Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 69
Quest. 69. How many yeares Christ liued on earth, and in what yeare of his life Christ was put to death.
1. Some were of opinion, that Christ liued 46. yeares at the least, that the bodie may answer to the shadowe, the substance to the figure, because the materiall Temple, which was a figure of the true Temple Christ Iesus, is said to hauehave beene 46. yeare in building: Ireneus thinketh that Christ liued 50. yeares, because of that place, Ioh. 8. where the Iewes say vntounto Christ, thou art not yet 50. yeare old, &c. And he further addeth this reason, that it was not fit that Christ should beginne to preach in his youth, but should take that graue function vponupon him, when he grewe in yeares, Irenaeus lib. 2. aduers. haeres. cap. 39.
But 1. the Iewes words (speaking but by gesse) are not much to be weighed, though some in that place doe reade fourtie for fifty, Chrysost. 2. there may be as great grauitie in young yeares, as in age: for not yeares, but the graces and gifts of Gods spirit doe bring authoritie. 3. And if Christ had liued so many yeares, it is not like that the Euangelistes would hauehave passed ouer in silence the great workes which Christ did in that time, whereas they onelyonly set downe those things, which Christ spake and did vntounto the 4. Passeouer after his baptisme, which was in the 30. yeare of his age. 2. If Christ had liued aboue 40. toward 50. yeares, he could not hauehave suffred vnderunder Tiberius, in whose 18. yeare he is generally held to hauehave died, beeing baptized in his 15. yeare, Luk. 3. 1. for Tiberius raigned but 23. yeares in all.
2. An other opinion is that Christ died the same yeare, namely the 30. complete wherein he was baptized, and so preached but one yeare, so Tertullian lib. aduers. Iudaeos, and Clemens Alexandrin. lib. 1. stromat. who groundeth his opinion vponupon that place taken out of the Prophet, Luk. 4. 19. that he should preach the acceptable yeare of the Lord: But 1. it followeth not, because mention is made of the acceptable yeare in the singular, that Christ peached but one yeare in all: yeare is here taken either generally for the acceptable time, or it hath speciall reference to that true Iubile, the yeare of remission wherein Christ suffred for our sinnes. 2. in the Euangelists there is mention made of fowre seuerall Passeouers after Christs baptisme, as shall be euen now shewed: therefore Christ liued and preached aboue a yeare after his baptisme.
3. Some other thinke that Christ liued but 31. yeares, and preached but two yeares after his baptisme: of this opinion was Apollinaris Bishop of Laodicea, as Hierome reporteth in 9. Daniel. and Cyrillus Alexandrin. seemeth to affirme the same, in 29. c. Isaiae, Seuerus Sulpitius also lib. 2. sacr. histor. seemeth to be of the same iudgement, who writeth that Christ liued 4. yeares of Herods raigne, and 9. yeares of Archelaus, and then died in the 18. yeare of Herod the Tetrach, all which make but 31. yeares. This opinion is refelled by the former reason: because the Euangelists make mention in the Gospel of 4. Passeouers after Christs baptisme, which could not be in the space of two yeares.
4. Iosephus Scaliger is of opinion that Christ suffred in the 35. yeare of his age, holding that Christ was baptised in the beginning of his 31. yeare, and after his baptisme mention is made of fiue Pasches, the first Ioh. 2. 13. the second Iohn 5. 1. the third, Matth. 12. 1. and Luk. 6. 1. when the Apostles plucked the eares of corne, which was as S. Luke saith, the second Sabbath, namely after the Pasche, for then the eares of corne beganne to be ripe: the fourth is mentioned, Iohn. 6. 4. when he fedde the fiue thousand: the 5. was the last Pasche, wherein our Blessed Sauiour suffred: S. Paul also speaketh of the perfect age of Christ at his resurrection, Ephes. 4. 13. which is at 35. yeares.
Contra. 1. That Christ was not 30. yeares complete, when he was baptized, is shewed in the former question, and the words of the text are against it, that Christ was then beginning to be 30. yeare old. 2. that Christ suffred after the 18. yeare of Tiberius, which will followe if Christ died in his 35. yeare, is against the common receiued opinion, which assigneth the 18. yeare for Christs passion: which is gathered by the account of the Olympiads, for Christ is held to hauehave beene borne in the 4. yeare of the 194. Olympiad, and to ha…e suffred in the 4. yeare of the 202. Olympiad; the distance of yeares is iust 33. and no more. 3. That Pasche which Iohn speaketh of, cap. 5. 1. is like to be the same mentioned, Math. 12. 1. and Luk. 6. 1. as Pererius well obserueth, when after the Pasche the Apostles pulled the eares of corne; which may be the reason, why Iohn passeth ouer in silence all that was done betweene the second and third Pasche, which immediately he speaketh of c. 6. 4. because the the other Euangelists doe set forth at large what happened betweene the second and third Pasche, Matth. c. 12. toc. 13. Marke, from the second to the 6. Luke, from the 6. to the 9. If fiue Passeouers could hauehave beene assigned out of the same Euangelist, then he said somewhat: But out of diuerse Euangelists, who doe not followe the same order of time, the number cannot so certainely be gathered. 4. that is but a weake reason taken from the fulnesse and perfection of Christs age: Augustine by the same reason thinketh that we shall rise againe about the age of thirtie, because Christ died in that age, lib. 22. de ciuitat. Dei, c. 15. And indeede at that age men are in their strength, beeing fit for any employment either of the bodie or mind: as Ioseph at that age stood before Pharaoh, and Dauid at that age beganne to raigne.
5. Some thinke that Christ died in the 34. yeare of his age, not complete, but onelyonly begunne some 3. moneths and certaine dayes, so Beda lib. de ration. tempor. c. 45. Albertus Magnus in commentar. epistol. Dyonis. Onuphrius in Chronicis. Beda his reason is, because he thinketh Christ to hauehave beene baptized, when he beganne to be 31. yeare old, and from, thence preached 3. yeares and an halfe: But this opinion is contrarie to the text, which saith he beganne to be 30. not 31. yeare old: and by this meanes Christs death is cast into the 19. yeare of Tiberius (which also Onuphrius thinketh) contrarie to the receiued opinion; that Christ was borne in the 42. yeare of Augustus, and died in the 18. yeare of Tiberius.
6. An other opinion yet is, that Christ was baptised in the beginning of his 30. yeare, but beganne not to preach vntill the beginning of his 31. yeare, when he wrought that miracle by changing water into wine, which is thought to hauehave beene done the same day twelue-monethmonth after he was baptized: and yet the time of his preaching was 3. yeares and an halfe: so Pererius lib. 11. in Daniel. quest. 7. opinion. 4. But 1. it is not like, that Christ beeing baptised, and then publikely called by his fathers voice from heauen to be a teacher of men, and therefore they are charged from heauen to heare him, would so long deferre the execution of his holy function. 2. Pererius in this assertion is contrarie to himselfe: for if Christ died as he prooueth at large in the 33. yeare of his age, and preached three yeares and an halfe, then could not his preaching be deferred vntounto the beginning of his 31. yeare, for 3. yeares and an halfe counted from thence will fall into his 34. yeare: But concerning the time, when Christ began to teach, more shall be said, when we come to speake of confirming the couenant, v. 27.
7. M. Lydyat thinketh that Christ died in the 33. yeare of his age almost complete, pag. 176. But then it would followe, that he was borne about the same season of the yeare, wherein he suffred, about the vernall equinoctiall, or spring time, which opinion is refused as improbable, quest. 71. following.
8. Wherefore the best resolution is this, that Christ died in the 33. yeare of his age not complete, but about the middest thereof, not after 3. moneths, as Pererius, but 6. moneths after his 32. yeare complete. The first part of this assertion that Christ suffred in his 33. yeare is thus prooued. 1. because by the Romane Chronologie, he is held to hauehave beene borne in the 42. of Augustus inch…a…e or begunne, and to hauehave died in the 18. of Tiberius: the distance of yeares is iust 33. for Augustus raigned 56. and then Tiberius succeeded. 2. the same is prooued by the Olympiads, as is before shewed, Christ was borne in the 4. yeare of the 194. Olympiad, and died in the 4. yeare of the 202. Olympiad. 3. Pererius further prooueth that Christ died in the 33. yeare of his age, by this astronomicall calculation: It is agreed vponupon that Christ suffered vponupon the 15. day of the monethmonth, hauing eaten the Passeouer vponupon the 14. day at euen according to the lawe, the next euening before. Againe Christ died vponupon the Iewish Sabbath eue, which is our Friday, for otherwise he had not risen againe vponupon the Lords day, which was the third day after: But in none of the yeares of …hrists age from the 30. to the 37. did the 15. day of the monethmonth fall out vponupon the sixt day of their weeke, our friday, but onelyonly in the 33. for in the 31. yeare the 15. day of the moone was vponupon the 27. of March vponupon tuesday: in the 32. on the 15. of Aprill vponupon tuesday likewise: in the 34. on the 23. of March on wedensday: in the 35. on the 11. day of Aprill on monday: But in the 33. yeare onelyonly within this compasse (for of the other yeares before the 30. or after the 35. there is no question) the 15. day of the moone concurred with the 3. of Aprill vponupon friday, as may be gathered counting the yeare of the Lord by the Dominicall letter: therefore Christ onelyonly suffered in the 33. yeare of his age.
4. After Christ was baptized, and beganne to preach, there were onelyonly fowre Pasches, which he kept, in the last whereof he died: as may be gathered out of the Gospel of S. Iohn: the first Pasche is mentioned, cap. 2. 13. the second c. 5. 1. the third Iohn. 6. 4. and the last when he suffred: to the which belong the 11. 13. and 18. chapters of S. Iohns Gospel: these 4. Pasches were kept in three yeares, and odde moneths, which were between the baptisme of Christ and the first Pasche: But about the number of these Pasches there is some doubt, as now shall be further shewed in the next question following.
The other part of the assertion, that there must be 6. moneths betweene the season or time of the baptisme of Christ and of his blessed passion, is thus prooued: because Daniel ending the 70. weekes in the death of Christ precisely, speaketh of halfe a weeke set apart for the confirming of the couenant, which beganne at Christs baptisme, and causing all other sacrifices to cease: we must then hauehave halfe a seuen of yeares exactly from the baptisme of Christ vntounto the time of his passion.