How We Know Christ was Crucified on Passover Wednesday
“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” Mat 12:40
“… and be raised again the third day”
Mat 16:21
“…beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done” Luke 24:21
Today we are going to study an esoteric doctrine: the fallacy of Good Friday. Have you ever wondered about the seeming contradiction in the Bible, that Christ died on Friday, was in the grave three days and three nights, and rose on Sunday? How do you get three days from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning?
The answer to this question is that the tradition of Christ dying on Good Friday is erroneous and unscriptural. Today we will expose this fallacy, explore how it came to be the prevalent teaching in Christianity, and unequivocally prove that Christ was killed on Passover Wednesday, buried and in the ground by Thursday, and rose on Saturday night (which would be Sunday by Jewish reckoning). I strongly suggest you follow along in your own Bibles. Let’s begin!
The source of the Good Friday fallacy comes from a misunderstanding of scripture. After Jesus had been crucified, and as evening approached, it is stated that the following day was a Sabbath:
“And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath” Mark 15:42
Looks like the following day must be Saturday, right? But wait, the Sabbath referred to here is not the regular weekly Sabbath. Rather, it is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a “feast day” Sabbath that followed Passover.
Passover took place on the 14th of the Jewish month of Nisan. Following the Passover was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which occurred from the 15th of Nisan to the 21st of Nisan. The 14th of Nisan was called also called the “preparation day,” because the Jews had to “prepare” for the Sabbath that followed on the 15th of Nisan. They “prepared” by finishing all servile work, travel, or other activities before the Sabbath began.
The month of Nisan had many Sabbaths and special feast days that followed each other in succession. The 15th and 21st of Nisan were special “feast day” Sabbaths, also called “high” Sabbaths that corresponded with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. From the 14th to the 21st of Nisan there could be as many as three Sabbaths—the weekly Saturday Sabbath, the “high” Sabbath which took place on the 15th of Nisan, and the “high” Sabbath which took place on the 21st of Nisan. Let’s see what the Old Testament says on this subject:
“…on the fifteenth day of the same month (Nisan) is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day (15th Nisan) ye shall have an holy convocation (high Sabbath): ye shall do no servile work therein… in the seventh day (21st Nisan) is an holy convocation (high Sabbath): ye shall do no servile work therein”
Lev. 23:6-8
If there was any doubt as to which Sabbath followed the day of Christ’s death, the Gospel of John clears it up with this parenthetical insert:
“The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day (because that sabbath day was an high day,)” John 19:31
The Sabbath referred to here is not the regular weekly Sabbath, but the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15th of Nisan. It was a “high” Sabbath, and thus did necessarily have to fall on Saturday.
Besides the issue of the Sabbath, another source of confusion involves how time was measured during Jesus’ day. The Romans measured time from midnight to midnight, just like we do today. Jews, on the other hand, measure time from sunset to sunset, commencing approximately at 6:00 P.M. The new day begins with darkness because it is recorded in Genesis that evening came first: “the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen 1:5).
The Jews divide the day into twelve hour increments, measured approximately from dusk until dawn. So for example, when the Bible says that it was “the ninth hour,” that would be either 3:00 A.M or 3:00 P.M. (counting each hour from 6:00 o’clock A.M. or 6:00 o’clock P.M.), depending on whether it was light or dark outside.
The Old Testament states that Passover was to be on the 14th of Nissan (Lev. 23:5). This was the time that Jesus and His disciples ate their Last Supper together.
But contrary to scripture, the Judean Jews in Jesus’ had a custom of eating the Passover meal on the 15th of Nisan, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This has often made it seem as if there were two Passover meals, because some of the Jews celebrated Passover on the 14th while others celebrated it on the 15th of Nisan.
Thus Passover is often used synonymously with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and when the Passover is spoken of in the Gospels, it could be referring to either the 14th of Nisan or the 15th of Nisan depending on the context:
“Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh (15th of Nisan), which is called the Passover” Luke 22:1
“In the fourteenth day of the first month (14th of Nisan) at even (better rendered ‘at twilight’ or ‘between the two evenings’) is the Lord’s Passover” Lev 23:5
Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover on the correct day, the 14th of Nisan. However, many Jews ate the Passover on the 15th of Nisan, the “High Sabbath” of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was also called “the Passover.”
Herein, we have covered some of the origins of the Good Friday fallacy and confusion surrounding the day Christ died.. Now we shall present the last week of Christ’s life and prove that he was crucified on Wednesday and in the grave for three days and three nights, just as the scripture records
FRIDAY, 9th OF NISAN
“Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany” John 12:1
We know that this must be either the 8th or 9th of Nisan, because the Passover falls on the 14th of Nisan, and the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread—which is also “called the Passover” (Luke 22:1; John 19:14)—falls on the 15th of Nisan. We can discern this to be the 9th of Nisan because Christ our Passover is anointed on the 10th, corresponding to the date for choosing which lamb is slaughtered for the Passover meal (Exod. 12:3).
SATURDAY, 10th OF NISAN
As previously discussed, the new day begins with sunset. Jesus arrives at Bethany Friday afternoon, the 9th of Nisan (John 12:1). Supper is served after sunset, meaning that it would then be Saturday the 10th of Nisan when Martha served the meal (John 12:2).
Jesus is now anointed by Mary: “Let her alone: against the day of My burying hath she kept this” (John 12:7). This parallels the choosing of the Passover lamb on the 10th of Nisan (Exod 12:3).
Jesus does not travel on the Saturday Sabbath, quietly residing in Bethany until Sunday.
SUNDAY, 11th OF NISAN
“On the next day (Sunday) much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.” John 12:12
Here, we now fix the date on the 11th of Nisan. This is Palm Sunday, the infamous triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus arrives on a colt and cleanses the temple of moneychangers. At the end of the day, he leaves the city and returns to Bethany to sleep (Mat. 21:17)
MONDAY, 12th OF NISAN
“Now in the morning (Monday) as He returned to the city, He hungered. And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, ‘Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently (soon) the fig tree withered away” Mat. 21:18-19
Here we see that Jesus hungered, and when the fig tree bore no fruit, he cursed it. While Mathew’s Gospel does not account for a time frame between the cursing and when the tree withered away, the Gospel of Mark does. It is from there that we pick up the chronology:
TUESDAY, 13th OF NISAN
“And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto Him, ‘Master, behold the fig tree which Thou cursedst (yesterday) is withered away’”
Mark 11:20-21
There is an extra day between the time Jesus curses the fig tree and the time that it withers away, as illustrated above. This now fixes the date on Tuesday, the 13th of Nisan.
Recall that although the Passover was on the 14th of Nisan, the Judean Jews also called the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15th of Nisan, “the Passover” (Mark 14:1; Luke 22:1). From the entire time of the 14th to the 21st of Nisan no leaven was to be eaten (see underlined below), and specifically the 15th and the 21st of Nisan were High Feast Day Sabbaths. We now pick up the story just as the sun sets, the beginning of the next day.
WEDNESDAY, 14th OF NISAN
“Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread (14th of Nisan) the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, ‘Where wilt Thou that we prepare Thee to eat the Passover?’”
Mat 26:17
Here, the sun just set on Tuesday the 13th of Nisan, and the disciples are asking where to eat supper, the first meal of the day. This would not be just any ordinary supper; this would be the Passover, Christ’s Last Supper.
We know that the “first day of the feast of unleavened bread” in the above scripture refers to the 14th of Nisan because, when Christ is betrayed and brought before Pilate at about midnight, scripture says that it is still the “preparation” for the Sabbath.
“And it was the preparation of the Passover (preparation for the High Sabbath day), and about the sixth hour (approximately midnight, count six hours from 6:00 P.M sunset): and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King” John 19:14
Jesus is crucified and on the cross between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. the next morning
“And it was the third hour; and they crucified Him” Mark 16:25
“And when the sixth hour was come, there was a darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour” Mark 15:33
Recall that Jesus is betrayed and before Pilate during the dark hours, so the “sixth hour” is reckoned from sunset, counting from 6:00 P.M. When He is crucified in the morning, it is daylight hours, so the “third hour” would be approximately 9:00 A.M. (counting three hours from 6:00 A.M.). In both cases, however, it is still the same day, Wednesday the 14th of Nisan, because Jews measure the beginning of the day from sunset to sunset.
Christ fulfilled the exact role of the Passover lamb, dying on Passover day of the 14th of Nisan, making Him “our Passover.”
“For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Cor 5:7
Let’s compare the following scriptures regarding the Passover lamb and see how Christ fulfilled this role:
“Your Lamb shall be without blemish”
Exod 12:5
Christ was without sin, a form of blemish.
“And ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month (Nisan): and the whole assembly of the congregation shall kill it”
Exod. 12:6
Christ was killed by the whole congregation. The Jews told Pilate:
“His blood be upon us, and on our children” Mat. 27:25.
Jesus dies at approximately 3:00 P.M. the “ninth hour” of Wednesday the 14th of Nisan (Mat 27:46). Recall the end of the day/beginning of the new day starts at sunset, and the following day—the 15th of Nisan—is a “High Sabbath” (John 19:31). By 3:00 P.M. there is only a few short hours before the Sabbath begins.
The Romans usually left bodies hanging on the cross until the flesh rotted away. But the Old Testament stated that a body could not remain on the cross during the Sabbath (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54), otherwise it would defile the land (Deut 21:23; Gal 3:13). Thus, the Pharisees arrange to expedite the death of those crucified by breaking their legs.
But Jesus was already dead (John 19:33) and not a single bone in His body was broken, fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 34:20 and the role of the Passover lamb, which could not have any broken bones (Exod. 12:46; Num. 9:12).
Christ is buried and in the ground by sunset, bringing us to the beginning of the next day:
THURSDAY, 15th OF NISAN
“Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying ‘Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while He was yet alive, ‘After three days I will rise again’” Mat. 27:62-63
On Thursday morning the Pharisees request a guard be placed before the sepulcher, that it be, “made sure until the third day” (Mat. 27:64).
It is impossible that Christ was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday when considering that Christ himself said:
“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” Mat 12:40
It has to be a full seventy-two hours, three days and three nights. Christ rises both after three days (since death Wednesday) and on the third day (since burial Thursday) (Compare Mark 8:31 and Luke 24:21). A look at the diagram at the end of this chapter should help you better understand the chronology of the three-days and three-nights.
SUNDAY, 18th OF NISAN
Christ is resurrected the moment the sun sets on our Saturday night, making it the beginning of Sunday on the Jewish calendar. We know this because Mary arrives prior to dawn:
“The first day of the week cometh (Sunday) Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher” John 20:1
“In the end of the Sabbath (Saturday), as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene… and an angel… rolled back the stone from the door”
Mat. 28:1-2
It is impossible to cling to the belief of a Friday crucifixion if you compare the scriptures. Tradition may hold that Friday was the day of this event, but this stems from an erroneous understanding of the “High Day” Sabbaths that fell on certain feast days, the fact that the Jews mark the beginning of the day from Sunset, and that the Feast of Unleavened bread on the 15th of Nisan was often referred to as “the Passover” of the 14th.
Jesus fulfilled the substance of what the Old Testament Passover lamb foreshadowed. He became “our Passover lamb,” and was slaughtered for the sins of the entire human race. No matter how you do the math, Friday until Sunday does not add up to three days. I encourage anyone interested to look into this matter for themselves and allow the unadulterated Truth to validate itself. May the Lord of Glory bless you and illuminate your understanding. Amen.
Larry Word
Jewish Time Gentile Time
| Wed. 14th Nisan | 6 PM |
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Christ eats Passover (Last Supper); is betrayed and arrested
Before Pontius Pilate
Christ Crucified
Christ dies; Speedy burial before sunset |
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12AM | Wed. 14th Nisan |
9AM
3PM
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Judean Passover Lambs slaughtered
Judean Jews eat Passover |
Day 1
| Thu. 15th Nisan | 6 PM |
“High Day” Sabbath—Feast of Unleavened Bread
|
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12 AM | Thu 15th. Nisan |
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Pharisees ask for a watch to guard the tomb of Christ
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Day 2
| Fri. 16th Nisan | 6 PM |
“High Day” Sabbath ends
|
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12 AM | Fri. 16th Nisan |
|
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Day 3
| Sat 16th Nisan | 6 PM |
Weekly Sabbath Begins |
|
12 AM | Sat 16th Nisan |
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CHRIST RESURRECTED |
| Sun 17th Nisan | 6 PM |
Lord Rises at sunset, the moment the weekly Sabbath ends |
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12 AM | Sun 17th Nisan |
