How old was Jesus when He died?
Jesus was about thirty-three and a half years old when He died. Luke's Gospel says He was about thirty when He began His public ministry. Commentators put that ministry at three and a half years. Writers differ over the year of the crucifixion — AD 29, AD 30, and the AD 33 of some reference Bibles — but not over the age.
Where the figure of thirty-three and a half comes from
Two figures make up the number: thirty years of private life, then a short public ministry. Luke 3:23 gives the first:
Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli. (Luke 3:23, ESV)
A. J. Pollock supplies the second figure and shows how short the whole life was:
A. J. PollockAnd then there were those remarkable hidden years. Except in one instance (Luke 2:41-52), when He was about twelve years old, nothing is said of those thirty years. And then He comes out for three and a half years. Speaking in human terms, He died in the middle of His years. Many a young man of thirty-three and a half years has not got very far in life. But that wonderful period of three and a half years was enough for the display of God, which has made such a remarkable mark on the world.
How long was the public ministry?
Counting the Passovers named in John's Gospel gives the three-and-a-half-year figure. William Kelly traces four of them:
William KellyIn John 2:13 is the first, which came before the public ministry of the Lord in Galilee… Again we learn from John 6:4 that Passover was at hand, that is, the third. John 6:4 corresponds in time with Matthew 14, the first miracle of the loaves. The last Passover, or fourth, He came up to keep, and to be Himself our Passover in His sacrifice. So Scripture makes it certain and clear that the public ministry of our Lord lasted less than four years. It ran at least three and a half years, as it is generally understood. Some learned men have argued for less or more.
Does the AD 33 date make Him thirty-six?
Some older reference Bibles print AD 33 for the crucifixion. Set against a birth in 4 BC, that date changes the arithmetic. The Bible Treasury flags the clash:
The Bible TreasuryOur reference Bibles, however, give AD 33. Counting from 4 BC, that would make our Lord's age thirty-six instead of the thirty-three years usually supposed. But Bengel says about this, "The year 33 is too late and is refuted by all the opinions of the ancient church." He maintained that AD 30 was the correct date of our Lord's death.
The Morrish Bible Dictionary checks the crucifixion date against the date Jerusalem fell:
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe year AD 29 is the date now commonly given for the crucifixion. It is generally agreed that the Lord lived on the earth thirty-three and a half years… Clement and Origen place the destruction of Jerusalem forty-two years after the crucifixion. The destruction was in AD 70, which confirms the date of the crucifixion as not later than 29.
Why did the Jews say "not yet fifty years old"?
In John 8:57 the Jews say to Jesus, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" William Kelly rejects the use of that verse to fix His age:
William KellyWhat is one to think of Loisy, who follows Irenaeus in saying that "according to the Evangelist, the Christ was about fifty years old when He died"? Schmiedel sensibly remarks that Irenaeus was not trustworthy about traditions of that kind. The "fifty" might be explained from Numbers 4:3, 39 and Numbers 8:24. But it probably means what most suppose — that the blessed Saviour was old before His time.
Did Jesus die in the middle of His days?
W. H. Westcott reads Psalm 102 as the Lord's own prayer over days cut short, and sets out Jehovah's answer to it:
W. H. WestcottIt is Jehovah's response to the One who was destitute and weak, and whose days were shortened here. He took up the sorrows of His earthly people, and for their sake bore indignation and wrath at Jehovah's hands… He prays: "I said, O My God, take Me not away in the midst of My days." In Hezekiah's case, mercy added fifteen years to a threatened life. Jehovah does not answer this prayer that way. He replies with this marvellous statement of the Sufferer's glory.
The ESV renders Psalm 102:23, "He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days."
Summary
- Thirty — Luke 3:23 sets the starting point: Jesus was about thirty when He began His public ministry. Pollock notes that Scripture is almost silent about the thirty years before that.
- Three and a half — Kelly counts four Passovers in John's Gospel, which fixes the public ministry at three and a half years. He notes that some have argued for less or more.
- Thirty-three and a half — thirty plus three and a half is the age most writers agree on at the crucifixion. The AD 33 date printed in some Bibles would give thirty-six, and Bengel rejected it.
- Fifty — the taunt of John 8:57 shows how He looked, not how old He was. Kelly takes it that the Saviour was old before His time.
- Shortened — Psalm 102 gives the Lord's own prayer about days cut off in the middle. Westcott says Jehovah answers not with added years but with a declaration of His glory.