Category: Bible

7 clues tell us precisely when Jesus died (the year, month, day, and hour revealed)

If we put the clues together, can we figure out precisely when Jesus died? Yes, we can!

We recently celebrated Good Friday and Easter, the annual celebrations of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We all know that this happened in Jerusalem in the first century.

That separates Jesus from mythical pagan deities, who were supposed to live in places or times that none could specify.

Just how specific can we be with the death of Jesus?

Can we determine the exact day?

We can.

And here’s how . . .

 

Clue #1: The High Priesthood of Caiaphas

The gospels indicate that Jesus was crucified at the instigation of the first century high priest named Caiaphas (Matthew 26:3-4, John 11:49-53).

We know from other sources that he served as high priest from A.D. 18 to 36, so that puts Jesus’ death in that time frame.

But we can get more specific. Much more.

 

Clue #2: The Governorship of Pontius Pilate

All four gospels agree that Jesus was crucified on the orders of Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:24-26, Mark 15:15, Luke 23:24, John 19:15-16).

We know from other sources when he served as governor of Judea–A.D. 26 to A.D. 36–so we can narrow down the range by several years.

But how are we going to get it down to a specific day and year?

 

Clue #3: After “the Fifteenth Year of Tiberius Caesar”

The Gospel of Luke tells us when the ministry of John the Baptist began:

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar . . . the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness [Luke 3:1-2].

This picks out a specific year: A.D. 29.

Since all four gospels depict the ministry of Christ beginning after that of John the Baptist had begun (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1), this means that we can shave a few more years off our range.

The death of Christ had to be in a range of seven years: between A.D. 29 and 36.

 

Clue #4: Crucified on a Friday

All four gospels agree that Jesus was crucified on a Friday (Matt. 27:62, Mark 15:42; Luke23:54;  John 19:42), just before a Sabbath, which was just before the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1).

We know that it was a Friday because it is referred to as “the day of preparation”–that is, the day on which Jews made the preparations they needed for the Sabbath, since they could not do any work on that day. Thus thus cooked food in advance and made other necessary preparations.

The Jewish Encyclopedia states:

Friday, as the forerunner of Shabbat, is called “‘Ereb Shabbat” (The Eve of Sabbath). The term “‘ereb” admits of two meanings: “evening” and “admixture” (Ex. xii. 38); and “‘Ereb Shabbat” accordingly denotes the day on the evening of which Sabbath begins, or the day on which food is prepared for both the current and the following days, which latter is Sabbath.

The idea of preparation is expressed by the Greek name paraskeué, given by Josephus (“Ant.” xvi. 6, § 2) to that day (compare Mark xv. 42; Luke xxiii. 54; Matt. xxvii. 62; John xix. 42). In Yer. Pesaḥim iv. 1 the day is called “Yoma da-‘Arubta” (Day of Preparation) [Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v., “Calendar”].

That eliminates six of the days of the week, but there were still quite a few Fridays between A.D. 29 and 36.

Can we figure out which one?

 

Clue #5: A Friday at Passover

The gospels also agree that Jesus was crucified in conjunction with the annual feast of Passover (Matthew 26:2, Mark 14:1, Luke 22:1, John 18:39).

Here we encounter a momentary complication, because Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe the Last Supper on Holy Thursday as a Passover meal (Matthew 26:19, Mark 14:14, Luke 22:15). That would suggest that Good Friday was the day after Passover.

However, when describing the morning of Good Friday, John indicates that the Jewish authorities had not yet eaten the Passover meal:

Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium [i.e., Pilate’s palace]. It was early. They themselves did not enter the Praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. So Pilate went out to them [John 18:28-29a].

That suggests that the Passover would have begun on sundown Friday.

There are a number of ways of resolving this. For example, some have suggested that Jesus and his disciples used a different calendar than the Jewish authorities, and we know that there were different calendars in use in first century Judaism.

It’s also possible that Jesus just advanced the date of the Passover celebration for him and his disciples. I mean, they were already convinced he was the Messiah and the Son of God. If he says, “We’re celebrating Passover today,” and it’s a day earlier than most people, they’d just go with that. (Note that he made other modifications to the ceremony, such as instituting the Eucharist in the midst of it.)

And there are other solutions.

However, regardless of what Jesus’ movement did, we can look to John’s statement about the Jesus’ captors as an indication of what the Jewish authorities or the mainstream Jewish practice was: They were celebrating a Passover beginning on what we would call Friday evening.

That lets us narrow down the range of possible dates to just a few. Here is a complete list of the days between A.D. 29 and 36 on whose evenings Passover began:

  • Monday, April 18, A.D. 29
  • Friday, April 7, A.D. 30
  • Tuesday, March 27, A.D. 31
  • Monday, April 14, A.D. 32
  • Friday, April 3, A.D. 33
  • Wednesday, March 24, A.D. 34
  • Tuesday, April 12, A.D. 35
  • Saturday, March 31, A.D. 36

As you can see, we have just two candidates left: Jesus was either crucified on April 7 of A.D. 30 or April 3 of A.D. 33.

Which was it?

The traditional date is that of A.D. 33. You will find quite a number of people today advocating the A.D. 30 date.

Do the gospels let us decide between the two?

 

Clue #6: John’s Three Passovers

The Gospel of John records three different Passovers during the ministry of Jesus:

  • Passover #1: This is recorded in John 2:13, near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
  • Passover #2: This is recorded in John 6:4, in the middle of Jesus’ ministry.
  • Passover #3: This is recorded in John 11:55 (and frequently mentioned afterwards), at the end of Jesus’ ministry.

That means that the ministry of Jesus had to span something over two years. A fuller treatment would reveal that it spanned about three and a half years, but even if we assume it began immediately before Passover #1, the addition of two more Passovers shows that it lasted more than two years at a bare minimum.

That means the A.D. 30 date is out.

There is not enough time between the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar–A.D. 29–and the next year’s Passover to accomodate a ministry of at least two years.

The numbers don’t add up.

As a result, the traditional date of Jesus’ death–Friday, April 3, A.D. 33–must be regarded as the correct one.

Can we be even more precise?

 

Clue #7: “The Ninth Hour”

Matthew, Mark, and Luke each record that Jesus died about “the ninth hour” (Matthew 27:45-50, Mark 15:34-37, Luke 23:44-46).

“The ninth hour” is what we, today, would refer to as 3:00 p.m.

This allows us to narrow down the time of Jesus’ death to a very specific point in history: around 3:00 p.m on Friday, April 3, A.D. 33.

Of course, there are a lot of detailed arguments that I haven’t taken space to deal with here. But this is the thrust of things.

This is when it happened. 

9 things you need to know about Palm (Passion) Sunday

Why is Jesus' entry into Jerusalem so important? What is going on here?

Palm Sunday–or is it Passion Sunday?–marks the beginning of Holy Week.

This day commemorates not one but two very significant events in the life of Christ.

Here are 9 things you need to know.

 

1. What is this day called?

The day is called both “Palm Sunday” and “Passion Sunday.”

The first name comes from the fact that it commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the crowd had palm branches (John 12:13).

The second name comes from the fact that the narrative of the Passion is read on this Sunday (it otherwise wouldn’t be read on a Sunday, since the next Sunday is about the Resurrection).

According to the main document on the celebration of the feasts connected with Easter, Paschales Solemnitatis:

Holy Week begins on “Passion (or Palm) Sunday” which joins the foretelling of Christ’s regal triumph and the proclamation of the passion. The connection between both aspects of the Paschal Mystery should be shown and explained in the celebration and catechesis of this day.

2. One of the notable features of this day is a procession before Mass. What do we do this?

According to Paschales Solemnitatis:

The commemoration of the entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem has, according to ancient custom, been celebrated with a solemn procession, in which the faithful in song and gesture imitate the Hebrew children who went to meet the Lord singing “Hosanna.”

The procession may take place only once, before the Mass which has the largest attendance, even if this should be in the evening either of Saturday or Sunday. The congregation should assemble in a secondary church or chapel or in some other suitable place distinct from the church to which the procession will move. . . .

The palms or branches are blessed so that they can be carried in the procession. The palms should be taken home where they will serve as a reminder of the victory of Christ be given which they celebrated in the procession.

3. Are we only supposed to use palms? What if you don’t have palms where you live?

KEEP READING.

12 things you need to know about the Prodigal Son

There is more to the story of the prodigal son than meets the eye. Here are 12 things you should know about it.

On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the gospel reading is the famous parable of the “prodigal son.”

It is a moving story that teaches us about God’s love for us and his willingness to forgive us no matter what we have done.

But there is more to the story than meets the eye . . . much more.

Here are 12 things you need to know.

 

1. What does “prodigal” mean?

The word “prodigal” is mysterious to us. Almost the only time we ever hear it is in the title of this parable.

It’s basic meaning is “wasteful”–particularly with regard to money.

It comes from Latin roots that mean “forth” (pro-) and “to drive” (agere). It indicates the quality of a person who drives forth his money–who wastes it by spending with reckless abandon.

That’s what the prodigal son does in this story.

 

2. Why does Jesus tell this parable?

This question is answered at the beginning of Luke 15, where we read:

[1] Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him [Jesus].
[2] And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
[3] So he told them this parable . . .

Actually, Jesus tells three parables:

  • The parable of the lost sheep
  • The parable of the lost coin
  • The parable of the lost son (or, as we know it, the parable of the prodigal son) 

All three parables are on the subject of recovering the lost, which is the implicit explanation of why Jesus receives sinners and eats with them: They are lost, and he wants to recover them.

Interestingly, the parable of the prodigal son (and the parable of the lost coin) occur only in Luke.

 

3. What’s happening in the parable?

Jesus’ parables are based on real-life situations, though they often veer off from the expected course of events in surprising ways. Those surprises teach us lessons.

Here, Jesus relates the situation of a father who has two sons, one of whom can’t wait for his inheritance.

In Jewish society, there were laws regarding how inheritances were typically divided. The oldest brother got a double share (cf. Deut. 21:17), while the other brothers got a single share.

When there were two brothers (as here), the older brother would get 2/3rds of the estate, and the younger brother would get 1/3rd.

 

4. What is the prodigal son asking for?

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10 things you need to know about Jesus’ Transfiguration


Jesus appeared to three of his disciples in the mysterious event known as the Transfiguration. What was happening here? What did it mean? Here are 10 things you need to know!

The Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent commemorates the mysterious event known as the Transfiguration.

This event is hard to understand. Why did it happen? What did it mean?

Here are 10 things you need to know.

 

1. What does the word “transfiguration” mean?

The word “transfiguration” comes from the Latin roots trans– (“across”) and figura (“form, shape”). It thus signifies a change of form or appearance.

This is what happened to Jesus in the event known as the Transfiguration: His appearance changed and became glorious.

Before looking at the Transfiguration itself, it’s important that we look at what happened immediately before it in Luke’s Gospel.

 

2. What happened right before the Transfiguration?

In Luke 9:27, at the end of a speech to the twelve apostles, Jesus adds, enigmatically:

“There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

This has often been taken as a prophecy that the end of the world would occur before the first generation of Christians died out.

The phrase “kingdom of God” can also refer to other things, though, including the Church–the outward expression of God’s invisible kingdom.

The kingdom is embodied in Christ himself and thus might be “seen” if Christ were to manifest it in an unusual way, even in his own earthly life.

 

3. Did such a manifestation occur?

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9 things you need to know about the “Chair of St. Peter”

February 22 is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Here are 9 things you need to know about it.

Yes, there is a physical object known as “the Chair of St. Peter.”

It is housed at the Vatican, at the back of St. Peter’s basilica.

February 22 is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter.

And there is more to the story.

Here are 9 things you need to know . . .

 

1. What is the Chair of Peter?

It depends on what you mean.

On the one hand, there is a physical object–an ancient, ornamented chair–located in the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica.

On the other hand, there is the spiritual authority that this chair represents.

Here we will look at both the physical object and the spiritual reality it represents.

 

2. What is the physical Chair of St. Peter?

This object–known as the Cathedra Petri (Latin, “Chair of Peter”)–is located in the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica. It is in the back of the chamber, behind the famous altar, on the far, back wall, below the the well-known, stained glass image depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove (see above).

This display contains an ancient chair that has been repaired and ornamented over time.

The Catholic Encyclopedia states of the original chair:

The seat is about one foot ten inches above the ground, and two feet eleven and seven-eighths inches wide; the sides are two feet one and one-half inches deep; the height of the back up to the tympanum is three feet five and one-third inches; the entire height of the chair is four feet seven and one-eighth inches.

According to the examination then made by Padre Garucci and Giovanni Battista de Rossi, the oldest portion is a perfectly plain oaken arm-chair with four legs connected by cross-bars.

The wood is much worm-eaten, and pieces have been cut from various spots at different times, evidently for relics.

To the right and left of the seat four strong iron rings, intended for carrying-poles, are set into the legs.

Here is an image of the ancient chair:

3. How has the chair changed over time?

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9 things you need to know about the mysterious temptation of Jesus

Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and then was tempted by the devil. What is going on in this mysterious incident?

This Sunday the gospel reading speaks of a mysterious event, just after Jesus’ baptism, in which he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness.

How could Jesus–the All-Holy Son of God–be tempted?

Why did this event happen, and what was going on?

Here are 9 things you need to know about Jesus’ “temptations” . . . and ours.

 

1. Why did Jesus go into the desert after his Baptism?

Empowered and led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert in preparation for his ministry, which his baptism inaugurated. Click here for more information on his baptism.

Forty days recalls various periods of preparation in the Old Testament, including the forty days Moses spent fasting and with God on Mt. Zion at the giving of the Law (Ex. 34:28), the forty days the Israelites spent spying out the Promised Land (Num. 13:25), and the forty years that the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land (Num. 14:34). 

 

2. How could Jesus, who is All-Holy, be tempted?

KEEP READING.

How are the gospel authors different?

The evangelists Mark and Luke both speak from their own perspectives, which helps better express the complex truth about Jesus.

While they may agree about the facts of Jesus’ life, the authors of the four gospels have different interests and perspectives.

Matthew has a particular interest in Jewish concerns, Luke has a particular interest in Gentile concerns, etc.

But sometimes the differences between them come out in more personal ways.

Tuesday’s gospel reading contains a particularly striking illustration of that.

 

Mark on Doctors

Tuesday’s Gospel reading contains the passage from Mark 5 dealing with the woman with the flow of blood. You know, the one who is healed by sneaking up and touching Jesus’ clothing.

In Mark’s account of the event, we read:

And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse [Mark 5:25-26].

Ouch! Harsh.

Physicians had caused this woman a lot of suffering, they took all her money, and she got worse rather than better.

Not a positive commentary on the medical profession.

 

Some Truth

The comment would have resonated with many people in Mark’s day, for the state of the medical profession was primitive.

Doctors might be well meaning, but they had nothing like the tools we do today.

Even just a few centuries ago, one physician (my memory fails me on precisely who) made the ironic statement that medicine amounts to making the patient comfortable while nature takes its course.

Yikes!

And even today there are many situations that are not treatable or not easily treatable. We’re only at the dawn of effective medicine (that is, if we don’t ruin the future course of medicine by making the development of new cures uneconomical).

 

A Matter of Perspective

While it wouldn’t be surprising for many patients in Mark’s day to share his outlook on doctors, there is one group that you could count on to have a significantly different perspective.

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What’s happening at the Presentation of the Lord?

40 days after his birth, Christ was presented at the temple. Why?

Later this week the Church celebrates the Presentation of the Lord.

It’s a feast that happens every year on February 2nd.

We read about the presentation of the Lord in Luke 2, but the text can be a little mysterious.

What is actually happening there?

Some claim that Luke himself didn’t know . . .

 

What Luke Says

Here is what Luke actually says about the event . . .

[22] And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
[23] (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)
[24] and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

He then records the encounters with Simeon and Anna the prophetess, but at the moment our focus is what Luke refers to as “their purification.”

What is he talking about?
KEEP READING.

If you’re sick, does that mean you don’t have enough faith in God?

Can you receive medical treatment when you're sick? Or does that indicate a lack of faith?
According to some Christians, we shouldn’t ever be sick. If we ever are sick, it represents a failure on our part.

We haven’t had enough faith, they may say, for if we had perfect faith, God would heal us.

Some would see going to the doctor as a sign of bad or weak faith.

It would be nice if we could be healed, instantly, of any sickness or infirmity.

It would also be a great evangelization tool, if people saw Christians never got sick.

But the fact is that God allows sickness in our lives.

In fact, I’ve been sick for the last week with a bad cold, but I’m feeling better.

At least I’m feeling enough better to make this video, and I thought I’d to one about sickness.

Here are some biblical reasons why being sick does not indicate a lack of faith, and why it’s okay to go to the doctor.

(Click here to watch the video on YouTube.)

 

What Now?

If you like the information I’ve presented here, you should join my Secret Information Club.

If you’re not familiar with it, the Secret Information Club is a free service that I operate by email.

I send out information on a variety of fascinating topics connected with the Catholic faith.

In fact, the very first thing you’ll get if you sign up is information about what Pope Benedict says about the book of Revelation.

He has a lot of interesting things to say!

If you’d like to find out what they are, just sign up at www.SecretInfoClub.com or use this handy sign-up form:

Just email me at jimmy@secretinfoclub.com if you have any difficulty.

In the meantime, what do you think?

8 Things You Need to Know About St. Paul and His Conversion

Paul was converted when Christ appeared to him. What should you know about St. Paul and his conversion?

This Friday, the Church celebrates the conversion of St. Paul.

Here are eight things you need to know about him–and his conversion.

 
1. Where was St. Paul from?

In Acts 21:39, St. Paul states:

“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city.”

Tarsus was the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia. This is on the southeast coast of modern Turkey, so St. Paul was not from the holy land. He was actually a Jew born in what is now Turkey.

It was a port city and a noted commercial center. For these reasons, and because it was the capital, he can describe it as “no mean city” (that is, no common, ordinary city). It was famous.

One of the things it was famous for was being the place where Mark Anthony first met Cleopatra, after which they embarked on their doomed alliance.

Tarsus survives today as the city of Mersin, Turkey.

More info on Tarsus here.

 

2. Where was Paul raised and educated?

In Jerusalem. In Acts 22:3, Paul gives a bit more information about his background:

“I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city [Jerusalem] at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as you all are this day.”

Gamaliel was a famous Jewish teacher. So famous, in fact, that we know about him today from Jewish sources.

Gamaliel is also mentioned in Acts, where he takes an open-minded view of Christianity, urging that it not be persecuted (Acts 5:34-42). Paul did not agree with him at this time, because this was before Paul’s great persecution of the Church, as well as before his conversion.

More info on Gamaliel here.

 

3. If he was born in Tarsus and brought up in Jerusalem, what was Paul’s citizenship?

KEEP READING.