WHAT DAY WAS JESUS CRUCIFIED?
I recently heard a pastor remark -- "When was Jesus crucified . . . Wednesday . . . Thursday . . . Friday? Who cares . . . it really doesn't matter!"
Whoa! I believe that we need to re-think that a little more.
The controversy of which day Jesus died on the cross is nearly 2,000 years old. Why is it even worthy of debate?
JESUS' SIGN THAT HE WAS THE PROMISED MESSIAH:
Jesus was asked to give a sign that He was the Messiah that the people of
Israel were looking for. Jesus' response is found in
Matthew 12:40 -- "For as Jonah was three days
and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Jesus was telling the people that the proof of His Messiahship is the resurrection. He declared very clearly that just as Jonah was in the bowls of the fish THREE DAYS and THREE NIGHTS . . . He would be in the tomb THREE DAYS and THREE NIGHTS!
Was Jesus mistaken?
Was Jesus exagerating the truth?
Was He perhaps speaking in generalities?
Perhaps He didn't really mean THREE days and THREE nights?
Maybe Jesus meant just three PARTIAL DAYS and three PARTIAL nights?
The real issue in this controversy of when Jesus died on the cross, is the integrity and truthfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ and the accuracy of Word of God . . . the Bible.
This IS most definitely a discussion worthy of our consideration!
TRADITION:
Tradition has held to a Friday crucifixion for centuries because, after all, everyone knows that the Sabbath is on Saturday and Jesus was crucified the day before the Sabbath . . . thus "Good Friday" has become the accepted day.
A closer look at the Scriptures is essential here: Immediately after Jesus death --"The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day (for that sabbath day was an highday), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."
This was not a normal every-week sabbath . . . the Scripture declares that this was a "HIGH DAY" . . . this was the Day of Preparation for the Passover! Incidently, this was the day that the yearly sacrificial lamb was put to death at the Temple in Jerusalem.
The
sacrificial lamb and THE Sacrificial Lamb were being put to death . . .
probably at the very same time!
It should be noted that Christ was crucified BEFORE the Sabbath as we read in the gospel of Mark -- "And now when the evening was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day BEFORE the sabbath, Joseph, of Arimathaea, an honorable counselor, who also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus . . . " Mark 15:42-43
The key to understanding the actual sequence of events surrounding the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection Christ is found in the Old Testament. Leviticus chapter 23 was a preview of things to come . . . things that Jesus would literally and completely fulfill:
THE FEASTS OF JEHOVAH:
Leviticus chapter 23 details the seven Feasts of Jehovah . . . special sabbath days that the Jewish people observed every year and for the most part, still observe even though they may not understand the prophetic significance that pointed to Jesus.
PASSOVER FEAST:
The yearly Passover Feast was observed on the 14th day of Nisan which occurs every year in the spring. The Jewish months were always determined by the moon, not the sun which is the basis of the western calendar. Passover always happened on the full moon . . . the 14th day of the month. "In the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is the LORD'S Passover." Leviticus 23:5
UNLEAVENED BREAD:
The day following Passover, the 15th day of the month Nisan, was another sabbath day -- the Feast of Unleavened Bread . . . it actually began on the 15th day and went for a week. "And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD . . . " Leviticus 23:6-7
These were not the normal weekly Saturday sabbaths . . . but special holy days of yearly observance.
SO . . . what day did Jesus die on?
A LITTLE HELP FROM SCOTLAND YARD:
A hundred years ago, a born-again believer by the name of Sir Robert Anderson entered into the debate of which day Christ was crucified. Anderson was the head of Scotland Yard's Investigative Division . . . and he enlisted the help of the Greenwich Royal Observatory in London for help in solving the two-thousand year-old controversy.
The astronomers at the Observatory are able to plot the exact location of the planets, earth, and sun on any date in history . . . and they can also determine when the moon was new or when it was full.
They plotted the courses of the sun and moon and thereby determined when the first Palm Sunday and Passover probably occured: In April of 31 A.D. the full moon Passover occured midweek, beginning on Wednesday, April 25 (possibly late in the day) so the Jews may have observed Passover on Thursday followed by the Day of Unleavened Bread on Friday and then followed by the weekly sabbath on Saturday.
The U.S. Naval Observatory confirmed that the full moon began on Wednesday, April 25, A.D. 31 . . . again, if the full moon began late in the day, Jewish observance would most likely have been on the longer full-moon day of Thursday.
All of this to say that Jesus was without doubt, in the tomb THREE DAYS and THREE NIGHTS . . . just as He had declared.
After Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover. . . His body was placed in a borrowed, rich man's tomb nearby. Jesus was in the tomb during the three sabbath days of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and the weekly Saturday sabbath.
This is quite revealing in that Jesus was buried during the three Sabbaths under the Mosaic Law , and resurrected on the first day of the week which was the Feast of First Fruits, the day following the sabbath.
The Law brought death to mankind because no man (except Jesus) could fully observe it . . . Jesus was buried under the Law . . . and resurrected on the first day of the week bringing the hope of NEW LIFE to those of us who trust Him as our Sacrificial Lamb and Savior!
Some might challenge this idea of a Wednesday crucifixion by thinking that Jesus would then have been in the tomb three days and FOUR nights.
We must remember that the Jewish day began at sundown . . . and it is still observed that way today. Observant Jews are very diligent to make their food preparations for the Sabbath on Friday BEFORE the sun sets.
The point is, Jesus probably was resurrected when the sabbath was complete . . . after 6 p.m. on Saturday evening. The women came to the tomb of Sunday morning . . . but the resurrection had already occurred.
PROPHETIC OUTLINE OF THINGS PAST AND THINGS FUTURE:
The seven feasts of Jehovah were not only instructions for the Hebrews to follow and observe, the feasts are an OUTLINE of future events . . . the KEY to understanding Biblical prophecy.
It should be observed that the first four of the feasts were precisely fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ:
REDEMPTION of the PASSOVER: Jesus was the Passover Lamb that was slain on the day before, the "day of preparation".
REMOVAL (of sin) by the UNLEAVENED BREAD: Jesus lay in the tomb . . . separated from God the Father as He bore the terrible wrath of God for our sins upon the cross and now awaited the victory of resurrection on the first day of the week. "Leaven" has throughout the Scriptures been symbolic of sin and defilement . . . and the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself, the sins of the world as He hung on that cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem. (2 Corinthians 5:21 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18)
RESURRECTION of the FIRST FRUITS: Jesus was raised as the first of many who would be raised to new life by faith in Christ! (Romans 6:4-5)
REGENERATION of PENTECOST: Fifty day later, in fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost, Christ sent the Spirit of God to abide and dwell within the lives of those who had trusted Him as Savior.
It is noteworthy that the ancient feast was celebrated with bread mixed with oil and leaven. Remember, that leaven was symbolic of sin. This mixture of oil and leaven portrayed the fact that the Spirit of God has taken up residency in the bodies of sinful man. My . . . what grace is this!
THREE YET UNFULFILLED FEASTS:
There are three of the Livitical feasts that have not yet been fulfilled. They were commemorated in the fall of the year . . . a lengthy time from the first four spring feasts.
These feast will be precisely fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ, just as the first four feasts were fulfilled.
FEAST OF TRUMPETS
FEAST OF ATONEMENT
FEAST OF TABERNACLES
These final three feasts speak of future days . . . when Jesus will gather the children of Israel, bring them to repentence, and begin the age of the Messianic Kingdom. The fulfillment of these final three prophetic feasts will be taken up in another study to follow and will be sent out to those that have requested Discovery Updates. You can be added to the update list below:
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OTHER INDEX FILES:
Copy right Discovery News 2016 Tradition
claims that Jesus died on Friday (Good Friday). But Jesus declared that He
would be in the tomb for three days and three nights and you cannot squeeze
in three days and three nights between Friday and Saturday. What day did Jesus
die? Does it really matter?