Jesus Wasn't Crucified on Friday or Resurrected on Sunday

Article by Scott Ashley

How can we fit three days and three nights between a Friday afternoon crucifixion and an Easter Sunday sunrise? The fact is, we can't. So what is the truth about when Jesus was crucified and resurrected?

About one billion Protestants and another billion Catholics believe that Jesus Christ was crucified and entombed on a Friday afternoon—"Good Friday"—and raised to life again at daybreak on Easter Sunday morning, a day and a half later.

Yet when we compare this to what Jesus Himself said about how long He would be entombed, we find a major contradiction. How long did Jesus say He would be in the grave? "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).

The context in which Jesus Christ said these words is important. The scribes and Pharisees were demanding a miraculous sign from Him to prove that He was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. "But He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah'" (verse 39).

This was the only sign Jesus gave that He was the promised Messiah: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (emphasis added throughout).

Traditional timing doesn't add up

The Gospels are clear that Jesus died and His body was hurriedly placed in the tomb late in the afternoon, just before sundown when a Sabbath began (John 19:30-42).

By the traditional "Good Friday–Easter Sunday" timing, from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is one night and one day. Saturday night to Sunday daybreak is another night, giving us two nights and one day.

So where do we get another night and two days to equal the three days and three nights Jesus said He would be in the tomb?

This is definitely a problem. Most theologians and religious scholars try to work around it by arguing that any part of a day or night counts as a day or night. Thus, they say, the final few minutes of that Friday afternoon were the first day, all day Saturday was the second day, and the first few minutes of Sunday morning were the third day.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

The trouble is, it doesn't work. This only adds up to three days and two nights, not three days and three nights.

Also, John 20:1
tells us that "on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb."

Did you catch the problem here? John tells us it was still dark when Mary went to the tomb on Sunday morning and found it empty. Jesus was already resurrected well before daybreak. Thus He wasn't in the tomb any of the daylight portion of Sunday, so none of that can be counted as a day.

That leaves us with, at most, part of a day on Friday, all of Friday night, a whole daylight portion on Saturday, and most of Saturday night. That totals one full day and part of another, and one full night and most of another—still at least a full day and a full night short of the time Jesus said He would be in the tomb.

Clearly something doesn't add up. Either Jesus misspoke about the length of time He would be in the tomb, or the "Good Friday–Easter Sunday" timing is not biblical or accurate.

Obviously both cannot be true. So which one is right?

Understanding God's time is the key

The key to understanding the timing of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection lies in understanding God's timetable for counting when days begin and end, as well as the timing of His biblical festivals during the spring of the year when these events took place.

We first need to realize that God doesn't begin and end days at midnight as we do—that is a humanly devised method of counting time. Genesis1:5
tells us quite plainly that God counts a day as beginning with the evening (the night portion) and ending at the next evening—"So the evening [nighttime] and the morning [daylight] were the first day." God repeats this formula for the entire six days of creation.

In Leviticus 23, where God lists all of His holy Sabbaths and festivals, He makes it clear that they are to be observed "from evening to evening" (verse 32)—in other words, from sunset to sunset, when the sun went down and evening began.

This is why Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, followers of Jesus, hurriedly placed His body in Joseph's nearby tomb just before sundown (John 19:39-42). A Sabbath was beginning at sundown (verse 31), when work would have to cease.

Two kinds of "Sabbaths" lead to confusion

As John tells us in verse 31: "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies [of those crucified] 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 [to hasten death], and that they might be taken away."

In the Jewish culture of that time, the chores of cooking and housecleaning were done on the day before a Sabbath to avoid working on God's designated day of rest. Thus the day before the Sabbath was commonly called "the preparation day." Clearly the day on which Christ was crucified and His body placed in the tomb was the day immediately preceding a Sabbath.

The question is, which Sabbath?

Read more -->HERE.

Day 39

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C. ~ cont.

(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)

B. Time spent at Sinai (sometimes called Horeb) ~ cont.

4. Returning to a sinning people ~ cont.

f. Instruction to hew stone - Exodus 34:1-3

5. 40 more days on mount (Trip 7)
a. Tables remade - Exodus 34:4
b. Directions renewed - Exodus 34:5-28
6. Law of the land given
a. Sabbatic year (began 1415 B.C. and every 7 years thereafter) - Leviticus 25:1-7
b. Years of Jubilee (began 1372 B.C. and every 50 years thereafter) - Leviticus 25:8-24
c. Redemption of inheritance - Leviticus 25:25-34
d. Care of the poor - Leviticus 25:35-46
e. Redemption of poor - Leviticus 25:47-55

{page 170-174}

First trip for the Law:

Exodus 24:18 - in the mount for forty days and nights. Chapters 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 the Tabernacle blueprint, pieces, priest requirements, dress, etc.

Exo 31:18  And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

I may have missed it, skimming through, but the only reference to what is 'typically' known as the 10 commandments (or 10 words), or a portion thereof, is in Exodus 31:13-17, which is a reminder that the children of Israel are to keep the sabbaths.  They are a perpetual covenant, a sign between God and Israel for ever.  However, in Chapter 20 God gives the 10 Words to ALL the people, to which they affirm that they will DO IT.

In today's reading, Moses has to hew the stones, spends 40 more days and nights on the mount, and he (Moses in Exodus 34:28) wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.  God also goes over how the Hebrews are NOT to make a covenant with any of the current inhabitants of the Land.

God does reiterate the 6 days work, seventh day resting.  He is very explicit about the 7th day and the other sabbaths.  Sooooo, what does Sabbath mean?

There are seven Hebrew/Greek words translated as Sabbath.

H4868 - From H7673; cessation, that is, destruction.

Used only 1 time - Lamentations 1:17 - Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, [and] did mock at her sabbaths.

H7673 -  A primitive root; to repose, that is, desist from exertion; used in many implied relations (causatively, figuratively or specifically).

Used 71 times in 67 verses, the first usage is in Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested  on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Last usage in Amos 8:4 - Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

H7676 - Intensive from H7673; intermission, that is, (specifically) the Sabbath.

Used 111 times in 89 verses, the first usage is in Exodus 16:23 - And he said unto them, This [is that] which the LORD hath said, To morrow [is] the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake [that] which ye will bake [to day], and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

Last usage, Amos 8:5 - Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

H7677 - From H7676; a sabbatism or special holiday.

First used in, Exodus 16:23 - And he said unto them, This [is that] which the LORD hath said, To morrow [is] the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake [that] which ye will bake [to day], and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

Last usage, Leviticus 25:5 - That which growth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of the vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

G1207 - From G1208 and G4413; second first, that is, (specifically) a designation of the Sabbath immediately after the Paschal week (being the second after Passover day, and the first of the seven Sabbaths intervening before Pentecost.

Used 1 time in Luke 6:1 - And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing [them] in [their] hands.

G4315 - From G4253 and G4521; a fore sabbath, that is, the sabbath eve.

Used 1 time in Matthew 15:42 - And now the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

G4521 - Of Hebrew origin [H7676]; the Sabbath (that is, Shabbath), or day of weekly repose from secular avocations (also the observance or institution itself); by extension a se'nnight, that is, the interval between two Sabbaths; likewise the plural in all the above applications.

Used 68 times in 62 verses, first usage, Matthew 12:1 - At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.

Last usage, Colossians 2:16 - Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, of of the sabbath days:
I was going to put something in here about looking forward to an eternal rest,or Sabbath with the Lord in eternity, but as I went searching, I came across this article, which I found interesting.  Still browsing and found this site, Sabbath Day, Moral Law or Ceremonial Law? which raises some interesting questions.

Obviously still wrestling through this thought process and came across a study titled, Eternal Rest, which helped me in my thought process that Jesus is our Sabbath, our rest.  We enter into Him and have rest.

Mat 11:28-3 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

Day 35

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C. ~ cont.

(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)

B. Time spent at Sinai (sometimes called Horeb) ~ cont.
f. Various laws given ~ cont.

(4) Laws involving others - Exodus 22:16-31; 23:1-9
(5)  Land and the Sabbath - Exodus 23:10-13
(6) Three national feasts - Exodus 23:14-19
2. God's covenant with Israel
a. Future conquest - Exodus 23:20-33
b. Altar built - Exodus 24:3-8
3. Moses goes to mount (Trip 5) - Exodus 24:1-2, 9-15
a. After 7 days instruction begins - Exodus 24:16-18
b. Tabernacle items
Materials - Exodus 25:1-9
Ark - Exodus 25:10-22
Table of shewbread - Exodus 25:23-30; Leviticus 24:5-9

{pages 151-156}

And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.  (Exodus 24:8)

Literally?  Sprinkled blood on the people?

Gill - and sprinkled it on the people; not on the whole body of the people, who could not be brought nigh enough, and were too numerous to be all sprinkled with it; though the apostle so expresses it, a part being put for the whole, Heb_9:19 either this was sprinkled on the young men that offered the sacrifices in the name of all the people; or on the seventy elders, as the heads of them, so Aben Ezra; or upon the twelve pillars, which answered to the twelve tribes, and represented them as the altar did the Lord.

Nadab and Abihu - sons of Aaron and Elisheba.

Nadab - H5070 - From H5068; liberal; Nadab, the name of four Israelites.

• H5068 - A primitive root; to impel; hence to volunteer (as a soldier), to present spontaneously.

Abihu - H30 - From H1 and H1931; father (that is worshipper) of Him (that is God); Abihu, a son of Aaron.

Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.  (Exodus 24:9-10)

Father, knowing all, prepared Nadab and Abihu for the service of the tabernacle.  Designating what they would wear, eat, who they could marry, etc.  He laid out their future, all the while knowing that they would be destroyed for offering strange fire.  Some are vessels of honor and others of dishonor, all are in HIS hand.

2Ti 2:20  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

O' Lord, let the thoughts of our minds and the meditations of our hearts be solely on knowing You more intimately, day by day.  Let the manifestation of who we are be an accurate representation of You and Your glory.

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.  (Exodus 24:18)

Fasting...nourished on the Word of God only.  Our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus had a similar experience:

Mat 4:2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.

forty = trials, probation and testings.  For a list of numbers and their biblical meanings, try this site.

I made a notation that Moses only substance in 40 days was the Word of the Lord.  Fasting is not something I have studied out sufficiently.  A web search using the word 'fasting' brought up 1 wikipedia article, 2 for weight loss and one on fasting and prayer.

Biblical fasting brought up several articles - I have not yet browsed these, but will save them for later:  Biblical Fasting and a Study on Biblical Fasting.  Both look interesting and worth the time and effort to 'sift' through.

May Father richly bless those who desire to know Him more intimately by spending time in HIS word.

Day 33

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C.
(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)
A. From the Red Sea to Sinai
1. Song of Victory - Exodus 15:1-21
2. Through the wilderness of Shur - Exodus 15:22
3. To Marah - Numbers 33:8; Exodus 15:23-26
4. From Marah to Elim - Exodus 15:27; Numbers 33:9
5. From Elim to Wilderness of Sin - Numbers 33:10-11; Exodus 16:1
a. Murmuring about lack of food - Exodus 16:2-3
b. Manna promised - Exodus 16:4-13
c. Manna provided - Exodus 16:14-36
d. Law of the Sabbath - Exodus 16:23-30
6. From Wilderness of Sin to Rephidim - Exodus 17:1; Numbers 33:12-14
a. Murmuring about lack of water - Exodus 17:2-4
b. Water from Rock Horeb - Exodus 17:5-7
c. Conflict with Amalek - Exodus 17:8-16
d. Relatives visit Moses - Exodus 18:1-12
e. Jethro's wise counsel - Exodus 18:13-27
7. From Rephidim to Sinai - Exodus 19:1-2; Numbers 33:15

Someone had requested that I include the page numbers ~ please note I am using the Reese Chronological Bible ~ this section covered pages 140-146

Exodus 15:24 - And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

Father just delivered them in an astounding fashion and they are WHINING?

murmured - H3885 - A primitive root; to stop (usually over night); by implication to stay permanently; hence (in a bad sense) to be obstinate (especially in words, to complain).

The word murmured is used 19 times in 19 verses.  Murmur, 7 times in 6 verses.  Murmurings, 8 times in 7 verses.

The Hebrew word represented by 3885 is used 84 times in 79 verses.  I'd like to deceive myself and think, no way would I have been discontented after having just been miraculously delivered from the Egyptian army, watching them drown and their bodies washing up on the seashore.

But really, how often does Father deliver me from temptation, sin, wickedness, death and I treat it contemptuously, desiring even more?  How often do I have a God you owe me attitude?  Far too often.  What a humbling thought.

The first usage of the word H3885 is in Genesis 19:2 - I had to stop and ponder upon this one:

And he (Lot) said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.  And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night.

After browsing the OT for murmur, murmurings, murmured...checked the NT.

Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

Think I have just been 'schooled'  :-D and as a follow up reminder to NOT be like the Israelites:

1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

Wilderness of Sin...gotta love it.  Where I end up because of murmuring...the wilderness of sin.

wilderness - H4057 - From H1696 in the sense of driving; a pasture (that is, open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication a desert; also speech (including its organs).

sin - H5512 - Of uncertain derivation; Sin, the name of an Egyptian town and (probably) desert adjoining.

I realize this 'sin' is not the same as sin (H2398 or H264), it did however, seem an appropriate location (whether physical, mental, emotional) for those who are in rebellion and 'murmuring' against the Lord.

Gill:

and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which still bears the same name, as a late traveller (a) informs us, who passed through it, and says, we traversed these plains in nine hours, being all the way diverted with the sight of a variety of lizards and vipers, that are here in great numbers; and elsewhere (b) he says, that vipers, especially in the wilderness of Sin which might very properly be called "the inheritance of dragons", were very dangerous and troublesome, not only our camels, but the Arabs who attended them, running every moment the risk of being bitten. The Red sea, or the bay of it, they came to from Elim, according to Bunting (c) was six miles, and from thence to the wilderness of Sin, sixteen more. This is a different wilderness from that of Zin, which is written with a different letter, Num_20:1 and was on the other side of Mount Sinai, as this was the way to it.

H2398 - A primitive root; properly to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn.

G264 - Perhaps from G1 (as a negative particle) and the base of G3313; properly to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize), that is, (figuratively) to err, especially (morally) to sin.

Lest we be discouraged:

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Thank you Lord!

Day 319

XVII The Ministries of Paul and Peter ~ cont.

D. Paul's first missionary journey (with Barnabas) ~ cont.

2. Antioch (Pisidia) to Derbe - Acts 13:14-51; 14:1-20

3. The return trip - Acts 14:21-25

4. At Antioch (Syria) - Acts 14:26-28

5. Attends council at Jerusalem - Acts 15:1-12; Galatians 2:7-10; Acts 15:13-35; Galatians 2:11-14

6. Gospel of Mark written

The word Sabbath, synagogue and first day caught my attention as I read through this passage and the days following.  Sabbath is used 60x in the NT - primary usage is in the gospels.  9 occurrences in Acts and 1 in Colossians.


I have not done an in-depth study yet on the difference between Sabbath and the first day of the week worship.  I know people in both camps that hold to either position.


This made me curious as to why we call the days of the week something other than how they are presented in Scripture.  :-)  An interesting google search on where and how the days of the week got their names.  A very brief overview:


Sunday - Sun's day;
Monday- Moon's day;
Tuesday - Tyr's day.  Tyr was the Norse god of combat;
Wednesday - Woden or Odin's day, the father of the Gods;
Thursday - Thor's day, Thor was the Germanic and Norse god of thunder;
Friday - Frigg's day, the Norse goddess of beauty Frigg;
Saturday - Saturn's day, worship of Saturn.


Synagogue is mentioned 45x - and first day is recorded in 12 verses.  I found it thought provoking that the apostles went into the synagogues on the Sabbath to preach about Jesus.  Paul reasoned 3 Sabbath days about the faith.


The references to first day are when the women were at the sepulchre, Jesus appeared to the apostles, Paul preached, saints encouraged to lay up (offerings?).


According to Scripture a day begins and ends at dusk (approximately 6 p.m.), our 1st day (or Sunday) would start on the 7th day (Saturday).  Passages about Jesus (John 20:19) and Paul (Acts 20:7) state evening or a time of breaking bread.  This makes me wonder if they meant the 7th day evening (1st day) or actually the 1st day's evening (which would be the 2nd day).  Quite perplexing.


I will be ruminating over this passage - Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.  As it appears that the apostles were meeting together regularly on the Sabbath to preach and teach.  I am sure they were preaching and teaching on the other days, as situations and circumstances allowed, but it would appear that a gathering of the people corporately continued to be primarily on the Sabbath.  Much prayer and diligent searching to be made on this topic.  Praying that Father will clarify to me what HE desires.


The passage, "Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on."


Which put me in mind of this passage:  1Co 14:26  How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 


I don't know of many fellowships in which all the men are able to give forth the Word.  This is a sad indicator of how anemic the Bride of Christ has become.  Very sad.  All men ought to be able to give forth a morsel of the Word to those with whom they are fellowshipping.


The worship service started with a presentation of the law and the prophets.  Fascinating thought - how can someone truly understand who Jesus is, why he came, and what he accomplished if their is a disconnect between the preaching/teaching of the OT with the New?  Paul's discourse (similar to Stephen's) in Acts 13:19-41 (coupled with the previous presentation of the law and prophets) is an awesome 'sermon.'


I liked that the Gentiles were already there...listening and hearing - Father's preparation for them as Paul begins to minister.  I also noted they were meeting on the Sabbath day and besought Paul to return the next Sabbath day to share.


"When the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy..." (Acts 13:45a)  Jealous, vengeful, destructive.  Looking at #'s rather than God.  Is that happening in our day?  Where someone is more focused on how many people are 'hearing' and 'following' them versus whether or not the TRUTH is being rightly divided and presented?


More later....