Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

    Furthermore, this footnote places John the Baptist's death about ten days before Tevet 29 (Feb. 4 of 

A.D.

18), which would be approx. Tuesday, Jan. 25 and Tevet 19. The date is approximate because the length of 

time of ten days is stated as an approximation:  some ten days.  But this approximate date of Jan. 25 for the 

death of John the Baptist is in complete harmony with my above conclusion for the time frame of John's 

beheading about the middle of Tevet, and about the end of January, in 

A.D.

 18. 

    This new information also lends support to my assertion that the Passover of 

A.D.

 17 began in late April, 

not late March, due to the addition of AdarII, (the leap month of the Jewish calendar leap year 

A.D.

 16/17), 

that year. Tevet 29 would not have fallen on a Friday in Jan. of 

A.D.

 18 but for the addition of AdarII in the 

previous spring.  

The Call of the Twelve Apostles 

    Blessed Anne Catherine gives specific information about the call of the Twelve Apostles and other disciples 

of Christ. For all those details, I refer the reader to her book, The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations. 

However, one question is of particular interest: When were the Twelve Apostles chosen as a group to be more 

than disciples of Christ? 

    The Gospel of Matthew places the appointment of the Twelve Apostles in chapter 10 (Mt 10:1 15), after a 

significant portion of Christ's Ministry has passed. The Gospel of Mark places the call of the Twelve in chapter 

6 (Mk 6:7 13). But, since Mark's Gospel is shorter than Matthew's Gospel, Mark is not placing the call of the 

Twelve any earlier than Matthew. However, Matthew describes John the Baptist's as being still in prison after 

the call of the Twelve (Mt 11:1 6), while Mark mentions the death of John the Baptist after the call of the 

Twelve (Mk 6:14). Did the call of the Twelve occur while John was in prison or after his beheading? 

    The Gospel of Luke offers a possible explanation. Luke places the call of the Twelve Apostles in chapter 6 

(Lk 6:12 16). Thereafter, in chapter 7 (Lk 7:18 23), Luke describes John asking Jesus a question through 

John's disciples. Matthew gives us the additional information that John asked this question of Jesus through 

his disciples during his imprisonment (Mt 11:2 6). Then, in chapter 9 (Lk 9:1 10), Luke describes a second 

stage in the call of the Twelve, when they were sent out on their own and given power to cast out demons and 

to cure diseases (Lk 9:1). It was after the Twelve went out on their own that Herod heard about these events 

and considered the death of John the Baptist, as both Luke and Mark describe (Lk 9:7 9; Mk 6:14 16). 

Therefore, Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles during John's imprisonment, and He called them and sent them 

out on their own after the death of John the Baptist. 

    Notice here that Jesus did not choose the Twelve at the very beginning of His Ministry. First the Twelve 

were mere disciples of Christ, then they were chosen as Apostles, then moreover they were called and sent out 

on their own. The Twelve Apostles progressed through stages to become the eventual leaders of the Church. 

Palm Sunday 

    In  the liturgical calendar of the Church, Palm Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday before Easter. This 

celebration recalls the joyous entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem not long before His Crucifixion and 

Resurrection. However, an examination of Sacred Scripture and of the writings of Blessed Anne Catherine 

Emmerich reveals that the events of Palm Sunday actually occurred more than a week before Easter. 

    The Gospels do not clearly state when Palm Sunday occurred. The Gospel of Matthew describes the 

entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem in chapter 21 (Mt 21:1 11). Jesus later leaves the city of Jerusalem to lodge at 

Bethany (Mt 21:17). The subsequent passage describes Jesus cursing a fig tree in the morning. If these passages 

are in chronological order, then the cursing of the fig tree occurred on a day after Palm Sunday. After this, 

Matthew places a long series of teachings of Jesus as well as a number of disputes between Jesus and the 

Jewish religious leaders. There is no clear statement as to how many days contained these teachings and 

disputes, but they take up over four chapters out of the 28 chapters in Matthew. 

    Then, in chapter 26, Jesus states that the Passover is two days away:   `after two days the Passover is 

coming .'   (Mt 26:2). Those two days might be counted up to the time of the Last Supper, Thursday 

evening, or the time of the Crucifixion, Friday afternoon, which was the Preparation day of the Passover (Jn 

19:14). But they could not be counted to the first holy day of Passover, on Nisan 15 (Saturday), because two 

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