Questions From Readers

◼ Why is 29 C.E. considered to be a pivotal date in Bible history rather than 14 C.E., the start of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, who is mentioned at Luke 3:1?

The start of Tiberius’ reign is not mentioned in the Bible, but an event occurring in the latter part of his 15th year is. This enables Bible students to fix the event as occurring in 29 C.E., which can be viewed as a pivotal date from the Biblical standpoint.

The reign of the second emperor of Rome, Tiberius Caesar, is well accepted in history. The New Encyclopædia Britannica says: “In AD 14, on August 19, Augustus [the first emperor] died. Tiberius, now supreme, played politics with the Senate and did not allow it to name him emperor for almost a month, but on September 17 he succeeded to the principate.”a

This fixed point for the start of Tiberius’ reign is Biblically relevant because Luke 3:1-3 says about the ministry of John the Baptizer: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, . . . God’s declaration came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. So he came into all the country around the Jordan, preaching baptism in symbol of repentance for forgiveness of sins.”

John did not commence preaching and baptizing when Tiberius became emperor but did so “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.” That 15th year ran from autumn 28 C.E. to the autumn of 29 C.E. Knowing this, however, does not enable one to determine with any precision when John’s ministry began during that year or how to calculate related events.

But the Bible gives us vital supplemental information. For example, Daniel’s prophecy of the “seventy weeks” pointed to 29 C.E. for the Messiah’s appearance. It also indicated that Jesus’ ministry would be three and a half years long. (Daniel 9:24-27) Add to this these Biblical details: Jesus was born six months after John; when Jesus was baptized, he “was about thirty years old”; and Jesus died in the spring of 33 C.E. (Passover time), when he was 33 1/2 years old.​—Luke 1:24-38; 3:23; 22:14-16, 54.b

With such precise Biblical information, combined with the secular dating of Tiberius’ reign, Bible students can calculate that John’s ministry began in the spring of 29 C.E. and that six months later, in the autumn of 29 C.E., John baptized Jesus. Hence, it is not 14 C.E. but 29 C.E. that is viewed as the pivotal date from the standpoint of the Bible.

[Footnotes]