Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who ruled Judea until March or April of 4 B.C., when he died (Encyclopedia Britannica on the web @ www.eb.com/cgi-bin/g?keywords=herod [probably based on information presented by the historian Josephus]).
"…Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod…" (Matthew 2:1 NIV)It is unknown how soon Jesus was born before Herod's death. However, Jesus was born no later than April, 4 B.C., the latest possible month of Herod’s death.
Jesus’ ministry began after John the Baptist’s ministry began. John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar… the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. (Luke 3:1-2 NIV)Tiberius Caesar reigned from A.D. 14 to A.D. 37 (Encyclopedia Britannica on the web, www.eb.com/cgi-bin/g? keywords =tiberius+caesar). His reign began on August 19, A.D. 14. Luke may have been using any of several methods to define the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. However, I will only present the method that yields the earliest possible 15th year.
In eastern provinces [of the Roman empire]...years were reckoned from the accession of the reigning emperor, the second beginning on the first New Years day after the accession, and the date on which this occurred varied from one province to another. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, IL, USA: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. 1994, vol 15, p. 421)Based on the above passage, Luke may have counted Tiberius' accession year (the time between Tiberius' August accession and the following New Years day) as his first regnal year. The earliest possible New Years day may have been in the Jewish lunar month of Tishri (September/October).
"R. Hisda said: The rule [that New Year for kings is in Nisan] was only meant to apply to the kings of Israel, but the years of non-Israelitish kings are reckoned from Tishri..." (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah, 3a)Or the New Years day may have been, as the passage below states, on October 1.
Luke possibly used the Syrian method, which counted the interval between Aug. 19 and the beginning of the new year (Oct. 1) as the first regnal year. In that case, the fifteenth year extended from, Oct.1, 27 till Oct. 1, 28. Jesus, therefore, was baptized toward the end of the year 27. (Brown, Raymond Edward. The Jerome Bible Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall, 1968 [Logos Library System 2.1, 1997])Based on the information in the three quoted passages above, the earliest possible first regnal year of Tiberius extended between August, A.D. 14 and the autumn of A.D. 14. His earliest possible second regnal year extended between the autumn of A.D. 14 and the autumn of A.D. 15. John the Baptist’s ministry, therefore, began no earlier than the autumn of A.D. 27. John baptized Jesus sometime afterward. The Jordan river, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, is below sea level, and the weather there is warm year round, so Jesus could have been baptized at any time of year.
"When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too." (Luke 3:21 NIV)After Jesus' baptism, he went into the wilderness for forty days.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert where for forty days he was tempted… (Luke 4:1-2 NIV)After Jesus’ time in the wilderness, he again appeared to John the Baptist. John the Baptist recalled Jesus’ baptism, and the dove descending on Jesus.
Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him…" (John 1:32 NIV)Jesus then went to Galilee.
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. (John 1:43 NIV)At this time, Jesus was 'about' thirty.
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. (Luke 3:23 NIV).Below is a summary of what has been presented so far:
The gospel of John mentions three distinct Passover Feasts that happened during Jesus' ministry. The first Passover is mentioned in the passage below and was no earlier than the Passover of the spring of A.D. 28.
After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and disciples. There they stayed for a few days. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (John 2:12-13 NIV)Later, John mentioned a second Passover Feast. This Passover was no earlier than that of the spring of A.D. 29.
Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near. (John 6:3-4 NIV)Finally, John mentioned a third Passover, the Passover on which the crucifixion happened. This Passover was no earlier than that of the spring of A.D. 30.
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. (John 13:1 NIV)Although there may have been other Passover Feasts during Jesus' ministry, John only mentioned three distinct Passover Feasts. If these were the only Passover Feasts of Jesus' ministry, then they spanned two years, and the earliest possible year of Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension was A.D. 30.
Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who handed Jesus over to be crucified, governed Judea from A.D. 26 to A.D. 36 (Encyclopedia Britannica on the web, www.eb.com/cgi-bin/g?keywords=Pontius+Pilate). Therefore, the latest possible year of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension is A.D. 36, Pontius Pilate’s last year in office.
In summary, the earliest possible year of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension is A.D. 30. The latest possible year is A.D. 36.
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