Easter Holiday Day Count Question

[Azariah]

If Holy Thursday celebrates the Last Supper.

If Good Friday celebrates the crucifixion.

If Easter Sunday celebrates the Resurrection.

Friday to Saturday = one day.

Saturday to Sunday = two days.

If Easter Sunday celebrates the Resurrection, how is that three days?

I don’t understand the day count.

Jesus rose on the third day. Why is Good Friday to Easter Sunday only two days?

Shouldn’t Easter Sunday technically be Easter Monday?

[theroc]

Yes Chuck Missler was just talking on this subject. He doesnt believe that Jesus died on good friday and has many good reasons. Sorry I dont know much on this subject.

[lostinHislove]

If Holy Thursday celebrates the Last Supper.

If Good Friday celebrates the crucification.

If Easter Sunday celebrates the Reserection.

Friday to Saturday = one day.

Saturday to Sunday = two days.

If Easter Sunday celebrates the Reserection, how is that three days?

I don’t understand the day count.

Jesus rose on the third day. Why is Good Friday to Easter Sunday only two days?

Shouldn’t Easter Sunday technically be Easter Monday?

That is so interesting that you would bring that up!!! I was just thinking about this VERY thing just a few days ago! I don't have the answers though, just the same question you have!:): I'd love to hear what other peoples input is on this.

[Azariah]

Also, I was wondering why Good Friday is called Good Friday.

From Wikipidia: It is likely that the name "Good Friday" came from the earlier English name, "Godes Friday," meaning "God's Friday." In much the same way as "God be with ye" was shortened to "goodbye," so did "Godes Friday" become "Good Friday."

[Robbinson]

If Holy Thursday celebrates the Last Supper.

If Good Friday celebrates the crucification.

If Easter Sunday celebrates the Reserection.

Friday to Saturday = one day.

Saturday to Sunday = two days.

If Easter Sunday celebrates the Reserection, how is that three days?

I don’t understand the day count.

Jesus rose on the third day. Why is Good Friday to Easter Sunday only two days?

Shouldn’t Easter Sunday technically be Easter Monday?


Great question. I think it is Sundown to Sundown (that is how the Jewish calendar counts days). So, crucifiction on Friday (before sundown), Friday sundown if day 1, Saturday sundown is day 2, Sunday sundown is day 3. I'm not sure - but perhaps this is it - resurrection occurs after sundown on sunday?

As to "good friday" - my wife asked the same question today (why call it "good" friday if its the day of Jesus' crucifiction). Good for us (i imagine) as it is the day our sins were forgiven by His sacrafice?

Regards

[Azariah]

Ask and you shall receive. The answer to my own question found! :):

While Church tradition commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday, there are many debates over which day of the week Jesus died. Did Jesus really die on Friday - or did he die on Wednesday evening, or Thursday?
The Friday view is based on the wording of Mark 15:42, which says that Christ's crucifixion occurred on the day of preparation, "the day before the Sabbath". Since the Hebrew Sabbath is on Saturday, the Church traditionally held that Jesus was crucified on Friday. However, Jesus prophesied that he would be dead for three days and three nights before his resurrection: "For as Jonah 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." (Matthew 12:40). There are obviously not three days and three nights between Friday evening and Sunday morning.

The problem appears easily resolved by a clarification of what Mark meant by "sabbath". Along with the weekly Sabbath day, the Jews had other "sabbaths" throughout the year, marking high holy days. In Matthew 28:1, the Greek should be translated, "at the end of the sabbaths" - a plural word - noting that there had been more than one sabbath the previous week. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was also considered a "sabbath" (Lev. 23:6,7). This Feast is celebrated on Nisan 15, the day after the Passover (Lev. 23:5-6). Jesus was crucified on the Passover and Mark 15:42-43 notes that Joseph of Arimathea desired to take Christ's body down from the cross before the high sabbath began.

More here: http://focusonjerusalem.com/thedayJesusdied.html

[markofthebest]

Friday was the first day,
Saturday the second,
Sunday was the THIRD day...Just MHO, I don't know if that's correct or not.

[janh7]

Friday was the first day,
Saturday the second,
Sunday was the THIRD day...Just MHO, I don't know if that's correct or not.

Yep, that's how I look at it. It says He rose on the third day, it doesn't say He rose 72 hours later.:nod

[andi]

Friday was the first day,
Saturday the second,
Sunday was the THIRD day...Just MHO, I don't know if that's correct or not.

But Yeshua said He would be in the heart of the earth 3 days AND 3 nights......you MIGHT could try to get three days, but never three nights out of a Friday crucifixion. IMHO, he was crucified on Wednesday.

Mat 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.

[Saint Louis]

But Yeshua said He would be in the heart of the earth 3 days AND 3 nights......you MIGHT could try to get three days, but never three nights out of a Friday crucifixion. IMHO, he was crucified on Wednesday.

Mat 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.

Right - the sign of the prophet Jonah.

I don't know what day of the week it was. I'm OK with the "Good Friday" thing though.

I've heard this theory too: Died Wednesday, buried before sundown. In the "heart of the earth" Wed. nite, Thurs. day, Thurs. nite, Fri. day, Fri. nite, Sat. day, rose Sat. night, and then when the women arrived Sunday morning, Jesus had already risen. Matthew 28 records an earthquake and an angel rolling the stone away, but the declaration was that Jesus wasn't there, for He had risen. Likewise the other three Gospel narratives record the stone already being rolled away before anyone arrived.

I've heard the point made that the stone was not rolled away for Jesus to get out (He shows up in a house later apparently without entering the door!) but for His followers to see in, that He was not there. That's neat.

Not stating any dogma here... Just something interesting I've read that fits in this thread. And there are other variations of it... It's interesting to ponder. Really I don't know... And I do love "Good Friday" nonetheless.

I believe He died and He rose on the third day, just as He said. However specifically it was played out...

[Waiting2go]

I have never thought of this before in my life until this morning when one of my 10 year old boys ask me that very same question. I thought about and thought to myself he is right (being only 2 days). But, the only answer that made sense that I could give him was that Friday was day 1, Saturday was day 2 and Sunday was day 3. Interesting that I would end up reading this question and topic on here today.

[jnemec]

I believe Jesus was crucified on Thursday.

First of all by Jewish thinking any part of a day counted as a day.
Therefore He died and was buried on Thursday this was day 1. Then He was there Thursday night - 1 night, Friday day and night - day and night 2, the Saturday day and night - day and night 3. This works with the sign of Jonah.

Now the reason I believe it was Thursday and not Wednesday is that Sunday was the 17th day of the month of Nisan. Saturday would have been the 16th, Friday - 15th and Thursday would have been the 14th. This is Passover day. For thousands of years the Jews had been killing the Passover lamb at 3:00 on the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Jesus, our Passover lamb died on Thursday, the 14th day of the month of Nisan at 3:00 in the afternoon.

[rriley]

Mat 12:40 - KJV
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.

(Joh 11:9 KJV) Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

Gen 1:5 - KJV
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Gen 1:8 - KJV
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Gen 1:13-13 - KJV
And the evening and the morning were the third day.

[CountryPerson]

I believe Jesus was crucified on Thursday.

First of all by Jewish thinking any part of a day counted as a day.
Therefore He died and was buried on Thursday this was day 1. Then He was there Thursday night - 1 night, Friday day and night - day and night 2, the Saturday day and night - day and night 3. This works with the sign of Jonah.

Now the reason I believe it was Thursday and not Wednesday is that Sunday was the 17th day of the month of Nisan. Saturday would have been the 16th, Friday - 15th and Thursday would have been the 14th. This is Passover day. For thousands of years the Jews had been killing the Passover lamb at 3:00 on the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Jesus, our Passover lamb died on Thursday, the 14th day of the month of Nisan at 3:00 in the afternoon.

John, I think that you have it figured out. A Christian ministry called Messianic Perspective was teaching these days as well. If a person would like to commemorate Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, they can look at a Jewish calendar to see when Passover occurs. Three days later would be the day to celebrate Resurrection. If you stick with the dates on Gregorian calendar, just count backward three days from what is designated Easter Sunday, and commemorate Passover on that day. It would make the celebration of His ressurrection so much more meaningful to see the whole picture more clearly spelled out, especially for children.

[Azariah]

I've heard the point made that the stone was not rolled away for Jesus to get out (He shows up in a house later apparently without entering the door!) but for His followers to see in, that He was not there. That's neat.

That is neat. The first I heard of this. Thank-you for sharing. :):

[Ladybug]

But Yeshua said He would be in the heart of the earth 3 days AND 3 nights......you MIGHT could try to get three days, but never three nights out of a Friday crucifixion. IMHO, he was crucified on Wednesday.

Mat 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.

Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night? :noidea

[andi]

Now the reason I believe it was Thursday and not Wednesday is that Sunday was the 17th day of the month of Nisan.


Why do you think that Sunday was the 17th day of Nissan??????? The Bible doesn't say that anywhere does it?

Thanks,
Andrea

[Sisoes]

I believe Jesus was crucified on Thursday.

First of all by Jewish thinking any part of a day counted as a day.
Therefore He died and was buried on Thursday this was day 1. Then He was there Thursday night - 1 night, Friday day and night - day and night 2, the Saturday day and night - day and night 3. This works with the sign of Jonah.

Now the reason I believe it was Thursday and not Wednesday is that Sunday was the 17th day of the month of Nisan. Saturday would have been the 16th, Friday - 15th and Thursday would have been the 14th. This is Passover day. For thousands of years the Jews had been killing the Passover lamb at 3:00 on the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Jesus, our Passover lamb died on Thursday, the 14th day of the month of Nisan at 3:00 in the afternoon.

It would seem to me, by this reckoning, that Jesus then rose on the 4th day

[andi]

Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night? :noidea

Hi! The reason I think it was Wednesday instead of Thursday is because with Thursday you don't really get three full days in the grave. I know that some of the Rabbis considered any part of a day to be counted as a full day, but does God look at time that way?? The way I look at the scriptures that rriley posted seems to indicate that God doesn't count time like the Rabbis.

If Yeshua died Wednesday evening:

Wed night = 1st night
Thursday day = 1st day
Thursday night = 2nd night
Friday day = 2nd day
Friday night = 3rd day
Saturday day = 3rd day
Resurrection occurs at the end of the day Saturday........we know he was already resurrected by Sunday morning.

That is a little speculative on my part.....but this whole discussion is a little speculative anyway.

However it happened I know he was in the grave 3 days and 3 nights and then he AROSE FROM THE DEAD!!!! HalleluYah!!

[M. Hawbaker]

If Yeshua died Wednesday evening:

Wed night = 1st night
Thursday day = 1st day
Thursday night = 2nd night
Friday day = 2nd day
Friday night = 3rd day
Saturday day = 3rd day
Resurrection occurs at the end of the day Saturday........we know he was already resurrected by Sunday morning.



Wouldn't that be 3 nights and 3 days rather than 3days and 3 three nights?

[M. Hawbaker]

It would seem to me, by this reckoning, that Jesus then rose on the 4th day
No, because jews count the new day as starting at sundown:

Jesus was buried on Thursday the 14th before sundown.

He rose again early Sunday morning the 17th before sunrise.

Thursday 14th = Day 1
Thursday Night 15th = night 1

Friday 15th = Day 2
Friday Night 16th = Night 2

Saturday 16th = Day 3
Saturday Night 17th = Night 3

[Paidfor]

Mar 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.
Mar 16:2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

They could not have purchased spices on the Sabbath. If Jesus were crucified on Thursday, both Friday and Saturday would be Sabbath days. If He were crucified on Wednesday that gives them Friday to purchase and prepare the burial spices. The Saturday again a Sabbath and then they went to the tomb on Sunday at sunrise.

[laurent]

Jack Kelly explains it detail here, makes sense to me....crucified on Thursday

http://www.gracethrufaith.com/selah/tough-questions-answered/solving-the-three-day-three-night-mystery

[janh7]

Why does it matter??

[Paidfor]

Why does it matter??

For those of us who believe, it doesn't matter. But for those of whose faith is weak, it is important that they know that the scripture is inspired by God and is inerrant. So then they know that what they read is true.

It is important that we be ready to answer those who are always looking for errors in the scripture.

And I think its fun to discuss things like this and learn more about God's ways.:):

[PlentyGroovy]

What does 'good' Friday signify?:confused

[Sisoes]

No, because jews count the new day as starting at sundown:

Jesus was buried on Thursday the 14th before sundown.

He rose again early Sunday morning the 17th before sunrise.

Thursday 14th = Day 1
Thursday Night 15th = night 1

Friday 15th = Day 2
Friday Night 16th = Night 2

Saturday 16th = Day 3
Saturday Night 17th = Night 3

Thursday 1 day (Thursday)
Thursday sundown to Friday sundown 1day (Friday}
Friday sundown to Saturday sundown 1day (Saturday)
Saturday sundown starts 1 day, the fourth day Sunday

[M. Hawbaker]

They could not have purchased spices on the Sabbath. If Jesus were crucified on Thursday, both Friday and Saturday would be Sabbath days. If He were crucified on Wednesday that gives them Friday to purchase and prepare the burial spices. The Saturday again a Sabbath and then they went to the tomb on Sunday at sunrise.

The weekly Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday.

The women would have been able to obtain the spices Saturday evening after the Sabbath ended.

[M. Hawbaker]

Saturday sundown starts 1 day, the fourth day Sunday

Sundown Saturday to Sundown Sunday would have been the 4th day in the sense of calendar dates; but because Jesus rose from the dead before sunrise, there was no 4th day in the sense of "daytime".

He was in the grave for 3 days (periods of daylight):

1. Thursday
2. Friday
3. Saturday

He was in the grave for 3 nights (periods of darkness):

1. Thursday Night
2. Friday Night
3. Saturday Night

[M. Hawbaker]

The Thursday crucifixion is also confirmed by Luke 24:21 which indicates that the day of the resurection was "the third day since" the crucifixion of Jesus.

And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. (Luke 24:19-21)

Therefore, since the Gospels tell us that Jesus arose early in the morning on the first day of the week:

Sunday (the 4th calendar date) was the third day since His crucifixion,
Saturday (the 3rd calendar date) was the second day since His crucifixion,
Friday (the 2nd calendar date) was the first day since His crucifixion,
and Thursday (the 1st calendar date)was the day of His crucifixion

[M. Hawbaker]

For those of us who believe, it doesn't matter. But for those of whose faith is weak, it is important that they know that the scripture is inspired by God and is inerrant. So then they know that what they read is true.

It is important that we be ready to answer those who are always looking for errors in the scripture.

And I think its fun to discuss things like this and learn more about God's ways.:):

:thumb

[Galoutofdixie]

Found an Article/study over at Gracethrufaith that talks about this.

http://www.gracethrufaith.com/selah/tough-questions-answered/solving-the-three-day-three-night-mystery

[trn2him]

I just read something on this in my new Focus on the Family magazine. They said Easter wasn't always on Sunday, it wasn't until around 325 A.D. (I think) that it was celebrated on Sunday. The Counceil of Nicea (SP?) issued a rule that Easter was to be celebrated the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the equinox. They don't say why but I'm sure it probably had to do with the gathering of crops and such.
Easter Thursday just doesn't have the same ring to it as Easter Sunday. :heh

[SusieQ]

The weekly Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday.

The women would have been able to obtain the spices Saturday evening after the Sabbath ended.


That can't be right according to scripture~Luke 24:56~"Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." This shows they had them and prepared them by the time Sabbath arrived.

Scipture also says they had to purchase them (didn't have them "on hand"). The only way I see this working is that there were 2 Sabbaths~they purchased them after the first Sabbath of that week and had them prepared before the second (regular weekly) Sabbath..

[M. Hawbaker]

That can't be right according to scripture~Luke 24:56~"Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." This shows they had them and prepared them by the time Sabbath arrived.

Scipture also says they had to purchase them (didn't have them "on hand"). The only way I see this working is that there were 2 Sabbaths~they purchased them after the first Sabbath of that week and had them prepared before the second (regular weekly) Sabbath..
You seem to be confusing the actions of two different groups of women.

First, there are the unnamed women from Galilee who prepared the spices which they already had on hand on the day of the crucifixion (before sunset on Thursday):

Luke 23:55-56~
And the women who had come with him from Galilee went after him and saw the place and how his body had been put to rest;
Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment."

Second, there are the 2 Marys and Salome who purchased additional spices after the sabbaths were over (after sunset on Saturday):

Mark 16:1~
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.

Between these two events, there were two Sabbath days:

1. The High Sabbath of Unleavened bread (sunset Thursday to sunset Friday)
2. The normal weekly Sabbath (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday)

[SusieQ]

no, I am not confused:): The post of yours I addressed was confusing to me b/c all you mentioned was one Sabbath and you said in that post that after the Sabbath they prepared the spices, but Luke scripture shows that first they prepared the spices then they rested for the Sabbath. In your last post you added much more detail and clarified your postion that we are dealing with 2 Sabbaths. This I agree with. Your last post makes sense to me (I am a little dense and need lots of details:): I guess in my own convoluted way I am saying I am in agreement with your last post and it made clearer your post I addressed (although not convinced that 2 different groups of women bought spices at 2 different times but that is trivial:B: )

[cinlynn]

Hal Lindsey had a good lesson on this very subject last night. :nod

I do believe you can veiw it at his website.

http://hallindsey.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

[Doxiemom]

It was called Black Friday for centuries. Back in the days of everything Christian being Roman Catholic it was considered the blackest,saddest day ever. Jesus died. To this day it is the only day that Mass is not celebrated...note the word celebrate.... that is what Mass is to catholics.. a celebration. Not trying to stir up the pros or cons or catholicism, just trying to give you the mindset and the reasons .


Then, perhaps by the urging of the Holy Spirit, the Church came to the conclusion that it was viewing this magnicficent wonderous event from the wrong side. Yes, it was a sad day, but it was also glorious. It was Good. Hence, it was to be called Good Friday.

Now, unless memory serves me wrong, this change happened some 30-40 years ago as I am 59 yrs old and I seem to remember it still being called Black Friday as a kid and then it was changed in my late teens or early 20's.

[jnemec]

Why do you think that Sunday was the 17th day of Nissan??????? The Bible doesn't say that anywhere does it?

Thanks,
Andrea

We know Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. That would have been the 10th day of the month of Nisan. This is the day the Jews chose the Passover lamb. It is also exactly 483 years to the day of the giving of Artaxeres decree to rebuild the temple, city and the walls of Jerusalem. This fulfills the prophecy given in Daniel that it would be 483 years from the giving of the decree to the coming of the Messiah. Then 4 days later on Passover, the 14th of Nisan was when Jesus was crucified. He died at 3 p.m. which is when the Jews killed the Passover lamb. This would have been Thursday. Then 3 days later, Sunday the 17th of Nisan, would have been the feast of firstfruits, which is when Jesus was rasied. And our God is so awesome that He left us other clues. The 17th of Nisan is also the same day that the ark rested on Mount Ararat.

[Gary]

But Yeshua said He would be in the heart of the earth 3 days AND 3 nights......you MIGHT could try to get three days, but never three nights out of a Friday crucifixion. IMHO, he was crucified on Wednesday.

Mat 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.

Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Mat 17:23 And they shall kill him, and the third dayhe shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

Mat 20:19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify [him]: and thethird day he shall rise again.

Mat 27:64 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.

Mar 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

Mar 10:34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Luk 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.


I honestly don't know how Mat 12:40 translates in there, but it's impossible to have both 3 days and three nights in the grave AND to rise on the third day. No matter how you look at it, 3 days + 3 nights = rising on the 4th day.

So which is correct?

The only way it works is if Jesus is Crucified Thursday night. Then Thurs is night 1, Friday day 1, Fri night 2, Sat day 2, Sat night 3, Sunday day 3 and He rises on the third day (Sunday).

[G-d Seeker]

Since it is impossible to fit three days and three nights between late Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, we have a serious timing problem. The traditional view of a "Good Friday" burial and an "Easter Sunday" resurrection cannot be reconciled with Jesus Christ's own statements about how long He would be in the tomb. They cannot both be right.

Why do most churches assume and teach that Christ died and was buried on Good Friday? Tradition, for one thing! That's what most people have always been taught.

Also, they assume this is what the Bible teaches. The Scriptures do say that He was buried on "the preparation day," the day before a Sabbath.

Heavy cooking and housecleaning were done on the day before a Sabbath in preparation for it. And the weekly Sabbath falls on Saturday, the seventh day of the week.

Also, according to Bible reckoning days begin at sunset (Leviticus 23:32; compare Genesis 1:5, 8, 13), so all weekly Sabbaths start Friday evening at sunset.

Mark 15:42-46 does tell us plainly that Jesus was entombed late in the afternoon on the "preparation day," just before the Sabbath began at sunset: "Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

"Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he [Joseph] bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb."

What few people realize is that the Sabbath spoken of here was not the weekly Sabbath day, which begins on Friday at sunset and lasts until Saturday sunset.

The apostle John specifically tells us that the day on which Jesus was crucified immediately preceded a special Sabbath, not the regular weekly Sabbath. "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away" (John 19:31).

That Sabbath, we see from Scripture, was "a high day." In addition to the weekly Sabbaths, God also commanded seven Holy Days or annual Sabbaths (see Leviticus 23), most of which could fall on different days of the week. A number of commentaries and Bible helps will tell you that John is here referring to one of these annual Sabbaths rather than the weekly Sabbath.

Jesus Christ, like the Passover lamb that was killed to spare the ancient Israelites from the death angel, was slain on Passover day (read John 19). The Passover is observed on the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. The next day begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first day of Unleavened Bread, the 15th of Abib, is an annual Sabbath.

"On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it" (Leviticus 23:5-7).

The Jews were rushing to finish the burials of the condemned men before the annual Sabbath began at sunset. This preparation day was the day before the first day of Unleavened Bread, a high day or annual Sabbath. The "Preparation Day" referred to in Mark 15:42 and John 19:31 was the day before the Holy Day that began the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

There were actually two Sabbaths that week—an annual Sabbath "high day" and a regular weekly Sabbath day. This is proven by the Gospels' statements regarding Mary Magdalene and the other women, who planned to put more spices and ointments on Christ's body, having been unable to do so because He had been so hurriedly entombed.

In Mark 16:1, we read that they purchased the necessary spices "when the Sabbath was past"—clearly after it was over. But then in Luke 23, we are told that they prepared the spices and fragrant oils and then rested on the Sabbath, which means they had to have acquired the spices before that Sabbath on which they rested.

"That day was the Preparation [Day], and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:54-56).

Since it was unlawful to buy, sell or work on the Sabbath, the women had to wait until the annual Sabbath was past before they could purchase the spices. They did this on Thursday evening or early Friday.

So they rested on the weekly Sabbath after purchasing and preparing them, intending to put them on His body early Sunday morning.

When we compare the different Gospel accounts, the true sequence of events becomes clear. The women purchased and prepared the spices when the first Sabbath (the annual high day) was past, then rested on the following day, which was another Sabbath—the regular weekly Sabbath day.

In the year A.D. 31, the year Jesus was crucified, the Passover fell on a Wednesday, April 25, with the first day of Unleavened Bread following on the next day, Thursday. He died shortly after 3:00 p.m. on Passover day, Wednesday afternoon.

"Now it was about the sixth hour [of daylight, corresponding to 12 noon], and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last" (Luke 23:44-46).

Between the ninth hour (3 p.m.) and sunset on Wednesday, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus asked for permission to remove His body to wrap and put it in a tomb which was close by.

"After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

"Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby" (John 19:38-42; compare Luke 23:50-55).

That Wednesday evening began the "high day," or annual Sabbath beginning the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This annual Sabbath ended Thursday evening at sunset.

The next day, Friday, the two Marys went out and purchased more spices to add to the body of Christ and spent the rest of the day preparing them. "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1).

They then rested on Saturday, the weekly Sabbath, before getting up early Sunday morning to go to the tomb to put the spices on His body.

"Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus" (Luke 23:55-24:3).

When Mary went to the tomb on Sunday morning, "while it was still dark" (John 20:1), Christ's body was not there. He wasn't resurrected at sunrise on Sunday morning. Before sunrise His body was already gone!

Jesus Christ said He would be "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40). If He were buried in the late afternoon, then He must have been resurrected at around the same time three days and nights later.

He was placed in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea in the late afternoon just before the sun went down. Three days and three nights later would have been at approximately the same time of day, just as the sun went down and evening came.

This places Christ's resurrection on Saturday around sunset—not on Sunday morning! As we have already seen, when Mary went to the tomb "while it was still dark" on Sunday morning, He was already risen!

Christ was buried on Wednesday afternoon, very late, and raised from His grave around sunset three days and nights later. This perfectly fits with the three nights—Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night—and the three days—Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This is the only time that fits Jesus' own prediction of how long He would be in the tomb. And, as we have seen, it fits perfectly with all the details recorded in the Gospels.

[Robbinson]

Since it is impossible to fit three days and three nights between late Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, we have a serious timing problem. The traditional view of a "Good Friday" burial and an "Easter Sunday" resurrection cannot be reconciled with Jesus Christ's own statements about how long He would be in the tomb. They cannot both be right.

Why do most churches assume and teach that Christ died and was buried on Good Friday? Tradition, for one thing! That's what most people have always been taught.

Also, they assume this is what the Bible teaches. The Scriptures do say that He was buried on "the preparation day," the day before a Sabbath.

Heavy cooking and housecleaning were done on the day before a Sabbath in preparation for it. And the weekly Sabbath falls on Saturday, the seventh day of the week.

Also, according to Bible reckoning days begin at sunset (Leviticus 23:32; compare Genesis 1:5, 8, 13), so all weekly Sabbaths start Friday evening at sunset.

Mark 15:42-46 does tell us plainly that Jesus was entombed late in the afternoon on the "preparation day," just before the Sabbath began at sunset: "Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

"Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he [Joseph] bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb."

What few people realize is that the Sabbath spoken of here was not the weekly Sabbath day, which begins on Friday at sunset and lasts until Saturday sunset.

The apostle John specifically tells us that the day on which Jesus was crucified immediately preceded a special Sabbath, not the regular weekly Sabbath. "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away" (John 19:31).

That Sabbath, we see from Scripture, was "a high day." In addition to the weekly Sabbaths, God also commanded seven Holy Days or annual Sabbaths (see Leviticus 23), most of which could fall on different days of the week. A number of commentaries and Bible helps will tell you that John is here referring to one of these annual Sabbaths rather than the weekly Sabbath.

Jesus Christ, like the Passover lamb that was killed to spare the ancient Israelites from the death angel, was slain on Passover day (read John 19). The Passover is observed on the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. The next day begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first day of Unleavened Bread, the 15th of Abib, is an annual Sabbath.

"On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it" (Leviticus 23:5-7).

The Jews were rushing to finish the burials of the condemned men before the annual Sabbath began at sunset. This preparation day was the day before the first day of Unleavened Bread, a high day or annual Sabbath. The "Preparation Day" referred to in Mark 15:42 and John 19:31 was the day before the Holy Day that began the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

There were actually two Sabbaths that week—an annual Sabbath "high day" and a regular weekly Sabbath day. This is proven by the Gospels' statements regarding Mary Magdalene and the other women, who planned to put more spices and ointments on Christ's body, having been unable to do so because He had been so hurriedly entombed.

In Mark 16:1, we read that they purchased the necessary spices "when the Sabbath was past"—clearly after it was over. But then in Luke 23, we are told that they prepared the spices and fragrant oils and then rested on the Sabbath, which means they had to have acquired the spices before that Sabbath on which they rested.

"That day was the Preparation [Day], and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:54-56).

Since it was unlawful to buy, sell or work on the Sabbath, the women had to wait until the annual Sabbath was past before they could purchase the spices. They did this on Thursday evening or early Friday.

So they rested on the weekly Sabbath after purchasing and preparing them, intending to put them on His body early Sunday morning.

When we compare the different Gospel accounts, the true sequence of events becomes clear. The women purchased and prepared the spices when the first Sabbath (the annual high day) was past, then rested on the following day, which was another Sabbath—the regular weekly Sabbath day.

In the year A.D. 31, the year Jesus was crucified, the Passover fell on a Wednesday, April 25, with the first day of Unleavened Bread following on the next day, Thursday. He died shortly after 3:00 p.m. on Passover day, Wednesday afternoon.

"Now it was about the sixth hour [of daylight, corresponding to 12 noon], and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last" (Luke 23:44-46).

Between the ninth hour (3 p.m.) and sunset on Wednesday, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus asked for permission to remove His body to wrap and put it in a tomb which was close by.

"After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

"Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby" (John 19:38-42; compare Luke 23:50-55).

That Wednesday evening began the "high day," or annual Sabbath beginning the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This annual Sabbath ended Thursday evening at sunset.

The next day, Friday, the two Marys went out and purchased more spices to add to the body of Christ and spent the rest of the day preparing them. "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1).

They then rested on Saturday, the weekly Sabbath, before getting up early Sunday morning to go to the tomb to put the spices on His body.

"Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus" (Luke 23:55-24:3).

When Mary went to the tomb on Sunday morning, "while it was still dark" (John 20:1), Christ's body was not there. He wasn't resurrected at sunrise on Sunday morning. Before sunrise His body was already gone!

Jesus Christ said He would be "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40). If He were buried in the late afternoon, then He must have been resurrected at around the same time three days and nights later.

He was placed in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea in the late afternoon just before the sun went down. Three days and three nights later would have been at approximately the same time of day, just as the sun went down and evening came.

This places Christ's resurrection on Saturday around sunset—not on Sunday morning! As we have already seen, when Mary went to the tomb "while it was still dark" on Sunday morning, He was already risen!

Christ was buried on Wednesday afternoon, very late, and raised from His grave around sunset three days and nights later. This perfectly fits with the three nights—Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night—and the three days—Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This is the only time that fits Jesus' own prediction of how long He would be in the tomb. And, as we have seen, it fits perfectly with all the details recorded in the Gospels.


Thank you G-D Seeker :clap

I'd like to do a litte more reading - but what you describe makes sense and appears to have scriptual and historical foundation.

Regards