The Death of Jesus 55
The Death of Jesus
On the basis of the previous two considerations, Jesus’ death must have occurred in A.D. 30 or later. Two lines of evidence have been used to determine the precise year: astronomical/calendrical and historical. We know that Jesus was crucified on Friday ("the Preparation Day” [Mark 15:42 par.]) in the Jewish month of Nisan. The beginning of that month was fixed at the time when the new moon was sighted. Thus, if we knew the date of the crucifixion, we could use astronomical calculations to determine the years during which that date would have fallen on a Friday. Unfortunately, the date of Jesus’ death continues to be a matter of considerable debate, Nisan 14 and 15 being the main possibilities. The uncertainty arises from apparently conflicting data from the Synoptic Gospels and from John. The synoptics appear to make the last supper a Passover meal (see, e.g., Mark 14:12), making Friday Nisan 15. But on one reading of the fourth gospel, John implies that the Passover meal had not yet been eaten at the time of Jesus’ trial (John 18:28), which suggests that the day of Jesus’ death was Nisan 14. Numerous harmonization attempts have been offered, the two most likely being that the synoptic evangelists and John were utilizing different calendars in use in first-century Palestine, 107 or that John 18:28 does not really intend to suggest that the official Passover meal was still to be eaten. 108In any case, we must remain uncertain about the day of the month on which Jesus died. Nisan 14 may have occurred on a Friday in A.D. 30, and almost certainly did in 33; Nisan 15 may have occurred on a Friday in A.D. 30, and possibly also in 31. 109 However, since the calculation of the beginning of Nisan depended on human observation, with many possibilities for uncertainty, we must not depend too strongly on the results. Nevertheless, the two most likely candidates are Nisan 14 (= April 3), A.D. 33, and Nisan 15 (= April 7), A.D. 30.
The historical argument estimates the time at which it was most likely that Pilate, the Roman governor in Palestine, would have caved in to the pressure exerted on him by the Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus’ trial. Hoehner, for instance, has argued that Pilate’s desire to accommodate the Jewish leaders is credible only after A.D. 31, in October of which year the anti-Semitic Sejanus, ruler of the empire in fact under Tiberias, was executed. 110 Combined with the astronomical argument, this narrows the possibilities down to one year: A.D. 33.
But it may be doubted whether this set of circumstances is needed to explain Pilate’s behavior, for the Roman administration, whoever was in charge, was concerned to maintain stability in the provinces, and Pilate had already given some indication of failure at this point. Quite apart from this argument, however, a growing number of scholars think that the astronomical data are more favorable to the A.D. 33 date. In contrast, the year 33 is virtually ruled out if Jesus was crucified on Nisan 15, as the synoptic evangelists appear to suggest. Moreover, a crucifixion as late as A.D. 33 might fail to leave enough time between the death of Jesus and Paul’s conversion (see chap. 7).
The various data do not, then, allow us at this time to resolve the problem. Both April 7, A.D. 30, and April 3, A.D. 33, must be considered possible dates for the crucifixion.