It Was Thursday

Now, I know that this really doesn't matter. It's not that big of a deal. I can still have Christian fellowship with you, even if you erringly disagree with me... But the fact is that the Bible really points to Jesus having been crucified on Thursday of that week, not Friday - and not even Wednesday.

Ok, some givens:

• The Jewish day started at sundown - around 6:00pm
• The day after the crucifixion was a sabbath day
• Jesus was risen from the dead by Sunday

The traditional day for the crucifixion is Friday. That is, because the sabbath day was the next day, and the sabbath day is the 7th day of the week, then He must have been crucified on the 6th day of the week which is Friday.

However, Leviticus 23:32 demonstrates that when the word "sabbath" is used in the Bible it does not exclusively refer to the 7th day of the week, but rather it can mean the beginning of one of the feasts. Jesus was crucified on the Passover, which means the very next day was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first day of that feast was one of these sabbaths (Leviticus 23:7).

Ok, so the Bible does not say that He was crucified on Friday, only that He was crucified the day before a sabbath. So, let's see what it says about when He rose from the dead.

Matthew 28:1 says that in the end of the sabbath (this would be the weekly sabbath), as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week (proof that we're talking about the weekly sabbath here), that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb (Matt 28:1). The earthquake came and the angel rolls the stone away. Jesus had risen from the dead. It could be He rose at that very moment, or that He had risen a little bit earlier, but by Sunday at the break of dawn, He was no longer dead -- Hallelujah!

Next, let's look at how long Jesus was in the grave. First, we find Jesus prophesying about rebuilding the temple (they thought He was talking about Herod's temple, but He really meant His body). He said that if they destroyed this temple, He would rebuild it in three days. Ok, that's a good start. He also compares His time in the earth to the time that Jonah was in the belly of the whale: 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." Can Friday work?!

If Jesus was crucified on Friday, I can understand saying "Friday, Saturday & Sunday - there, three days." However, Jesus was more specific and said, "three days and three nights." If we take that any part of the 6:00 am to 6:00 pm is the day, and any part of 6:00 pm to 6:00 am is the night, we can't fit three of each in the time that Jesus was in the earth. Friday (before sundown) He is put in the tomb, so we have Friday day (1 day). When sundown hits, that's Saturday night (1 night). When the next day came, which was the 7th day sabbath it was Saturday day (2 day). When the sunset and it became the first day of the week, we have Sunday night (2 night). Well, Jesus rose before the dawn of Sunday day, but even if He did wait until after sunrise, we're still short a night! I don't see how Friday is possible, if we're going to take Jesus exactly.

Some will say that He was crucified on Wednesday. This allows more time to get the three days and three nights. Wednesday He's crucified before sundown, so that night, Thursday night is the first (1 night). Then the next day comes, which Wednesday people will say is the sabbath of the 1st day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (1 day). That night comes, Friday night (2 night), and the next day, Friday day comes (2 day). The following night (3 night) and day (3 day) are Saturday, and the weekly Sabbath. Sunday night comes, and before Sunday night finished, He rises from the dead - thus giving three full days and three full nights. I can buy this... with a couple of problems.

Why didn't Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come on Friday to see the sepulchre? I understand if they couldn't go on the sabbath day, but Friday wasn't a sabbath either way. It was in-between the two sabbaths if there was a Wednesday crucifixion.

Also, if Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, then how can the men walking on the road to Emmaus say, when talking about Jesus being crucified, "...and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done." Today is the third day? If Wednesday was the day of crucifixion, then Thursday would be the first day since it happened; Friday would be the second day since it happened, and Saturday would be the third day since it happened. But, Jesus was walking with the men on the road to Emmaus, making it Sunday. Only Thursday (or Friday) makes the statement make sense that "to day is the third day since these things were done."

So, if we look at all the Scriptures involved, it seems pretty straightforward that Jesus was crucified on Thursday. But, is this something worth arguing about?! Is it something that should distract people when there's bigger battles to fight?! No, it's not. So, just agree with me, and let's move on!

Just a thought...