
This is quite a fantastical statement, sir, especially because Jesus did NOT DIE ON A FRIDAY, as is so commonly believed. The bible quite clearly tells us that He rose on the first day of the week, which of course meant Saturday night to Sunday night, as days began in the evening. The Bible also clearly states that He would rise THREE DAYS and THREE NIGHTS after He died. If He died on a Friday, there is not three days and nights between Friday and Sunday. People always assume He died on a Friday, because scripture tells us they had to hurry to get him in the tomb because “the Sabbath” was approaching, and people always think that means it was Friday. He died just before a major Feast, which would have been referred to as a “Sabbath”, in fact it was called a “high Sabbath”. Jesus died on a Wednesday, and rose on the first day of the week, commonly known as Sunday.
And yes, He was born during the Feast of Tabernacles (which is why everyone was traveling home, they taxed them when they returned home for the Feast….which is why there was no room at the inn). Late September/early October. My gracious, I have been taught this since I was a little girl, and I’m 41 years old! That’s why my church doesn’t celebrate christmas, but observes and recognizes the Feast of Tabernacles as the time of Christ’s birth. I’m glad others are beginning to finally see this truth.
I’ve found research that says Herod died in later March of 4BC or 3BC, meaning Christ was born most likely somewhere between 4BC and 7BC (leaning towards 5BC).
As we see God using time and again the same dates and anniversaries throughout the Bible, it would not be a stretch to say Jesus was born on one of the Jewish Holy Days. Knowing that John the Baptist’s father Zechariah was of the Abijah division, it means that that two times he served at the Temple each year would have been May/June and Nov/December. Taking that information and Luke 1, we know that John the Baptist would have been born 9 months after that, Feb/Mar or Aug/Sept. Jesus was born 6 months later, so Aug/Sept or Feb/March. There are three holy days in Tishri (Sept/Oct) and one in Nisan (March/April): Rosh Hoshanna, Yom Kippur, Succot and Passover. Rosh Hoshanna is the ‘beginning of new things’, Yom Kippur is the ‘day of atonement’, Succot is ‘when God tabernacles (lives) with us’ and Passover regards the Sacrificial Lamb. All of these resonate with Christ’s role. Since He died on Passover, if I had to make a guess, I would say He was born on one of the 3 Tishri dates in 5BC-7BC.
Tiberius became the sole ruler in 14AD, but he co-ruled with Augustus before that, starting in 11AD. So 15 years later, come springtime, would put us at 27AD or 30AD. And then adding three years of ministry would put us at 30AD or 33AD, for the year of Christ’s death.
Traditionally, it’s been believed to be 33AD, when the Passover (15th of Nisan) began at sunset of the Friday Sabbath, meaning Christ died Friday afternoon (on the 14th of Nisan).
However, it is interesting to note, that in 30AD Passover fell on a Wednesday evening/Thursday day (15th of Nisan). Which means Christ would have died on Wednesday afternoon (the 14th of Nisan).
Christ said He would be dead three days and three nights, just as Jonah was (Mat 12:40). If Christ died on 14th of Nisan 30AD, ie Wed afternoon: you would have Wed night, Thurs night, Fri night and Thur day, Fri day, Sat day. Meaning He arose from the dead sometime after sundown on Saturday, ie between around 7pm Saturday night and 5am Sunday morning (Mary Magdalene came before dawn on Sunday).
If Christ died in 33AD, on Friday afternoon, and rose very early Sunday morning, that would allow only for two nights and two days at best. (Counting Friday, Saturday and Sunday as the three days is stretching things a bit).
So if I had to make a guess (and of course it’s all conjecture), I would say Jesus was born in Tishri of either 5, 6 or 7 BC (7BC happens to be a Jubilee year) and died Wed, 14th of Nisan 30AD, putting him at 33-35 years old when He died, in alignment with Scripture.
Dear Andreas Köstenberger, my doubt competely out of this topic but still relates to it. I am confused about BC and AD. Today is 18th April 2008. We don’t say today’s date as 2008 AD. When you say 5 BC, which year was it? When people say 5 AD, which year was it? This sounds to be a very stupid question, but a clarification will certainly help.
Jesus was born September 11th 3BC at approximately sundown.
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A study of the now computerized data by which we can very accurately determine astronomical events of that time gives us the last piece of the puzzle to dating the birth of Christ in September of 3 B.C. In particular, the very noticeable celestial activity of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Regulus (the King star), and Venus (the Queen star), and their various combinations of conjunctions in Leo during the nine months leading up to Christ’s birth are vital signs to determine the September birth date of our Lord Jesus. And we believe that research shows that he was born on September 11 (Tishri 1 on the Jewish calendar), on which day the sun was in Virgo, as per the prophecy in Revelation 12:1 of “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet”
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Dating error: http://petragrail.tripod.com/page5.html
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As for dying on Friday can’t lead to 3 days at Sunday. Take in mind that the Jews counted parts of the day as full.
The Bible always links sin to earth (grave) When Jesus got betrayed He lost His ‘link’ with His Father. Then the clock started ticking.
Thursday betrayed in the evening = night #1
Friday daytime = day #1
Saturday evening/night = night #2
Saturday day = day#2
Sunday evening/night = night #3
Mark 16:2 states they arrived at the grave at rising of the sun. That would be day#3
So that would be 3 days and 3 nights.
But I must admit I’m confused about the last day because I’m not sure ‘rising of teh sun’ means day. especially because John 20:1 states it was still dark.
In that case it’s completely impossible to to get 3 days and 3 nights.
Friday crucifixion could be in 33AD or 30AD
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Timeline Mark
Mark 14:1 After two days was the feast of the passover (=Sabbath), and of unleavened bread ….
Mark 14:16 And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. (=Sabbath)
Mark 14:17 And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.
Mark 15:42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the passover Sabbath
Jesus is arrested, Tortured. Crucified and dies
Mark 16:1 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Mark 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day (sunday) of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Timeline Luke
Luke 22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. (=Sabbath)
Luke 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
Luke 23:55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
Luke 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
Luke 24:1 Now upon the first day (sunday) of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, ….
Combined timeline
John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the passover (=Sabbath) came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
Mark 14:16 And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. (=Sabbath)
Mark 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover (=Sabbath), his disciples said unto him…
Mark 15:42 And now when the Wednesday even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Passover sabbath on Thursday.
Mark 16:1 And when the Passover sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices on Friday
Luke 23:56 …. and prepared spices and ointments they just bought; and rested the Saturday sabbath day according to the commandment.
Mark 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week (Sunday), they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. (Feast of First Fruits)
If we look at 33AD Passover must have on the same day as the weekly Saturday Sabbath
That gives the problem of when the women bought the spices. Mark 16:1 states it was after Sabbath. That means the women bought and prepared spices Saturday evening – Sunday dawn. Somehow it don’t believe the shops opened at night.
Further Mark 16:1 states they bought spices after the Sabbath and Luke 23:56 states the bought and then rested the Sabbath.
That’s a bit oddly phrased and even seems like a contradiction. But believing the Word is perfect and assuming there where no translation/interpretation errors in KJV I would say it are 2 half truth that need to be combined into Sabbath-buying-Sabbath
And for that only 30AD is the only possible year.
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To summarize:
The date calculations in the article are linked to a disputed date but not verified against Bible verses.
33 AD is so simple to debunk…
Herod the Great died 4BC. Herod tried to kill baby Jesus in the last year of his reign. So Jesus must have lived 4BC or before.
Luke 3:23 staes that Jesus was 30 years old when he started His ministry.
Daniel 9:27 states that Jesus dies 3.5 years after the start of His Ministry.
So Jesus dies at 33.5 years of age.
33AD-33.5= 2BC -> born after Herod died.
30AD-33.5= 5BC -> born after Herod died.
Usibus/Eusebius , the earth church father tells us that from the time Titus brought about the siege of Jerusalem on Nisan 14 of 70 AD, 40 years after Jesus crucifixion on Nisan 14, 30AD.
Shannon W. Kirkpatrick is right that God loves to use special days (Sabbaths) for his timeline.
It even makes pinpointing thing easier.
The Sabbaths match exactly with the 70 weeks.
The Sabbaths even describe teh period to come.
Daniel/Antaxerxes: 6 April 454 BC the weeks of Daniel start at Passover
Birth: Sunday 10 September 5 BC => Yom Kippur = Day of anonement = Day of forgiving of sins.
Ministry: Sunday 15 September 26 AD => Sunday. Full moon. Eve of Sukkot = God lives with us.
Death: Wednesday 5 April 30 AD => Passover
Resurrection: 9 April 30 AD => The Sunday after Passover is called “Feast of first fruits”
i think more research should be done to establish the actual date on which JESUS CHRIST WAS BORN.thank u
very good
researching jesus date of birth
thank you so much
[...] death by crucifixion was in the year 33 AD. When Paul wrote his first letter to the church at Corinth in 54 AD, he had previously started this [...]
BC means before Birth of Christ?-AD means after the death of Christ? So why do they say 5yr. AD when Jesus was not dead until year 33? Should’nt A.D. start after year the death of Crist ?
AD stands for Anno Domini (the year of our Lord), not After Death. Theoretically, the AD numbers start with the birth of Jesus. But of course, it’s not that simple…
Jesus was born September 11th through the 29th most likely the 15th.