All four of the New Testament Gospels mention the ministry of John the Baptist who was a forerunner of Jesus, but only Luke makes the essential connection with secular history. (Luke 3.1) states that the Word of the Lord came to John in the 15^th year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius, calling him to preach in the region around the Jordan River. The reigns of the Roman emperors are well known from secular history. Caesar Augustus reigned during the period 27 BC-AD 14 and was followed by Caesar Tiberius who reigned during the period AD 14-37. Therefore, the 15^th year of Tiberius’ reign must have been AD 28, fixing the date for the start of John the Baptist’s ministry.

Some time later into the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus came and was baptized by him (Luke 3.21-22). Then He was tested 40 days in the Judean wilderness (Luke 4.1-13), after which time He returned to the region of Galilee where He began His ministry (Luke 4.14-15). Therefore, Jesus’ ministry could have begun as late as AD 29 but could not have begun before AD 28.

A considerable point is made out of this because the appendix of many Bibles contains a section called "Harmony of the Gospels". Sometimes that section gives dates as late as 4 BC for the birth of Jesus even though credible historical evidence pertaining to the 4 BC death of Herod argues against such a late date. Others sometimes indicate that Jesus’ ministry began in AD 27 rather than later as the evidence would indicate. Now as long as we are apathetic about exact dates for these events, it really doesn’t matter. However, if we are interested in connecting historical dates as we will do in the prophetic section of COMING GLORY, even a one year difference becomes critical. For this reason, some attention is here focused on this issue.

A reasonable question could be asked: Why is there any difference at all since everyone has access to the same historical facts? Although each Bible historian must answer that question for themselves, there is at least one factor that may well influence the dates selected. It has already been pointed out that the Bible is really not a history book but rather God's Redemptive Plan. Bible believing scholars commonly hold this view, so there is an understandable tendency to search for spiritual or prophetic meanings in the dates and time periods given in the Bible. This is particularly true with respect to dates associated with Jesus Christ who fulfilled Old Testament prophecies in such astounding ways.

Various texts indicate that Messiah would be both a prophet and a king, but the book of Hebrews also identifies Him as the "High Priest" of the new Covenant of Grace. As the "High Priest", the Law requires that He must then have fulfilled all of its provisions with respect to Priestly qualifications.

The Law prescribed a minimum age of 30 years before someone could enter into Priestly service (Numbers 4.1-4). That age of 30 years is especially notable because Joseph was just 30 years old when he rose to the position of authority in the Egyptian Empire (Genesis 41.46). Moreover, David the great king of Old Testament times, began to reign when he was just 30 years old (II Samuel 5.4). Furthermore, a careful study of these two men will reveal a kind of prophetic similitude between them and Messiah. Consequently, it has been suggested that events in Jesus’ life might be expected to duplicate some of their life patterns.

For such reasons, there is an inclination to have Jesus be 30 years old when He began His ministry. Now notice that if Jesus were born in 4 BC and began His ministry in AD 27, He would have been just 30 years old, in agreement with the lives of both Joseph and David.

4 BC + 30 years = AD 27*
*Remember that the elapsed time from 1 BC to AD 1 is only one year.

Notwithstanding these possible associations, it is paramount that the untainted evidence be set down first, so that is the intention here. If the result can then be embellished in ways just described so much the better, but if not then it must be accepted as it is. In this case, historical evidence seems to argue convincingly that Jesus was more than 30 years old when He started His ministry. Of course this would not violate the Law, because "30 years" was only a minimum age requirement to begin the Priesthood.

RELATED TO THE AGE OF THE TEMPLE

The Bible suggests that Jesus began His ministry soon after His baptism and testing, because all of the Gospels seem to record only a brief span of time from those events until Jesus was teaching and performing miracles in Galilee. The Gospel of John records an incident on the Passover shortly after the inception of His ministry that helps restrict the date to be no later than AD 29. On that occasion, Jesus confronted a group of Jews when He forcibly ejected some "moneychangers" from the Temple. The Jews indignantly challenged His action asking,

When Jesus answered,

they mistakenly thought He referred to the physical building in which they stood and replied,

Their response is enlightening for they spoke of Herod’s Temple. History records that its renovation from the earlier Zerubbabel edifice began in 19 BC. The Jews here declared that the work had already been going on for 46 years, so the estimated year of the confrontation must have been around,

19 BC + 46 years = AD 28
*Remember to subtract a year in going from BC to AD.

However, we already estimated that John the Baptist began his ministry in AD 28, then Jesus was baptized sometime later, then this Temple incident occurred later in the springtime. Therefore, if the Jews’ statement was correct, Jesus’ ministry could have begun no later than the spring of AD 29.

The Bible does not actually give a duration for Jesus’ ministry, but it does record two distinct Passovers during His ministry subsequent to the one discussed above. Following the Passover mentioned in (John 2.13), another one is mentioned in (John 6.4), and then the final one in (John 13.1) when He was crucified. Of course if these were the only ones, His ministry could have lasted only a little over two years.

The problem with such a view is that it forces Jesus’ entire Galilean ministry, i.e. (Matthew 4.12-19.1; Mark 1.14-10.1; Luke 4.14-9.51), into an interval of only about 18 months. Although this is theoretically possible, it seems implausible because it would require a much more compressed sequence of events during this period than is indicated in the remainder of the Gospels. For this reason, most scholars believe that Jesus’ ministry actually lasted a little over three years and that mention of a fourth Passover is simply omitted. Depending on one’s view, Jesus’ ministry would have ended in the Spring of AD 30/31/32, with the most likely year being AD 32. Our limited knowledge of Biblical dates forces us to live with this uncertainty on the basis of history alone, however an investigation of the Levitical Calendar in the prophetic section of COMING GLORY will offer a possible way to resolve the ambiguity.

Important events in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, coupled with their most probable dates, are summarized below.

REDEMPTIVE PLAN