Calendars!

Today is July 14, 2023, in the Gregorian calendar, a calendar named after Pope Gregory XIII who, in 1582 AD, made a slight modification (365.25 days to 365.2425 days) to the then-existing Julian Calendar, named after Julius Caesar, who commissioned that calendar in 46 BC. Scholars like Sosigenese of Alexandria –a Greek mathematician and astronomer – revised the then-existing Roman Calendar, a lunisolar calendar (one that took the movements of the moon [lunar] and the sun [solar]) and formed the Julian Calendar. Today is July 1, 2023, in the Julian Calendar. This Julian Calendar went into effect on 1 January 45 BC by an edict.

Although these aren’t the only two calendars in the world, they dominate the Western and modern worlds. The Chinese have a lunar calendar, and the Indians have several calendars, including a Tamil calendar for my language speakers.

The Julian Calendar would have been functional for 100 years when Luke wrote his gospel in AD 60. Yet, Luke decided to use descriptive reference rather than a date.

“In the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governing Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was the tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of Ituria-Traconitis, and Lysanias as the tetrarch of Abilene, and during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of the Lord came to John the son of Zechariah, who was in the wilderness.” (Luke 3:1–2)

Luke referred to seven people: Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod [Antipas], his brother Philip, Lysanias, Annas, and Caiaphas. It was like saying, “When King Charles III rules England, Joe Biden is the President of the United States, Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India, Rishi Sunak is the Prime Minister of England, Katrín Jakobsdóttir is the Prime Minister of Iceland, and Lee Hsien Loong is the Prime Minister of Singapore . . . .” Very few years overlap between these men and woman. Similarly, very few years overlapped between the seven men listed in Luke.

Tiberius was the Caesar from 14 to 37 AD.

Pontius Pilate was the 5th Prefect of Judea from 26 to 36 AD.

Herod Antipas was the Tetrarch of Galilee from 4 BC to 39 AD.

Philip was the Tetrarch of Ituria and Traconitis from 4 BC to 34 AD.

Lysanias was the Tetrarch of Abilene from 26 to 36 AD.

Annas (father-in-law of Caiaphas) was the high priest from 6 to 40 AD.

Caiaphas was the high priest from 16 – 46 AD.*

The only years that overlapped between these rulers were 26–34 AD. Further, the Lord’s word came to John in the fifteenth year of Tiberius’s rule as Caesar. Combining all these, we get a specific year: 29 AD. That year, John was in the wilderness, preparing to proclaim the coming of God’s rule. And God’s word came to him, saying it was time.

Not everyone likes history and chronology. But knowing them solidifies our faith, which is based on history, not mythology. These two verses are an example of such historical faith.

* From Moses’s time on, high priesthood was for one’s lifetime, although the Hebrews didn’t have two high priests ruling simultaneously. That rule, however, changed after their return from the Exile.