What year did Jesus go to Jerusalem?

Answer 1

Luke's Gospel says that Jesus was taken from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, to be presented at the Temple, when Mary's purification had been accomplished, so after just forty days.

Matthew's Gospel is less clear. Joseph and Mary fled from Bethlehem to Egypt when King Herod sought to have Jesus killed. This seems to have been shortly after the birth of Jesus, but could have been up to two years later.

Answer 2

There are potentially two different ways to calculate exactly which year Jesus went on his last journey to Jerusalem.

The first is to establish which years during the governorship of Pontius Pilate the Passover fell on a Friday (beginning Thursday evening at sundown), since the Synoptic Gospels state that the Last Supper was on the day of the Passover. Unfortunately, John deviates from the Synoptic Gospels by saying that the crucifixion took place on the day of Preparation, and that the Passover took place on the Saturday. It is not possible to provide an answer using this method.
The second is to look at the year of Jesus' baptism, which Luke gives as in the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, 29 CE. Since the Synoptic Gospels suggest that Jesus' public ministry lasted no more than one year, this means that Jesus went to Jerusalem in 30 CE. However, John is clear that Jesus' public ministry lasted three years, as he has Jesus travelling to Jerusalem each year for the Passover. On the basis of John's Gospel, Jesus went to Jerusalem in 33 CE.

Answer 3

Each time that Jesus went to Jerusalem - at his presentation (Circumcism), when he was twelve and just before he died - he stayed just a few days 2 or 3.

Answer 4

He stayed in Bethlehem for 2 months.