Early Church History 
    In this chronology, and in many other modern chronologies, the number of the years from Christ's 
Ascension to Nero's 7th year does not add up to 30 years. First we add 7 years of Nero's reign to the 14 
calendar years of Claudius' reign, and then we add the 4 calendar years of Gaius' reign (Caligula), to reach a 
total of 25 years. In this revised chronology, Tiberius reigned just over 21 years (
A.D.
 1 to March of 
A.D.
 22), 
so that the last full calendar year of his reign was 
A.D.
 21. Christ died in 
A.D.
 19. There are only three 
additional years, counting inclusively, to add to the 25 years; there were not 30 years from Tiberius' 19th year 
to Nero's 7th year. 
    In other modern chronologies, Tiberius' last full calendar year would be 
A.D.
 36. To obtain 5 additional 
years to add to the 25, one would have to place Christ's Crucifixion in 
A.D.
 32 (counting inclusively), or in 
A.D.
 31. Modern scholars do not accept either of those dates as a possible year for the Crucifixion, mainly 
because the Passover did not begin on a Friday in 
A.D.
 31 or 32 (see Appendix I, chart 1). Therefore, either 
Jerome was mistaken that James died in the 30th year after Christ's Ascension, or, he was mistaken that he 
died in Nero's 7th year. 
    Luke brings Acts of the Apostles to a close in the spring of Nero's 7th year, and no mention is made of 
James the Less' martyrdom. This evidence supports the conclusion that James the Less died, not in Nero's 7th 
year, but later, in the 30th year since Christ's Ascension. Since Christ died in 
A.D.
 19, and James ruled the 
church at Jerusalem for 30 years after Christ, the 30th year would either be 
A.D.
 48 or 49, depending on 
whether or not one counts inclusively. Nero's 9th year was 
A.D.
 48 and his 10th year was 
A.D.
 49. I would 
count the length of time not inclusively. Jerome gives us the length of time that James the Less reigned over 
Jerusalem, much as Josephus gives us the length of time for various emperors' reigns. Also, Christ's Ascension 
and James the Less' martyrdom each occurred in the springtime, so that one would naturally count the length 
of time from spring of one year to each spring of subsequent years. So James the Less was martyred in the 10th 
year of Nero. (Further support for this conclusion comes from a comparison between the martyrdoms of James 
the Less and Mark the Evangelist, discussed below.) 
    Eusebius quotes Hegesippus as stating that the conflict between the Jews and the Romans, which ended in 
the destruction of Jerusalem, began immediately after James' death.   `Immediately after this Vespasian began 
to besiege them.'  
674
 Eusebius also quotes Josephus as writing that the sufferings of the siege of Jerusalem 
were a punishment against the Jews for unjustly putting James the Less to death.
675
 If James had died in 
Nero's 7th year, these statements could not be correct, for the conflict between the Jews and the Romans 
began in Nero's 12th year.
676
 Since Hegesippus lived in the first generation after the time of the Apostles,
677
 his 
statement is to be believed and James' martyrdom must be placed at the later date, the 30th year since Christ's 
Ascension and Nero's 10th year, not his 7th year. 
    Although the war began in Nero's 12th year, the government of Florus over Judea began a year earlier, in 
Nero's 11th year. And this choice by Nero to put Florus over the Jews was, according to Josephus, the main 
cause of the revolt of the Jews against the Romans.
678
 James died in the year just previous to the beginning of 
the conflict, Nero's 10th year, in accordance with Hegesippus. Of course, some years passed before the conflict 
actually led to the besieging of Jerusalem by Vespasian. (See chapter 14 for the chronology of the destruction 
of Jerusalem.) 
    Details of James the Less' martyrdom are found in the writings of Josephus, Eusebius, and Jerome. When 
Festus, the governor of Judea, died, Nero replaced him with Albinus. About the same time, Herod Agrippa II 
replaced the Jewish high priest Joseph with Ananus.
679
 After Festus died and before Albinus had arrived in 
Judea to replace him, the new high priest decided to pressure James the Less to deny that Jesus is the Messiah 
and the Son of God.
680
 Ananus was taking advantage of a lapse in leadership at the end of Festus' reign. 
Similar circumstances at the end of Pilate's reign over Judea led to the stoning of Saint Stephen. The Jewish 
high priest made James stand at a high point on the Temple wall, asking him to speak  against Jesus to the 
crowds gathered for the Passover. James instead spoke in favor of Jesus as the Christ; many heard him and 
many were converted. So the Jewish religious leaders threw James down from the Temple wall. Yet he did not 
die from the fall, so they began to stone him. Still he did not die from the stoning, so a man took a fuller club 
(used to beat out clothing) and clubbed him to death.
681
 In this way died James the Less, one of the Twelve 
Apostles and the leader of the Church at Jerusalem for 30 years. 
163






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