If you are anything like me when you think of the birth of
Jesus you have always assumed that it was A.D. 1 right, and that he died as a
thirty-three year old man. Well apparently we are all wrong and that is a shame
that this myth has not been addressed from enough pulpits! According to Kostënberger, “…the traditional dates approximate the actual date
of Jesus’ birth, Jesus was probably born in the winter of either 7-6 BC, 6-5
BC, or a 5-4 B.C., with a 5 BC date for Jesus’ birth being perhaps the most
likely.”[1] To help further support this idea Carson and
Moo point out that, “Herod the Great is undoubtedly the “king” of Matthew 2. It
is almost certain that Herod died in late March or early April of 4 B.C. Jesus
must therefore have been born before 4 B.C.—but probably not much before, since
Herod slays children only two years old and younger (2:16).”[2]
In regards to Jesus’ death Kostënberger believes that he died in A.D. 33. Kostënberger
argues that, “The Passover meal was eaten by the Jews on Nissan 14. Thus the
year of Jesus’ execution must be a year in which Nissan 14 fell on a Thursday.
This probably occurred in AD 30 and definitely occurred in the year 33…the most
likely year of Jesus’ death is AD 33.”[3]
What we know is that Jesus’ birth
took place in Bethlehem. When Jesus was around two (he may have been slightly
younger), his family fled the terror of Herod who was having young males
murdered. They lived in Egypt for a period of time, and after the death of
Herod returned to Nazareth. Most commentators are in agreement about not being
exactly sure about the start of Jesus’ ministry because they cannot be certain
of how Luke uses the phrase “in the fifteenth year of Tiberias.” They do
however agree that His ministry would have started in etiher 28/29 AD. Kostënberger points to the fact that, “The Passover 46 years after
the completion of the sanctuary would fall in the spring of AD 30. This date
would confirm that Jesus began his ministry in the summer or fall of AD 29.”[4]
Most scholars believe that Jesus’ ministry was anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 years
long. “If one affirms that Jesus’ ministry included only three Passovers, his
ministry lasted approximately two and a half years. If one allows for another
Passover between the first and second Passovers explicitly mentioned by John,
Jesus ministry lasted approximately three and a half years, the latter being
more likely.”[5] His ministry was then
followed by His death and resurrection.
Matthew’s depiction of Jesus birth
and youth point to His identity as the coming Immanuel, and that He was the one
coming that would be greater than Moses was. The purpose of the genealogy in
Matthew is because,
It stresses
Jesus’ identity as the son of Abraham the recipient of the divine promise that
through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen 12:1-3), and as
the promised King from the line of David who will rule over God’s people. It
also underscores his supremacy over the OT patriarchs; and the redemptive
mission first to Jews but also to Gentiles.
It is
amazing that through years of reading our Bibles and sitting under preaching we
can learn to appreciate so much about our Lord through these studies.
[1]
Andreas J. Kostenberger,
L. Scott Kellum, Charles L. Quarles. (The Craddle, The Cross, and the Crown.
Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2009)139.
[2]
D. A.Carson, and
Douglas J Moo.( An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids,, MI:
Zondervan, 2005)124.
[3]Kostenberger,
The Craddle, 143.
[4]
Ibid, 41.
[5]
Ibid, 142.
