The period between Hanukkah and Passover, about four months, is the subject of varied interpretations the commentators on the Gospels. We deemed it worthwhile to present our own chronological view of this period. This approach rests rigorously on the information provided by Luke and John, taking care to respect the text without ever forcing it. Thus our hypothesis appears natural and coherent in light of the Gospel data.
After the or of the Dedication (John 10.22-23), on December 15, AD 33, the Messiah Jesus leaves Jerusalem to escape an attempted arrest. He then withdraws “beyond the Jordan,” to the region where John had baptized, a secluded but accessible place where many still come to him (John 10.40-42). It is there, in this winter refuge, that a messenger arrives from Bethany to tell him that Lazarus, his close friend, is gravely ill (John 11.1-3). The messenger took about a day to cover the 35 to 40 kilometers separating the two villages.
But the Messiah Jesus, to his disciples’ surprise, does not leave immediately. He stays two more days where he was (John 11.6). During this time Lazarus dies, probably that very day or shortly after the messenger’s departure, which explains why the Messiah Jesus can later say, “Lazarus is dead,” before even arriving in Judea (John 11.14). When these two days have passed, the Messiah Jesus tells his disciples that they are going back to Judea, despite the risks (John 11.7-10).
The group then sets out. From Bethany beyond the Jordan, the most direct route to Bethany near Jerusalem passes through Jericho. It is a descent followed by a long climb, a busy and logical route. As he approaches Jericho, the Messiah Jesus meets a blind man sitting by the roadside: Bartimaeus. Despite the crowd’s rebukes, the man cries out to the Messiah Jesus, who stops, has him brought to him and restores his sight (Luke 18.35-43). Then the Messiah Jesus passes through Jericho, the historic city, where he stops beneath a sycamore tree to call Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, and stay at his house (Luke 19.1-10). These encounters fit naturally into the same journey: the one that leads Jesus from the other side of the Jordan to Bethany.
After this stop, the Messiah Jesus resumes his journey. The climb from Jericho to Bethany takes a day and a half of walking because of the crowd following him. When he finally reaches the village, Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days (John 11.17).
The messenger left Bethany while Lazarus was still alive, though gravely ill, as John 11.3 reports. At this stage, no one knows of Lazarus’s death: neither the messenger nor those around him. Yet, while the messenger has not yet delivered the news to the Messiah Jesus and Lazarus’s condition remains uncertain to everyone, the Messiah Jesus receives the revelation that his friend Lazarus has indeed died. This announcement marks a turning point in the account, testifying to the particular knowledge Jesus has of his friend’s fate, even before arriving in Judea.
At Bethany, the Messiah Jesus meets Martha and then Mary, and leads them to faith. Then he goes to the tomb, where he calls Lazarus out of death (John 11.38-44). This spectacular sign provokes an immediate reaction from the religious authorities, who decide to put the Messiah Jesus to death (John 11.53). To escape this threat, the Messiah Jesus leaves Bethany and withdraws to Ephraim, a town north of Jerusalem, in the hill country near Samaria (John 11.53-54).
A few weeks later, as Passover approaches, the Messiah Jesus leaves Ephraim and returns to Bethany, six days before the feast (John 12.1). The next day, he enters Jerusalem to the acclamations of the crowd (John 12.12-15, Luke 19.28-40).