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Vol. 6, No. 5 |
May 2004 |
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In the Old Testament three hundred and thirty two predictions of the coming of Jesus have been counted (Floyd E. Hamilton, The Basis of the Christian Faith, p.157). Three hundred and thirty two pieces of marble, assembled by many different sculptors over some 1,500 years, most of whom never saw one another, could not produce a beautiful statue, but only something ugly, fantastic and grotesque.
However, if a super-overseer sent out a plan for the three hundred and thirty two pieces of marble to local sculptors, the result would be a beautiful statue. So, God, as a super-overseer, sent out "pure words, as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, purified seven times" (Psalm 12:6), words "from God" to "men" (Scripture writers), who were "moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21), words describing the most beautiful life ever in human flesh in 332 ways hundreds of years before he was born.
Of the 332 Old Testament predictions about the coming of Christ, Jesus' Biography in the Psalms is restricted to the 21 passages in the book of Psalms certified in the New Testament as predictions, and to three others (Psalm 22:1; 24:7-10; 31:5) that are believed to be predictions.
God, apparently in a heavenly conference "before the world existed" (John 17:5), to carry out his "eternal purpose" (Ephesians 3:11) to save sinners by a human sacrifice "as of an unblemished and spotless lamb" (1 Peter 1:19), apparently asked, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" (cf. Isaiah 6:8). Then Jesus, "foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:20), responded:
Neither sacrifice nor offering do you desire. You have opened my ears. Neither a burnt sacrifice nor a sin offering have you requested. Then I said, "Look! I come." In the volume of the book it is written of me, "I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:6-8).
Jesus' response, recorded in the book of Psalms by David, is quoted in a New Testament book:
So, when he came into the world, he said, You did not want sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me. You had no pleasure in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said, "Behold! I have come! It is written of me, in the roll of the scroll, to do your will, O God (Hebrews 10:5-7).
Scholars place Jesus' personal ministry from the summer of A.D. 26 to 30 A.D. David's words about himself also pointed to Jesus, "Let not those who hate me wrongfully wink an eye" (Psalm 35:19), and "They who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head" (Psalm 69:4). Jesus said,
He who hates me also hates my Father. ... they have hated both me and my Father. So the prediction written in their law is fulfilled, "They hated me without a cause" (John 15:23-25).
Though the Jewish leaders hated Jesus, "thousands" (Matthew 16:9-10), of "the common people heard him gladly" (Mark 12:37, KJV). For some reason those common people knew by heart the psalmist's precious words, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD" (Psalm 118:26). On what is called "Palm Sunday," as Jesus was riding on the colt, Luke says:
the whole multitude began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of Lord! Peace in heaven and glory on high!" Then some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He replied, "I assure you that if these will become quiet, the stones will cry out" (Luke 19:37-40).
When Jesus "rode into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, asking 'Who is this?'" "The marchers were answering, 'This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth of Galilee'" (Matthew 21:10-11). He entered the temple and there healed the blind and the crippled.
The chief priests and the scribes saw the marvelous things he was doing, heard the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," and became angry. They asked him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" Jesus replied, "Yes. Have you never read 'Out of the mouth of children and sucklings have I ordained praise'?" (Matthew 21:16).
Thus, Jesus was saying that David in Psalm 8:2 was predicting how little ones would react in his presence: "You [that is, God] ordained that children, even infants, should offer up praise."
1. Psalm 118:22-23. To the opponents of Jesus, "the chief priests and the elders of the people" (Matthew 21:23), Jesus said:
Have you never read the Scriptures, "The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the keystone; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes"? For this reason I assure you that God's kingdom will be taken from you, and will be given to a nation producing its fruits (Matthew 21:42-43).
As Jesus thus quoted from Psalm 118:22-23, the chief priests and Pharisees "knew that he was talking about them. They were seeking to lay hold of him, but were afraid of the crowds, since they considered him a prophet" (Matthew 21:45-46).
Of the words that Jesus quoted from Psalm 118:22-23 about his being a rejected stone, later the apostle Peter said to the Jewish rulers:
This is the stone which has been accounted as nothing by you builders, which has become the keystone, and salvation is in no other, for neither is there any other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:11-12).
2. Psalm 110:1. Next, after Jesus had quoted from Psalm 118:22-23, he went to Psalm 110:1, "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet'":
Now while the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They replied, "David's." He asked them, How then did David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, "The Lord said to my Lord, `Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet'"? If David therefore called him "Lord," how is he his son? No one could answer him a word, and from that day no more did anyone dare to question him (Matthew 22:41-46).
We found that David's words about his being hated "without a cause" (Psalm 35:19; 69:4) were also a predictive utterance about Jesus being hated "without a cause" (John 15:23-25). Another use of the Old Testament Scriptures is in 2 Samuel 7:14, where the whole verse quotes God's words to Solomon, but only the first part, "I will be his father, and he shall be my son," is a predictive utterance about Jesus (Hebrews 1:5).
This same use of the Old Testament Scriptures is found in that part of David's words about a traitor (apparently Ahithophel, 2 Samuel 16:20-23) had also a predictive utterance in reference to another traitor, Judas Iscariot (John 13:26-30). Two of the four statements David made about Ahithophel (Psalm 41:9) were not true about Judas, but two of them were, and those two Jesus pointed out "that the Scripture might be fulfilled, 'He who eats with me has lifted up his heel against me.' I tell you this beforehand, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he" (John 13:18-19).
1. Psalm 2:1-2. Though Jesus certainly was even more tired than Peter, James and John, who, around midnight of Thursday, went to sleep twice in Gethsemane with "heavy" eyes (Matthew 26:40-43), no sleep was possible for Jesus. After the illegal (MISHNAH SANHEDRIN, 4:1) night trials before Annas (John 18:13) and Caiaphas (John 18:24), there was an "early" morning trial (around 5 a.m.) before Governor Pilate (John 18:28; Matthew 27:1-2), and then before King Herod (Luke 23:7-12). The two trials before the non-Jewish officials David had predicted:
Why are the nations in tumult, and why do the peoples plot a vain scheme? The kings of the earth have taken a stand, and the rulers have taken counsel together against the LORD and against his Messiah (Psalm 2:1-2).
This passage from the Psalms later became part of a prayer by Peter and John and "their own" (likely, the other ten apostles, Acts 4;23), who "with one mind they lifted their voice to God, and prayed,"
Master, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all things in them, who said (through the Holy Spirit by the mouth of David, our father and your servant), "Why have the nations become furious, and the peoples plotted senseless things? The kings of the earth have appeared, and the rulers have come together, against the Lord and his Christ" (Acts 4:24-26).
2. Psalm 69:21a. On Friday morning, shortly before nine o'clock, Pilate ordered that Jesus be "beaten with a whip" (phragellosas), "and delivered him to be crucified" (Mark 15:25; Matthew 27:26-27). The "soldiers of the governor," in ridicule, "wove a crown of thorns", and placed it on "Jesus' head, ... spit on him, ... and beat him on the head" (Matthew 27:26-30). The soldiers took Jesus to a place called "Golgotha" (Aramaic for "Skull," Latin for "Calvary," Matthew 27:33).
Jesus was thirsty, not having a drink since the Passover Supper the night before. Mean soldiers offered him some wine into which they had put some "gall" (chole, something bitter), but "when he had tasted it, he would not drink" (Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23). Even this detail had been predicted a thousand years before, quoting Jesus as saying, "They put poison in my food" (Psalm 69:21a).
3. Psalm 22:18. Then the soldiers
took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one to each soldier, and the inner garment. The inner garment was seamless, woven throughout from the top. They said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it, to see who will get it" (John 19:23-24).
Sadly, the KJV (similarly the ASV, NKJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) put an additional statement in the mouths of the four soldiers, quoting them as saying what they had done was "that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, 'They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots'" (John 19:24).
Actually, it is doubtful that those four soldiers knew anything about what "the Scripture" says (Psalm 22:18), or even cared about what "the Scripture" might say about anything. They were along with the crowd that was mocking Jesus (Matthew 27:29).
After the quotation made by the four soldiers as to which one would get garment number five, certainly a period is required. Accordingly, the FHV (editions 1-3) [Freed-Hardeman Version, 4th Edition New Testament plus Genesis, Psalms and Proverbs by Hugo McCord] takes the words "that the scripture might be fulfilled" away from the four soldiers and makes those words John's inspired comment: "This happened so that the scripture might be fulfilled."
Now, however, I have learned more about John's use of the Greek word hina, with the result that I have, in edition 4, made John's remark even clearer. In editions 1-3 I had given hina its usual telic (telikos) meaning of "that," but I had overlooked its ecbatic (ekbatikos) meaning "with the result that" (Thayer, 304; G. Abbott-Smith, 217). Accordingly, the fourth edition of the FHV says:
They said one to another, "Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it, to see who will get it." In this way the Scripture was fulfilled, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and cast lots for my garment" (John 19:24).
A more literal translation would be:
They said one to another, "Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it, to see who will get it," with the result that the Scripture was fulfilled, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and cast lots for my garment" (John 19:24)
Adam Clarke wrote:
The words [of John 19:24] are taken from Psalm 22:18, where it appears they were spoken prophetically of this treatment which Jesus received, upwards of a thousand years before it took place!
Amazing is the fact that a human being could write that the crucifiers would distribute Jesus' garments among themselves, and cast lots for the remaining garment, "upwards of a thousand years before it took place!" (Psalm 22:16; John 19:23-24). Somehow, that human being knew that Jesus was wearing one more garment than the number of the crucifiers!
Clark's statement that the words of John 19:24 "were spoken prophetically" fully explains how David could write of something "upwards of a thousand years before it took place." This means that he did not write anything of his own thinking, for "No prophecy at any time was guided by the will of a man, but men spoke from God being guided by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). David himself explained how he was able to predict future events: "The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and his word was upon my tongue" (2 Samuel 23:2).
4. Psalm 22:16. Similarly, in this way David was able to predict the crucifixion, quoting Jesus as saying, "They have pierced my hands and feet" (Psalm 22:16; cf. Matthew 27:35, 38).
5. Psalm 22:6-8. On the cross David said that Jesus would be "a reproach among men and despised by the people," and that Jesus would say, "All who see me mock. They shoot out their lips. They shake their heads, saying, 'He trusted in the LORD! Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, for he delighted in him'" (Psalm 22:6-8). The fulfillment of David's words was described by Matthew:
Those who passed by were shouting insults, wagging their heads, and saying, "You, the one who destroys the temple and builds it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Likewise, the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, crying "He saved others, but he cannot save himself! If he is Israel's king let him come down from the cross and we will believe on him. He trusted in God. Let God now rescue him if he desires, for he said, 'I am the Son of God'" In the same way the thieves were heaping insults upon him (Matthew 27:39-44).
6. Psalm 22:1. The sad prayer of Jesus on the cross, crying out "with a loud voice, 'My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?'" (Matthew 27:46), is not cited by the New Testament writers as being the fulfillment of Psalm 22:1, but it is clear that Jesus, in "darkness" (Matthew 27:45
I wish I knew why Jesus was asking God why he had forsaken him. He had known before he left heaven that "it was necessary for the Christ to suffer these things" (Luke 24:26), and that he must "give his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). He knew that he could avoid the crucifixion if he so chose: "I lay down my life that I might receive it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down by myself" (John 10:17-18). He knew that he "could pray to my Father and he would send more than twelve legions of angels" (Matthew 26:53) to rescue him.
But in God's plan to save Hugo from the guilt of his sins, God had to forsake the One who knew no "sin" (1 Peter 2:22), making the sinless One to be "sin" in Hugo's "behalf" (2 Corinthians 5:21). In God's plan to save Hugo from being a "curse," God had to forsake Jesus as a "curse" on Hugo's "behalf, because it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'" (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:19).
Jesus knew all the foregoing, and did not allow himself to pray, "Father, save me from this hour." Boldly he announced, "I came to this hour for this reason" (John 12:27), to be God-forsaken as "sin" and as a "curse." But the reason why Jesus asked God why he had forsaken him I do not know. To me that reason is one of the "secret things" that "belong to the LORD our God" (Deuteronomy 29:29). I rejoice that the plan of salvation is so clear and plain that "wayfaring men and fools will not go astray" (Isaiah 35:8).
7. Psalm 69:21b. Even in Jesus' six hours suffering on the cross, on his mind was the fact that "all things written about" him "in Moses' law and in the prophets and in the psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44). In his vast knowledge of the Book of Psalms, he remembered that Psalm 69:21b (69:22b in the Hebrew) was a prediction of himself: "in my thirst they gave me hometz to drink." A hometz substance is "what is leavened, fermented" (Davidson). A hometz liquid could be "vinegar" (KJV, ASV), but vinegar is not a drink. A hometz liquid could be "sour wine" (FHV), which is a drink.
Jesus wanted to fulfill the prediction of Psalm 69:21b, and so from the cross he said, "I am thirsty" (dipso, John 19:28). Somebody brought a vessel full of oxos (John 19:29), "sour wine, the ordinary drink of laborers and common soldiers" (Abbott-Smith). It "relieved thirst more effectively than water and, because it was cheaper than regular wine, it was a favorite beverage of the lower ranks of society" (BGD, 574). Both the KJV and the ASV say that a "vessel full of vinegar" was brought, which is not a drink. Instead, an unknown person, who did not know that David had predicted "sour wine" (Psalm 69:21b, FHV) would be offered to Jesus, brought a "a vessel full of the sour wine," which, "placed on a hyssop stalk, was lifted to his mouth. Jesus received the wine, and said, 'It is finished,' and bowed his head, and yielded his spirit" (John 19:29-30).
8. Psalm 31:5. John omitted telling that, after Jesus had said, "It is finished" (apparently in reference to his earlier statement to the Father, "I have finished the work which you gave me to do" (John 17:4)), he also "cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands'" (Luke 23:46). This, the last of Jesus' seven utterances on the cross, is a parallel with his earlier cry "with a loud voice, 'My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?'" (Psalm 22:1) in that neither of David's statements (Psalm 22:1; 31:5), used by Jesus, is said to be a prediction of what Jesus would say. All we can say is that Jesus was using David's words.
9. Psalm 34:20. After Jesus had died, the soldiers "did not break his legs," which they did in reference to the two still living thieves (John 19:33). However, "one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with his spear" (John 19:34). That soldier, in piercing Jesus' side, but refraining from breaking his legs, did not know that he was fulfilling a Scripture prediction about Jesus' crucifixion: "The LORD keeps all of his bones; not one of them is broken" (Psalm 34:20).
As shown above, in the discussion about hina (Psalm 22:18; John 19:23-24), the FHV (editions 1-3, and similarly the KJV, ASV, NIV) erred in saying, about Jesus having no broken bones, that this "occurred that the scripture might be fulfilled, 'Not one of his bones will be broken'" (John 19:36). The soldiers crucifying Jesus were not trying to fulfill Scripture in leaving Jesus' legs unbroken. The fourth edition of the FHV says that "the occurrence of these things had been foretold in the Scripture, 'Not one of his bones will be broken'" (Psalm 34:20).
In heaven, a thousand years before "the fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4) for Jesus to die on the cross, he was already rejoicing that he would not stay dead, saying, "I will celebrate the decree of the LORD. He said to me, 'You are my Son. Today I have begotten you'" (Psalm 2:7). The apostle Paul explains why Jesus was so happy, writing, "God raised him from the dead, ... as it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son. I have begotten you today'" (Acts 13:30-33). So we learn that the "today" of his resurrection (April 9, A.D. 30) was figuratively portrayed as his being "begotten," though he had always existed (Micah 5:2). As the word "begotten" points to the beginning of new life, so the resurrection of Jesus points to the time when "all those in the graves" will "come out" to "a resurrection of life" or to "a resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28-29).
Not only does Psalm 2:7 predict Jesus' joyful resurrection before he became "flesh" (John 1:14), but another psalm quotes his saying in heaven "my flesh" will "rest in hope" (Psalm 16:9). Psalm 16:10 continues his rejoicing, but that you cannot learn by the KJV reading:
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
The word "soul" (nephesh in the Hebrew, psuche in the Greek), in the KJV mistranslation of Psalm 16:10, normally is a person's immortal spirit (Genesis 35:18; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Zechariah 12:1; Matthew 10:28; 22:32; Hebrews 12:9; James 5:20; 1 Peter 1:9; Revelation 6:9), but sometimes means a corpse, a dead body (Numbers 5:2; 6:6; 9:6, 7, 10), which latter meaning the context of Psalm 16:10 demands.
The word "hell" (geenna) in the KJV mistranslation of Psalm 16:10 is not in the Hebrew original nor in the Greek LXX. In place of "hell" the Hebrew original has sheol, and the Greek LXX has haides, which two words sometimes mean a grave (Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; Psalm 88:3 in the Hebrew; Psalm 87:4 in the Greek LXX; Psalm 16:10 in the Hebrew; Psalm 15:10 in the Greek LXX), which meaning the context of Psalm 16:10 demands.
The replacement of "soul" and "hell" in Psalm 16:9-10 of the KJV with "body" and "grave" shows why Jesus was rejoicing in heaven, before he had a fleshly body: "my flesh" will "rest in hope. For you [Jesus speaking to the Father] will not leave my body in the grave; neither will you allow your Holy One to see corruption."
David's prophecy in Psalm 16:9-10, that Jesus' body would not be left in the grave nor would it see corruption, written in Hebrew, Peter by Luke brought over to Acts 2:27 in Greek. There the KJV has repeated its two erroneous words ("soul" and "hell") as in its mistranslation of Psalm 16:9-10.
Likewise, the ASV has two erroneous words ("soul" and "Hades") in Acts 2:27, and so does the FHV, editions 1-3. If the word "soul" (psuche) had its usual meaning (man's eternal spirit, Hebrews 12:9; Matthew 10:28; 1 Peter 1:9; James 5:20) in Acts 2:27), then Peter made a mistake, quoting Jesus as saying to the Father, "thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades," for Jesus' soul, his spirit (Luke 23:46) did not go "unto Hades." Instead, his soul, his spirit, on his dying day, went to "Paradise" (Luke 23:43). However, Acts 2:26-27, with the words "body" and "grave" inserted, says: "[M]y flesh also will live in hope, for you will not leave my body in the grave, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay," which translation is in FHV, edition 4.
Similarly, in Acts 2:31 the KJV erred in inserting "soul" and "hell," and the ASV and the FHV, editions 1-3, in inserting "Hades." The whole context of Acts 2:24-32 calls for this translation in Acts 2:31: "He [David] foresaw the resurrection of Christ and spoke of it, that he was not left in the grave, neither did his flesh see decay," which is the translation of the FHV, edition 4.
After Jesus' resurrection on April 9, he was on the earth forty days (Acts 1:3). Then, on May 18, on "the mount called Olives" (Acts 1:12), he spoke his last words to his eleven "chosen apostles" (Acts 1:2). While "they were looking, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him up, out of their sight" into "heaven" (Acts 1:9-11). It is believed that David ("a prophet," Acts 2:30) foretold the ascension of his "Lord" (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:45) in Psalm 24:7-10): "O gates, lift up your heads! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, and the King of glory will come in! Who is the King of glory! The LORD, strong and mighty! The LORD mighty in battle! O gates, lift your heads, yes, lift the ancient doors, and the King of glory will come in. Who is the King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!"
In God's wisdom, the "today" prediction of Psalm 2:7, of Jesus figuratively being "begotten," not only referred: (1) to Jesus' resurrection day, April 9, A.D. 30 (Acts 13:30-33), but also (2) to his coronation day as "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS," on Pentecost Sunday, "the Lord's day," May 28 (Psalm 45:6-7; 89:3-4; 110:1-3; 132:11; Acts 2:1-2, 30; Hebrews 1:5, 8-9; Revelation l:10; 17:14; 19:16), and also (3) to his ordination day as "a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:5-6, 10; 6:20; 7:20-21). In the coronation ceremony in heaven the Father even called Jesus "God," saying,
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom... You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows (Hebrews 1:8-9).
As the word "begotten" (Psalm 2:7; Hebrews 1:5) points to the beginning of new life, so the Father used the word "begotten" figuratively when he crowned Jesus at the beginning of what Jesus called "my kingdom" (John 18:36; Acts 2:30; Colossians 1:13), which Jesus also called "my church" (Matthew 16:18).
Zechariah had predicted that Jesus would "rule upon his throne" and would "be a priest upon his throne" (6:13). "Such a priest is appropriate for us: holy, blameless, spotless, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26). Christ "did not glorify himself to be a high priest, but the One who spoke to him, 'You are my Son! I have begotten you today'" (Hebrews 5:5).
What a picture! "Christ appeared as a high priest," not with the "blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood," sprinkling "our hearts" from "an evil conscience, and" having "our body washed with pure water," that we might obtain "eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:11-12; 10:21-22).
A thousand years before congregations of Christians began assembling together in worship services, Jesus had said to the Father, "I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation I will praise you" (Psalm 22:22). Jesus is present spiritually in every worship service, even when only "two or three" have "assembled in my name," as he said, "I am in the midst of them," male or female, slave or free, of any skin color, "of all nations" (Matthew 18:20; 28:19; Galatians 3:28). He loves each one (John 15:13), and is delighted to become one with them: "Both he who sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one, and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers," repeating what he had said to the Father before he came to the earth: "I will proclaim your name to my brothers. In the congregation I will sing hymns [humneo] of praise to you" (Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:12). Jesus' words (Psalm 22:22; Hebrews 2:12) do not point to solos and choirs, but simply that he spiritually is one in "the midst of the congregation" singing "to my brothers" and "to you" [God].
Thrilling is the thought that when Christians teach "one another, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (Colossians 3:16), that Jesus is present and doing the same thing! And when Christians sing "with grace in" their "hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16), Jesus is spiritually present doing the same things!
The Roman calendar was based on the founding of the city of Rome by Romulus and Remus: Anno Urbis Conditae, AUC, which in the Christian calendar was 753 B.C. In 532 A.D., Emperor Justinian asked a monk, Dionysius Exiguus, to make a calendar based on the birth year of Christ. Years later a mistake was found: by the Roman calendar, King Herod died in April, 749 AUC., which by the Christian calendar is 4 B.C. So Jesus, being alive before Herod's death, was born in early B.C. 4 or late B.C. 5. If he was born in B.C. 5, he was 1 year old in B.C. 4, and so there was no "0" year: B.C. 1 and then A.D. 1, making Jesus 30 years old (A.D. 26) at the beginning of his ministry (Luke 3:23). On the quadripaschal calculation (four Passovers, John 2:23; 5:1; 6:4; 11:55) he was in his 4th year (A.D. 30) when he died. Rabbis put the A.D. 30 Passover as April 6, Thursday. That puts the crucifixion on Friday, April 7. The resurrection was Sunday, April 9. The ascension was 40 days later (Acts 1:3), May 18, Thursday. Pentecost was May 28, Sunday. But actually, neither Jesus' birth date nor birth year is significant.