Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

coincided with a Friday, in agreement with the Gospel of John's description of the Crucifixion (Jn 19:14, 

19:31). 

Pontius Pilate 

     In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea the word of 

God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness .  (Lk 3:1). 

    Sacred Scripture tells us that Pilate was ruler over Judea at the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry. 

Pilate also handed over Jesus to be crucified (Lk 23). So, the Ministry of Jesus took place during the reign of 

Pilate over Judea. The time frame of Pilate's rule over Judea is sometimes used to help ascertain the year of 

the Crucifixion. However, there is some disagreement as to the time frame of Pilate's reign. The majority of 

scholars date the reign of Pontius Pilate over Judea from about 

A.D.

 26 to 36.

83

 This range of years is 

consistent with a date of 

A.D.

 30 or 33 for the Crucifixion. However, Vardaman places the beginning of 

Pilate's rule over Judea as early as 

A.D.

 14.

84

    In chapter 13 of this book, I present a reasoned argument and substantial evidence in support of a new 

chronology for the years of Tiberius Caesar's reign. In this chronology, the first year of Tiberius' reign is 

counted as 

A.D.

 1. This chronology places Pilate's first year as ruler of Judea in late 

A.D.

 11 (or early 

A.D.

 12), 

with his ten year rule ending in the winter of 

A.D.

 21/22, shortly before the death of Tiberius Caesar in March 

of 

A.D.

 22.

85

 Eusebius, in agreement with Josephus, also tells us that Pilate began his reign over Judea in the 

12th year of Tiberius Caesar.

86

    The ministry of John the Baptist began during Pilate's reign over Judea (Lk 3:1). The Ministry of Jesus 

began shortly thereafter, lasted for about 3  years, and began and ended under Pilate's reign. So, in this line of 

reasoning, the Crucifixion could not have occurred any earlier than 

A.D.

 16, nor any later than Pilate's last 

spring in Judea, which was 

A.D.

 21. But in 

A.D.

 21, the Passover did not begin on a Friday (See Appendix I, 

Chart 1). Therefore  Christ was crucified sometime between 

A.D.

 16 and 

A.D.

 20 inclusive. In 

A.D.

 18, the 

Passover did not begin on a Friday, so the remaining possibilities are 

A.D.

 16, 17, 19, and 20. 

    As concluded above, the start of John the Baptist's ministry was in spring of 

A.D.

 15. Christ's Ministry 

began later that year in the fall of 

A.D.

 15, and lasted 3  years. This places the Crucifixion in spring of 

A.D.

 19. The years 

A.D.

 16 and 17 are too close to the time of the start of John's Ministry for either to be the 

year of Jesus was crucified. The year 

A.D.

 20 is a year too late to be the year of the Crucifixion. Also, the years 

A.D.

 17 and 20 would only have had a Nisan 14 Friday if the start of each month was determined by 

observation, not calculation (See Appendix I, Chart 1). I am convinced that dates in the Jewish calendar were 

determined by calculation during this time period (see chapter 17). 

    The year 

A.D.

 20 could have had a Nisan 14 coinciding with a Friday, if the month of Nisan was delayed 

due to the insertion of a leap month (the month of AdarII, added during Jewish leap years). But such a 

calendar change would only have taken place in 

A.D.

 20 if the previous winter had unfavorable weather 

(colder or drier than usual) which delayed the maturity of the grain and fruit crops. The grain crop in particular 

had to be ready in time for the offering of the first fruits of grain which takes place during the Passover. If the 

crops were not ready, the Passover and the month of Nisan would have to be delayed by the insertion of the 

leap month of AdarII (just prior to Nisan).

87

A.D.

 20 was not the usual year scheduled to have a leap year to 

prevent the Passover from falling before the Spring Equinox. So, for this reason also, 

A.D.

 20 was most likely 

not the year of the Crucifixion. 

Second Conclusion 

    In this revised chronology, the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar's reign coincides with 

A.D.

 15, and the reign of 

Pontius Pilate coincided with about the last ten years of Tiberius' reign (

A.D.

 12 to 21, inclusive). This 

correction of the dates for the reigns of these Roman leaders rules out the usual range of dates given for the 

Crucifixion (

A.D.

 27 to 36), and give us a new range of dates for the Crucifixion, from 

A.D.

 16 to 21. This new 

chronology also gives us the date of 

A.D.

 15 for the start of the ministry of John the Baptist (Lk 3:1). Christ's 

Ministry began about 5 to 6 months later in fall of 

A.D.

 15. The Ministry of Christ, from Baptism to 

Crucifixion, lasted about 3  years. This places the Crucifixion in the spring of 

A.D.

 19. In that year Nisan 14 

34