CHAP. V. CRONOLOGICAL ENQUIRIES. 21
Thus much, in any case, seems sure, that the present Christian era ("Dionysian," because
fixed by the abbot Dionysius, about 530 A.D.) begins four years too late, and that instead of
writing 1876 we should now write 1880. But to attempt fixing the month and day of Christ's
birth (as e. g. Greswell maintains, that April 5th in 4 B. C. is the precise date of our Lord's birth!)
seems simply preposterous, since Ecclesiastical tradition, in this respect, is by no means reliable.
Different however stands the case, as regards the time of our Lord's death. From the one
safe point, established by the evidence of John 2. 20, we are enabled to fix all the remaining
principal dates in Christ's ministry. As the Passover always had to be celebrated at the time
of the full moon on the fifteenth of the month Nisan, the exact date of the Passover in any given
year may be ascertained by astronomical calculations. Thus it has been found out that the
above—mentioned first Passover in our Lord's ministry (A. U. C. 781 = 28 A. D.) fell on Tues—
day 30th March, while the Passover of the following year (A. U. C. 782 = 29 A. D.), about
which time Jesus fed the five thousand at the lake of Gennezareth, was Monday 18th!April. The
third and last Passover (A. U. C. 783=30 A. D.) happened to fall on a Friday (7th April),
quite in accordance with the record of the Evangelists, that Jesus died on a Friday. Besides,
this happy coincidence of the week—day proves also the correctness of the year (30 A. D.), since
it was only once more the case between the years 28–36 A. D. that the 15th Nisan fell on a
Friday, viz. A. D. 34, which, however, to assume as the year of Christ's death would be utterly
impracticable, because irreconcileable with the Gospel—account relating to the time of His birth
and the duration of His ministry.
As the result of these chronological investigations, we subjoin a table showing the principal
dates in our Lord's public ministry:
| A. U. C. A. D. | ||||
| 781 = 28 | I. Passover | 30th March | John 2. 13. | Jesus purifying the temple. |
| December | ,, 4. 35. | The journey through Samaria. | ||
| 782 = 29 | The festival of Purim | 19th March | ,, 5. 1. | Jesus at Jerusalem. Bethesda. |
| II. Passover | 18th April | ,, 6. 4. | Jesus in Galilee, feeding the 5000. | |
| The feast of Tabern. | 12th October | ,, 7. 14. | Jesus at Jerusalem. | |
| ,, ,, of the Dedic. | 20th December | ,, 10. 22. | do. | |
| 783 = 30 |
III. Passover |
Friday, 7th April Sunday, 9th ,, |
All four | Christ's crucifixion and death. Christ's resurrection. |
| Thursday, 18th May | Act 1. 3. | "Forty days". Christ's ascension. | ||
| Pentecost | Sunday, 28th | ,, 2. 1. | The outpouring of the holy Spirit. |
