Luke 3:1-2

Luke made detailed reference to the time when John commenced his ministry to document the reliability of his Gospel. [Note: Compare Thucydides 2:2 for a similarly elaborate chronological synchronism.] Only the reference to Tiberius is necessary to date the beginning of John’s ministry that shortly preceded the commencement of Jesus’ ministry. The other references place these events in a broader historical context.

Pontius Pilate was governor (prefect) of Judea from A.D. 26 to late 36 or early 37. Herod Antipas ended his reign as tetrarch of Galilee that began in 4 B.C. by deposition in A.D. 39. His brother Herod Philip, who ruled territories to the northeast of Palestine from 4 B.C., died in A.D. 34. Present historical evidence does not enable scholars to date Lysanias, the tetrarch of Abilene, an area northeast of Damascus. Annas was Israel’s high priest from A.D. 6 to 15 until the Roman authorities deposed him. However the Jews continued to regard him as the high priest, and he retained his title. [Note: Jeremias, pp. 157-58.] His son-in-law Caiaphas served as the official high priest from A.D. 18 to the spring of 37. Thus the general time frame when John began his ministry was between A.D. 26 and the spring of 37. The specific date, the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, is harder to pinpoint, but it was probably A.D. 29. [Note: Hoehner, pp. 29-37.] Then the word of God came to John in the wilderness where he lived (cf. Luke 1:80), and he began his ministry as a prophet (cf. Isaiah 1:1; Jeremiah 1:1-3; et al.).