I’ve been doing some work on biblical chronology–the study of precisely when in history various events recorded in the Bible took place–and I thought of something that I haven’t seen pointed out before.
In Acts 1, Peter prompts the Eleven to replace Judas Iscariot, and they do, with Matthias being selected to take his place.
When would this have occurred?
It’s bracketed in a very small window of time between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost.
The election of a new apostle would presuppose the presence of the Eleven, and the text indicates that those actually present included the full “hundred and twenty” (v. 15), indicating a major gathering of the full, embryonic Christian community.
This could only have occurred on the first Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) or on the first Lord’s Day (Sunday) following Ascension Thursday.
When would those days have been?
Based on previous chronological work I’ve done, I’ve determined that the most likely date for the Crucifixion is the traditional one: April 3, A.D. 33.
I don’t say that just because I’m a fan of tradition (though I am), but because when you sort through the mountain of data that pertains to the issue, that’s the date that emerges as the most probable.
Given that, Easter Sunday would be April 5th, and Ascension Thursday would be May 14.
Pentecost, on the Jewish way of reckoning it (seven weeks after Passover, not seven weeks after Easter Sunday), would have been Friday, May 22.
That gives us this schedule of days:
- Thurs., May 14 (Ascension)
- Fri., May 15
- Sat., May 16
- Sun., May 17
- Mon., May 18
- Tues., May 19
- Wed., May 20
- Thurs., May 21
- Fri., May 22 (Pentecost)
So there you have it: Matthias was most likely chosen to be Judas’s successor on Saturday, May 16 or Sunday, May 17, A.D. 33.
