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It has been stated most emphatically by some churchmen that the passage at Luke 3:23 indicates that Christ was exactly thirty years of age at his baptism. The passage is translated in the KJV as:

"And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age."

Moffatt translates this passage as:

"At the outset Jesus was about thirty years of age." The Greek terms for "began" and "thirty years of age" reveal that Christ had commenced his thirties, or as we would say "was in his thirties".

This expression has an elasticity some do not accord it, and hence by their very inflexibility introduce contradiction into the Scriptures where none need be.

There is much historical data concerning Quirinius, Herod and certain Census taxing that can be studied from the paper. Then a complete harmony emerges if the date of the first general census ordered by Augustus and executed by Quirinius in the East is 12 BCE or even 8 BCE. Christ then becomes 39 or 35 years of age at his baptism - still in his thirties. There are then 8 or 4 years between his birth and Herod's death, which establishes the last possible date for Christ's birth, i.e. 4 BCE.

The KJV at Matthew 2:13-16 also establishes the birth of Christ up to 2 years before the slaughter of the children in Jerusalem by Herod.

Historians attribute the death of Herod to the period 1-14th Nisan 4 BCE (28th March to10th April).

Taking into account the two-year period of the Magi and the flight to Egypt, Christ could not have been born later than Passover 5 BCE and perhaps 6 BCE.

On Joseph's return he found Archelaus (Herod's successor) in his first year of reign, i.e. 4 BCE. Also in support, taking into account the days of Mariam's purification and the circumcision of Christ, according to the Law, he could not have been born later than February 4 BCE, even if Joseph had left for Egypt on the day of Herod's death.

So in view of this, Christ could not have been less than 31, and likely He could have been 35 or 39 when He commenced his ministry. The most probable date of Christ's birth is 8 BCE with the last full census before Herod's death, making Christ 35 years old at the beginning of the year 27/8 CE. Therefore, any attempt to dogmatically assert Christ's age at 30 at his baptism produces unnecessary conflict in the Gospels and the Bible generally.

To determine the commencement date of Christ's ministry, we must look first at the ministry of John the Baptist.

From Luke 3:1 we have information on the correct date that John began to preach. This could not have occurred any earlier than October of the year 27 CE, if the Civil Calendar in use in the East is used. Tiberius commenced to reign on 14th September 14 CE, being counted his first year up to the beginning of the second year October 14 CE. Thus the 15th year of Tiberius' reign commences with 27 CE.

John was arrested in 28 CE, and Christ was baptised in the period October 27 CE to Passover 28 CE. From Scripture we can determine approximately 50 days from his baptism to Passover that year. So his age was the absolute minimum 31 years to teach the Scriptures, but he was probably older.

After John's arrest (Mat. 4:12,13) he began to preach (verse 17). He had already performed the water into wine miracle previously, but His "hour had not yet come". His disciples were baptising while John was doing so at Aenon near Salim (Jn. 3:23), but Christ did not Himself baptise (Jn. 4:2). Christ also performed miracles in Jerusalem (Jn. 5) on Passover 28 CE, and returned to the countryside. So Christ's actual preaching was less than 2 years commencing after Passover 28 CE up to Passover 30 CE when He was arrested and crucified. He died late in the afternoon of 14th Abib/Nisan, which fell on Wednesday 5th April 30 CE.

The activities of John the Baptist and Christ are consistent with the sequence of the Sign of Jonah, as Jonah preached to Nineveh slightly less than 3 days, and gave that city 40 days to repent; which they did. Similarly, Judah was given 40 years to repent, and did not, culminating in the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE (see the paper The Sign of Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 13).

The Sign of Jonah is the only sign given to Christ's ministry. It is not confined to 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb, but encompasses the entire plan of the construction of the temple and the 70 weeks of years (Dan. 9:25). It has further significance in Ezekiel's vision at Chapter 1 where the Jubilee year can be identified, and thus the period between the Advent of the Aaronic (Priest) Messiah and the Messiah of Israel (King) is determined as an extension of the Sign of Jonah.