This one seems obvious to many people, but it can quickly
become confusing due to a number of factors: how the scriptures
were translated, how and when the Jewish feasts occur, who
was alive and ruling at the time, and some indication from a
prior prophecy and the history behind that prophecy.
That last one was already covered in a previous article concerning
Daniel 9, where Jesus was predicted to die in 33 AD. So here is a
starting point to reference from, was the prediction correct, or not?
History records 3 prominent rulers mentioned in the New
Testament at the time that Jesus was said to have died:
* Tiberious Caesar ruled from 14 AD - 37 AD
* Herod Antipas ruled from 4 BC - 39 AD, he divorced his wife
and married his half brother Herod's wife, which caused
John the Baptist to condemn that marriage, and John then
lost his head for saying such.
* Pontius Pilate ruled from 26 AD - 36 AD.
Pilate's rule looks to limit Jesus's year of death to a
span of only 10 years time. The gospel of Luke says that
John the Baptist started preaching in the 15th year of
Tiberius Caesar's rule: 14 AD + 15 - 1 = 28 AD
Given John the Baptist's arrival, needing to preach for a while
first (let's guess a year for John to preach), and that Jesus
had to later minister for more than 3 years, Jesus had to have
died some time after: 28 + 1 + 3 = 32 AD, and also had to die
before Pilate left his position in 36 AD. Therefore, Jesus died
some time between 32 AD and 36 AD.
The 33 AD prediction falls within the 32 AD to 36 AD time span.
What about the Jewish feasts, do they help confirm the year?
To answer this, you have to know more about the Passover and
which day Jesus would have died on.
The bible records which day Jesus died on:
John 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation,
that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on
the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high
day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken,
and that they might be taken away.
So clearly, Jesus died just prior to the Sabbath, and it was
also a Sabbath that was a "high day" of the Passover feast week.
What is a "high day"?
The high days in the Passover feast week, are the first and last
days of the 7 Passover feast days of eating unleavened bread. The
first high day could start any day of the week, due to the fact
that the month of Nissan would start on the day that two witnesses
would see the new moon show up, and that day of the week varied
each year. They would kill the Passover lamb on the 14th day of
Nissan, and the unleavened bread would be eaten from the 15th
on for 7 days. The 2nd high day, was the 7th day or last day of the
7 day Passover feast. For that Passover the year Jesus died, the
first high day was said by John to have been the same day as the
Sabbath.
In simple terms showing what occurred per day (while noting that days
back then ran from evening to evening, and that the Sabbath starts
on Friday evening), this is how it looked to John back then describing
which day it was in the verse above:
"day" What was occurring that day
-------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Thursday evening to | Nissan 14, Day of Preparation, Jesus dies
Friday evening | during the daylight hours on Friday.
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Nissan 15, Sabbath, the first day of the 7
Friday evening to | day Passover feast week begins, it's also
Saturday evening | called the 1st "high day" of the Passover
| feast week. Jesus's body is in the tomb.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
etc...
(the 7 days of the passover feast continue on, with the last day of
the passover feast week being the 2nd "high day")
It is possible to find all years where the first high day fell on
the Sabbath to verify which years are possible candidates for the
year of Jesus's death. As it turns out, between the years 27AD
and 38AD, there are only 2 years where the high day fell on a Sabbath
and those two years are 33AD and 36AD. So given this, during the
period of 32AD to 36AD (after John started preaching plus Jesus's
preaching, yet before Pilate's rule ended), the only years possible
for Jesus to have died in, are 33 AD and 36 AD.
The 36 AD year is ruled out for a number of reasons. Essentially
too many things had to happen during that year, and one account
given, becomes void when 36 AD is checked as a possible crucifixtion
date. Pilate was told to return to Rome in 36 AD, he arrived there
after Tiberius Caesar died, before Passover in 37AD. Herod Antipas
was in a war with Aretus in 36AD and wouldn't have had time to be
across the Dead Sea during the preparation of Passover at Jesus's
trial. Herod Antipas was said to have been desiring to see Jesus,
but in 36 AD, that was during a time of Herod's war and preparing
for war with Aretus. There is also the issue that if Jesus died
in 36 AD, with a 3.5 year ministry that makes him 32.5 (or older)
at the start of it, and Luke said he "began to be about 30" (29.5?)
at that time. His birth as the next article states, had to happen
soon after the tetrarchy was formed so the people could be
registered under their specific tetrarch, and that happened only
2 or 3 years after 4 BC, making Jesus too old for Luke's statement
that Jesus "began to be about 30". The 33 AD crucifiction year,
does not have any of the issues the 36AD year has.
The only year that matches all accounts, is 33 AD.
As the Sabbath is Friday evening until Saturday evening and
Jesus died just prior to the Sabbath (they didn't want his body
to be left on the cross during the Sabbath), Jesus had to have
died prior to Friday evening.
Therefore, Jesus died just prior to the 1st Passover feast day
(which that year fell on the Sabbath), on Friday before evening,
in 33 AD.
Is there more confirmation of this?
Absolutely.
At the last supper, Jesus told them that he wanted to eat the
Passover feast with them, but never would, in fact, he didn't
even eat the night before he died. Jesus handed them the bread
at that last supper, but didn't eat any of it himself.
Jesus was the first born, and the first born would be fasting
on the day the Passover lamb was sacrificed. That 'day' would
be Thursday evening, to Friday evening, and Jesus would be
fasting during that time. Friday afternoon when Jesus was
crucified, it was just before the Passover feast's first day,
just before the evening of the Sabbath, when they would have
all ate together later that night on the Sabbath... but by then,
Jesus was dead, dead before the start of the 1st day of the
Passover feast, having died during the time of the lambs being
sacrified prior to the first day of the feast of unleavened
bread.
In the translations of the verses, there are instances
where it's a little confusing concerning the days of
the Passover. For example:
Mt 26:17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, Where
wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the
Passover?
Obviously, the preparation for the Passover is BEFORE the Passover
feast week. Typically it takes days or even weeks to clean
the rooms. That verse should have been and can be translated as:
Mt 26:17 Then to first honor the feast of unleavened bread the
disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, Where do you
want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover feast?
Again, that preparation could take days, where they'd first have
to clean all traces of the leaven from the place they'd be having
the Passover feast, and that cleaning is before the Passover started.
So they were asking Jesus before the Passover, and NOT on the
1st day of Passover.
You can find confirmation of this in a prior verse:
Mt 26:2 Ye know that after two days, is the feast of the Passover,
and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
In other words, Jesus just told them that in two days, the feast
of the Passover would start, and the verses continue on where they
then replied back to him "Where should we go prepare for the Passover
feast?". Obviously they weren't asking him on the first day of
the Passover feast week, but had to be asking him prior to the
first day... that same 2 days before when Jesus said they needed
to go to Jerusalem. The Mt 26:17 verse to make proper sense with
the Jewish feasts, it should have been translated to english with
regards to the timing of events in those feast days such that
they'd simply be replying back on the same day, "where should
we go to prepare?".
Retranslating other similar verses:
Mk 14:12 Then to first honor the time of unleavened bread after
they would kill the Passover lamb, his disciples said
to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare, that
you may eat the Passover feast?"
Lu 22:7 But approaching was the time of unleavened bread, with
the Passover to be killed.
8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare us
the Passover feast, that we may eat.
The translators basically didn't check to insure that the translated
english description matched with regard to the Old Testament laws of
the Passover feast. Choosing proper english wording from available
translation options, helps substantially in conveying what Jesus
had said and when he had said it, verses the actual events occurring
then. There is nothing wrong with the original scriptures concerning
the verses, but there is a problem with how the scriptures were
translated to english.
Regardless, Jesus knew he was being betrayed by Judas Iscariot
2 days before the Passover started, so the timeline of Jesus's
death looks like:
Weds - They were in Simon the leper's house in Bethany. Jesus
told them he was being betrayed (by Judas Iscariot), and
the woman put the spikenard on Jesus's head and feet for
his burial, while Judas complained that the spikenard
could have been sold for a lot of money, and the money
should have been given to the poor. John said that Judas
had a bag of money at the time that the chief priests gave
Judas to tell them who Jesus is and point him out. Jesus
reminded them that in two days the feast of the Passover
would start and they had to move on into Jerusalem.
The disciples knew they had to prepare for the Passover
so they asked Jesus where they'd be having the Passover
so they could go there and start preparing for it. Jesus
then tells them to follow a man bearing a pitcher of
water to where ever he went in the city to a new house,
with a new large room where they'd be preparing the
Passover feast at. In that they didn't yet know where
the house was, Judas wouldn't know, and couldn't report
back to the high priests or soldiers. And this delayed
Jesus being taken, while Judas looked for an opportunity
where he'd know where Jesus was that was close enough
to go get the soldiers to turn him in.
Thurs - They entered Jerusalem, Jesus rode on an ass's colt and
was praised by them, mostly over Lazarus being raised. They
quickly became disenchanted in that they expected Christ
would abide forever, yet Jesus told them he'd die. That
evening they went to the large room for the last supper,
Jesus didn't eat. Judas had the money bag, he was anxious
to turn Jesus in, and he now knew where they were staying for
the Passover feast. Being in Jerusalem, it was closer to
the chief priests and soldiers than it was when they were
back in Bethany. Now it was easier for Judas to walk off
and quickly get the soldiers. Judas then left the last
supper, to go get permission to get the soldiers and to
then bring them to take Jesus. But they left while Judas
was gone. That night, Judas helped the soldiers find Jesus,
he then identified him, the soldiers took him and his
disciples deserted him.
Fri - Jesus was taken to prison, interrogated, beaten, ridiculed,
mutilated, and crucified until he died. John confirms the
the day by saying Jesus was there being questioned by Pilate
and accused by the chief priests and elders (of which Jesus
did not defend himself against their claims) on the day of
preparation for the feast days of Passover. The preparation
day is when the Passover lambs would be slaughtered, much like
Jesus was about to be after Pilate washed his hands of it
and told the chief priests and elders that Pilate would be
innocent of Jesus's death. The chief priests and elders
convinced the crowd to demand they crucify Jesus and let
Barabbas go free. Just before evening, after Jesus died,
he was taken down off the cross, wrapped in linen and laid
in the tomb. The Sabbath then started that evening, as did
the 1st day of the 7 day feast of Passover, the feast of
unleavened bread.
Sat - Sabbath continues through the daylight hours, no work allowed
to finish Jesus's burial. The chief priests and the Pharisees
went to Pilate to tell him to place guards at the tomb as
they'd heard Jesus say he'd rise again after the third day.
Pilate told them to guard it and make it as sure as they liked.
During the evening, Jesus's disciples stayed away from the tomb
probably because it was: too dark to see in the tomb, there
were now guards there guarding it, and they probably feared
using lamps as that would draw attention to themselves, them
being seen as followers of Jesus after he'd been crucified
the previous day by the chief priests, elders and crowd.
Sun - Early morning, the women went to the tomb to see about finishing
the burial, the angel appeared with the appearance of lightning,
and the guards fell to the ground. The angel rolled back the
stone while telling the women that Jesus had risen, and for
them to go tell the others.
The 3 days and nights article discusses the prophecy of Jesus being
in the hands of sinful men from Thursday evening, until Sunday morning.
Further discussion of the above mentioned prophecy in Daniel 9
described in a another article, the calculation for that is as
follows:
* 360 days for a prophetic year
* 365.242199 days per standard year
* 7*7+62*7 prophetic years from the order to restore Jerusalem
* Artaxerxes gave the order to restore Jerusalem to Nehemiah in 444 BC
* There is no 0 BC year, 1 BC jumps to 1 AD in 1 year of time.
Therefore, the messiah shows up, as per Daniel 9 in:
-444+1+(7*7+62*7)*(360 prophetic days/yr)/(365.242199 day/yr) = 33 AD
The accounts line up in many ways with Jesus dying in 33 AD, before the
Passover feast's 1st day (or "high day", which was also on the Sabbath),
and on the same day as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered that
year. There is no other year where the accounts all align.
God made it all, Jesus died for our sins.
Note: The above information was written by John P. Boatwright and is freely given. The information is simply my opinion based on how I perceive the content discussed. Anyone reading such should use their own judgement as to whether or not the information has any value to them. You may copy portions of the above opinions as long as a reference to this page is included and no text within said portion is altered. If copied to another medium other than the internet, include the entire text. The above content may change over time.
Best wishes.