Introduction
Three Days and Three Nights
Digging In
When Were the Spices Bought?
Sabbaths and Preparations
So What?

What Day Did Jesus Die?

A printed version of this study can be downloaded as either a PDF file or a Word Doc. To open it in your browser, just left-click either link; to download, right-click on the link and select "Save Target As."

Introduction
The question of what day of the week Jesus died is one that continues to inspire debate, if not controversy. I was taught, and believed for many years, that the traditional view of Jesus dying on Friday could not be reconciled with other Scriptures, particularly the prophecy that he would be in the grave three days and three nights. In recent years I have been involved in rethinking many of the old doctrines which I once held as true. For years, I believed that a Wednesday crucifixion solved all the apparent contradictions, and I thought I had it all figured out. But my problem was two-fold. First, I did not understand the Hebrew idiomatic language; and second, I hadn't read the records in context.

First of all, let me recap the reasoning that is used to conclude that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, and not the traditional Friday. (A number of groups and individuals hold to this theory, as seen by an internet search.) To begin with, it is maintained that the Bible does not mention the day of the week by name, although the day of the resurrection appearances is identified as "the first day of the week" which we know as Sunday. Second, the often quoted verse, Matthew 12:40, refers to "three days and three nights."

Matthew 12:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

I, and others who held this view, took delight in pointing out that anyone who can count could see that you can't get three days and three nights from Good Friday afternoon to Easter Sunday morning. Even if you count part of a day as a whole day (which many who hold to the Wednesday theory consider to be illogical and unbiblical), the most you can get is three (partial) days and two nights. And besides, other verses say he would rise "the third day." All four Gospel records say that it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, and I was taught that this Sabbath was the first day of the Passover, which was a "special Sabbath," not the weekly Sabbath.

John 19:
31 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 high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Since the special high "Sabbath" that started Passover could be on any day of the week, and it is thought that no other Scripture demands that it be on Friday, it is concluded that the first day of Passover was on Thursday, and that he died on Wednesday afternoon. From that afternoon to Thursday afternoon was one day and one night, to Friday afternoon was two days and two nights, and to Saturday afternoon was three days and three nights. Jesus then arose on the third day (Saturday afternoon) and when the women came to the sepulcher on Sunday morning "while it was yet dark" they found that he was "already risen" (it hadn't said when he arose). Thus he was buried on Wednesday shortly before sunset, and arose on Saturday before sunset, exactly 72 hours later, and first seen some time before sunrise the next morning. It all fit and made perfect sense, I thought. However, there are a number of difficulties with this theory.

Back To The Top

"The Third Day" vs. "Three Days and Three Nights"

The main reason for even considering that Jesus did not die on Friday as tradition has long held, has been the problem of the "three days and three nights." It should be pointed out, however, that only one verse (Matthew 12:40) mentions "three days and three nights," while fourteen others refer to him being raised on "the third day." The exact meaning of the phrase "the third day" in its Biblical usage is defined in Luke 13:32. "And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." Counting of days began with today as the first day, and tomorrow as the second day. The day after tomorrow was the third day, even though we would say only two days have elapsed, because we don't count today as day one.

This fits with Jesus dying on Friday and rising on "the third day" or Sunday. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the first, second, and third days respectively, according to the way they reckoned days in that culture. If he died on Wednesday, according to this reckoning the third day would be Friday, which would contradict the theory that he rose on Saturday. In addition, the Scriptures are clear that on the first day of the week (Sunday), the apostles said that it was, "the third day since these things were done" (Luke 24:21). This identifies the day of his death as Friday, according to Biblical usage.

The phrase "after three days" (used twice regarding Christ's resurrection, in Matthew 27:63 and Mark 8:31) has the same meaning. The preposition "after" in these verses is meta in Greek, which is most often translated "with." If it meant after three entire days had completely passed, as our Western mind would understand it, then it would actually refer to something that happened on the fourth day. This can't be the case, since Matthew 27:64 says that the chief priests requested a seal on the tomb "until the third day."

As for the phrase "three days and three nights," we have had a problem reconciling this with the rest of the clear Biblical records, because in our Western thinking "three days and three nights" means a literal period of 72 hours. But it was not so in Hebrew thinking of Biblical times. There is abundant evidence that the expression, "three days and three nights" was simply an idiomatic phrase to refer to a period of three days which included partial days at the beginning and end. When a Hebrew in Biblical times referred to "three days and three nights," he was using a type of Jewish "shorthand." The literal meaning would be too long and awkward to say—"a part of a day, a night, a whole day, another night, and part of a third day." Thus the idiomatic shorthand phrase was used.

The Jerusalem Talmud (a collection of ancient Jewish writings which orthodox Jews consider to be the most important guide to life) quotes Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, who lived around A.D. 100, as saying: "A day and night are an onah ['a portion of time'] and the portion of an onah is as the whole of it" (from Jerusalem Talmud: Shabbath ix. 3).

The Jewish Encyclopedia, under the article "Day" (Volume 4, page 475) says the following:

In Jewish communal life, part of a day is at times reckoned as one day; for example, the day of the funeral, even when the latter takes place late in the afternoon, is counted as the first of the seven days of mourning; a short time in the morning of the seventh day is counted as the seventh day; circumcision takes place on the eighth day, even though, of the first day, only a few minutes remain after the birth of the child.

There are examples of this idiom in the Old Testament. In Genesis 7, the length of the flood is described as "forty days and forty nights," in verse 12, and as "forty days" in verse 17. The two phrases are equivalent. The rain started during the first day, and ended during the last day. The two partial days are included in the entire period described as both "forty days" and "forty days and forty nights."

In Genesis 42:16-17, Joseph "...put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God." They are put in ward on the first day, and released on the third day. The two partial days are included in the three days.

In I Kings 12:5, we read "And he said unto them, depart yet for three days." Then in verse 12, it says, "so Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day." Here we note that, though they returned on the third day, it was considered three days. The same example also appears in II Chronicles 10:5 and 12.

I Kings 20:29 reads, "For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined." The partial days at the beginning and ending are included, so that "on the seventh day" marked the end of "for seven days."

There is also the example from the New Testament which we saw earlier, in Matthew 27:63-64. "Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first." Note that "after three days" was equivalent to "until the third day" (not "until the fourth day").

Another example from the New Testament involves Cornelius. In Acts 10 he has a vision at the ninth hour (v. 3). He sends messengers for Peter, and then "on the next day" (v. 9), Peter has a vision, meets Cornelius’ messengers, and gives them lodging. "On the next day" (v. 23) Peter goes with the messengers, and "on the following day" (v. 24), they enter Caesarea. Then in verse 30, Cornelius says, "Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour." From the first day at the ninth hour to this day at the ninth hour would be considered three days and three nights, or 72 hours, by our Western reckoning. Yet Cornelius says it was "four days ago," because they considered the day on which they started as day one, whereas we call the first day after the starting point day one.

The argument is made that the above verses speak of numbers of days, rather than "days and nights" (except for the reference to Noah's Flood). But we saw from the flood record in Genesis that the phrase "forty days" is equivalent to the phrase "forty days and forty nights." Nevertheless, there are also at least two other places where "days and nights" are referred to. Esther 4:16: "Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." And then in 5:1: "Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house..." In this case, "on the third day" is the end of the period of time described as "for three days, night or day."

The other example is in I Samuel 30:12-13: "And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone [ago] I fell sick." In this case "for three days and three nights" was equivalent to the period of time that started "three days ago" in Hebrew terminology, or the day before yesterday.

In our Western thinking, "three days and three nights" implies three complete days and three complete nights, or a literal period of seventy-two hours. This has been the cause of much misunderstanding and wrestling with Scriptures to make them fit. But the simple truth is that the Bible is a Hebrew book. In order to understand any writing from a foreign culture, we must understand the idiomatic expressions in light of that culture, and not try to force it into our own cultural understanding. The Bible, being written from a Hebrew perspective, must be understood in light of that culture and mindset. In that culture, as we have seen, "three days and three nights" does not mean a literal period of seventy-two hours, but a period of three days, including the portions of days at the beginning and end. Therefore, there is no contradiction; Jesus died on Friday and was raised on Sunday, the third day, and in the Hebrew idiomatic meaning, the period of time is referred to in Matthew 12:40 as "three days and three nights."

Back To The Top

Digging In

We have seen how understanding the Biblical meanings of phrases clarifies the subject. In addition, a Wednesday crucifixion and Saturday resurrection do not fit with the records of the events in all four of the Gospels. Let us read them carefully, in context. Matthew describes events that happened on the day Jesus died.

Matthew 27:57 - 28:1
57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

When Joseph put the body in the tomb, the two Marys were sitting there. Notice that verse 62 says "Now the next day, that followed the day of preparation..." and on that day the chief priests requested the guard at the tomb. Then 28:1 says "In the end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week." Remember that even in the Wednesday crucifixion theory, it is recognized that a Jewish day started at sunset. Therefore the end of the Sabbath was Saturday evening, as we would call it. The women went to the tomb sometime after sunset and before sunrise on what we would call Sunday morning.

Now, if the "day of preparation" referred to in verse 62 is the day before the weekly Sabbath, then it is clear that the events of verses 62 through 66 took place on the Sabbath, and that the day before, or the preparation day, was the day Jesus died. Then the next verse (28:1) follows in a natural flow (there were no chapter breaks in the original). The events on the Sabbath are immediately followed by the phrase, "In the end of the Sabbath..." But, if the preparation day is the day before the first day of Passover, and took place on Wednesday, then what happened to Thursday and Friday? There are missing days in this record, and a break in the natural flow, if we assume the preparation was Wednesday. Keeping that in mind, let's examine the record in Mark.

Mark 15:42 - 16:2
42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

Notice that verse 42 very specifically identifies the day as "the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath." Again, it describes the day Jesus died, and says, "When the even was come" which means it was just before sundown when it would then be the Sabbath. Joseph wraps the body, and the two Marys observe, just as we saw in Matthew. And again, the next verse begins "When the Sabbath was past." Since they were to do no work on that day, they waited till the Sabbath was past to go to the tomb to anoint the body. The record makes sense if it is the weekly Sabbath, but if this Sabbath was the first day of Passover, on Thursday, why is there no mention of Friday or Saturday? Now let's look at Luke.

Luke 23:46 - 24:2
46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
48 And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.
49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.
50 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:
51 (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.
52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

I started with verse 46 here to establish that it is talking about the day Jesus died. Once again, we have Joseph burying the body of Jesus, and "that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on" (verse 54). The women returned and prepared the spices that day, but then rested on the Sabbath (verse 56). Then on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb to anoint the body with the spices which they had prepared. If Jesus had died on Wednesday (assuming that the Sabbath referred to was Thursday, the first day of Passover), they still could have anointed the body on Friday and then rested on Saturday, the weekly Sabbath. But they didn't go to the tomb until Sunday morning ("The first day of the week," 24:1). Why would they have waited all that time?

Theories have been advanced, speculating that it took that long to prepare the spices, or that they ran out and had to buy more on Friday. Another theory suggests that they waited until after the guard that was posted for three days was gone, and then rested on the weekly Sabbath, finally going to the tomb on Sunday. However, the guard was posted “until the third day” which we saw above would have been concluded on Friday, not Saturday, according to their reckoning of days. The women still could have gone to the tomb on Friday if that were the case, unless the guard left close to sunset on Friday, when the Sabbath began.

These theories might be plausible, but there is no indication in any of the Gospels that they delayed for any other reason than resting on the Sabbath. And there is no indication in Scripture of any intervening days, and no direct reference to the supposed two Sabbaths, in any of the Gospel records. It would be very strange, not to mention misleading, for Luke to write his record the way he did, and omit any reference to the intervening days or a second Sabbath, if they had occurred. Finally, let’s look at John’s record.

John 19:21 - 20:1
31 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 high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.
33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Once again, the day is clearly identified as the preparation, the day before the Sabbath. Joseph buries the body, and verse 42 again confirms that it was the preparation day. Then verse 1 of chapter 20 begins the first day of the week. All four Gospels concur that it was on the preparation day, the day before the Sabbath, that Jesus died. The question then is, does this Sabbath refer to the weekly Sabbath, or the special "high Sabbath" at the beginning of the Passover? All four Gospels also concur that it was the first day of the week that the women came to the sepulcher and found that Jesus was risen. As we have seen, the disciples said that it was "the third day since these things were done" which points to Friday being the day of the crucifixion. Plus, if the day of his death was on Wednesday, there is a gap of two days missing from the records.

Back To The Top

When Were the Spices Bought?

There is an apparent contradiction concerning when the women bought the spices they used to anoint Jesus’ body. Luke says the women prepared spices the day before the Sabbath, and Mark says they bought spices the day after the Sabbath. Generally, versions of the Wednesday crucifixion theory suggest that the only way to reconcile the two records is to understand that there were two Sabbaths. One was the "special" or yearly Sabbath, that is, the first day of Passover, and the other was the weekly Sabbath. According to this theory, Mark describes the women buying the spices the day after the annual Sabbath (the word "had" in Mark 16:1 is said to be added without any textual basis, and the verse should be read as they "bought spices" not "had bought"). Luke, on the other hand, describes the women preparing the spices (on Friday, according to this theory) and then resting on the weekly Sabbath. This supposedly explains the space of time, as Jesus would have died on Wednesday, then Thursday was the annual Sabbath, after which the women would have bought the spices (on Friday, when the annual Sabbath was past, Mark 16:1). Then they rested on Saturday, the weekly Sabbath, as Luke describes, and came to the sepulcher on Sunday, the first day of the week.

There is a problem with this, however. Read the record in Luke again. It is clearly describing the events of the day Jesus died. On that same day, Joseph buried the body, which the women observed, and then, on that same day, "...they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and [after sunset] rested the sabbath day according to the commandment." Whether you interpret this as the weekly Sabbath, or the annual one, it still clearly states that the women bought the spices the same day that Jesus died. If it was on Wednesday, you have to explain why they waited till Sunday to go to the tomb, when they had all day on Friday. As noted above, some explanations have been offered, but they involve conjecture, with no direct statement in Scripture, and they result in an unnatural flow of the narrative, especially in Luke. And there is still the matter of the disciples saying on Sunday that it was the third day since the crucifixion.

How then should we handle the apparent contradiction about the spices? The verb in Mark 16:1 is translated "had bought" in the King James version, but "bought" in most others. This can be understood in one of two ways. It may be that the King James is correct in rendering it "had bought," referring to having bought the spices the day before the Sabbath, and now they were going to the tomb on the day after the Sabbath. The aorist tense in Greek would allow for that. "The aorist tense is characterized by its emphasis on punctiliar action; that is, the concept of the verb is considered without regard for past, present, or future time. There is no direct or clear English equivalent for this tense, though it is generally rendered as a simple past tense in most translations" (Online Bible Greek Lexicon).

The other possibility is that they went and bought more spices for whatever reason, after sunset "when the Sabbath was ended" (Mark 16:1) and then, "very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb" (Mark 16:2). In this case, the verb is correctly translated as "bought." Even if this were the case, the day the women prepared the first spices was the same day Jesus died, according to Luke. All four Gospel records clearly indicate that Jesus died on the day before the Sabbath, and the women came to the tomb on the day after the Sabbath.

Back To The Top

Sabbaths and Preparations

Having established that, it must be determined whether the Sabbath that followed the day Jesus died was the weekly one or a "special" annual Sabbath. It is worth noting that there is nothing in Scripture that demands an equating of the first day of Passover with the word Sabbath. While the first day of the Passover is called a "day of holy convocation," it is not specifically called a Sabbath. The Hebrew word for convocation is miqra, which means a public meeting or assembly. Such convocations were held on the first day of Passover (Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:5-8), but it is not specifically called a Sabbath in those verses. The other times that holy convocations were held include the weekly Sabbath ("Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings." -Leviticus 23:3). Also in Leviticus 23, other feasts are described, besides the weekly Sabbath. The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the first and last days of the Feast of Tabernacles, are referred to as "Sabbaths," but the first day of Passover is not.

Now verse 24 of Leviticus 23 could be seen as implying that the words "convocation" and "Sabbath" are interchangeable ("In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation"). This is referring to the Feast of Trumpets. However, the first and last days of Passover are not specifically called Sabbaths, but holy convocations, here in Leviticus as well as Exodus 12. And outside of the books of Moses, none of these yearly feasts are called Sabbaths (except the year-long land Sabbath in II Chronicles 36:21). Therefore, a strong case cannot be made that the Sabbath referred to in connection with the day Jesus died is anything other than the weekly Sabbath.

The "day of preparation," also referred to as simply "the preparation," is considered by some to refer to either the day before the weekly Sabbath, or the day before the first day of Passover. However, in New Testament usage, it only appears six times, and always refers to the day before the weekly Sabbath. It is specifically defined as such in Mark 15:42, for the benefit of Mark's Gentile readers unfamiliar with the Jewish terms. The Greek word for preparation (paraskeuen) continued to have that meaning after New Testament times, as evidenced in the Didache (dated between AD 70 and 120) which speaks of fasting two days a week, on "the fourth day and preparation." By the time of Tertullian (c. AD 160 - 225) paraskeuen had become commonly used as the name for the day before the Sabbath, to the extent that he even argued that it had been the name for that day since creation.

The only place where "the preparation" is mentioned in connection with Passover is John 19:14, "And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!" The most likely understanding of this is that it refers to the weekly preparation day (Friday, the day before the weekly Sabbath) that took place during the Passover week. The word Passover can mean the entire eight-day feast, as well as the first day on which the lamb is sacrificed. It is significant that it refers to "the preparation of the Passover" and not "the preparation for the Passover."

The fact that it refers to the preparation day of the Passover week is implied by verse 31: "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 high day)..." It would be pointless for John to say that either the weekly Sabbath or the first day of Passover "was a high day." It would have been obvious to his readers that those were both high days. But in this case, that Sabbath was the weekly Sabbath that fell during Passover, making it even more significant than a regular weekly Sabbath. This is referred to in Leviticus.

Leviticus 23:
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

The wave offering was to be done on the day following the Sabbath that occurred during the Passover week. The counting towards Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, is also started after that Sabbath during Passover.

Leviticus 23:
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

The phrase "the morrow after the seventh Sabbath" in verse 16 shows that the weekly Sabbath is referred to, not the yearly holy convocation on the first day of Passover. The New Bible Dictionary describes how the meaning of Sabbath in this case became changed.

The Sadducees celebrated [Pentecost] on the 50th day (inclusive reckoning) from the first Sunday after Passover (taking the 'sabbath' of Lv. 23:15 to be the weekly sabbath); their reckoning regulated the public observance so long as the Temple stood, and the church is therefore justified in commemorating the first Christian Pentecost on a Sunday (Whit Sunday). The Pharisees, however, interpreted the 'sabbath' of Lv. 23:15 as the Festival of Unleavened Bread (cf. Lv. 23:7), and their reckoning became normative in Judaism after AD 70, so that in the Jewish calendar Pentecost now falls on various days of the week. (New Bible Dictionary, "Pentecost")

But even though the Pharisees' interpretation was the norm after AD 70, the meaning at the time of Christ was still the weekly Sabbath that fell during the week of Passover, making the "preparation of the Passover" the day before the weekly Sabbath during Passover. This fits with all the other Biblical evidence supporting a Friday crucifixion.

Another possible understanding of John 19:14 is that in the year Jesus died, the first day of Passover may have fallen on the weekly Sabbath, which would make that Sabbath a "high day" indeed. In that case, the day before it was both the weekly "preparation day" and the preparation for the Passover, making it exceptionally special and significant to the Jews.

In either case, there is no basis for assuming that the preparation day on which Jesus died was anything other than the day before the weekly Sabbath, which we would call Friday. This fits best with a simple reading of the Gospel records, as it is extremely unlikely for the Gospel writers to have employed the unnatural flow that a Wednesday crucifixion would necessitate.

The simple reading of Scripture points to a Friday crucifixion which fits with the many references to Jesus rising on the third day. The disciples confirmed that Sunday, the day of the resurrection, was in fact the third day since the crucifixion. Everything in the Scriptures agrees with this view, with the single exception of the reference to "three days and three nights." It is not a good idea to try to change the overall meaning of many clear Scriptures in order to make them fit with one difficult verse. And even this one reference fits with no contradiction when properly understood in light of its Hebrew idiomatic language.

Back To The Top

So What?

Some may say, "What difference does it make what day he died? The important thing is that he was raised." This is true. However, this study is significant for two reasons. One, it has been humbling for me. After many years of smugly thinking I knew it all, and condescendingly implying that those who held to the traditional Good Friday view "couldn't count to three," I am in the sobering position of discovering how little I really knew. The other reason is that it illustrates some of the more common mistakes that are made in the field of Biblical interpretation. If you begin with an idea that is not explicitly stated in the Scriptures, and read it into a particular passage, the Bible can seem to say something that in fact it does not. Then when you attempt to interpret other passages in light of that preconceived idea, the result is a compounding of error. This is especially true when you have to twist and force Scriptures to make them fit with an idea that is not explicitly stated in the Bible to begin with. This practice has been at the heart of many wrong interpretations and doctrines. It has been a humbling and exhilarating experience over the past several years to discover how much I had done that in the past, and yet how simply the Bible interprets itself when you avoid doing it and just read things in context. My aim in writing this article is to inspire readers to pursue further study and rethinking of the Bible in this way.

Back To The Top