
Jesus died on Friday, April 6th, 33 AD, at 3 PM.[1] This is derived from the Gospels and confirmed by Daniel’s prophecy. The crucifixion occurred around the time of the fourth Passover recorded by John. Working backwards, the first Passover recorded in John chapter 2 would be on Friday, April 7th, 30 AD. This was in the early period of Christ’s ministry.
With this information, we know that when Luke relates the beginning of Jesus’ ministry “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius,”[2] this would be 29 AD. This also accords with what the Jews said in John chapter 2 shortly before the Passover: “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?”[3] Andrew Steinmann writes,
Josephus notes that Herod began to build the temple sometime after the spring of the year that Caesar came to Syria (20 BC), that is, during the second half of 20 BC or in 19 BC. The temple building proper (ναὸς) was completed in one year and six months—in late 19 BC at the earliest but, more likely, in mid-to-late 18 BC. The rest of the temple precincts were completed after eight years in 12 BC. Thus, the forty-sixth anniversary of the temple’s completion occurred sometime in mid-to-late AD 29. If Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover forty-six years after the completion of the temple building (ναός), then the Passover would have been the one in AD 30. Therefore, his baptism occurred in AD 29. The fourth Passover during which Jesus was crucified would have occurred in AD 33.[4]