Three Days and Three Nights:
On What Day of the Week Was Jesus Crucified?
This morning we are going to have a little Bible Study as opposed to a sermon. A few weeks ago I was approached with a question concerning the timing of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ that I have found many Christians ask. And the question is this:
Modern Christianity teaches that Jesus was crucified on a Friday (hence, Good Friday) and rose from the grave on a Sunday (Easter). If this is true how could Jesus have fulfilled the prophecy He spoke in Matthew 12:40, which says, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”?
This is a very confusing puzzle because if Jesus was buried on Friday and rose on Sunday, the most time you can count is one day and two nights. Did He fail to fulfill His own prophecy of three days and three nights in the earth? Or could tradition concerning the day of crucifixion be wrong?
This is the problem we’re going to try to tackle this morning. But before we begin I want you to realize that this study is an effort to give you more information and understanding about the life of Christ and our faith in general. However, it is more important to believe in Christ’s atoning death and victorious resurrection than it is to argue the exact day on which the events occurred. With that thought in mind then, let’s see if we can clear up the confusion surrounding the timing of the crucifixion.
Jewish Reckoning of Time
The first thing we need to recognize is that the Jews don’t reckon the time of day in the same manner that we do today. For us one 24 hour day ends and another one begins at 12 a.m., midnight. Not so for the Jew. For them one day ends and another begins at 6 p.m. For example, today is August 31, tomorrow is September 1. For us, August 31 began last night at 12 a.m. It will end and September 1 will begin at 12 a.m., midnight, tonight. However, for the Jew, August 31 began yesterday at 6 p.m. It will end and September 1 will begin this evening at 6 p.m.
Likewise, while we separate our concept of a day into morning first and then night. The Jews separate their day into evening or night first (from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) which is followed by the morning or day (from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.). The Jewish “day” begins with a nightly rest. This idea, while strange to us, is important to keep in mind so we can understand when to start counting certain days when determining what day Jesus was crucified on.
Why Friday?
Okay, so before we start counting days and nights, let’s see if we can figure out why so many claim that Jesus was crucified on a Friday. I believe this tradition came about from a misunderstanding of the passages of Scripture concerning the day of crucifixion.
The first one is found in John 19:31. It reads, “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.”
Then in Luke 23:54, “It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.”
Mark 15:42, “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath).”
Many people will look at these passages and see that the day following the crucifixion day was a Sabbath, and the Jewish weekly Sabbath always occurs on a Saturday, that last day of the week, or the seventh day. Therefore, they conclude that since the following day was a Sabbath or Saturday then Jesus must have been crucified on a Friday. Now this sounds right. But as we said before when you start counting up the number of days and nights He was in the earth, you see that from Friday to Sunday in only two nights and one day. That doesn’t fit prophetic Scriptures.
We know definitively that Jesus arose from the dead sometime early Sunday morning because Matthew 28: 1 says, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” And of course they found it empty. The first day of the week is always Sunday, so there is no doubt as to what day Christ arose.
As we said before between Friday and Sunday you only have two nights and one day. That doesn’t fit the prophecies of three days and three nights. Some have argued that the Jews reckoned any part of a day as a full day. So even though Saturday was technically the only full day, since He was buried before 6 p.m. on Friday, they claim you can also count part of Friday as one day. Then because it was after 6 p.m. on the first day of the week when He arose, then you can also count part of Sunday as one day and thus get a total of three days. This theory may have some merit, but no matter how you look at it, there are still only two nights between Friday and Sunday, so that argument is rather weak.
More Than One Sabbath
What most people fail to take into account is the fact that Jesus was crucified during a very specific time of year for the Jewish people. The week Jesus died was the week when the spring feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits were being celebrated by the Jews. We know this from such passages as:
John 13:1, “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.”
John 19:14, “It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week…”
Luke 22:1 (ESV), “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.”
Matthew 26:1-2, “When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, [2] ‘As you know, the Passover is two days away – and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’”
I point this fact out to you because the first and last days of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread were High Holy Days or Special Sabbaths when no work was to be performed just like on a regular Sabbath.
Leviticus 23:6-8, “On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. [7] On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work (Sabbath rest). [8] For seven days present an offering made to the Lord by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work (Sabbath rest).’”
So if Jesus was crucified during the week when the Passover and Feast of the Unleavened Bread were going to be celebrated, and the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread was also a Special Sabbath day. This means that there was more than one Sabbath occurring during that week. A special Sabbath for the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and then the regular weekly Sabbath on Saturday.
Look again at John 19:31 which talks about the crucifixion day. It says, “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.”
See that phrase “a special Sabbath”? In the English Standard Translation it says, “for that Sabbath was a high day.” This passage is saying that Christ was crucified on the day before the special Sabbath, which occurred on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, not on the day before the regular weekly Sabbath.
To me this passage is clearly saying that Christ WASN’T crucified on the Friday before the regular weekly Sabbath, but instead on the day before or the preparation day leading up to the beginning of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.
Likewise, take another look at Matthew 28: 1, which says, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” The Greek word for “sabbath” in this instance is plural meaning more than one. So, according to this verse, Jesus rose from the dead after two Sabbaths had occurred.
Date of Feast of Unleavened Bread
So, if Jesus was crucified on the day preceding the Feast of the Unleavened Bread that begs the next logical question: On what day of the week did the Feast of the Unleavened Bread begin?
Well, I wish I could say that it occurred on the same day of the week every year like our holiday of Thanksgiving does. If it did, we’d have a definitive answer. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Because the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the same day of the month each year, and not the same day of the week.
Leviticus 23:5-6, “The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month [Nisan]. [6] On the fifteenth day of the month the Lord’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins…” The first month of the Jewish year is called Nisan and it coincides with our months of March and April.
Now, knowing that this Feast begins on Nisan 15th, and knowing that Jesus was crucified the day before it began, we do have a date for the crucifixion, which is Nisan 14th, the day of Passover.
Resurrection Date to Crucifixion Date
Now, since no one can seem to agree on the exact year that Jesus was crucified it’s impossible to track down on what weekday Nisan 14th occurred the year He was crucified. But we can use this date to help us figure out the day of Resurrection, which we already know occur on a Sunday morning. (This is kind of like one of those logic puzzles in those puzzle books you can find in stores. – I always did like logic puzzles.)
But anyway, if we know that Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14th, and He was in the tomb three days and three nights, then we simply add three days to Nisan 14th and this gives us the date of the Resurrection. Jesus, therefore, arose from the grave on the morning of Nisan 17th. And since Nisan 17th was a Sunday, then three days before Sunday is a Thursday.
Therefore, Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14th, a Thursday. The High Holy Day or special Sabbath of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread occurred on Nisan 15th, Friday. The regular weekly Sabbath occurred on Nisan 16th, Saturday. And Jesus arose on Nisan 17th, Sunday morning after two Sabbaths had occurred.
(I’ve included a chart of the Passion Week in your bulletins that should help you picture this better.)
On the Third Day
Now, that seems simple enough to understand. Jesus was crucified on a Thursday and not a Friday like tradition seems to teach. But to complicate matters there are people who claim that Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday. Why do they believe this? Is there any valid reason for it?
Well, those who propose that Wednesday was the crucifixion day agree with the two Sabbaths that we just talked about, but they think the Special Sabbath occurred on Thursday of that week instead of Friday. They are stating that if Jesus was crucified on Thursday, He wasn’t in the grave three full days. He would have only been in the grave for two days – Friday and Saturday. So, they argue, He must have been crucified on Wednesday with Thursday, Friday and Saturday making the three days.
Now, this argument makes a very valid point. There are not three complete 24-hour days between Thursday at 3 p.m. when Christ died, and early Sunday morning. Christ would have to have been in the grave until 3 p.m. on Sunday to have a complete 72 hours in the grave. However, by moving the crucifixion date to Wednesday, you have added another night to the count and now have Christ residing in the earth for four nights instead of three, which isn’t possible.
So, how do we reconcile this matter? Which day is correct? Well, I believe the answer can be found in some passages that refer to the time of Christ’s resurrection. Look with me at Acts 10:40, “But God raised him [Jesus] from the dead ON THE THIRD DAY and caused him to be seen.”
Notice the author used the phrase “ON the third day” not “AFTER the third day.” This means that Jesus was resurrected sometime during the third day, but not necessarily after a full 72 hours had passed.
Another passage in the book of Luke seems to confirm this thought. In Luke 24:17-23, we have the story of the two men walking to Emmaus when the resurrected Christ appears to them and they do not recognized Him. Verse 13 of this chapter tells us that this occurs on the same day as the resurrection, Sunday. Now read with me this story starting with verse 17.
“He [Jesus] asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast. [18] One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, ‘Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ [19] ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. [20] The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; [21] but we had hope that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, IT IS THE THIRD DAY since all this took place. [22] In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early THIS MORNING [23] but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.”
And Christ himself says, in Luke 24:46, “He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead ON THE THIRD DAY.”
So, you see, Jesus did fulfill the prophecy of being in the grave three days and three nights. He arose sometime ON the third day not after three complete days had occurred. And the only way these statements could be true would be if He was crucified on a Thursday. A Wednesday crucifixion puts Him in the grave until the fourth day, and a Friday crucifixion has Him rising on the second day. Therefore it must have been a Thursday.
Jesus Fulfills the Passover
To add even more credibility to the fact that Jesus was crucified on a Thursday is the fact that Jesus fulfilled every single aspect of the Passover feast that occurred during the week of His crucifixion.
As we mentioned before, the first feast that occurred in the spring was Passover. And Christ was actually crucified on the day when the nation of Israel was celebrating Passover by sacrificing their lambs in preparation for the next day.
The first century historian, Josephus, tells us that the Jews slaughtered their Passover lambs in the Temple courts at a certain time on the day of Passover.
“So these high priests, upon the coming of their feast which is called Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the ninth hour till the eleventh…”
Now the Jews began counting the hours of daylight at sunrise using a sundial, which divided daylight into 12 parts. At the time of year of Jesus’ crucifixion (March/April), the sun rose around 6 a.m. and set around 6 p.m. So the days were approximately 12 hours long. If you start at 6 a.m. and count forward nine hours you come to 3 p.m. This would mean that on the day of crucifixion or Passover, the Jews would be slaying their sacrifices between the hours of 3 p.m. (ninth hour) and 5 p.m. (eleventh hour).
Now with this is mind look at Luke 23:44-46, “It was now about the sixth hour (12 noon), and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (3 p.m.), [45] for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. [46] Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.’ We he had said this, he breathed his last.”
Jesus happened to die at 3 p.m. the same time of day that the Jews were sacrificing their Passover lambs. This is interesting to note because the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb.
Isaiah 53:7, “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter…”
In John 1:29, John the Baptist said of Christ, “Behold! The Lamb of God…”
1 Corinthians 5:7, “…Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
So what does this have to do with a Thursday crucifixion? Well, if Christ was our Passover lamb, and He was slaughtered at the same time the Passover lambs in the temple were being killed, it would make sense that He fulfilled the all the other events of Passover concerning the lambs as well, wouldn’t it?
For example, read with me Exodus 12:1-6, which tells us about the rules for selecting the Passover lambs. “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, [2] ‘This month [Nisan] is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. [3] Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month [Nisan 10] each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household… [5] The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. [6] Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month [Nisan 14], when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at Twilight.”
Notice the selection of the Passover lamb occurred on the 10th day of Nisan, four days before they were to be sacrificed on the 14th of Nisan. After the lambs were selected they were then taken into their homes for four days to be examined for flaws. Therefore if Jesus was our Passover lamb you would think that on the same day the lambs were being selected and presented to the priests for inspection, that Jesus also would be presenting Himself to the people for inspection as their Passover lamb.
And if you look at the chart I gave you, you will find that on the 10th of Nisan that is exactly what He was doing. On Nisan 10 Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem for inspection by the people (Matt. 21:1-23; Mark 11:1-19; Luke 19:28-47; John 12:12-18). The people accepted Him, but their leaders did not. He as examined for four days by the chief priests, teachers of the law, elders, Pharisees, Sadducees, and even the Romans, and they could not find fault with Him.
There is an interesting study done by Lori Eldridge that can be found on the Internet, in which she proves that in the year of Christ’s death Nisan 10th had to have fallen on a Sunday. It’s an in-depth study where she looks at all the events of that final week and compares what happens on each day with the rules of the Jewish Sabbaths and what couldn’t have occurred on Sabbath days. And she concludes beyond a doubt that Jesus’ Triumphant Entry (our Palm Sunday) had to have been a Sunday.
This is important to note, because if Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on Nisan 10th (a Sunday), was examined for four days by the priests, and was crucified on Nisan 14th like all the other Passover lambs, then this is another fact that places the crucifixion on a Thursday and not a Friday or Wednesday. Because four days after Sunday is Thursday.
Now, there’s a lot more that could be said about this study into the day of crucifixion and when the Last Supper occurred, etc. I hope that what I’ve given you this morning may have answered any questions you may have had about the timing of these important events and increased your knowledge and understanding of your faith and its origins.
But whether or not you believe Christ was crucified on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday is not nearly as important as the fact that you believe that He died for your sins and was raised from the dead victoriously. Belief in that fact is the first step to eternal salvation.
Sermon Sources:
Eldridge, Lori. “What Day of the Week Was Christ Crucified?” http://www.lorisweb.com/lorispoetry/crucifix.html Accessed August 26, 2008.
Kluetz, Kevin. “The Day of the Jewish Month and the Day of the Week of Jesus’ Crucifixion, Based on New Testament and Historical Data.” http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/3021/ascension3.html?200820 Accessed August 20, 2008.
Reinhold, Roy A. “Good Friday is a Myth: Jesus Died on a Wednesday!!” http://ad2004.com/prophecytruths/Articles/Prophecy/3days3nights.html. Accessed August 21, 2008.
Stone, Perry. Breaking the Code of the Feasts. Cleveland, Ohio. Voice of Evangelism Outreach Ministries. 2007.
