Date of Jesus' Death
The Year of Our Salvation
Passover dates during the reign of Pontius Pilate (26 to 34 AD):
| AD | Date | Passover meal | Passover day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 20-21 April | Sat | Sun |
| 27 | 10-11 April | Thu | Fri |
| 28 | 27-28 April | Tue | Wed |
| 29 | 17-18 April | Sun | Mon |
| 30 | 6-7 April | Thu | Fri |
| 31 | 24-25 April | Tue | Wed |
| 32 | 13-14 April | Sun | Mon |
| A: 33 | 3-4 April | Fri | Sat |
| B: 33 | 2-3 May | Sat | Sun |
| 34 | 21-22 April | Wed | Thu |
John: the odd man out
Passover is dated by lunar cycles. It can fall on any day of the week. If we can rely on the tradition that Jesus died on a Friday, then John is identifying a different year from that specified in the synoptic gospels (Mt, Mk, Lk).
Pontius Pilate was procurator from 26 AD to 36 AD. That narrows things down somewhat; I think it has to be a historical fact that Jesus was crucified while Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea. So that rules out one of my date calculations above.
This page gives a calculation of Passover dates from 26 AD to 34 AD. The author argues for Wednesday being the day of Passover. I'm inclined to disagree with that interpretation.
In the synoptics (Mt, Mk, Lk), Jesus dies the day AFTER Passover; in John, Jesus dies the day BEFORE passover. If our liturgical tradition has preserved the truth that Jesus died on a Friday, and if this fellow's calculations for the Passover dates are correct, then the synoptic year would be 34 AD and the Johannine year would be 33 AD.
A date of 33-34 AD seems nice to me--but it places a strain on Luke's estimate that Jesus was born in 4 BC, was "about 30" when He started His public ministry, that the public ministry lasted just a year or less (there is only one Passover in the synoptics), and that Jesus died the day AFTER the Passover meal. If we want to insist that Luke got the birth year right (in or before 4 BC) and that he is right about Jesus' age, then he has to be wrong about other aspects of the story.
I'm not too anxious about any of this. Our salvation comes from Jesus' priestly action of offering Himself as our Passover Lamb; we are saved by the blood of the Lamb, not by knowing what year He made this offering for us.