Chronology of Jesus

A chronology of Jesus aims to establish a timeline for some of the events of the life of Jesus in the four canonical gospels. The Christian gospels were primarily written as theological documents rather than historical chronicles and their authors showed little interest in an absolute chronology of Jesus. However, it is possible to correlate the New Testament with non-Christian sources such as Jewish and Greco-Roman documents to estimate specific date ranges for the major events in Jesus' life.

Two independent approaches can be used to estimate the year of birth of Jesus, one based on the nativity accounts in the gospels, the other by working backwards from the date of the start of his ministry. Most scholars assume a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC.

Three independent approaches to estimate the dates of the ministry of Jesus are: first, the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, second: the date of the building of the Jerusalem Temple and third, the date of the death of John the Baptist. Scholars generally estimate that the ministry of Jesus began around 27-29 AD and lasted at least one year, and perhaps three years, or more.

Diverse approaches have been used to estimate the date of the crucifixion of Jesus. One approach uses the attestations of non-Christian sources such as Josephus and Tacitus. Another method works backwards from the historically well established trial of Apostle Paul in Achaea to estimate the date of his conversion. Two independent astronomical methods have also been used, suggesting the same date, i.e. Friday, April 3, 33 AD. Scholars generally agree that Jesus died between 30-36 AD.

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Read more about Chronology Of Jesus:  Context and Overview, Year of Birth Estimates, Other Approaches

Famous quotes containing the word jesus:

    Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
    Bible: New Testament, Luke 10:23,24.