The answer to the age-old controversy as to whether or not Jesus died on a Friday is actually in the Bible. The answer is derived from compiling the details of the crucifixion as recorded in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The New Testament was written during the era of the Lunar calendar. Each day has 24 hours: 12 hours day and 12 hours night. A day began at 6:00 in the evening. In John 11:9, Jesus defined the hours in a day in a question: “Are there not twelve hours (6:00am – 5:59pm) in a day?”
The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words
Inter gravissimas. Whereas a day on the Gregorian calendar begins at 12:00AM, the Hebrew calendar’s day begins at 6:00 PM. This is why Orthodox Jews close their business early on Friday in order to begin the Sabbath (Saturday) at 6:00 PM.
The following occurred on Wednesday the preparation day for the Passover, which was the next day.
Firstly, note the times that coincide with the hours mentioned in the following references from John, Mark, and Luke:
- the third hour is 09:00AM
- the sixth hour is 12:00PM
- the ninth hour is 03:00PM
Before 9:00AM: Jesus was led to the judgment hall:
John 18:28, Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover [which would be celebrated the next day].
At 9:00AM Jesus was nailed to the cross:
Mark 15:25, And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.Jesus is still alive: Luke 23:43-44, And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour . . .
At 3:00PM Jesus died:
Luke 23:45-46, . . . there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 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.
Jesus declared the following in 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.”
The following references chronicle Jesus’ crucifixion and burial:
John 19:30-31 & 42
- When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It “is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
- The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation [Wednesday, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath [Thursday Passover] day (for that Sabbath day was an high [annual] day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
- There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day [Wednesday]; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
Mark 15:39-45
- And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
- There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
- (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.
- And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
- 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.
- And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
- And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
Luke 23:52-54
- This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
- 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.
- And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on [the time was approaching].
NOTE: According to John 19:31, Mark 15:42, and Luke 23:54 the day following the preparation was a Sabbath, a high day. In the following reference, that was the day that the chief priests and Pharisees petitioned Pilate for a guard to be placed at the tomb until the third day. He granted their petition.
Matthew 27:62-66
- Now the next day [Thursday, the high Sabbath], that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees cametogether unto Pilate,
- 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 [Saturday], lest his disciples come by night, andsteal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
- Pilate said unto them, YE HAVE A [three-day] WATCH: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
- So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch [UNTIL THE THIRD DAY].
Note the following reference for when Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome came to the sepulchre: sunrise on the first day of the week, which always follows the Sabbath.
Mark 16:1-2
- And when the [Saturday] Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
- And very early in the morning the first day of the week [Sunday], they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Given the references sited the following could be concluded:
- The Sabbath following the preparation was the first day following the first night that Jesus was in the sepulchre. There were two night and two days remaining for Him to complete three days and three nights to be comparable to Jonah being in the belly of the fish. The third day would have been Saturday.
- If the Sabbath following the preparation was the Sabbath preceding the first day of the week, and if it was the day that Pilate granted the petition for a guard at the sepulchre until the third day, then the third day would have been Monday.
- If the Sabbath following the preparation was on Thursday and the day that Pilate granted the petition for a guard at the sepulchre until the third day, then the third day would have been Saturday.
- “Sabbath was past” in Mark 16:2 means that Saturday ended at 6:00PM and Sunday began, which was the first day ofthe week. Therefore, the Sunday night preceded the Sunday sunrise, which was when Mary Magdalene. and Mary the motherof James, and Salome came to the tomb and discovered the stone rolled away.
- Jesus rose after the weekly Sabbath [which was after 6:00 PM when the Sabbath ended and Sunday began] or He would have been in the tomb the 4th night, which COULD NOT happen so that the Scriptures were fulfilled. Thus, He was buried for three nights and three days.
Consider the following with respect to the hours specified in the previous references from Mark and Luke and what Jesus said about His burial in comparison to Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish. Note that it was three days and three nights but not in that order. It was three nights and three days:
| Three Nights and Three Days in The Tomb According to Biblical Data |
|||
| 1st night: | 06:00PM Wednesday | – | 05:59AM Thursday |
| 1st day: | 06:00AM Thursday | – | 05:59PM Thursday |
| 2nd night: | 06:00PM Thursday | – | 05:59AM Friday |
| 2nd day: | 06:00AM Friday | – | 05:59PM Friday |
| 3rd night: | 06:00PM Friday | – | 05:59AM Saturday |
| 3rd day: | 06:00AM Saturday | – | 05:59PM Saturday |
Jesus died at 3:00PM on Wednesday and had to be buried before 06:00 PM because that is the hour that Thursday began. Thursday was the annual High Sabbath, the Passover.
Jesus rose after the weekly Sabbath, which was after 6:00PM Saturday when the Sabbath ended and Sunday began on the Hebrew calendar. Otherwise, He would have been in the tomb the 4th night, which COULD NOT be.
| Three Nights and Three Days in The Tomb According to the “Good Friday” Theory |
|||
| 1st night: | 06:00PM Friday | – | 05:59AM Saturday |
| 1st day: | 06:00AM Saturday | – | 05:59PM Saturday |
| 2nd night: | 06:00PM Saturday | – | 05:59AM Sunday |
| 2nd day: | 06:00AM Sunday | – | 05:59PM Sunday |
| 3rd night: | 06:00PM Sunday | – | 05:59AM Monday |
| 3rd day: | 06:00AM Monday | – | 05:59PM Monday |
According to the “Good Friday” theory, Jesus would have been resurrected after 6:00PM on Monday before nightfall or He would have been in the tomb four nights. Therefore, for Him to have died on Friday and be resurrected on Sunday is a mathematical impossibility: a myth. Instead, He died on Wednesday and rose after 6:00PM on Saturday, which according to the Lunar calendar would have been Sunday.
I would be interested in reading your comments. Please click on the Facebook icon in the lower right corner. It links to my Fanpage where on you could post your comments. Also, please “Like” the status update and “Share” it. Thank you.
