Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 
after the Incarnation of Christ, the year 
A.D.
 19 is still the most probable year when Nisan 14 would coincide 
with a Friday. 
    This line of reasoning can be summarized as follows. Christ was born in 15 
B.C.
 and was about 33 years old 
at the time of the Crucifixion. The Passover of 
A.D.
 19 is 33 years after the year of Christ's Incarnation in 15 
B.C.
 Other years, within 2 years plus or minus of 
A.D.
 19, most probably did not have Nisan 14 coinciding 
with a Friday. Therefore, Christ died and rose from the dead in the year 
A.D.
 19. 
Second Argument and Conclusion 
    A second line of reasoning can be used to determine the year of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This second 
argument does not rely on the visions of Blessed Anne Catherine, but rather on a new chronology of the reigns 
of various Roman rulers, especially Caesar Augustus, Tiberius Caesar, and Pontius Pilate. This revised 
chronology for the reigns of various Roman rulers is presented in detail in chapters 12, 13, and 14 of this book, 
but is also briefly summarized below (see also Appendix II, Section B). 
Tiberius Caesar 
     In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah 
in the wilderness .  (Lk 3:1 2). 
    This passage from the Gospel of Luke has often been used in attempts to date the beginning of the Ministry 
of Jesus Christ. Two main questions arise in assigning a year to the Ministry of Jesus based on these words. 
First, which year is to be counted as the first year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar? Second, since this passage 
from Sacred Scripture refers to the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist, how much later was the 
beginning of the Ministry of Jesus Christ? 
    Tiberius Caesar succeeded Caesar Octavian Augustus as emperor of Rome. Historians generally date the 
death of Augustus to 
A.D.
 14.
66
 Tiberius was proclaimed emperor by the Roman senate soon after the death of 
Augustus. On this basis, many scholars have drawn the conclusion that the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius 
Caesar occurred in either 
A.D.
 28 or 29 (depending on whether 
A.D.
 15 is counted as Tiberius' first or second 
year). This date for the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry is consistent with a date of 
A.D.
 33 for the 
Crucifixion. And Nisan 14 did fall on a Friday in 
A.D.
 33. 
    About two years before Caesar Augustus died, Tiberius Caesar ruled the Roman provinces jointly with him 
in a power sharing arrangement.
67
 Consequently, some scholars date the beginning of the Tiberius Caesar's 
reign from about 
A.D.
 12, not 
A.D.
 14.
68
 The count of the 15 years of Tiberius Caesar's reign does not 
necessarily begin when Augustus died, for Tiberius had considerable power before he became emperor of 
Rome. Counting forward 15 years from 
A.D.
 12 or 13 brings us to 
A.D.
 26 or 27 (depending on which year is 
counted as the first year of Tiberius' reign). This date for the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry is 
consistent with a date of 
A.D.
 30 for the Crucifixion. Since scholars generally hold that Nisan 14 could have 
coincided with Friday, April 7 in 
A.D.
 30, this year is considered a possible year for the Crucifixion. 
    Dr. E. Jerry Vardaman points out a third possible starting point for the count of the 15 years of Tiberius 
Caesar's reign.
69
 About ten years before the death of Caesar Augustus, a grandson of Augustus named Gaius, 
who had been chosen by Augustus to be the next emperor of Rome, died.
70
 Another of Augustus' grandsons, 
named Lucius, had also died a couple of years earlier. Tiberius was somewhat in disfavor in the years before 
the deaths of Lucius and Gaius. He was in voluntary exile on the island of Rhodes and had little power in the 
Roman empire.
71
 But after their death, Augustus chose Tiberius as his successor, adopted him as his son, and 
gave him a ten year decree of power.
72
 According to the ancient Roman historian, Dio Cassius:  Augustus  
not only adopted Tiberius, but also sent him out against the Germans, granting him the tribunician power for 
ten years. 
73
 And about ten years later, Augustus died and Tiberius succeeded him as emperor of Rome. 
    During the ten years preceding the death of Augustus, Tiberius was the chosen successor and adopted son of 
the emperor of Rome. He had a great deal of power in the Roman empire. He was in charge of a large portion 
of the Roman army (which was the practical guarantor of the power of the leaders of Rome). 
32






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