Jesus Crucified on Wednesday
Traditionally, on Good Friday we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
However, I wanted to correct a misinterpretation of scripture concerning the day of the Lord’s crucifixion.
I wanted to do this today because, Good Friday should be called Good Wednesday!
Jesus Crucified on Wednesday
Jesus wasn’t crucified on a Friday; the scripture provides the proof:
John 19:31, “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”
So, Jesus was crucified on preparation day—Wednesday—the day before the sabbath. Which means it had to be Friday. Right?
Remember, it says that Sabbath day was an high day. That’s the difference.
During the Jewish Passover, the day of the Passover is a special sabbath called an high day. This results in two Sabbaths occurring in the same week. The first sabbath started on Wednesday evening. The second sabbath was the regular sabbath, which occurred on Saturday.
Jesus was crucified and buried on Wednesday before the first sabbath began and rose early on Sunday morning. He was in the grave Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Wait a minute. That’s not traditional.
No, but it is scriptural.
John 19:31 provides definitive proof of when Jesus died.
And other scriptures show us when He was resurrected.
Jesus Himself said several times that His time in the tomb would be three days and three nights, just as the prophet Jonah had spent three days and nights in the fish’s belly.
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.”
This rule out a Friday crucifixion-Sunday resurrection because there is no way to cram three days and three nights between sunset on Friday and sunrise on Sunday.
If Jesus rose exactly three days and three nights after His burial, the only candidate for His resurrection is the very end of the Sabbath at sunset. Counting back three full days, then, Jesus must have died on the previous Wednesday, which would have been the day of the Passover.
Jesus rose from the dead three days later, on Sunday morning,
Mark 16:9, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week…”
He rose exactly three days and three nights from His burial (a full 72 hours) at sunset as the weekly Sabbath ended.
Matthew 16:1-2, “And when the 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, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.”
Verse 9, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week…”
All of these verses prove there were two Sabbaths—a high day on Wednesday, and a weekly Sabbath on Saturday—during the week of Jesus’ crucifixion—not one.
Let’s recap:
Jesus was not crucified on Friday. From Friday evening to Sunday morning is not three days and nights, as scripture defines the time Jesus spent in the grave.
What is the answer then? Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. The Jewish day begins in the evening. Jesus was buried just before Thursday began. He then was in the grave Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He rose from the dead before sunrise on Sunday, the first day of the week.
The source of confusion stems from the scriptures stating that the day after His crucifixion was the Sabbath. People don’t realize that many times during special feast days the Jewish people have two Sabbaths in one week. When these special Sabbaths occur, they are called “high days”. That’s what occurred during the week of Jesus’ crucifixion. The Passover was on Thursday that week. The Passover is always a special Sabbath or a “high day”.
Jesus wasn’t crucified on a Friday; the scripture tells us how we can know:
Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (John 19:31)
What is the “high-day Sabbath” mentioned in this verse? Is it the same as a weekly Sabbath? The answer is no. A high day is technically an annual holy day, or annual Sabbath, as commanded in Leviticus 23. Certainly, the weekly Sabbath is a day to keep holy, but these annual holy days take precedence if they occur on the seventh-day Sabbath.
The annual Sabbaths are seven: the first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew), Atonement (Yom Kippur), the first day of Tabernacles (Succoth), and the Last Great Day. The first three occur in the spring, and the last four in the fall. Thus, the high day of which John was speaking was one of the three spring holy days, and since Jesus crucifixion took place on the day of Passover (Nisan 14 on the Hebrew calendar), the high day of which he speaks must be the first day of Unleavened Bread, which falls the day after the Passover (Nisan 15).
This verse also provides some very interesting and definitive proof of when Jesus died, and thus when He was resurrected. Jesus Himself said several times that His time in the tomb would be three days and three nights, just as the prophet Jonah had spent three days and nights in the fish’s belly (see Matthew 12:38-40; 27:63; Mark 8:31; John 2:18-22). This rule out a Friday crucifixion-Sunday resurrection because there is no way to cram three days and three nights between sunset on Friday and sunrise on Sunday.
If Jesus rose exactly three days and three nights after His burial (just before sunset; see Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34), the only candidate for His resurrection is the very end of the Sabbath at sunset. Counting back three full days, then, Jesus must have died on the previous Wednesday, which would have been the day of the Passover (Jesus and His disciples had observed the Passover the evening before). The first day of Unleavened Bread began just minutes after Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus sealed His tomb.
The gospel account says that, after this, His disciples and the women kept the holy day on Thursday (Mark 16:1). On Friday, the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath, the women prepared spices for His embalming (this was a normal workday; see Luke 23:56), then kept the weekly Sabbath. When they came to the tomb early Sunday morning, He had already risen some time before. He rose exactly three days and three nights from His interment (a full 72 hours) at sunset as the weekly Sabbath ended. This shows that there were two Sabbaths—a high day and a weekly Sabbath—during the time of His burial, not one!
Summary:
Jesus was not crucified on Friday. From Friday evening to Sunday morning is not three days and nights, as scripture defines the time Jesus spent in the grave. What is the answer then? Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. The Jewish day begins in the evening. Jesus was buried just before Thursday began. He then was in the grave Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He rose from the dead before sunrise on Sunday. The source of confusion stems from the scriptures stating that the day after His crucifixion was the Sabbath. People don’t realize that many times during special feast days the Jewish people have two Sabbaths in one week. When these special Sabbaths occur, they are called “high days”. That’s what occurred during the week of Jesus’ crucifixion. The Passover was on Thursday that week. The Passover is always a special Sabbath or a “high day”.
Key Points:
• Crucified and buried: Wednesday (Passover / Preparation Day)
• High-day Sabbath: Thursday
• Weekly Sabbath: Saturday
• Resurrected early Sunday the first day of the week
This timeline is fully consistent with all relevant Scriptures.
***Dave Robbins leads Endtime Ministries, is editor of Endtime Magazine, and hosts The Endtime Show.
