Book of John

Timeline

From the birth of Jesus to John's gospel

Approximate years, drawn from the most commonly accepted scholarly dating. Ranges shown when sources differ.

1. c. 6-4 BC

   Birth of Jesus

   In Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great. Matthew 2 and Luke 2. The conventional AD/BC calendar was set centuries later by a monk who placed the event a few years too late; Jesus was almost certainly born 4-6 years before AD 1.

2. 4 BC

   Death of Herod the Great

   Just after the visit of the Magi and the slaughter of the Bethlehem infants (Matthew 2). Josephus dates his death after a lunar eclipse to March or April 4 BC, which is the firm anchor for putting the Nativity slightly earlier.

3. AD 28

   John the Baptist begins his ministry

   Preaching repentance and baptizing in the Jordan wilderness. Luke 3:1 ties the start of his ministry to the 15th year of Tiberius.

4. AD 28

   Jesus is baptized and his public ministry begins

   About age 30. Mark 1:9-11. The three synoptic gospels treat the baptism as the start of Jesus's ministry; John's gospel handles it differently (the dove descends but the baptism itself stays off-stage).

5. AD 29

   John the Baptist is beheaded

   Executed by Herod Antipas at Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea. Mark 6:14-29 and Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.2 both record his death.

6. AD 30

   Crucifixion and Resurrection

   The most commonly accepted date; a sizable minority of scholars favor AD 33. Either way, Passover in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate. John's gospel covers this in chapters 18-20.

7. AD 34

   Stephen is martyred

   Stoned in Jerusalem after his speech to the Sanhedrin. The first Christian martyr. Acts 7. Saul of Tarsus is present and holds the coats of the executioners.

8. AD 34-35

   Saul of Tarsus persecutes the Jerusalem church

   A Pharisee deeply offended by the Jesus movement, Saul "ravaged the church, entering house after house, dragging off men and women" (Acts 8:3). He gets letters from the high priest authorizing him to arrest believers as far away as Damascus.

9. AD 34-36

   Saul is converted on the road to Damascus

   Blinded by a light, hears the voice of the risen Jesus, baptized in Damascus by Ananias, and within days starts preaching in the synagogues there. Acts 9. He becomes the New Testament's most prolific letter-writer.

10. AD 44

    James (son of Zebedee) is martyred

    John's older brother. Killed by Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem. The first of the Twelve to die. Acts 12:2.

11. AD 48-58

    Paul writes his early letters

    During his second and third missionary journeys. Galatians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Corinthians and Romans, in roughly that order. The earliest writings in the New Testament canon.

12. AD 60-67

    Paul writes his prison and pastoral letters

    From house arrest in Rome (Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon) and during his final years before martyrdom (1-2 Timothy, Titus).

13. AD 65-70

    Gospel of Mark published

    The earliest of the four canonical gospels. Mark traveled with Peter according to early-church tradition (1 Peter 5:13, Papias of Hierapolis), and his short, fast-paced narrative reads as Peter's preaching.

14. AD 64-67

    Peter and Paul are martyred under Nero

    After the great fire of Rome. Tradition holds Peter was crucified upside-down at Nero's circus on the Vatican hill; Paul, as a Roman citizen, was beheaded outside the city walls.

15. AD 70-85

    Gospel of Matthew published

    Written in the wake of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Most consciously aimed at a Jewish audience: opens with a genealogy and structures Jesus's teaching around five discourses echoing the five books of Moses.

16. AD 80-90

    Gospel of Luke and Acts published

    A two-volume work by a single author, possibly the physician who traveled with Paul. Luke covers Jesus's ministry; Acts covers the spread of the church from Jerusalem to Rome. Most consciously aimed at a Gentile audience.

17. AD 90-95

    The Gospel of John is published

    Written from Ephesus, where John the apostle lived out his final decades. The latest of the four canonical gospels, and the one most consciously addressed to a mixed Jewish-Gentile audience that is now decades removed from the events.

18. c. AD 100

    John the apostle dies at Ephesus

    In old age, of natural causes. Tradition holds he is the only one of the Twelve not to die a martyr. His burial site at Ephesus became a major early-Christian pilgrimage destination.

Sources behind the dating: F.F. Bruce (New Testament History), Bart Ehrman (The New Testament: A Historical Introduction), Josephus (Antiquities) for Herod's reign and John the Baptist's death, Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History) for the apostolic-martyrdom traditions, and Sir Colin Humphreys (The Mystery of the Last Supper) for the AD 30 vs AD 33 crucifixion debate.

Maps

Where each event happens

Two maps — a wider eastern Mediterranean overview and a tighter Holy Land detail — because most of John's gospel happens in a narrow strip the size of a New Jersey. Hover or tap a pin for the timeline events tied to it. Pin colors match the categories in the timeline above.

• Rome

  Italy

  • AD 60-67 — Paul writes his prison and pastoral letters
  • AD 65-70 — Gospel of Mark published
  • AD 64-67 — Peter and Paul are martyred under Nero

  Paul's prison letters and the Petrine + Pauline martyrdoms under Nero. Strong early tradition places Mark's gospel here too.

• Corinth

  Greece

  • AD 48-58 — Paul writes his early letters

  Paul lives here 18 months on his second journey (Acts 18) and writes Romans from here on his third.

• Ephesus

  Türkiye (Aegean coast)

  • AD 48-58 — Paul writes his early letters
  • AD 90-95 — The Gospel of John is published
  • c. AD 100 — John the apostle dies at Ephesus

  Paul writes 1 Corinthians from here. John the apostle lives out his final decades in the city and is buried just outside it; the Fourth Gospel is published from Ephesus.

• Antioch

  Antakya, Türkiye

  • AD 70-85 — Gospel of Matthew published

  Where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11) and the launching base for Paul's missionary journeys. Strong early tradition places Matthew's gospel here.

• Caesarea Maritima

  Israel (Mediterranean coast)

  Paul is held under Roman custody for two years here (Acts 23-26) before being sent on to Rome. The Roman provincial capital of Judea.

• Damascus

  Syria

  • AD 34-36 — Saul is converted on the road to Damascus

  Saul of Tarsus is blinded on the road approaching the city, baptized by Ananias inside, and starts preaching in the synagogues here.

• Capernaum (Sea of Galilee)

  Israel (north)

  Jesus's home base during his Galilean ministry. The setting for John 6 (feeding of the 5000) and John 21 (post-resurrection breakfast on the shore).

• Cana

  Israel (Galilee)

  The wedding where Jesus turns water into wine (John 2). The first of the seven signs.

• Sychar / Samaria

  West Bank

  Jacob's Well, where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman in John 4.

• Bethany beyond the Jordan

  Jordan (Al-Maghtas)

  • AD 28 — John the Baptist begins his ministry
  • AD 28 — Jesus is baptized and his public ministry begins

  Where John the Baptist baptized. The setting for John 1:19-51 and the start of Jesus's public ministry.

• Machaerus

  Jordan (Mukawir)

  • AD 29 — John the Baptist is beheaded

  Herod Antipas's fortress east of the Dead Sea. The site of John the Baptist's beheading per Josephus.

• Bethlehem

  West Bank

  • c. 6-4 BC — Birth of Jesus

  Jesus's birthplace. Six miles south of Jerusalem.

• Jerusalem

  Israel / West Bank

  • AD 30 — Crucifixion and Resurrection
  • AD 34 — Stephen is martyred
  • AD 34-35 — Saul of Tarsus persecutes the Jerusalem church
  • AD 44 — James (son of Zebedee) is martyred

  The hub of the gospels and Acts. Crucifixion at Golgotha just outside the wall. Stephen stoned outside the city. James (son of Zebedee) killed by Herod Agrippa I. The setting for most of John 3, 5, 7-12 and 13-20.

• Jericho

  West Bank

  • 4 BC — Death of Herod the Great

  Herod the Great dies at his winter palace here in 4 BC, just after the lunar eclipse Josephus records.