Page 5 - Advanced New Testament Survey Student Textbook

Herod died shortly after their exit, probably in 1 BC. Many Bible scholars place his death at 4 BC. Why?
It comes from the writings of Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian who wrote about his death more than
a half century after Herod’s death. Josephus had heard that Herod died immediately after a lunar
eclipse followed by the Passover and he traced that eclipse back to 4 BC. Thus, the 4 BC date. However,
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what Josephus overlooked is that there was an almost total eclipse occurring on January 10 of 1 BC.
This date is strongly supported by important dates in the life of Christ. Luke states that Jesus was 30
years old when He began His ministry. We know from extra-biblical literature that Jesus was crucified in
March of 33 AD. That would put the ministry of Jesus beginning at 29 AD. If Jesus was born just before
the death of Herod, and his death was 4 BC, then Jesus would have been 33 or 34 years old in 29 AD and
Luke would have it wrong. But if Jesus was born shortly before Herod’s death in 1 BC., then in 29 AD
Jesus would have been 30 years old, just as Luke said. By the way, from 1 BC to 1 AD is only one year.

After Herod’s death, his sons continued to impact the life of Jesus. One of his sons, Archelaus, was
made ruler over Judea and was more wicked than his father. He was eventually deposed by Rome
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because of his unpopularity with the Jews. Joseph decided not to return to his house in Bethlehem in
Judea, but rather took his family to Nazareth. Herod Antipas, another of Herod’s sons, ruled Galilee.
While a wicked ruler, he was not as militant a ruler and allowed a measure of freedom to the Jews. He
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did, however, arrest and kill John the Baptist. Jesus referred to Antipas in Luke 13:32 as “that fox.”
Jesus was visiting Jerusalem for Passover when Christ was crucified. Pilate sent Jesus to Antipas because
Jesus came from Antipas’ realm. The Tetrarch was eager to see Jesus, expecting to see some miracles,
but soon returned Him to Pilate, unwilling to pass judgment.

Introduction to the Four Gospels

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John center on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Almost
everything we know about Jesus is found in these works. The authors of these books were eyewitnesses
of the events or at least first-hand interviewers of those who witnesses the events. God chose to
include only these four historical descriptions of the amazing life of His Son. Each author had a different
perspective on what he described and selected different events in Christ’s life to major on in his book.
When we take all of them together, we can get a fuller picture of who Jesus is.

The Gospels are historical literature.

It is extremely important that the stories described in the four gospels are real, actual events that did
occur historically. According to Zondervan Academic, three things tell scholars that the gospels are
historical literature:
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1. They have a history of composition. The authors drew on traditions and sources available to them to
compile their works.

2. They’re set in a specific historical context. Each of the four gospels take place in first-century
Palestine during the Roman occupation.

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great
3 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herod-Archelaus
4 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herod-Antipas
5 https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/gospel-definition

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