On what day did Jesus die?

[Honoria]

On what day did Jesus die?
Did Jesus die on a Friday or on a Thursday?
By Cobblestone Road Ministries


On what day did Jesus die? - Did Jesus die on a Friday or on a Thursday?

Answer: I have heard it argued Wednesday or Thursday. No one can really justify the good Friday theory because of the following verse:

Jesus gives us the answer in Matthew 12:40, "For as Jonah 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."

If Jesus died on Friday afternoon and rose on Sunday, that would not make 3 NIGHTS. No matter how you add it up, you can never get three nights from Friday to Sunday morning. Friday does not give us enough time for three days and three nights. We know that Jesus arose from the dead on Sunday, which is the first day of the week. The key to knowing what day the crucifixion took place is the "three nights" part. We must not only count the three days but also THREE NIGHTS.

I always believed that Jesus died on Thursday until someone recently pointed out to me that Wednesday was also a possibility. (The Christian internet grapevine has a way of toying with one's own beliefs sometimes. You read one theory and it appears so accurate until you read the entire text of Scripture and then their theory falls apart like a house of cards.) I briefly recanted my view from Thursday in favor of Wednesday and even posted their theory on our website for a couple of hours but further discussion with a friend tonight proves that the day Jesus died is still Thursday, if you stick to the Bible.

Something that troubled me concerning the Wednesday theory is that because Jesus said, "three days and three nights," for Him to die on a Wednesday would constitute 4 nights before Resurrection. Those in favor of "Wednesday night" argue that Jesus rose again beginning the first day, which would be Saturday evening (Gentile time.) Their theory is inaccurate when weighed against Scripture. Jesus died on Thursday.

If Jesus were to die on Wednesday, He would have had to have risen BEFORE Saturday Evening to satisfy the "3 days, 3 nights" requirement. We will prove to you that the only Biblical answer is Thursday.

The Bible tells us that Jesus spent "three days and three nights," not "three nights and three days." In order to believe the Wednesday night theory, you have to count the nights first rather than the days first.

The "three days and three nights" is mentioned several times throughout the gospels. God placed the wording as such for a reason. If Jesus actually died on Wednesday, then why didn't the Bible state that He was "three nights and three days??"

It says just the opposite. When we stick to the Word of God, the answers become concise.

Jesus died at around 3:00pm (Luke 23:44) in the afternoon right about the time when the passover lambs were being slaughtered in preparation for the Passover. After Jesus gave up the ghost and died, we read in John 19:31 that the Jews went to Pilate requesting that the legs of those crucified be broken to quicken their death. Pilate gives the order and the soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves but they did not brake Jesus' legs (Psalm 34:20) (Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12) because they found Jesus was already dead so they pierced (Zechariah 12:10) His side instead and blood and water flowed (John 19:34.)

Isaiah 53:6-7 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth."

Jesus died at the exact time when the Passover lambs were being slain in Jerusalem. This makes perfect sense, considering that Jesus is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. When we read Isaiah 53, the sole purpose of the crucifixion becomes crystal clear: that Messiah Jesus had to die for the sins of the world.

John19:39-42 - And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

Jesus said that He would be in the grave three days and three nights and then He would rise again.

I will explain my position of why Jesus died on Thursday. Follow me closely here. Let it sink in:

Jesus Died on Thursday
Buried on Thursday .. in the grave already on thursday night = 1 night
In Tomb all day on Friday and Friday night = 2 nights
All day Saturday and then Saturday night= 3 nights

Rising again on Sunday morning....before dawn. Remember the "Three nights" part is the key to understanding the day in which Jesus was crucified.

Matthew 28:1-6 "In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

The "Wednesday night group," who suggest that Jesus arose on Saturday evening are missing a key verse. Notice above that "as it began to dawn." The Greek word means "grow light." It would not be getting light out on Saturday evening, just the opposite.

We must conclude that Jesus was crucified on Thursday, the day of preparation for the Passover. He died the very hour the lambs were being slaughtered.

For Christians, the most important thing is that Jesus died for our sins.
(Isaiah 53:6,7, Psalm 22:16, Daniel 9:26) and that He rose again (Psalm 16:10) for our justification.

Acts 17:2-3 "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ."

1 Corinthians 15:20 - But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

We have hope because JESUS is ALIVE! The Old and New Testaments testify that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus was born to die for our sins and He rose again. This is the Good News message. This is the Gospel!

Acts 13:33-39 - God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

Jesus said in Luke 24:44-47, "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
 
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[Dagvelia]

Here provides another thought on this subject.



www.GotQuestions.org



Question: "On what day was Jesus crucified?"

Answer: The Bible does not explicitly state on which day of the week Jesus was crucified. The two most widely held views are Friday and Wednesday. Some, however, using a synthesis of both the Friday and Wednesday arguments, argue for Thursday as the day.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, “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.” Those who argue for a Friday crucifixion say that there is still a valid way in which He could have been considered in the grave for three days. In the Jewish mind of the first century, a part of day was considered as a full day. Since Jesus was in the grave for part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday—He could be considered to have been in the grave for three days. One of the principal arguments for Friday is found in Mark 15:42, which notes that Jesus was crucified “the day before the Sabbath.” If that was the weekly Sabbath, i.e. Saturday, then that fact leads to a Friday crucifixion. Another argument for Friday says that verses such as Matthew 16:21 and Luke 9:22 teach that Jesus would rise on the third day; therefore, He would not need to be in the grave a full three days and nights. But while some translations use “on the third day” for these verses, not all do, and not everyone agrees that “on the third day” is the best way to translate these verses. Furthermore, Mark 8:31 says that Jesus will be raised “after” three days.

The Thursday argument expands on the Friday view and argues mainly that there are too many events (some count as many as twenty) happening between Christ's burial and Sunday morning to occur from Friday evening to Sunday morning. Proponents of the Thursday view point out that this is especially a problem when the only full day between Friday and Sunday was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. An extra day or two eliminates that problem. The Thursday advocates could reason thus: suppose you haven't seen a friend since Monday evening. The next time you see him it is Thursday morning and you say, “I haven’t seen you in three days” even though it had technically only been 60 hours (2.5 days). If Jesus was crucified on Thursday, this example shows how it could be considered three days.

The Wednesday opinion states that there were two Sabbaths that week. After the first one (the one that occurred on the evening of the crucifixion [Mark 15:42; Luke 23:52-54]), the women purchased spices—note that they made their purchase after the Sabbath (Mark 16:1). The Wednesday view holds that this “Sabbath” was the Passover (see Leviticus 16:29-31, 23:24-32, 39, where high holy days that are not necessarily the seventh day of the week are referred to as the Sabbath). The second Sabbath that week was the normal weekly Sabbath. Note that in Luke 23:56, the women who had purchased spices after the first Sabbath returned and prepared the spices, then “rested on the Sabbath.” The argument states that they could not purchase the spices after the Sabbath, yet prepare those spices before the Sabbath—unless there were two Sabbaths. With the two-Sabbath view, if Christ was crucified on Thursday, then the high holy Sabbath (the Passover) would have begun Thursday at sundown and ended at Friday sundown—at the beginning of the weekly Sabbath or Saturday. Purchasing the spices after the first Sabbath (Passover) would have meant they purchased them on Saturday and were breaking the Sabbath.

Therefore, according to the Wednesday viewpoint, the only explanation that does not violate the biblical account of the women and the spices and holds to a literal understanding of Matthew 12:40, is that Christ was crucified on Wednesday. The Sabbath that was a high holy day (Passover) occurred on Thursday, the women purchased spices (after that) on Friday and returned and prepared the spices on the same day, they rested on Saturday which was the weekly Sabbath, then brought the spices to the tomb early Sunday. Jesus was buried near sundown on Wednesday, which began Thursday in the Jewish calendar. Using a Jewish calendar, you have Thursday night (night one), Thursday day (day one), Friday night (night two), Friday day (day two), Saturday night (night three), Saturday day (day three). We do not know exactly what time He rose, but we do know that it was before sunrise on Sunday. He could have risen as early as just after sunset Saturday evening, which began the first day of the week to the Jews. The discovery of the empty tomb was made just at sunrise (Mark 16:2), before it was fully light (John 20:1).

A possible problem with the Wednesday view is that the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did so on “the same day” of His resurrection (Luke 24:13). The disciples, who do not recognize Jesus, tell Him of Jesus' crucifixion (24:21) and say that “today is the third day since these things happened” (24:22). Wednesday to Sunday is four days. A possible explanation is that they may have been counting since Wednesday evening at Christ's burial, which begins the Jewish Thursday, and Thursday to Sunday could be counted as three days.

In the grand scheme of things, it is not all that important to know what day of the week Christ was crucified. If it were very important, then God's Word would have clearly communicated the day and timeframe. What is important is that He did die and that He physically, bodily rose from the dead. What is equally important is the reason He died—to take the punishment that all sinners deserve. John 3:16 and 3:36 both proclaim that putting your trust in Him results in eternal life! This is equally true whether He was crucified on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.

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