Q. Thanks so much for your web site, it has been a blessing. Once again, here is another thought about the timing of our Christ being crucified. I’ve read a lot of the articles, and they all make good sense, however I never seen in any of them a couple of scriptures that are very important.
Some suppose it was Good Friday, you say Thursday is the only day, while others say Wednesday. The gospel accounts all added together give us the clearest picture of all, setting aside Jewish traditions. Some say you must account for the traditions, I say the Holy Bible alone will give you the answers. Studying the Gospels, in conjunction with the old testament, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday that He went into the temple for the first day of inspection. Therefore the three day inspection ended on Tuesday.
The reasons I believe this are the two scriptures in Mark and Luke. The gospels say there was and earthquake when Jesus gave up His Spirit. The graves were open. The following day they could do no work. The day of the resurrection there was another earthquake. This leads to Friday.Luke 23:55 say the women followed to see where Jesus was laid, vs. 56 says “they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.” Some believing this Sabbath to be Saturday correctly.
Mark 15:47 says the women beheld where He was laid. Mark 16:1 says, “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.
My question is how the could buy and prepared the spices before and after the sabbath, if the Sabbaths were not Thursday and Saturday? Was Jesus therefore crucified on Wednesday? Thank for your answer.
A. You’ve read my article on the Holy Week events so you know I think the Bible says that Thursday is the only possible day. Exodus 12:3 says that the 10th day was for selecting the Lamb. Then came 3 days of inspection, the 11th, 12th, and 13th, and then Passover the 14th.
Palm Sunday was the day of selection. It was the only day in His life that He allowed them to call Him the Messiah and can’t be counted in theinspection process. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were for inspection, and that makes the Crucifixion on Thursday, Passover. Friday was the Feast of Unleavened bread, a special Sabbath where no work was allowed, Saturday was the regular Sabbath, and Sunday was the first day of the week when the women went to the tomb and found it empty.
Neither Luke 23:55-56 nor Mark 15:47-16:1 contain anything to dispute that. Assuming they didn’t know in advance when Jesus was going to be executed, the women had two opportunities to buy spices after the time He was condemned to death and before they saw the open tomb. The first was anytime Thursday before sunset, and the other was Saturday evening after sunset when the second Sabbath ended. John 19:39-40 supports the earlier purchase, saying that Nicodemus and Joseph had 75 pounds of spices with them when they laid the Lord in the tomb. The fact that Mark 16:1 says that the women had bought spices, which implies some time before Sunday morning, gives further support to the early purchase.
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Q. As you are aware the Hebrew culture’s sense of timing was and as far as I know still different from ours. This is certain during the time of the disciples who would have kept to Hebrew timing.
At the time of the crucifixion Jewish law had an important legal stipulation. This stated that a person was not legally dead until a full three 24-hour day’s had passed i.e. 72 hours. Because of our system of timing, inherited from the R.C. church, we assume that “early the first day of the week” meant Sunday morning sunRISE. According to the Companion Bible and its appendages this verse in Mark’s gospel meant Saturday evening just as the sun set. There is a most interesting discussion in these appendages on the right day of the Passover at the time of the crucifixion, claiming it was on a Wednesday not a Friday.
A. In order to have the Lord crucified on Passover and prevent the women from preparing His body for burial, He had to be crucified on Thursday. It was called preparation day in the Lord’s time because at sunset the Feast of unleavened bread began, so all the preparation had to be done beforehand. That made Friday the special Sabbath that John spoke of (John 19:31). Then Saturday was the normal Sabbath. No work could be done on either day, keeping the women away. Had the Lord been crucified earlier in the week the women could have come the next day and no one would have noticed when He rose. Finally on Sunday Morning the women could come to anoint the body and discover that the Lord had risen. The Bible doesn’t say He rose at sunrise, but that the women got there at sunrise and found the empty tomb.
I don’t know where you got the information about the 72 hour rule, but I think someone has embellished the Hebrew tradition that a deceased person’s soul lingered near the body for 3 days. On the fourth day the person was considered dead and that’s when they believed the body began to decompose. It was also normal to consider any part of a day as a full day when counting. Therefore the three days and three nights prophecy can be fulfilled in less than 72 hours.
With night preceding day in the Hebrew manner of counting, the three days would have been Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and the three nights would have been Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Thursday day and Sunday night were slightly shortened periods.
Psalm 16:10 contains a prophecy that God would not leave His Holy One in the grave nor allow his body to see decay. Both Peter (Acts 2:27) and Paul (Acts 13:35) applied this to the Lord. This confirms that Jesus had to come out of the grave before decomposition could begin on the fourth day, and lends support to a 3 day, 3 night stay of less than 72 hours.
This also explains why Jesus delayed before coming to raise Lazarus (John 11:6). Had he called Lazarus from the grave earlier, people could have claimed that Lazarus wasn’t really dead. By waiting till the 4th day, He removed all doubt. (John 11:39)
Q. It seems that if Jesus were buried Thursday afternoon, he wouldn’t have been in the grave 3 full days and 3 full nights. For that to have happened, he would have had to been crucified on Wednesday. Any thoughts?
A. You’re adding to the text. It doesn’t say three full days and three full nights. Literally the Greek is three day periods and three night periods. Also the Jewish day goes from sunset to sunset, and night precedes day. He died on Thursday about 3 in the afternoon, being on the cross since morning, and was immediately laid in the tomb. Day 1. At sunset it became Friday night. Night 1. The next morning was Friday day. Day 2. Then at sunset it was Saturday night. Night 2. Then Saturday day. Day 3. Then Sunday night, Night 3. By Sunday morning He had risen from the grave.
Q. I’ve noticed several commentators saying the crucifixion had to happen on Wednesday because the Lord had to be in the belly of the Earth three full days and three full nights for a total of 72 hours to fulfill the sign of the prophet Jonah. How do you reconcile that with a Thursday crucifixion?
A. I can’t find a single English translation that says “three full days and three full nights” or requires the passage of 72 hours to fulfill the intent of either Jonah 1:17, where the phrase originated, or Matt. 12:40 where Jesus repeated it. Quoting from Strong’s concordance, “Eastern usage of this term differs from our western usage. Any part of a day is counted as a whole day, hence the expression ‘three days and three nights’ does not mean literally three whole (24 hour) days”. According to this definition, a Thursday crucifixion easily meets the requirements.
Also the testimony of the two disciples Jesus encountered on the road to Emmaus confirms Sunday as the third day since the crucifixion (Luke 24:21), making Saturday the second day since, Friday the first day since, and Thursday the day of the crucifixion. Depending on whose opinion you like, Emmaus was between 4 and 7 miles from Jerusalem. Proponents of a Wednesday crucifixion would have the disciples going there on Saturday which far exceeds the distance permitted by Jewish law for a Sabbath day’s journey.
Ioan17 - John 17 
