S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The Bible does not explicitly state on which day of the week Jesus was crucified. The two most widely held views are Friday and Wednesday. Some, however, using a synthesis of both the Friday and We...

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July 01 2013 • 4 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

David P. Larsen Supporter

It's not a definitive or black and white issue, but I've held to the Thursday view of the crucifixion for quite awhile. The special sabbath referred to (John 19:31) that year is very possibly sundown Thursday to sundown Friday, thus Jesus had to be buried shortly before Thursday evening. This view makes the most sense to me with the buried for three days verses as well. (Mark 8:31, etc.)

Again we do not know for sure which day of the week. It is more important that we realize what happened (Jesus' death to pay for our sins) rather than when...

October 02 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Aurel Gheorghe Supporter

According with the Bible, Jesus was crucified on a Friday, Luke 23: 54-56 makes very clear: "It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment." 

The Bible Sabbath is from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown and the Preparation day the day before the Sabbath when God's people supposed to prepare for the Sabbath (prepare food, clean their homes, take baths, etc)

October 29 2014 • 7 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

leslie coutinho Supporter Working in the Gulf, State of kuwait as a Project Manager

Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And the Evening and the Morning were the first day.

When God called a day from evening to morning the first day then, as Jesus said in Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whales belly so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 

Jesus was crucified on Thursday evening and as the scriptures says 

1)	That the Thursday Evening and the Friday Morning were the first day (Gen 1:5) and then 
2)	The second day would be Friday evening to Saturday morning and then 
3)	The third day would be Saturday evening to Sunday morning in which Jesus spent three full Day and Night in the tomb and then on Sunday morning he was no more in the tomb he had already risen from the dead. 

The preparation for Sabbath started the next day that followed the day of preparation (Mat:27:62) which was the morning of Friday as the evening of Friday would be the beginning of the Sabbath.

March 03 2016 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Joe Elledge Supporter

A Thursday crucifixion solves all the apparent issues typically associated with the Gospel accounts while preserving their inerrancy. It is also consistent with the contemporary practices and norms. It may also be reconciled with astronomical data.

The only place Christ could have practically observed a Passover meal with His disciples on a timing different than that of the mainstream Jews would have been in the Essene quarter of Jerusalem. The Essenes always celebrated the Passover meal on a Tuesday evening (the Essene calendar differed from that of the mainstream Jews). The traditional site of the last supper is, indeed, located in what was the Essene quarter. And the Essenes celebrated with bread and not a lamb (they considered the Sadducean priesthood and its temple sacrifices illegitimate). The Essene quarter also provided privacy, but all who entered would have had to take a bath by immersion (thus Christ's response when Peter objected to the washing of his feet). 

It should be noted that the Essene solar calendar typically differed from the mainstream Judean lunar/solar calendar by one to two days (16 to 40 hours being the usual difference between the true new moon that began the Essene month and the crescent that began the mainstream month). With a Tuesday evening Last Supper, Christ would have been seized on Wednesday morning. Jewish law required capital crimes such as heresy/blasphemy (of which Christ was accused) to be tried during the day time and for any death sentencing to occur the day following the trial and preliminary sentencing (the court had to "sleep on it"). This means the trial with witnesses occurred on Wednesday. The death sentencing then occurred on Thursday morning. This sequence would have provided the opportunity for the Sanhedrin to notify Pilate that Christ would appear before him the next morning (the idea that they could have taken Christ to Pilate without advance warning and due process is unreasonable given the Romans exclusively retained the right for death sentencing). So Christ received the death sentence from the Sanhedrin on Thursday morning and then appeared before Pilate for approval of execution. Thursday was for the mainstream Jews the Preparation Day for the Passover (Nisan 14) to be celebrated that evening. 

So Christ died on a Thursday afternoon and was raised on Sunday morning. This met the specification of Matthew 12:40 while, critically, also conforming to sequence for the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Christ deferred going to Bethany for a period of time that would have Lazarus in the grave for three days and nights. So he raised Lazarus on the fourth day (or three elapsed days). This sequence recognized that the Jews of the period believed that a dead man's spirit hovered over the body for three days seeking reentry, but would depart after three days since the body would have begun to decay. Christ would have applied this same sequence to His own death and resurrection so it could, unequivocally, be argued He died and was resurrected. It also recognizes that the Jews used inclusive reckoning, but they applied this at the level of specificity in the circumstance. Give Christ’s statement in Matt 12:40 and the Lazarus account in John 11, any part of a night would constitute a night. Any part of a day would count as a day. Thus the late afternoon of the crucifixion day would count as a day even though they were hustling to entomb His body before sundown. 

Resurrection from the dead was one of the four messianic signs expected by the mainstream Jews. This is why notoriety attached to Lazarus's death and resurrection whereas it did not to others that Jesus raised (e.g., the synagogue official's daughter). With a Thursday death and Sunday resurrection, Christ recognized the prevailing beliefs about death and thereby unequivocally ensured his resurrection met messianic expectations.

August 11 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jim Dubé Supporter Former pastor

The confirmation to me that is was either Wednesday or Thursday (and thus fulfilled Mt 12:40 regarding Jonah) is the fact that on this particular weekend, the Jews would celebrate TWO sabbaths: the high sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which kicked off with Passover), and then the sabbath day of Saturday (the day or rest, the last day of their week). It is good for us to also remember that the feast titled Feast of Unleavened Bread was a combination of 3 feasts: Passover, Leavened Bread and First Fruits. (Suggested readings on the Chief Convocations, or Feasts, of Israel are found in Ex 23:14-16, Lev 23 and Dt 16).

Some translations actually transcribe Mt 28:1 as "sabbaths" (plural) to designate there were 2 sabbaths involved during Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. 

Jesus was removed from the cross prior to the beginning of the holy convocation (or high sabbath) of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because by Jewish custom no prisoner could be left on the cross during a sabbath. (This would fulfill another prophecy, explained later.) 

The 3rd and final feast celebrated that weekend culminated on Sunday morning with the Feast of First Fruits - while the high priest was in the field waving his grain offering to God so the initial harvest would be good, Jesus ascended to the Father thus fulfilling the wave offering so that we (as symbolized by the balance of the grain in the field) would also be accepted by His sacrifice (Jn 20:11-25).

The first fruit always belonged to God. It was "devoted" to Him (H2764 - herem; Nm 27:28). This Hebrew word means the first fruit was sanctified unto the Lord but cursed should men touch it. In Joshua chapters 6 and 7 we see that Jericho was devoted (or "herem') as the first fruit unto the Lord. 

This is why God demanded Israel take NOTHING from Jericho, as it ALL belonged to God. It would bring a curse on them if they disobeyed. God specifically told them to keep themselves from the "cursed" thing (Josh 6:17-18), or else they would become cursed (cursed here is "herem" in Hebrew).

Of the many prophecies Jesus fulfilled in this short period of time (some theologians rate it as high as 29 prophecies in 24 hours), He fulfilled two prophecies referred to in this post specifically: the prophecy of bearing the curse of sin for us (the "herem"), AND the prophecy that the lamb offered would have no broken bones - Jesus gave up His life before the end of the day and prior to the breaking of the prisoner's legs (we remember that the Centurions had to break the legs of the 2 other prisoner's to expedite their deaths).

According to Dt 21:22-23, if a man is hanged on a tree, that man MUST be removed from that "tree" before sundown (start of new day), or else that curse he bore would once again pass back onto the land. 

Jesus bore the curse of us (Gal 3:13-14), and for this reason He had to removed from the cross (tree) prior to sundown in fulfillment of the Law. He was the "devoted" thing on our behalf - God insured Jesus would be removed prior to the beginning of the High Sabbath to insure the curse Jesus bore for us would NOT come back on us.

By dying on either Wednesday or Thursday Jesus fulfilled completely the prophecy of Mt 12:40.

October 19 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report