Why I Began Considering AD 34
(If you are here for the first time it will be important for you to start with part 1 of these post – you can get to it by clicking here)
After everything we’ve discussed throughout this series, some readers may be wondering where all of this has been leading.
Fair question.
The answer is simple.
As I continued studying the chronology of Jesus’ final week, I found myself becoming less certain about some of the commonly accepted dates and more interested in questions I had previously overlooked.
One of those questions involved the year of the crucifixion.
Most discussions focus on AD 30 or AD 33.
Others point to AD 32 through the famous Daniel 9 calculations.
But as I worked through the biblical text, another possibility kept resurfacing.
AD 34.
Let me say at the outset what I have tried to say throughout this entire series.
I cannot prove AD 34.
And neither can anyone else.
In fact, one of the major points of this series has been that chronology often contains more assumptions than we realize.
What I am suggesting is something far more modest.
I think AD 34 deserves consideration.
The Question That Started It
Oddly enough, my interest in AD 34 did not begin with Daniel.
It began with Jesus.
Specifically, it began with His statement:
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
That verse kept bothering me.
Not because I doubted it.
Because I believed it.
If Jesus intentionally said three days and three nights, I wanted to understand why.
The High Sabbath
Then there was John’s statement:
“For that Sabbath was a high day.”
That phrase caught my attention.
John does not simply mention the Sabbath.
He identifies it as a special Sabbath.
A festival Sabbath.
A Passover Sabbath.
That raised another question.
Could the Gospel accounts be describing more than one Sabbath during that week?
If so, some of the assumptions surrounding the traditional timeline deserved another look.
The Thursday Question
As I continued studying, I found myself increasingly interested in years where Passover preparation occurred on a Thursday.
Such a timeline seems to fit more naturally with Jesus’ statement concerning three days and three nights.
Again, I am not claiming certainty.
I am simply observing that the question deserves examination.
Why AD 34?
As I explored possible years, AD 34 continued to appear on the radar.
Not because it solved every problem.
No proposed date does.
But because it appeared to address some questions that other chronologies struggle to answer.
Does that settle the matter?
No.
Far from it.
Every proposed year comes with strengths and weaknesses.
AD 30 has strengths.
AD 33 has strengths.
AD 34 has strengths.
Each also has challenges.
What I Actually Believe
At this point, some readers may expect me to announce that I have finally solved the mystery.
I haven’t.
What I have concluded is much simpler.
I believe Jesus died.
I believe He was buried.
I believe He rose again.
I believe Daniel accurately foretold the coming of Messiah.
And I believe the chronology surrounding those events deserves thoughtful study.
As for AD 34?
I believe it deserves a seat at the table.
Perhaps no more.
But certainly no less.
One Final Thought
The farther I have traveled into the world of calendars and chronology, the more careful I have become with certainty.
Ironically, the same journey has increased my confidence in Scripture.
Because while calendars may be debated, one thing remains beyond dispute.
The tomb was empty.
And that matters far more than any date we place on a calendar.
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