The Date of the Crucifixion
***This article about the date of the
crucifixion, which provides absolute proof that the crucifixion was
in 33 a.d., is an integral part of a book entitled THE COMING EPIPHANY which
provides a Biblical explanation about the "things which will
shortly come to pass." Click HERE to find out more.***
One of the most debated topics involving Biblical
chronology through out the ages has been the dating of the crucifixion of
Jesus. Many have put forth various dates too numerous to mention ranging
from the late 20s AD to the late 30s AD. Without going into detail if one
considers the decree of Artaxerxes, which we have
discussed in the text and most date in either 444 or 445 BC, the birth of
Christ, that He started his ministry when He was about 30, and the
approximately 3½ year ministry of Christ, the only 2 years that are possible
for the crucifixion are 32 and 33 A.D. We will examine several facts and
apply an analysis of all possible data to determine which of these dates is
correct.
The first issue that we must address is that some of
the Biblical data concerning the timing of events surrounding the crucifixion
and for that matter the resurrection seem to be in contradiction. For
example in Mt 28:1 it says “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see
the sepulchre.” This verse indicates that Mary
came to the tomb on the Sabbath or Saturday and thus Jesus rose from the dead
on a Saturday. But in John 20:1 it says “The first day of the week cometh
Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre,
and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.” This verse indicates that Mary came to
the tomb on a Sunday and that Jesus could also have arisen on a Sunday.
So we see that on the one hand the Matthew passage seems to indicate that Jesus
rose from the dead on Saturday while the Mark passage seems to indicate the
Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday. So there seems to be a
contradiction. I assure you that there is no contradiction or
error in the passages and that there is a logical explanation to the apparent
contradiction. The explanation that reconciles both of these passages has
to do with the different chronological methods used to mark the start of a
day. Galileans started their day at sunrise and the Jews in
“Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came
to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18. And he
said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the
disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. 20. Now when the
even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
This passage indicates that Jesus and His disciples
would eat and celebrate the Passover during what we know as the last
supper. Now look what Jn 18:28 says: “Then led
they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they
themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but
that they might eat the passover.”
And Jn 19:14 says “And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth
hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!”
These verses in John indicate that the Passover had not yet occurred at the
time of the trial of Jesus. So how could Jesus have eaten the Passover
with his disciples as indicated in the Matthew passage and yet the Sadducees
had not yet celebrated the Passover? The answer is, as we have already
seen, that the two groups used a different time reckoning. Thus the
Galileans celebrated the Passover the day before the Judeans.[2]
The Galileans day had started at sunrise and thus they would celebrate their
feast that night. The Judeans, on the other hand, started their day at
sunset and thus the Passover would not be celebrated until the next day.
For a more extensive examination of the chronology of the Passion Week I would
recommend reading Hoehnerï’s excellent and scholarly
work, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ.
The reason for going over this information is that I
wanted to establish the fact that Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14, the day of the
Judean Passover. “Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of
judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment
hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover.” Jn 18:28. This verse makes it clear that Jesus was
crucified on the day of the Judean Passover. The day of
Passover was always on Nisan 14. Thus Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14
(Judean timing).
As a matter of fact we also know the time of the
crucifixion. We know from Mk 15:25 that the crucifixion began at the
third hour, which was about 9 A.M. “And it was the third hour, and they
crucified him.” And it continued to the ninth hour, which is about 3
P.M. “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole
land until the ninth hour.” Mk 15:33. We also know that Jesus died
at about 3 P.M.
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being
interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 35. And some of
them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth
Elias. 36. And one ran and filled a spunge full
of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let
us see whether Elias will come to take him down. 37. And Jesus cried with
a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. Mk 15:34-37.
On Passover day, Nisan 14, between 3-5 P.M. is the
traditional time that observant Jews would sacrifice the Passover lamb for the
feast of Passover. Thus the time of the death of Christ coincided exactly
with when the Passover lambs were slain. That speaks beautifully to the
fact that Christ is our Passover lamb. “Purge out therefore the old leaven,
that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover
is sacrificed for us” (I Cor
5:7) These passages lead us to emphatically conclude that Jesus was
crucified on Nisan 14, the day of the Judean Passover.
The next premise that we will establish is that Jesus
was crucified the day before a Sabbath. In other words that Jesus was
crucified on a Friday. It is quite evident that the day of the
crucifixion was on a Friday. Several passages point this out. “And
now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day
before the Sabbath,” (Mk 15:42) And yet
another one;
“And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before
was laid. 54. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. 55. And the
women also, which came with him from
32 A.D. 3/29 8 P.M. 3/27 8
P.M.
33 A.D 3/21 10 A.M 3/19 10 A.M.
The dates and times above are for the calculated exact
time of the new moon. The data on the website is given in Julian dates; I
have converted them to Gregorian as listed above. All modern day dating
is in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. But these dates are not the
dates for the beginning of the month Nisan, but for the zero point of the new
moon. Remember from our discussion in addendum 4 that a Hebrew month did
not start until the sighting of the crescent moon. Scientists have
calculated that the new moon must be at least 11 degrees above the horizon to
be visible in
Year
Calc. Zero Calc. Observed Nisan
1 Nisan 14
32 3/27 8
PM
3/29
3/30 4/12 (Monday)
33 3/17 10
AM
3/18
3/19 4/1 (Friday)
(ALL DATES ARE GREGORIAN)
In the Gregorian calendar, which all dates above are
in, Passover, which always occurs on Nisan 14, in 32 A.D.
was on April 12, which was on a Monday, and in 33 A.D. it was on April
1, which was on a Friday. Thus it is readily seen that 32 A.D.
cannot be a possible date for the crucifixion. There is no way to
reconcile a Monday crucifixion with clear Biblical facts about the death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ which place his resurrection as occurring on
the first day of the week, Sunday. Those who claim that Nisan 14 was on a
Wednesday in 32 A.D. have failed to take into account the Julian to Gregorian
conversion and have transposed a Julian date onto a Gregorian calendar and have
come up with the wrong day of the week.
Thus with the 32 A.D. date eliminated we can conclude
that Christ was crucified on Passover on Friday April
1, 33 A.D.
Some say that Christ could not be crucified on a
Friday because of Mt 12:40 which says; “For as Jonas
was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man
be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” They contend
that Christ could not have been crucified on a Friday and still meet the
qualifications for this verse because Friday would not have left enough time
for the three days and nights. However I assert that yes Christ was dead
for three days and nights, and I also assert that He was crucified on a
Friday. This apparent contradiction is easily reconciled when you
consider two facts. First, in Hebrew counting any part of a day is
counted as a whole day. This is called inclusive reckoning. Thus
the three days and three nights do not necessarily refer to 3 entire days
consisting of 72 hours, though it could. But the term three days and
three nights can refer to parts of three days and nights.
The second fact that we need to consider is the
astronomical events that took place at the time of the crucifixion. What
I am specifically referring to is recorded several times in the New
Testament. “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land
unto the ninth hour.” (Mt 27:45). “And when the sixth hour was
come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.” (Mk
15:33). It is clear from these accounts that darkness was over all the
land from about noon to 3 P.M. We know that a solar eclipse with the moon
did not cause the darkness, because at the time of Passover there is always a
full moon and you cannot have a solar eclipse at the time of a full moon.
Also from lunar data, which is also listed on the Naval
observatory site, we know that on April 1, 33 A.D. there was a lunar
eclipse. You cannot have a lunar eclipse and solar eclipse by the moon on
the same day. So what caused this darkness? I believe that this
darkness was caused by the sun actually setting, which was probably caused by a
polar shift. There are several reasons why I believe this. One of
the main reasons concerns the fact that the lunar eclipse that occurred on that
day was recorded as being fully observed. Peter makes mention of this
fact in Acts 2:20 “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” Here Peter
implies that miraculously the moon was already turned to blood and the sun
darkened at the time of the crucifixion. Also the historical letter of The
Report of Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judea, Which Was Sent to Tiberius Caesar
in Rome record the full observance of a blood red moon, which occurs when
the moon is eclipsed.
“Now when he was crucified, darkness came over all the world�.And the
moon, which was like blood, did not shine all night long, although it was at
the full.”
However lunar data tells us that the lunar eclipse
should not have been fully observable in
“On Friday 3rd (Passover) AD 33 [April 1 Gregorian] there
was a partial lunar eclipse. It commenced, at 15h 40m local time in Jerusalem,
and terminated at 18h 31m local time in Jerusalem. In normal
circumstances this eclipse would not have been visible in
The only way for Peter and others to have observed a
full blood moon lunar eclipse was for a polar shift to have occurred.
Another reason why it is believed that a polar shift occurred on that day was
because of the shaking of the earth.
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to
the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52. And the
graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53.
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city,
and appeared unto many. 54. Now when the centurion, and they that were
with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done,
they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of
God. (Mt 27:50-54).
Historians also tell us that earthquakes were recorded
in many other parts of the world at that time.[4]
The historical account of The Report of Pilate the Governor says this
And amid this terror the dead appeared rising again, as the Jews
themselves bore witness and said that it was Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and
the twelve patriarchs, and Moses and Job, who had died before, as they say,
some three thousand five hundred years. And there were very many whom I
myself saw appearing in the body, and they made lamentation over the Jews,
because of the transgression which was committed by them, and because of the
destruction of the Jews and of their law. The terror of the earthquake
continued from the sixth hour of the preparation until the ninth hour.
It is theorized that earthquakes occur during a polar
shift. There is evidence that throughout the history of the world the
earth has undergone polar shifts. Even Einstein promoted this
theory. Many believe a polar shift occured
at the time of the crucifixion and for a polar shift being the cause of the
darkness and the other anomalies that occurred from the 6th to 9th
hour. So if the darkness was caused by a polar shift then the sun would have
actually went down and then after the darkness it
would have rose again. That is why it was dark enough that the stars
could be seen.[5]
So literally the day of the crucifixion was a day of 2 nights. This is
what is eluded to in Ps 22:1,2 which is considered by
many as a prophetic crucifixion passage. “My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and
from the words of my roaring? 2. O my God, I cry
in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night
season, and am not silent.” Therefore since Jesus was dead for part of that
“darkness” it can be counted as the first night, then there was light for the
about 3 hours between 3 P.M. and 6 P.M., that was the first day. The
second night then ensued with the setting of the sun and then the second day
followed the next morning. The second night and day was the
Sabbath. Then the third night and then Jesus arose just after sunrise on
the third day, which was Sunday morning. Thus we have 3 days and 3 nights
in which Christ was dead. Please see the chart entitled The 3 days and 3 Nights for a pictorial representation
of the data.
There are many other supporting facts from history,
which also support a Friday April 1, 33 A.D. crucifixion. Much supporting
data comes from historianï’s accounts of the
crucifixion. Their accounts support a 33 A.D. crucifixion and refer to
other phenomena that occurred at the time of Christ’s passion.
There is also another piece of evidence which suggests
a crucifixion date of 33 A.D. The Epistle of Pontius Pilate, which is a
letter from Pilate to Tiberius Caesar. In the letter Pilate states that
Jesus had been crucified. The date given at the end of the letter is “The
5th of the Calends of April.” Thus this letter indicates that
Jesus was crucified before April 5th. If this letter is to be regarded
as authentic then it would also eliminate 32 A.D. as the date of the
crucifixion because Passover was on April 12 in 32 A.D. This letter is
part of the Apocrypha, which has not been accepted as canonical, but has been
regarded as containing trustworthy historical information. The manuscript
is owned by the British museum, they deem it as authentic.
Another reason some say that the crucifixion cannot be
in 33 A.D. is because of what Luke 3:1-3 says;
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod
being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of
This passage cites the start of John the Baptistï’s ministry in the 15th year of the
reign of Tiberius. When was the 15th year of the reign of
Tiberius? We know for certain that Caesar Augustus died on August 19, 14
A.D.; that is when the reign of Tiberius began. There are different
methods for the reckoning of the years of a king’s reign. Using the
accession-year system August 19 to December 31, 14 AD is considered the
accession year and is not counted and then January 1 to December 31, 15 AD is
considered Tiberius’ first year of reign. Thus the fifteenth year
would have been from January 1 to December 31, 29 AD. Using the regnal year method then Tiberius’ fifteenth year would
have been from August 19, 28 AD to August 18, 29 AD. Taking both of
these methods into account would yield Tiberius’ fifteenth year, and the start
of John’s ministry to be between August 19, 28 AD and December 31, 29 AD.
If you take into account that Jesus did not start his ministry at the same time
as John, because John had already gathered a large following by the time Jesus started
His ministry, but several months thereafter, and that the ministry of Jesus
began in the fall, because half a year before Passover brings you to the fall;
then you would have to conclude that Christ began His ministry in the fall of
29 A.D. With a 3.5 year ministry of Christ, that would bring you to the spring
of 33 A.D. for the year of the crucifixion. The only way that you could
come up with 32 A.D. as the year of the crucifixion was if you used the regnal method and had Christ begin his ministry about 1
month after John started his, which I do not think was likely. Therefore
to cite Luke 3:1-3 as conclusive evidence that Christ was crucified in 32 A.D.
is not correct. I agree that it allows for that hypothesis but it more
likely points to 33 A.D as the date of the crucifixion.
Luke 3:23 is claimed by some to indicate the
crucifixion was in 32 A.D. It states “And Jesus himself began to be about
thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the
son of Heli.” This verse says that when Jesus
was baptized He was about 30 years old. Some take this to mean
that Jesus was exactly 30 years old when he began His ministry and taking into
account his birth date of 9/11/ 3 BC would have the start of His ministry in 28
A.D. and the crucifixion in 32 A.D. But Luke 3:23 only says that He was about
30 years old. I believe if He was exactly 30 years old then it would have
said “He was 30 years old. It does not say that, it says He was about 30
years old indicating that Jesus’ age was near 30. Thus Luke 3:23 allows
for several possible crucifixion dates. If one insists on maintaining
that Jesus was 30 years old when He began His ministry, the 29 AD date still
works. For if He was born on 9/11/3 BC then He would have been 30 years
old from 9/11/28 to 9/10/29. Thus He could have started His ministry in
early September of 29 AD and still have been 30 years old, 3 and a half years
later would have been Passover of 33 AD. (For an excellent article about dating
the birthday of Jesus see Roy Reinhold’s article “Exact Date of Yeshua’s Birth at: http://www.ad2004.com/prophecytruths/Articles/Yeshua/yeshuabirth1.html
In summary; with the citing of the decree of Artaxerxes in 444 BC and then calculating forward 69 weeks
(476 years, 25 days) you come to 33 AD for the year of the crucifixion.
Some cite the decree in 445 B.C. and come to 32 A.D. We showed by new
moon data that 32 A.D. could not be the correct year because Passover (Nisan
14) was on a Monday in 32 A.D. And there is no way to reconcile a Monday
crucifixion with the scriptural record. We also showed that scriptures
cited by some to indicate a 32 A.D. crucifixion, upon proper analysis do not
necessitate a 32 A.D crucifixion and also allow for a 33 AD crucifixion.
From scripture we know that Jesus was crucified on Passover and on a
Friday. Passover was on a Friday in 33 A.D. With a proper
understanding of the “three days and nights” a Friday crucifixion is in
agreement with the scriptural record. Many historical accounts such as
the epistle of Pilate also indicate a crucifixion in 33 A.D. Since we
have shown that all scriptural facts allow and point to a crucifixion on Passover
Friday April 1st, 33 A.D. and that the new moon data only allows for
33 AD thus we have provided conclusive evidence that proves that the
crucifixion had to take place on Friday April 1, 33 AD.
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[1] Hoehner pp.88,9
[2] ibid. pp. 86,7
[3] The First Church of Rome, Appendix 1.
[4] Ibid.
[5] ibid