3/12/2018 Did The Apostle Paul Witness Christ’s Crucifixion?

RELIGION

Did The Apostle Paul Witness

Christ’s Crucifixion?
Something extraordinary happened to convince many people, including early Christian persecutor Paul, that their
messiah had risen.

Why do Christians believe Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, instead of, for example, in the tooth
fairy? Because of an historical event interpreted from a salvation-seeking perspective. That history is
based largely on gospel accounts and the Pauline epistles, the earliest of which—First Thessalonians—
was written from Corinth about AD 51. One interesting question about Paul’s conversion involves
whether he could have challenged early followers of Jesus about the body of their cruci ied leader.

Christianity bases its claims on an historical event: the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Before Saul
converted into the apostle Paul, he scorned and hounded this nascent movement (1 Corinthians 15:9,
Galatians 1:13). Then, confronted by a vision on his trip to Damascus, he suddenly changed his mind
(Acts 9:3-5, 22:6-8). The interesting question remains: Why? Tentative evidence based on
chronological sequences hints that Paul became an unintended witness to Jesus. How do we establish
this? By looking forward and backward along the timelines of Jesus and Paul.

Don’t Forget the Background Geopolitics

We start with Paul. According to Galatians 1:17, Paul departed Damascus shortly after accepting
Christian membership and journeyed brie ly into “Arabia,” presumably going south towards Nabatea to
preach the new salvation. From there, he soon returned to Damascus (possibly due to hostile
reception), where as per 1:18 he stayed three years.

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Then suddenly, according to 2 Corinthians 11:33 (in response to the threat of arrest by Aretas IV
Philopatris) and Acts 9:25, he escaped from Damascus when colleagues surreptitiously lowered him
over the city’s defensive wall. From there, he journeyed to Jerusalem to meet with elders of the nascent
church. We can ascertain when these events happened by examining the geopolitical background in the
Levant.

Why had Paul been in a hurry? Paul seemed to surmise that his excursion
into Nabatea, where Aretas IV ruled from Petra, had provoked hostility, Paul recognized the
making his presence unwelcome. To understand why requires a changing political
geopolitical refresher. After Herod died in 4 BC, Caesar Augustus divided landscape.
the kingdom among three of Herod’s sons: Archelaus as ethnarch of Judea
Endangered by
(including Samaria and Idumea), Antipas as tetrarch of Galilee and Perea,
and Phillip as tetrarch of Ithurea and Trachonitis (southwestern Syria). agents of Aretas, he
fled Damascus in
Rome deposed Archelaus in AD 6 and administered Judea as a province.
Aretas IV ruled Nabatea from its capital at Petra—his daughter Phasaelis AD 37 after his
married Antipas. On a visit to Rome, Antipas met Herodias, his niece and three-year
then wife of Boethus (called Philip in Mark 6:17 and Matthew 14:3). They residence.
agreed to marry conditional on Antipas divorcing the Nabatean princess.

Upon learning of her marital repudiation, Phasaelis retreated to Machaerus (where John the Baptist
was beheaded) and then escaped to Petra. (One could surmise that her father’s anger at the rude
treatment Phasaelis received may have in lamed hostility to Jews and contributed to Paul’s unpleasant
reception some years later.) In the winter of AD 36/37 following Philip’s death in AD 34, Aretas
crushingly defeated Antipas over a border dispute in Gamalitis (present-day Golan), according to
Josephus in “Antiquities” 18.113-115. Presumably, Aretas secured a trading mission in Damascus
following his victory, possibly after the death of Tiberius in March AD 37.

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Paul recognized the changing political landscape. Endangered by agents of Aretas, he led Damascus in
AD 37 after his three-year residence. Thus, counting back from that departure, Paul had encountered
his epiphanous vision on the Damascus road in AD 34.

Triangulate with Dates in Christ’s History

Now we turn to Jesus. According to Luke 3:1-3, John (the Baptist) began preaching in Tiberius’ ifteenth
year, dated to AD 29 (Matthew 3:13-15; Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21). The gospel of John (the evangelist)
mentions three separate Passover festivals during the public ministry of Jesus: John 2:13, 6:4, and
11:55, suggesting a ministry of about three years starting from his Johannine baptism. His critics at the
earliest festival in John 2:20 mention a 46-year interval since completion of the temple’s inner
sanctuary in 18/17 BC. This corresponds to AD 29/30 as that beginning.

Jesus was cruci ied just before Passover while Pontius Pilate was prefect
All four gospels
of Judea (AD 26-36), and Josephus Caiaphas was high priest (AD 18-37).
state that Jesus was
Under the post-exilic of icial Jewish calendar, the New Year began
crucified on Friday,
following equinox after the irst sighting of the new lunar crescent shortly
before the Sabbath
after sunset. Passover would start 14 evenings later.
evening.
All four gospels (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; and John 19:31) state that Jesus was
cruci ied on Friday, before the Sabbath evening. In John’s gospel at 19:14, Jesus is cruci ied during the
preparation day for Passover. Astronomical calculations show that these both coincide with only two
dates (on the Julian calendar): April 7, AD 30 and April 3, AD 33. Which one seems more likely?

Many if not most scholars favor the former. However, there are reasons to favor the later date. These
include not only the duration of Jesus’ ministry, but astronomical factors also—see “The Jewish
Calendar, a Lunar Eclipse and the Date of Christ’s Cruci ixion” by Colin Humphreys and Graeme

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Waddington in Tyndale Bulletin (1992). Both Philo (“Legatio” 299-305) and Josephus (“Bellum” 2.169-
174, “Antiquities” 18.55-59) separately allude to Pilate’s disregard of Jewish sensitivities.

Shortly after Pilate’s arrival, his soldiers brought either gilded shields or army standards to Jerusalem,
provoking angry protest. (This incident may also have contributed to the animosity from Antipas in
Luke 23:12.) While Pilate’s animus was likely exaggerated, the bloodshed in Galilee (Luke 13:1) and the
massacre in Samaria (“Antiquities” 18:87-89) that resulted in his recall to Rome, nonetheless suggest a
disagreeable temperament.

The Politics of Sentencing Christ to Death

Yet the gospel accounts describe Pilate’s response as passive when Jesus is presented for execution, in
spite of the Sanhedrin’s accusation of sedition. In particular, John 19:12 declares that failure to judge
Jesus harshly signals disloyalty to the emperor. This taunt hints at a threat by the Sanhedrin to send a
delegation to Tiberius, which Pilate takes seriously. Why would such a warning induce Pilate to
reconsider the decision by the Jewish religious authorities? Some background is in order.

When Tiberius retired to Capri in AD 26, he appointed Aelius Sejanus the

We can reasonably
control of Rome, as Tiberius’ son Drusus had died three years before.
conclude that Jesus’
Sejanus, captain of the Praetorian Guard, reviewed all communication to
crucifixion occurred
Tiberius and conferred with the Senate. Notoriously anti-Semitic, as noted
on April 3, AD 33
by Philo (“Flaccus” 1, “Legatio” 159-161), Sejanus handled state affairs
on the Julian
such as monitoring provincial administrations, including Pilate’s in Judea.
calendar.
However, after receiving accusations that Sejanus had conspired to poison Drusus, Tiberius arranged
Sejanus’ execution in October AD 31, as described by Cassius Dio in “Roman History” 58:11. Associates
and family members were hunted and killed, as recorded by Tacitus (“Annals” 6:3-10) and Suetonius
(“Lives: Tiberius” 61).

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While Sejanus held power, Pilate could ignore the sensitivities of Judea’s religious spokesmen. But in
the aftermath of Sejanus’ demise, Pilate showed more willingness to accommodate the chief priests.
This observation effectively removes AD 30 from consideration, leaving AD 33 as the year of that fateful
event.

As further con irmation, that April 3 witnessed a partial lunar eclipse in Jerusalem as “moon turned to
blood” above the Mount of Olives at moon rise about 6:20 p.m., as mentioned by Peter in Acts 2:20
(reciting Joel 2:31). NASA provides the eclipse track from this date. Thus, we can reasonably conclude
that Jesus’ cruci ixion occurred on April 3, AD 33 on the Julian calendar. For cross-reference, this
translates to April 1, 33 CE for the Gregorian calendar and Nisan 14, 3793 AH on the Hebrew calendar.

This all Brings Us to Paul

Okay, so what’s so signi icant about these dates? Mosaic law in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 required burial
the same day, even for executed criminals. Acts 13:28 reports that the people of Jerusalem had
condemned Jesus, then laid him in a tomb. The body would be placed on a stone bench in the sepulcher.
After about a year, the lesh would decompose, leaving the bones, which would then be deposited in an
ossuary—a limestone box. One could expect family members and possibly the disciples to determine
the tomb’s whereabouts, especially in anticipation of moving the bones later. However, such knowledge
eventually dissipates as persons involved relocate or die.

Yet the cruci ixion occurred in AD 33, followed by Paul’s epiphany the next
While persecuting
year. Paul claimed to be a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5 and Acts 23:6) and
them, what
attended Stephen’s stoning (Acts 7:58) in Jerusalem. While persecuting
prevented Paul from
the followers of this new cult, what prevented Paul from confronting the
confronting the
early Christian church to produce their purported savior’s desiccated
early church to
remains? Inconveniently unavailable, perhaps?
produce their

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savior’s remains? Why would this have been important anyway? Because on that road Paul
Inconveniently encountered someone he had noticed before. As an observant Jew, Paul
unavailable, would likely have attended the Passover the previous year. Cruci ixion was
perhaps? designed as a cruel and public spectacle. The macabre display of Jesus
suffering just outside the northern walls of Jerusalem would stand as a poignant warning to avoid
Roman displeasure.

Paul acknowledged his ignorance of Jesus in person (2 Corinthians 5:16). As Paul entered the city for
the festival, he could not know who this contemporary was, but in that witness (“I preach Christ
cruci ied!” 1 Corinthians 1:23), he would ind out and recognize him again on that fateful road.

Christianity loses adherents for various reasons—restrictions on sexual activity, among others. But the
emphasis on “belief” (John 20:29) without factual grounding reduces the ecclesia to a credulity-
centered social club. Acceptance of Christ’s passion narrative is not irrational. Something extraordinary
happened to convince many people that their messiah had risen. Persuading others shouldn’t be made
more dif icult due to our ignorance of history.

G. W. Thielman has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering. He is currently employed

as a patent attorney, and lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia. His opinions are his own.
Copyright © 2018 The Federalist, a wholly independent division of FDRLST Media, All Rights Reserved.

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