Dear ladevries-ga;
Thank you for allowing me to research your question.
As you are aware, the article you are speaking of quotes Theologian
Stanley Hauerwas. It is therefore no surprise that Hauerwas draws his
opinion from the Biblical history. In the article, Hauerwas makes this
statement in response to what the article calls “the conventional
wisdom” that “the world changed on September 11th”:
"No, the world changed in 33 A.D. The question is how to narrate what
happened on Sept. 11 in light of what happened in 33 A.D."
Here, Hauerwas is referring to the crucifixion death and subsequent
resurrection of Jesus Christ. He, as do most Christians, obtains the
date in large part from known historical facts, as well as information
found in the Christian Bible.
Let’s start with what the Bible itself says:
“Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his
ministry.” (Luke 3:23 NIV).
The Gospel of John mentions three distinct Passover Feasts that took
place during the ministry of Jesus. It is a historical fact that the
first Passover, mentioned in the passage below, took place no earlier
than the spring of A.D. 28
- “After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers
and disciples. There they stayed for a few days. When it was almost
time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” (John
2:12-13 NIV)
The second Passover mentioned in the Gospel of John took place no
earlier than the spring of A.D. 29:
- “Then Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down with his
disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.” (John 6:3-4 NIV)
Finally, John mentioned the third Passover, the Passover on which the
crucifixion took place. This Passover took place no earlier than the
spring of A.D. 30:
- “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had
come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” (John 13:1
NIV)
Now, I say all this leading up to these points of fact: Pontius
Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, ruled from A.D. 26 to A.D. 36.
Since he was the power that handed Jesus over to be crucified, it is
only logical to assume that Jesus had to have been executed at some
point between A.D. 26 and A.D. 36. The exact date is not known for
certain.
Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who is known to
have died in 4 B.C. As such, Jesus would have been approximately 3-4
years old by the year now commonly referred to as 1 A.D. Because the
third Passover, mentioned in the Gospel of John, is known to have
taken place no later than the spring of 30 A.D., the year of his
crucifixion, it is only logical to assume that Jesus was somewhere
between 33-35 years old at the time of his death.
In summary, the date 33 A.D. is widely accepted by most Christians as
a likely date of Jesus’ death for simplicity sake. Removing all the
complicated details and estimates, and taking into account the change
of the calendar system years after the death of Jesus, Christians
prefer to believe (again, for simplicity sake alone) that Jesus was
born in roughly the year now referred to as “1”. Since Jesus was
“about 30” at the time of his ministry, and his ministry is believed
to have lasted approximately 3 years, his death is commonly placed at
the year 33 A.D. (which conveniently, or perhaps coincidentally,
splits the range of possibilities 30 A.D. to 36 A.D.)
The question of “what” took place on 33 A.D. that Theologian Stanley
Hauerwas was referring to in the article is relatively simple to
answer. The question now is, “why” he made this statement. My own
assumption is that Hauerwas was implying that we should pursue
non-violent methods as a means of resolving the September 11th tragedy
(much of Jesus’ teachings were based on love and non-violence). The
only way to know this for certain though is to ask him. If you have a
means of making contact with Hauerwas (which, unfortunately, I am not
able to provide you with, as a matter of Google Answers policy) I’m
sure he would be willing to discuss this issue with you at length.
I hope you find this information useful. I look forward to working
with you again in the near future.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
“The Date of Jesus’ Crucifixion, Calculated Based on New Testament
Data”
http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/3021/ascension2.html
“Timeline for the Life of Jesus Christ”
http://www.lifeofchrist.com/history/timeline/
BIBILOGRAPHY
The Holy Bible (NIV)
- Gospel According to John
- Gospel According to Luke
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