What the Bible says about Jesus Christ's Baptism
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Seventy Weeks Prophecy
(Daniel 9:24-27)Decree and Year Leader(s) of Return Year of Messiah's Appearance
[Decree Year + 483 Years (7 days/week x 69 weeks)]Significant Biblical Event Of Cyrus in
538 BCSheshbazzar
(Ezra 1:1-11)
Zerubbabel
(Ezra 2:1)55 BC None Of Darius in
520 BCNo Return
Work Resumed on Temple
(Ezra 5-6)37 BC None Of Artaxerxes I in
457 BCEzra
(Ezra 7:1-10)AD 27 Jesus' Baptism
Beginning of Christ's MinistryOf Artaxerxes I in
444 BCNehemiah
(Nehemiah 2:4-11)AD 40 None Richard T. Ritenbaugh
'Seventy Weeks Are Determined...'Related Topics: Artaxerxes I | Cyrus | Darius | Ezra | Jesus Christ's Baptism | Jesus Christ's First Coming | Jesus Christ's Ministry | Nehemiah | Prophecy, Seventy Weeks | Seventy Weeks Prophecy | Seventy Weeks Prophecy, Chart | Zerubbabel
The starting point of the seventy weeks is stated in verse 25: a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. "The command" should be "a command." The Persian emperors made four decrees in all, so we have a choice of which one fits best with the facts. The only viable decree is the one made by Artaxerxes I in 457 BC. This is the return under Ezra the scribe (Ezra 7:1-10).
Gabriel splits the first sixty-nine weeks into seven weeks (forty-nine years) and sixty-two weeks (434 years). During the forty-nine years from 457 to 408 BC, Jerusalem was being rebuilt. After this time Jerusalem was a fully functioning trade center and fortress. This fulfills the prophecy exactly.
Adding the 434 years to 408 BC brings us to AD 27 (adding one year for passing over the non-existent year 0). During this year, John baptized Jesus and His ministry began. Luke records that "Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age" (Luke 3:23). Taking Luke at his word, if Jesus was within a few months of His thirtieth birthday, His birth must have occurred in 4 BC.
Many Protestants, using a 360-day "prophetic" year and quite a bit of calculation, begin on Nisan 1, 444 BC, and end up on March 30, AD 33, the day (they say) of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion. This fits neatly into their scheme, as the Passover in AD 33 occurred on a Friday, but they are two years off! Jeremiah's seventy years of captivity were seventy literal years, not 360-day years. Why should Gabriel's seventy weeks of years be anything else? Their method of calculation is contrived and confusing. They have forced the prophecy into conforming to their beliefs rather than following the simple sense of the Bible's words.
Besides, Christ was not proclaimed as the Messiah for the first time during His triumphal entry, but at His baptism. God the Father, not the people, publicly proclaimed Him to be the Messiah, "My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16-17).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
'Seventy Weeks Are Determined...'Related Topics: Artaxerxes I | Cyrus | Darius | Day-for-a-Year- Principle | Jerusalem, Rebuilding of | Jesus Christ's Baptism | Jesus Christ's Birth | Jesus Christ's First Coming | Jesus Christ's Ministry | Messianic Prophecies | Prophecy, Seventy Weeks | Rebuilding Jerusalem | Rebuilding Temple | Seventy Times Seven | Seventy Weeks Prophecy | Temple, Rebuilding the | Year-for -a-Day Principle
Though He had never sinned, Jesus went through the rite of baptism "to fulfill all righteousness." He did everything a truly righteous man should do, so we could learn from Him. As our perfect example in all things (see I John 2:6; I Peter 2:21), He came to John to be baptized to show us the steps we must take to reach the same destination He did—the Kingdom of God.