The Historical Question Behind the Christian Calendar
Introduction
The Christian calendar places the birth of Jesus at the centre of history. According to the system introduced in the sixth century, AD 1 was intended to represent the year in which Jesus was born.
However, modern historical research suggests that this date may not be correct. Many historians believe that Jesus was likely born several years earlier, possibly between 6 BC and 4 BC.
This raises an important historical question: If the calendar begins with the birth of Jesus, why do scholars think He was born before AD 1?
The Original Calendar Calculation
The system dividing history into BC and AD was created by the monk Dionysius Exiguus around AD 525.
Dionysius attempted to calculate the year of Jesus’ birth using historical sources available to him. Based on his calculations, he placed the birth of Christ at the start of AD 1.
At the time, this seemed reasonable. However, Dionysius did not have access to all the historical records that scholars use today. Later research has revealed chronological information that suggests the calculation may have been slightly incorrect (Richards, 2013).
The Role of Historical Evidence
Modern historians compare several types of evidence when reconstructing the timeline of Jesus’ life:
- the accounts recorded in the Gospels
- historical records of Roman rulers
- writings from ancient historians
- astronomical events mentioned in historical sources
When these pieces of evidence are examined together, they suggest that Jesus’ birth probably occurred before the year AD 1.
The Importance of King Herod
One of the most significant clues comes from the reign of Herod the Great.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was born during the time when Herod ruled Judea. The Gospel describes how Herod ordered the killing of male infants in Bethlehem after hearing about the birth of a rival “king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:16).
Because this event took place during Herod’s reign, Jesus must have been born before Herod died.
Evidence from Ancient Historians
The death of Herod is recorded by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his historical writings. Josephus describes events surrounding Herod’s death and links them to a lunar eclipse and the Jewish festival of Passover.
Most historians place Herod’s death in 4 BC based on these descriptions (Finegan, 1998).
If Herod died in 4 BC and Jesus was born while he was still alive, this means that the birth of Jesus must have occurred before 4 BC.
A New Estimated Birth Window
Because of this historical evidence, many scholars estimate that Jesus was likely born sometime between 6 BC and 4 BC.
This estimate allows time for several events described in the Gospel narrative, including:
- the appearance of the star seen by the Magi
- the journey of the Magi from the east
- Herod’s reaction and the events in Bethlehem
While the exact year cannot be determined with certainty, the evidence strongly suggests that Jesus’ birth occurred a few years earlier than AD 1.
Why the Calendar Was Not Changed
Even after scholars recognised the probable miscalculation, the calendar system was not altered. By the time the historical debate developed, the BC/AD system had already become widely used throughout Europe.
Changing the numbering of years would have created confusion in historical records, legal documents, and scientific research. As a result, the existing system remained in place.
Conclusion
The AD calendar was originally designed to place the birth of Jesus at the beginning of the era. However, later historical evidence indicates that Jesus was most likely born several years earlier, probably between 6 BC and 4 BC.
This discovery does not change the structure of the calendar, but it does help historians better understand the historical context of the Gospel accounts.
In the next article, we will examine the most important historical clue for dating the birth of Jesus: the reign and death of King Herod.
References
Finegan, J., 1998. Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reckoning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
Richards, E.G., 2013. Mapping Time: The Calendar and Its History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.