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Jesus’ Crucifixion Date and the Number 3


There are several clues from scripture that indicate the precise year, month, day, and hour when Jesus died. These clues are as follows[1]:

1. The High Priesthood of Caiaphas: The Gospels suggest that Caiaphas, the high priest of the first century, instigated the Crucifixion of Jesus (Matt. 26:3-4, Jhn. 11:49-53). Historical records confirm that he held the position of high priest from 18 to 36 A.D., placing Jesus’ death within that period.

2. The Governorship of Pontius Pilate: The four Gospels concur that Pontius Pilate ordered the Crucifixion of Jesus (Matt. 27:24-26, Mrk. 15:15, Luk. 23:24, Jhn. 19:15-16). Historical records confirm that he held the position of governor of Judea between 26 to 36 A.D. Thus, we can limit the time range for Jesus’ Crucifixion to a few years within that period.

3. After “the Fifteenth Year of Tiberius Caesar”: The Gospel of Luke specifies that John the Baptist’s ministry began in 29 A.D., the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign when the Word of God came to him in the wilderness (Luk. 3:1-2). Based on all four Gospels, which indicate that Jesus began His ministry after John the Baptist (Matt. 3, Mrk. 1, Luk. 3, Jhn. 1), we can further narrow down the time range. Therefore, Jesus’ Crucifixion must have happened within a seven-year period, from 29 to 36 A.D.

4. Crucified on a Friday: The four Gospels concur that Jesus was crucified on a Friday (Matt. 27:62, Mrk. 15:42; Luk. 23:54; Jhn. 19:42), shortly before the Sabbath, which preceded the first day of the week (Matt. 28:1, Mrk. 16:2, Luk. 24:1, Jhn. 20:1). The mention of “the day of preparation” on which Jews made necessary preparations for the Sabbath confirms that it was a Friday. Therefore, we can narrow down the possible days for Jesus’ Crucifixion to Fridays occurring between 29 and 36 A.D.

5. A Friday at Passover: The four Gospels concur that Jesus was crucified during the annual Passover feast (Matt. 26:2, Mrk. 14:1, Luk. 22:1, Jhn. 18:39). John notes that on the morning of Good Friday, the Jewish authorities had not yet eaten the Passover meal (Jhn. 18:28-29), suggesting that the Passover would have begun at sundown on Friday. This narrows down the possible dates for Jesus’ Crucifixion to April 7 of 30 A.D. or April 3 of 33 A.D., as these are the only two Fridays between 29 and 36 A.D. on which Passover began at sundown.

6. John’s Three Passovers: The Gospel of John records three Passovers during Jesus’ ministry: at the beginning (Jhn. 2:13), middle (Jhn. 6:4), and end (Jhn. 11:55). This indicates a ministry of at least two years, but likely closer to three and a half. Therefore, the 30 A.D. date is unlikely as there isn’t enough time between 29 A.D. and the next Passover to accommodate a ministry of at least two years. Based on this evidence, Jesus’ death is most likely to have occurred on Friday, April 3, 33 A.D.

7. “The Ninth Hour”: Matthew, Mark, and Luke all note that Jesus died at about “the ninth hour” (Matt. 27:45-50, Mrk. 15:34-37, Luk. 23:44-46), which is equivalent to 3:00 p.m. Using this information, we can pinpoint the exact time of Jesus’ death to around 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 33 A.D.

Daniel’s Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

The prophecy of the “seventy weeks” in Daniel 9:24-27 provides additional evidence for the date of Jesus’ Crucifixion. Specifically, Daniel 9:25 states:
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks...”
This prophecy reveals that from the command to rebuild Jerusalem, there would be seven weeks (49 years) and sixty-two weeks (434 years), totaling 483 years or 173,880 days (using 360-day prophetic years), until the arrival of the Messiah. This arrival is marked by Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where He publicly declared Himself as the Messiah.

It is a historical fact that King Artaxerxes of Persia gave the command to rebuild Jerusalem on March 5, 444 B.C., which is recorded in the book of Nehemiah. Adding 173,880 days to this date leads us to March 30, 33 A.D.[2] If this is indeed the day when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, then it further supports the date of Jesus’ Crucifixion as Friday, April 3, 33 A.D., which occurred four days later (Jhn. 12:1-19).

Non-Scriptural Evidence

In addition to scriptural evidence, there is also seismological, historical, and astronomical evidence supporting the Crucifixion of Jesus on April 3, 33 A.D.:

1. Seismological Evidence: The Bible records an earthquake in Jerusalem following Jesus’ Crucifixion (Matt. 27:51-54; Mrk. 15:38; Luk. 23:45). According to the Institute of Creation Research, a thin layer of disturbed sediment in a laminated Dead Sea outcrop in Wadi Ze’elim points to an earthquake in 33 A.D.[3] Moreover, the earthquake database maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration does not record any other significant earthquake in Jerusalem between 1 and 50 A.D., apart from the earthquake in 33 A.D.[4]

Image source: Institute for Creation Research (ICR)

2. Historical Evidence: The Bible records darkness during the last three hours of Jesus’ Crucifixion (Matt. 27:45; Mrk. 15:33; Luk. 23:44-45). This darkness was documented by several ancient secular historians who lived at or near the time of Jesus, and one of them, Phlegon, provided a specific date for it—dating it to the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (32 or 33 A.D.).[5] See more: Is There Historical Evidence for the Darkness & Earthquake at the Crucifixion?

3. Astronomical Evidence: On April 3, 33 A.D., the planets Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, Earth, and Venus aligned in a way that resembled Jesus on the cross, with the head, hands, and legs accurately positioned and rotated on a galactic scale. Even Saturn’s rings could be interpreted as the “halo” or “crown of thorns.” This alignment has occurred only six times between the year 0 and 2000 A.D., which is equivalent to once every 333 years.[6] Is it merely a coincidence?

An orrery model of the planetary alignment on April 3, 33 A.D., which some believe resembled Jesus on the cross. Photo by Miguel Antonio Fiol.

Interestingly, a partial lunar eclipse was also visible in Israel that same day, which some scholars believe to be a partial fulfillment of Joel 2:31-32’s prophecy, “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood...And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” While it is uncertain whether the eclipse that evening would qualify as a “blood moon”[7], its duration of 333 minutes and placement 66 degrees above the horizon make it a noteworthy event.[8]

A Recurring Pattern of 3s

An interesting pattern that may have caught your attention is the frequent occurrence of the number 3 in connection to Jesus’ Crucifixion. It is worth noting that the number 3 appears 467 times in the Bible and symbolizes completeness or perfection, although to a lesser extent than the number 7. In the context of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, the number 3 holds immense significance. For instance, Jesus prayed 3 times in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest, was crucified at the 3rd hour, suffered in darkness for 3 hours while on the cross, and remained dead for 3 days and 3 nights before His Resurrection.

The evidence presented in this article reveals that the number 3 is even more prevalent in relation to Jesus’ Crucifixion. It can be deduced that when Jesus uttered the words “It is finished!” (Jhn. 19:30) just before His death, indicating finality akin to the number 3, it was exactly 3 p.m. on April 3, 33 A.D. At the same time, there was a rare planetary alignment resembling Jesus on the cross, which occurs approximately once every 333 years, along with a 333-minute-long lunar eclipse angled at 66 (33 x 2) degrees on the horizon. Only God could have orchestrated such an intricate sequence of events!

Conclusion

Based on the evidence presented, I conclude that Jesus was most likely crucified on April 3, 33 A.D., and this is supported by the work of scholars such as Colin Humphreys and W.G. Waddington.[9] While the exact date of Jesus’ Crucifixion may not be significant in the grand scheme of things, the details surrounding the event reinforce the historicity of the biblical account and suggests evidence of God’s hand in the sequence of events. For more evidence supporting the Crucifixion itself, refer to Extra-Biblical Historical Evidence for Christianity.


References:

1 Akin, J. (2020, April 10). 7 Clues Tell Us *Precisely* When Jesus Died (the Year, Month, Day and Hour Revealed). National Catholic Register. https://www.ncregister.com/blog/7-clues-tell-us-precisely-when-jesus-died-the-year-month-day-and-hour-revealed↩
2 ICR. (1995, October 18). Sixty. Institute for Creation Research (ICR). https://www.icr.org/article/sixty/↩
3 Austin, S. A. (2010). Greatest Earthquakes of the Bible. ICR. https://www.icr.org/article/greatest-earthquakes-bible/↩
4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (n.d.). Significant Earthquake Information. National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/8178↩
5 Phlegon. (2nd century CE). Fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, as cited in Keller, O. (Ed.). (1877). Rerum Naturalium Scriptores Graeci Minores (Vol. 1, p. 101). Leipzig Teubner.↩
6 Newswire.com. (2015, August 26). Researcher Claims Discovery of 'Jesus in the Stars'. Newswire. https://www.newswire.com/news/researcher-claims-discovery-of-jesus-in-the-stars↩
7 Faulkner, D. (2014). Did the Moon Appear as Blood on the Night of the Crucifixion?. Answers Research Journal, 7, 27-30. https://www.answersingenesis.org/arj/v7/moon-blood-night-crucifixion.pdf↩
8 NASA. (2009, June 7). Partial Lunar Eclipse of 0033 Apr 03. https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEhistory/LEplot/LE0033Apr03P.pdf↩
9 Humphreys, C. J., & Waddington, W. G. (1983). Dating the Crucifixion. Nature, 306, 743-746. https://doi.org/10.1038/306743a0↩

24 comments

  1. I respectfully disagree. This does not correspond to Jesus' own prophecy of the sign of Jonah and being in the earth three days and three nights in Matthew 12:40. Jesus was specific on how long He would be in the grave. That would lead us to see the date of March 27, 31 A.D. as the year Jesus was crucified. The Passover lands on a Tuesday evening in that year; Jesus was then crucified on Wednesday. This would fulfill His prophecy. Two more points that help us determine this. The day after the Passover was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread; a seven day observance. It was customary for Jews to call God's Holy Days, "Sabbaths." This is the Sabbath that scripture is talking about, not the weekly Saturday Sabbath. If you do the math, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights were the three nights and Thursday, Friday and Saturday were the three days. Remember, the Hebrew day begins at sundown, so at sundown on Saturday evening (which would be Sunday morning, the …
    • Thanks for your comment, pbt777. Friday does correspond to Jesus' prophecy of being in the earth for three days and three nights as the Jews, during that time, had a different method of counting days. Since the Jewish method of counting days was not the same as ours, Friday not only fulfills Christ's own prophecy, but is also a more reasonable date for the crucifixion. For more information, I'd recommend you check out this article - https://answersingenesis.org/jesus-christ/resurrection/three-days-and-nights/

      In the grand scheme of things, it is not all that important to know what day of the week Christ was crucified.
    • Hi Joel. I agree with you that the actual date is not that important because it was an historic moment for humanity and just like Jesus' birth, it it were important for us to know the actual date, God would have told us. However, Christians far too often have this same attitude toward other more important aspects of our faith. For instance, most of Christianity thinks that the biblical Holy Days are just for the Jews. First point to that is that it wasn't just the Jews (tribe of Judah) God was talking to; there were twelve tribes that God was speaking to with the Mosaic Law. Although, I certainly understand that Jesus fulfilled the law and I don't want to be legalistic, but God did give us specific dates for the observance of these laws, yet most Christians have been brainwashed to think that these Holy Day observances have nothing to do with us, when they have everything to do with us. They tell the story of Jesus. Not knowing that fact and just assuming the days are not …
    • The Passover was killed on the day of Passover: “And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath” [Mark 14:42] and “on the third day He will rise” [Luke 9:22] can easily be interpreted as Crucifixion Day Friday and Resurrection Day Sunday by the unstudied and unlearned but, “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an HIGH DAY)” [John 19:31] which clarifies that this was a Feast Day [High Holy Day] NOT The 7th Day Sabbath.
      Leviticus 23:5-8 shows Passover is 14 ABIB and The Feast of Unleavened Bread is 15 ABIB yet not surprising we cannot find a 14 Abib on any Friday in any Hebrew Calendar from Gregorian Year 27 thru year 37 [11 year span].
    • That’s correct, Jesus died on the Wednesday before 6 o’clock. The end of their day in that time. The Thursday was a high Sabbath, the Passover.
      That’s one day and one night.
      After every High Sabbath, there is a Holy day of Convocation, which no one is allowed to do any work. That was Thursday night and Friday.
      The weekly Sabbath started at 6 o’clock Friday evening.
      That went through to 6 o’clock Saturday evening.
      That’s three days and three nights.
      Jesus would have risen on the Saturday evening, not Sunday morning.
    • Thank you for your inputs on the timing of Jesus’ Crucifixion. However, I would like to clarify some points.

      Firstly, there is no scriptural evidence supporting the idea of an “extra” Sabbath at the time of Jesus’ Crucifixion. The weekly Sabbath was referred to as a “high day” in John 19:31 because it fell during Passover week. It is also important to note that the Hebrew calendar has not always been calculated in the same way. As I mentioned in my article, two Fridays fell on the 14th of Abib, one in 30 A.D. and another in 33 A.D., which is widely accepted among scholars.

      Regarding topgunint’s comment, there were no Wednesdays between 29 and 36 A.D. that coincided with Passover. The closest year in which Passover fell on a Wednesday was 27 A.D., but based on the scriptural clues presented in my article, this falls outside the possible timeframe for Jesus’ Crucifixion. In addition, the Jewish method of counting days during that era would not allow for three days and three nights to elapse from the time of Jesus’ death on a Wednesday to His Resurrection on a Saturday evening.
  2. Actually, you're both wrong. You've assumed "heart of the earth" is a reference to the grave. I highly doubt it. It's analogous to the belly of the whale or belly of the beast which speaks of captivity.

    What did Jesus mean by 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth?
    http://www.talkgenesis.org/heart-of-the-earth/
  3. I agree that jesus died on Friday April 3, 33 ad but Im very confused about the lunar eclipse. Friday april 3, 33 ad is the day of his death according to the Julian calendar not the Gregorian. If you convert that day over you will get the day Friday April 1, 33 ad. Most if not all astronomy software uses the gregorian calendar, this means the lunar Eclipse is off by 2 days. Here is a table: G = Gregorian J = Julian
    Christ death: J: Friday April 3, 33 ad / G: Friday April 1, 33 ad
    Lunar eclipse: J: Sunday April 5, 33 ad / G: Sunday April 3, 33 ad

    This means that the lunar eclipse was visible the night of easter, that is the sunday that Christ resurrected, not the night he was burried.
  4. GOD gave my daughter a revelation and told her to tell me that HE was crucified on my birthday. Which would make sense because I was born on April the 4th. And I'm an Aries and my birthstone is diamond. 4 has a great significance in the Bible as well as in my life. We should Not debate about anything. There are far More imporImpo things that we should be doing like preparing for the LORD'S Soon Coming. And we should All fast, pray and seek GOD diligently. There's No time to play church nor be fake Christians. Let us each reflect and REPENT for the Kingdom of GOD us at hand. There's lots of work to do. Now let us get our lives right and get our priorities straight. The harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few. There's Too Much Work to do and Not enough workers! JESUS commanded us to Be Born Again and to be HOLY and to Go and Make Disciples! That's what we Must do. So I urge each of you to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow JESUS. Be about Our H…
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
  6. He was crucified with n a Wednesday!
    It was the day before passover and that is also a Sabbath! Check out my blog about this!
    Solid evidence!

    https://moshescorner.wordpress.com/2019/10/20/yahushas-death-and-resurrection-calculation/
  7. When I rely on Christ Jesus, the messiah, as the Standard, so much more is revealed.
    I made a discover that I have not seen anywhere else to date.
    I wonder if i could discuss it with you?
  8. Here is more proof Christ was possibly crucified in the month of April of 33AD. I reviewed the eight dates you listed above (I like your biblical/date analysis on finding these dates) using the website https://torahcalendar.com and found only two of these eight dates had a lunar eclipse.

    These two dates are:
    April 14, 32AD (https://torahcalendar.com/Calendar.asp?YM=Y32M1) which had a total lunar eclipse on the day of Passover which fell on a Sunday/Monday. According to the Bible Christ wasn’t crucified on the first day of the week, so this day can be ruled out.

    April 3, 33AD (https://torahcalendar.com/Calendar.asp?YM=Y33M1) there was a partial lunar eclipse on the Thursday/Friday during the holy day of Passover of that year. Sounds like a no brainer that this was the day of Christ’s crucifixion.

    However this being the case I still don’t see what caused the darkness on the day of Christ’s crucifixion that would have lasted for three hours. Was it caused by dense clouds over Israel or so…
    • Think "supernatural". The entire event was supernatural and in God's hands.
  9. Thorough presentation of details...thank you!
  10. You miss three other significant pieces of evidence:

    1.There are two and three-quarter million people in Jerusalem now at this Passover, with some 256,500 lambs that must be slain before that evening. To sacrifice that many lambs on a Friday when the lambs must be roasted before the Sabbath begins (since cooking is not allowed on a Sabbath), they must start “half an hour after noon” (that is, during the “sixth hour”), and for the next two hours, the lambs die.

    The Babylonian Talmud, translated by Michael L. Rodkinson: “Tract Pesachim (Passover)” [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/t03/index.htm]:
    If the eve of Passover, however, fell on Friday, when the paschal lamb must be roasted before the Sabbath set in, the literal text of the passage in the Scriptures is abided by, and the daily offering is slaughtered as soon as the sun commences setting towards the west, i.e., half an hour after noon. …
    Why should the Passover-sacrifice follow the daily offering? Because an act concerning which it…
  11. Hola fellow believers! Thanks for sharing this info, however, I have to disagree with the comment about the crucifixion of our Lord happening on a Friday...it just so happened that the week of Jesus' crucifixion had two Shabbat's, one associated with the Passover, and the weekly one. I agree with the scholars that place the crucifixion on the a Wednesday, as it is the only way our Lord would have satisfied the requirement of being in the grave, dead, for Three days, and having resurrected on the weekly Shabbat, after the 9th hour, so that He would have been missing from the grave, early in the morning of the first day of the week, Sunday, when the ladies went there...none of His followers would have been visiting the grave on Saturday, as it was the weekly Shabbat...If he was crucified on a Friday, the scriptures would be in error when claiming that He was raised after THREE DAYS...and the scriptures are never wrong...Shalom,
    • The phrase “three days and three nights” was an idiom used in first-century Hebrew that did not require a full 72 hours. This is supported by various sources, including the Bible, which shows that a part of a day was often considered equivalent to the whole day (see Esther 4:16-5:1). Early Church fathers also agreed with this interpretation, confirming that there are no errors in the expressions used by Jesus and the Gospel writers regarding the timing of His Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection.

      As for the Crucifixion happening on a Wednesday, please refer to my comments above.
  12. Another complexity is the difference between the Gregorian and the Julian calendar. There is a good argument looking at each activity on each day that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday and was three days in the grave (Wednesday 6:00 PM to Thursday 6:00 PM 1 day; then to Friday 6:00 PM, day 2, then to Saturday 6:00 PM, day three. Sunday begins at 6:01 PM. Jesus appears perhaps around 6:00 AM on Sunday (and was resurrected on Sunday). Another point according to R.A. Torrey, if memory serves (and updated by friend Doug Krieger) is that the day of Passover is preceded by its own Sabbath. April 1, might be crucifixion day (Wednesday) and the body had to be removed before 6:00 PM Wednesday-6:01 PM Thursday using the 'days of the week' of the Jews. Anyway, another possibility. And good work on this effort!
  13. 1. There is no possible way to get three nights out of a Friday crucifixion and Sunday morning resurrection.
    2. The Essenes prophesied a 32 AD first advent of the Messiah and they were correct.
    3. The decree by Artaxerxes was made on March 13, 445 BC - completing Daniel's 69 Weeks precisely (to the day) on April 6, AD 32.
    4. Nowhere in scripture says Friday was the day of the crucifixion. There were TWO sabbaths that week, which explains the differences about when the burial spices were purchased. The regular Saturday sabbath and the High Day sabbath the day after the Lord's crucifixion. Friday was the day in-between the two sabbaths.
    • Thank you for your input. However, there are a few issues with the points you raised. Below, I have addressed three of them. (For your first point, please refer to my previous comments on this post.)

      1. “The Essenes prophesied a 32 AD first advent of the Messiah and they were correct.”

      It is important to note that the Essenes were not divinely inspired, and there is no historical evidence to suggest that their predictions were accurate or that they had any special knowledge of the timing of the Messiah’s arrival.

      2. “The decree by Artaxerxes was made on March 13, 445 BC - completing Daniel's 69 Weeks precisely (to the day) on April 6, AD 32.”

      There are a few issues with this date. Firstly, it is calculated based on the assumption of a Nisan-to-Nisan reckoning in Nehemiah 2:1. However, evidence suggests that Nehemiah reckoned years from Tishri to Tishri, which would put the year at 444 B.C. instead of 445 B.C. Secondly, the Passover in 32 A.D. fell on April 14, EIGHT days after this supposed Triumphal Entry date, which does not align with the Gospel of John’s account (see John 12:1). Finally, the Passover in question fell on a Monday, which is also inconsistent with scriptural accounts.

      3. “Nowhere in scripture says Friday was the day of the crucifixion. There were TWO sabbaths that week, which explains the differences about when the burial spices were purchased...”

      Nowhere in scripture does it say that there were two Sabbaths at the time of Jesus’ Crucifixion. Nor are two Sabbaths required to explain the discrepancies regarding the preparation/purchase of spices (Luke 23:56; Mark 16:1). It is entirely plausible that the women prepared the spices before the Sabbath but found that they needed more either when the Sabbath had already begun and it was too late to acquire more, or after the Sabbath had ended.
    • Was Jesus Dead for Three Days and Three Nights?
      Was Jesus dead for three full days and nights? Why doesn't the Bible support a Good Friday crucifixion?
      Check this out on BibleStudy.Org
  14. Im dying from terrible disease and with to believe in You Yeshua
  15. I love the work you do. Check out Biblefacts.org Ken Johnson goes through all this in the dead sea scrolls using the essences calendar. I think all yall will enjoy it. Also, 3 is the number of Divinity. A single charge is made up of `positive, negative, neutral`. Time is `Past, present, future. Geology= Land, sea, sky. Family = Father, Mother, children. A musical chord is made up of 3 notes, God = Father, Son, Holy Spirit.