Contextual Lab · calendar model, not a second dossier
Change the surviving 30 CE / 33 CE reconstruction and inspect how civil dates, Passion events, and the Friday–Saturday–Sunday sequence move together. The historical argument is canonical in the Dating the Crucifixion Research Thread.
Canonical split: use the Research Thread for the evidence argument; use this lab to manipulate the date model and Passion sequence.
Model comparison
The lab uses proleptic Gregorian civil dates while preserving the same astronomical instants used in older Julian-calendar literature.
Fits the longer Johannine public-ministry reconstruction more naturally. The same civil day also carries a real partial lunar eclipse later in the evening.
Remains calendrically viable under a compressed public-ministry reconstruction.
Pilate-year filter
This is a model table, not an archived first-century Jerusalem calendar.
| Year | Reconstructed Nisan 14 | Friday? | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 CE | Sunday, 19 April | No | Fails Friday premise. |
| 27 CE | Thursday, 8 April; possible one-day observation shift | Edge | Normally too early for ministry boundary. |
| 28 CE | Tuesday, 28 March | No | Fails Friday premise. |
| 29 CE | Monday, 16 April | No | Fails Friday premise. |
| 30 CE | Friday, 5 April | Yes | Survives; principal alternative. |
| 31 CE | Tuesday, 25 March | No | Fails Friday premise. |
| 32 CE | Sunday, 11 April | No | Fails Friday premise. |
| 33 CE | Friday, 1 April | Yes | Survives; favored reconstruction. |
| 34 CE | Wednesday, 22 March | Exceptional | Requires additional calendar assumptions. |
| 35 CE | Tuesday, 10 April | No | Fails Friday premise. |
| 36 CE | Saturday, 29 March | No | Fails Friday premise. |
33 CE astronomy audit
The astronomical event is certain; its historical and theological interpretation is not.
The same event is catalogued as 3 April 33 CE in the Julian calendar used by NASA and much of the crucifixion literature. NASA gives an umbral magnitude of 0.5764. This makes the eclipse a genuine coincidence with the 33 CE calendar candidate, not the reason that candidate exists.
Humphreys and Waddington connect the eclipse with Peter's quotation of Joel, but Acts 2 is itself scriptural quotation rather than a direct report that observers saw an eclipsed Moon. Bradley Schaefer's glare analysis further argues that this partial eclipse would not have appeared blood-red because of the eclipse itself.
Passover falls near full Moon. Solar eclipses require new Moon. Therefore the Synoptic darkness from roughly noon to 3 p.m. cannot be explained by an ordinary solar eclipse if the Passover chronology is retained.
Interactive Passion sequence
Ancient hour labels remain approximate.
Inclusive counting check
The lab does not require three complete modern 24-hour periods.
Death and burial before sunset.
Weekly Sabbath.
First day of week; tomb found empty.