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How Long Did Jesus Live? Now how long did
Jesus live after His birth? The apostle Luke helps answer the question
when he tells us that Jesus started His ministry at about the age of
30 years.
And when He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age . . . (NASB) Luke 3:23 This means that Jesus could have started His ministry when He was 29
years of age or maybe when he was 31 years of age. This gives us a range
of dates for the start of His ministry from 27 A.D. to 30 A.D. (remember
there is only one year from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D.). Since Jesus’ ministry
lasted somewhere between three to four plus years, Jesus’ ministry
could have lasted until He was 30 years or 34 A.D. of age.
Date of His Death. Our first clue as to
the time of Jesus’ death comes from John 2:20 where we are told
that construction on the temple had already been in process for 46 years.
Since construction of the temple started in 20 B.C. that means that Jesus’ ministry
occurred after A.D. 27/28. Since Jesus ministered while Caiaphas was
the high priest from A.D. 18 to A.D. 37 and Pontius Pilate was governor
from A.D. 26 to A.D. 36 we conclude that Jesus’ ministry years
and His death could have occurred between A.D. 30 and A.D. 36. However,
it is highly doubtful that He lived past A.D. 34 given the year of His
birth and the length of His ministry.
Now on what day did Jesus die? This will help us determine
the year of His death. The New Testament tells us that Jesus died on
a Friday or the day of preparation for the Passover or the day before
the Jewish Passover.
When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” They therefore cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he then delivered Him to them to be crucified. They took Jesus therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. (NASB) John 19:13-17
Luke 23:44-46 says that Jesus died at the sixth hour or at 3 p.m. in
the afternoon. The following passage also reveals that Jesus died on
the eve of the Sabbath or Friday.
And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. And it was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. (NASB) Luke 23:50-54 That is, He died on a day before the Sabbath and on a Passover Eve.
The apostle John calls this day a high day for it was both a Sabbath
and the Passover.
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