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