When Was Yeshua Crucified?

Scriptural quotations are from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.  Bolded text or other emphases in the Scriptural references are mine.

[Update 2/15/2015: I've created an interactive website that examines the Gospels and Good Friday, Good Thursday, and Good Wednesday scenarios.  Find out which matches the Scriptures on MessiahsPassoverWeek.info!]

The Question

During a recent class, I was asked about my teaching that Good Friday is the anniversary of Messiah's Crucifixion.  A friend pointed out that the Scriptural holy day of Pesach (Passover) falls on a different day of the week each year, so the Crucifixion would naturally follow that "floating" holiday.  That made sense when I thought about it, but then my friend posed an additional and much more challenging question:

"Was the Master crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday?"

My initial response was a somewhat surprised "Well, of course, He was!"

The prompt reply: "Show me from Scripture."

With a promise to study the matter and later provide an answer, I began examining what Scripture said.  This article documents what I have found.

The Answer... in Short

There are two short answers to the question, "On what day was Messiah Crucified?"

The first short answer to the question is this: the 14th of Nisan: the day of Passover.  Messiah is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7) and died in our place as the ultimate Passover Lamb.

The second short answer is this: it really doesn't matter what day of the week the Master was crucified.

We are not given a commandment in Scripture to observe or honor that day as the day of His Crucifixion in any way, so answering the question is mostly a matter of curiosity.  Some oppose "Good Friday" simply because they reject anything related to Catholicism.  My examination here is entirely an academic matter and has no agenda other than finding out what Scripture says about the topic.

Since "Good Friday" was the topic that began the original discussion, I decided that I would start my search there.

Starting With Good Friday

"Good Friday" is never described in Scripture using those specific terms, so a quick online search was made to find a definition.  Unfortunately, the only places where clear explanations were provided were Catholic sources.

Good Friday, called Feria VI in Parasceve in the Roman Missal, he hagia kai megale paraskeue (the Holy and Great Friday) in the Greek Liturgy, Holy Friday in Romance Languages, Charfreitag (Sorrowful Friday) in German, is the English designation of Friday in Holy Week -- that is, the Friday on which the [Catholic] Church keeps the anniversary of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.¹

"Friday" is never mentioned in Scripture to describe the day of Messiah's Crucifixion or any other day.  That makes sense since the names of the weekdays now used in the Western calendar (Sunday through Saturday) came from the pagan Roman calendar much later in history and were never used in Scripture.  A search for the Greek equivalent of "sixth day" (ἕκτος ἡμέρα- hektos haymeron) in Scripture returned no results.  This left an examination of the Gospels for other clues regarding the day.

Passover

I used Passover [Pesach] as a starting point.  Leviticus 23 describes G-d's moedim [appointed times], including the schedule for Pesach:

In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD'S Passover.  (Leviticus 23:5)

Exodus 12:6 describes the timing of the original Passover of the Exodus:

You shall keep it [the lamb] until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.  (Exodus 12:6)

The Hebrew words translated in the NASB as "at twilight" is בֵּין הָעַרְבָּֽיִם [bayn ha-arevayim] can be translated literally as "before the evenings" (plural).  This indicates the time was to be before sundown on the fourteenth, which allowed for the "evening" before sunset (the end of one day) and the "evening" after sundown (the beginning of another day).  Why would we count the days in this manner?

In Scripture, a day begins at sundown rather than midnight, as is the current Western custom.  (For more details, see my G-d's Appointed Times article.) To be at a point before "the evenings", it would have to be before sundown: just before the end of one day and the beginning of another.

Some might suggest that "bayn" in this phrase means "between"; however, bayn is only used to indicate "between" when it is used twice before two distinct nouns.  Genesis 3:15 is an excellent example where we have bayneda oobayn in the phrase, "and I will put enmity between you and the woman."

Additional sources back up the "before" interpretation.  For example, the Greek equivalent of this word in the Septuagint translation of Exodus 12:6 is πρὸς ἑσπέραν [pros esperan] which means "towards evening" or "near evening".  This indicates that it was at the time, which was not yet evening but was near and moving towards that time.

It was here that my research ran into a roadblock.

The Scriptural calendar is based on the lunar month.  The article on the moedim and the related way of counting time can provide more details.  The secular calendar followed by most of the Western world today is based upon the solar year.  These two systems never fully sync up because they are fundamentally different.  This year (currently 2008 in the secular calendar, 5768 in the Hebrew calendar), Pesach falls on April 20th.  Last year, Pesach fell on April 3rd, and next year it will fall on April 9th.  Since there is some debate about the exact year (in the current Western calendar) that Yeshua was born, we cannot be sure of what day of the week Pesach fell on for the year of His death.

Resurrection

Somewhat perplexed by all this, I decided a different approach was needed.  Surely, Scripture provides some concrete details about the timing of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.  I decided to take these criteria and determine which hypothesis for a crucifixion date best matched those criteria.  I started my search with the Resurrection day and worked backward three days and three nights.

After all, the Master tells us that is the sign.

Three Days and Three Nights

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  (Matthew 12:38-40)

Yeshua informs us that He will be in the grave for three days and three nights. So that will serve as our first criterion:

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights.

Three days and three nights... there is something familiar about that from the story of Noah.

Noah

Pesach always falls on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (Exodus 12:18).  Three days later would be the 17th of Nisan.  The account of Noah and the Flood provides additional insight regarding the 17th of Nisan.

The story of Noah relates that G-d rendered judgment on all humanity with the Flood but saved Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark.  Since the ark is how G-d saved Noah, we can see that the ark is a picture of Messiah, the ultimate Savior.

In Exodus 12:2, G-d established the Passover month [Nisan] as the first month.  Before that time, years in Scripture had been reckoned from the date of Creation.  According to tradition, Creation began with the month known today as Tishrei.  If we start with Tishrei as the first month, then the seventh month is the month of Passover: Nisan.

In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.  (Genesis 8:4)

Here we can see a parallel between humanity's first instrument of salvation, the ark, and humanity's ultimate instrument of salvation, the Messiah:

• On the 17th day of Nisan, the ark rested from its work of saving Noah.
• Likewise, on the 17th day of Nisan, the Messiah rested from His work of saving humanity and was resurrected.

While this is a fascinating insight, unfortunately, it does not help us identify which day of the week Messiah was crucified. Instead, consider the "days and nights" aspect of Messiah's words.

Day and Night

When Messiah makes a distinction between days (daylight hours) and nights (night hours), we know that Yeshua is not speaking of the generic 24-hour period, which we might call a "day".  Instead, He is describing two separate periods: daytime and nighttime.  This fits with another passage from Scripture that records His words regarding what He considers a "day":

Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  (John 11:9)

If Messiah had said, "Are there not twenty-four hours in the day?" then we would know that He was referring to the 24-hour period that we commonly use as "day".  Instead, He notes that a "day" is twelve hours of daylight.  A "night" is an equivalent period of 12 hours of darkness.  While this is not rocket science, it does establish a consistent framework and context for the investigation.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

The Third Day

What else does Scripture say about the Resurrection?

From that time, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and raised up on the third day.  (Matthew 16:21)

Several related passages in Scripture (Matthew 17:23, 20:19, Luke 9:22, Acts 10:40, 1 Corinthians 15:4) repeat this "on the third day" phrasing.  Something more to add to our criteria.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

2.  Resurrected on the third day

Sunday Morning?

This approach of starting with the Resurrection and working backward three days and three nights should be easy since everybody knows the Resurrection occurred Sunday morning after dawn, right?

An examination of Scripture tells us it was not:

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.  (John 20:1)

This verse indicates that it was still dark (before dawn!?), and the stone had already been taken away from the tomb, which means Yeshua had already been resurrected at that time.

This verse presents two problems with the "Sunday morning" resurrection concept.  Let's examine what appears to be the more significant issue first.

The First Day of the Week?

The Greek behind the "first day of the week" translation is μια των σαββάτων (mia ton sabbaton).  This phrase does not translate as "first day of the week". Instead, it translates as "one of the sabbath".

The word translated as "first" [mia as the feminine form of the adjective heis ({strongsH}Strong's #1520{/strongsH})] does not mean "first". Instead, it means "one".

Some examples from Scripture:

• Yeshua says, "I and the Father are one".  (John 10:30)
• Yeshua quotes Torah and says, "For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." (Matthew 19:5)
• Yeshua references Deuteronomy 6:4 and says, "the Lord our G-d is One" (Mark 12:29)
• Luke 5:12 records that Yeshua was in "one of the cities".  The Greek word with the same part of speech [adjective], case [dative], number [singular], and gender [feminine] here is translated as "one".
• Luke 5:17 records "one day" Yeshua was teaching.  Here again, the same part of speech [adjective], case [dative], number [singular], and gender [feminine] is translated as "one".

Luke 5:17 provides an additional reason to question the "first day of the week" translation.  In Luke 5:17, the noun phrase translated as "one day" is μια των ημερων [mia ton haymeron].  The Greek word for "day" (haymeron) is used in this verse, but it is not in John 20:1 above.

THE ANSWER TO THIS PROBLEM

The resolution to this dilemma with this came from a 17th-century source: commentator John Lightfoot:

The Jews reckon the days of the week thus; One day (or the first day) of the sabbath: two (or the second day) of the sabbath: "Two witnesses come and say, The first of the sabbath this man stole, &c., and, on the second day of the sabbath, judgment passed on him." ²

[italics in the original]

Eric Lyons of Apologetics Press.org explains that Lightfoot took this example from the Talmud tractate Maccoth. Lyons also quotes R.C.H. Lenski to provide this additional insight:

"[T]he Jews had no names for the weekdays," they "designated them with reference to their Sabbath" (1943, p. 1148).  Thus, mia ton sabbaton means "the first (day) with reference to the Sabbath," i.e., the first (day) following the Sabbath (Lenski, p. 1148), or, as we would say in 21st century English, "the first day of the week." ³

My own research into Hebraic literature bears out these claims.  For example, The Complete Artscroll Siddur provides a similar interpretation of the opening of the liturgical prayer for the Song of the Day for "Sunday". The Hebrew הַיּוֹם יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן בַּשַּׁבָּת [hayom yom rishon bashabbat] is translated as "Today is the first day of the Sabbath". ⁴

In every place in the Gospel accounts where we find "first day of the week" translated from mia ton sabbaton (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, John 20:19, & Acts 20:7), it is likely making use of the Hebraic expression "[day] one of the Sabbath" to mean "the first day of the week".

The Days of the Week

Another issue is that the "first day of the week" only partially corresponds to the Western calendar day of Sunday.  I say "partially" because the Scriptural calendar day begins at sundown while the Western secular calendar day begins at midnight.  (See the article on G-d's Appointed Times for more details.)

In a comparison of Scriptural days of the week with the Western calendar days of the week, we find this:

ANSWER TO THIS PROBLEM

To a Hebrew author such as John, the "first day of the week" would have begun at sundown... what we would consider the beginning of Saturday night.  If Mary had come to the tomb "on the first day" "early... while it was still dark," that could have been any time from sundown until sunrise.  To the Hebrew mind of the first century, any time in that period could be considered "early... while it was still dark".

Before Dawn?

We should never build our understanding of Scripture upon a single verse without considering the whole of Scripture. So, although John indicates it was before dawn ("while it was still dark"), let's see what the other Gospel accounts say about this.  Matthew's account is silent regarding the specific timing of Mary's visit, but Mark's and Luke's accounts provide some additional details:

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  (Mark 16:1-2)

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  (Luke 24:1-3)

Mark 16:2 affirms John's account and tells us they came to the tomb "very early on the first day of the week." However, verse 2 of the chapter describes the events as occurring "when the sun had risen."  This appears to contradict John's account and invalidates the idea of a visit by Mary before midnight.  Let's examine this more closely...

Or the Sun Had Risen?

Mark's account tells us "the sun had risen," while John's indicates "it was still dark."  These statements appear to contradict each other.  Was it dark, or was it after sunrise?

A closer examination of the Greek phrase translated as "when the sun had risen" in verse 2 reveals that the word translated as "had risen" is in the aorist active participle form.⁵ That's a fancy grammatical way to say instead of "they came to the tomb when the sun had risen" (indicating past tense in English), this phrase would better be translated as "they came to the tomb when the sun was rising" in an active tense.

This would fit with Luke's "early dawn" account and clarify our understanding of John's account to be after midnight but just before dawn "while it was still dark."  With this in view, we find that the notion of a visit by Mary before midnight does not fit with Scripture.

Let's update the timing criteria.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

2.  Resurrected on the third day
3.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week

We left off with Luke 24:1, and the beginning of the verse contains an interesting word: "but".  That very clearly implies a relationship to something that came before it. So what came before in Luke 23?

Spices and Perfumes

And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of G-d; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.  It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.  Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.  Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.  And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.  (Luke 23:50-56)

Here are some additional clues in our search!

• It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
• The women prepared spices and perfumes for Yeshua's body before the Sabbath.
• The women rested on the Sabbath.
• On the first day of the week after the Sabbath, they returned to the tomb (chapter 24).

Let's update our list.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

2.  Resurrected on the third day
3.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week
4.  Crucifixion occurred on the preparation day before the Sabbath
5.  The women prepare spices and perfumes before the Sabbath
6.  A Sabbath day occurred between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
7.  The women visit the tomb on the first day of the week after the Sabbath

Do we find other mention in the Gospel accounts of spices and perfumes that could give us further clues about the timing of Yeshua's Crucifixion, death, burial, and Resurrection?

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.  (Mark 16:1)

Here we see the women buying spices after the Sabbath. So let's add that to our criteria.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

2.  Resurrected on the third day
3.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week
4.  Crucifixion occurred on the preparation day before the Sabbath
5.  The women prepare spices and perfumes before the Sabbath
6.  A Sabbath day occurred between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
7.  The women visit the tomb on the first day of the week after the Sabbath
8.  The women buy spices after the Sabbath

But wait!

If it was after the Sabbath was over (i.e., after sundown on Saturday), they couldn't just stop by the local 24-hour SpiceMart and pick up several pounds of burial spices. Instead, they would have needed to wait until dawn the following day when the market opened.  That scenario, however, doesn't fit with their arrival at the tomb just before dawn.

It also contradicts the passage in Luke, where the women prepared the spices and perfumes before the Sabbath.  How can they prepare spices before the Sabbath that they haven't purchased until after the Sabbath?

There are a couple of possible explanations.

First, the passage in Luke refers to "the women who had come with Him out of Galilee".  This group may have been separate from Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James.  It seems unlikely as Mary Magdalene appears to have been a central female among the talmidim.  If anything, the other women would have gathered around her and Yeshua's mother during their time of mourning.

The second explanation involves two Sabbaths during the week of Pesach.  This second explanation makes sense when we consider the commandment to rest and "not do any laborious work" on Chag HaMatzot [the Feast of Unleavened Bread], which also makes it a Sabbath [rest] day.

There is an additional confirmation of this in Mark 28:

Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.  (Matthew 28:1)

The Greek word here translated as "Sabbath" is sabbaton, which is in the genitive plural neuter form!⁶ This passage literally reads "Now after the Sabbaths"... plural.  The Analytical Literal Translation (ALT) translates the verse this way:

Now after [the] Sabbaths, at the dawning into [the] first [day] of the week [i.e. early Sunday morning], Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the grave.  (Matthew 28:1)

[bracketed terms above in the original]

Consider that there were two Sabbaths during that week. In that case, the apparent paradox of "preparing spices before they were purchased" disappears because it was after the first Sabbath (Chag HaMatzot) that the spices were purchased and before the second (weekly) Sabbath that they were prepared.

Let's update the criteria again.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

2.  Resurrected on the third day
3.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week
4.  Crucifixion on the preparation day before the Sabbath
5.  A Sabbath day Two Sabbath days occurred between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
6.  The women prepare spices and perfumes before the second Sabbath
7.  The women visit the tomb on the first day of the week after the second Sabbath
8.  The women buy spices after the first Sabbath

Resurrected or Discovered?

One tremendously interesting point revealed during this study is that nowhere in Scripture is the clear statement made that Yeshua was resurrected on the first day.  Some might point to Mark 16:9 as evidence of the Resurrection on Sunday:

Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.  (Mark 16:9)

Rather than answering our current question, this passage only presents two additional problems:

THE FIRST PROBLEM

The earliest known manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not contain Mark 16:9-20.⁷ The validity of these verses as part of the original Markian witness is questionable.

THE SECOND PROBLEM

Even allowing this verse to constitute authentic and original Scripture does not necessarily indicate a "Sunday morning" resurrection.  In the Greek manuscripts that do contain this verse, there is no punctuation to indicate whether the "early on the first day of the week" phrase describes when "He had risen" or when "He first appeared".  This verse does provide a clear answer; however, we see from other passages that include the time that the women discover the empty tomb "while it was still dark" (John 20:1) or "at early dawn" (Luke 24:1).  To make this single verse fit the "Sunday sunrise" Resurrection we would have to disregard two other clear and unambiguous verses.

The only clear indication from Scripture is that the Master was discovered to be resurrected early on the first day of the week. However, there are no unequivocal statements about when that Resurrection occurred.

Let's add #9 to our criteria.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

2.  Resurrected on the third day
3.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week
4.  Crucifixion on the preparation day before the Sabbath
5.  A Sabbath day Two Sabbath days occurred between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
6.  The women prepare spices and perfumes before the second Sabbath
7.  The women visit the tomb on the first day of the week after the second Sabbath
8.  The women buy spices after the first Sabbath
9.  The Resurrection occurred before the discovery of the empty tomb

Let's move on.

Preparation Day

There are additional clues regarding the timing of the Crucifixion found in all four Gospel accounts: notes regarding the "preparation day":

• Matthew 27:62 refers to "the day after the preparation" as the day after Messiah was killed.
• Mark 15:42 refers to the day of Yeshua's death as "preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath."
• Luke 23:43 refers to "the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin."
• John 19:14 refers to "the day of preparation for the Passover" as the day of Yeshua's death.
• John 19:31 refers to "the day of preparation" before the Sabbath as the day of Yeshua's death and notes that particular Sabbath was a "high day".  "High" in this verse is the Greek word μέγας [megas], which means "great" or "large".  Some examples include, "What is the greatest commandment?", "the great tribulation", etc.
• John 19:42 notes that because of "the Jewish day of preparation," Yeshua's body was laid in the nearby tomb.

These preparation day clues indicate that the day of Yeshua's death was before the "high day" of Chag HaMatzot (the Festival of Unleavened Bread) rather than a regular weekly Sabbath.  This makes sense since the day before Chag HaMatzot is Pesach!

Another item for our list of criteria!

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

2.  Resurrected on the third day
3.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week
4.  Crucifixion on the preparation day before the Sabbath
5.  A Sabbath day Two Sabbath days occurred between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
6.  The women prepare spices and perfumes before the second Sabbath
7.  The women visit the tomb on the first day of the week after the second Sabbath
8.  The women buy spices after the first Sabbath
9.  The Resurrection occurred before the discovery of the empty tomb
10.  Messiah's death was on preparation day

What Was the Time of the Burial?

One question that will help determine the allocation of the three days and nights is, "What was the time of the burial?"  When was Yeshua's body laid in the tomb?  If this occurred after dark, the first day would begin after the first night.  If this happened before dark, we have to answer the question, "Do we have any evidence from Scripture that a few minutes of daylight constitutes the counting of 'a day'?" All four of the Gospel accounts shed a bit of light (pardon the pun) on whether it was day or night when Yeshua was buried:

Matthew 27:57-60 informs us that evening had come when Joseph of Arimathea approaches Pilate for the body of Yeshua.

Mark 15:33-47 informs us that darkness was upon the land from the "sixth hour" (what we would consider noon) until the "ninth hour" (3 PM or 1500 for you military types).  Mark's account also indicates that "evening had already come" when Joseph goes before Pilate to ask for the body.  We are left to speculate on how long it would take for the following to occur:

• Joseph requests and gains audience before Pilate
• Pilate sends for information about whether or not Yeshua was dead (verse 44)
• The centurion receives Pilate's summons and arrives to provide the answer
• Pilate makes a decision (verse 45)
• Joseph stops and buys linen (verse 46)
• Joseph returns to Golgotha and takes down his body
• Joseph prepares the body with linen and spices properly for burial
• Joseph takes the body about 1/2 a mile from Golgotha to the traditional location of the garden tomb and places it for burial.

Luke 23:44-54 confirms Mark's account that darkness was upon the land from the "sixth hour" until the "ninth hour".  It is at this point that Yeshua breathes his last and dies.  Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate and asks for the body of Yeshua.  Joseph took down the body, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb.

Luke 23:54-56 informs us that it was the Preparation day (for the Sabbath of Chag HaMatzot [the Feast of Unleavened Bread] and that the Feast was about to begin.  The women saw the tomb and how Yeshua's body was laid.  The phrasing here indicates this was before the Feast had begun, which would have been at sundown.

John 19:31-42 confirms the same elements as the other Gospels and provides two additional details.  First, verse 31 tells us because "that Sabbath was a high day," the Jewish authorities went to Pilate asking that those who were crucified be executed quickly so they could be taken away (and buried).  Second, the reason for burying Yeshua's body in the tomb is because it was near.  The purpose of having the condemned men killed was so they could be buried before the festival began.

Without any explicit statement from Scripture, Yeshua's body appears buried before sundown.

That provides one additional item for our criteria:

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light
• Nights are periods of darkness

2.  Resurrected on the third day
3.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week
4.  Crucifixion on the preparation day before the Sabbath
5.  A Sabbath day Two Sabbath days occurred between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
6.  The women prepare spices and perfumes before the second Sabbath
7.  The women visit the tomb on the first day of the week after the second Sabbath
8.  The women buy spices after the first Sabbath
9.  The Resurrection occurred before the discovery of the empty tomb
10.  Messiah's death was on preparation day
11.  Burial was before sundown on the preparation day

Examining the Criteria and the Possibilities

At this point, I ran out of things that seemed like timing criteria for the Messiah's death, burial, and Resurrection. So let's examine the list of criteria once more and put it into chronological order.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah's death was on preparation day
2.  Crucifixion on the preparation day before the Sabbath
3.  Burial was before sundown on the preparation day
4.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light.
• Nights are periods of darkness.

5. Two Sabbath days occurred between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
6.  The women buy spices after the first Sabbath
7.  The women prepare spices and perfumes before the second Sabbath
8.  Resurrected on the third day
9.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week
10.  The Resurrection occurred before discovering the empty tomb
11.  The women visit the tomb on the first day of the week after the second Sabbath

Good Friday?

With our criteria in hand, let's examine the traditional "Good Friday" schedule in our calendar diagram:

By laying out the dates in this manner, we can see that the traditional "Good Friday" reckoning falls short by two days and one night and leaves us with the Resurrection sometime during the third night rather than on the third day.

Some have suggested that Jewish tradition counts any part of a day as a full day (both day and night).  This theory appears to be unsupported by any historical Jewish literature.  If we examine Scripture, however, we find a kernel of truth in such a claim.

COUNTING DAYS

Rather than indicating that any part of a day counts as a full day and night, there are some examples from Scripture where a day that is begun in a particular condition is counted as being completed in that condition:

• Genesis 42:17,18 shows us that Joseph's brothers are in prison for three days.  They begin the 3rd day in prison and are counted as being in prison for the third day even though all of them (except Shimon) were set free on the third day.
• 1 Samuel 30:12 An Egyptian is found in a field and brought to David.  He had not eaten for three days and three nights.  He began the third day without food, so it is counted as a day without food, even though he was given a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins on the third day.
• Esther 4:15-16 Esther instructs Mordecai that she and her maidens will fast for three days and three nights.  On the third day, she goes to the King.  She began the third day without food or water, so it is counted as a day without food or water, even though Esther prepared a banquet that day for the king.
• 1 Kings 20:29 The Arameans camped against Israel for seven days and engaged in a battle against Israel on the seventh day.  They began the seventh day encamped against Israel, so it is counted as such even though they broke camp to engage in battle.
• 2 Chronicles 10:5-12 Rehoboam and the people return to Jeroboam on the third day when Jeroboam said to return to him in three days.  The third day counted as being away even though they returned on the third day. Therefore, they did not have to wait for 72 hours to elapse before returning.

These examples show that a day begun in a particular condition (fasting, camping, etc.) is counted as a day in that condition.  Unfortunately, it does not provide any gain for the "Good Friday" scenario, and we are still missing two days and one night.

THE WALK TO BETHANY

Another issue we must contend with when considering "Good Friday" is revealed in John 12:1.

Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  (John 12:1)

Why is this an issue?

In the previous chapter (John 11:54), we are told that Yeshua went to a city called Ephraim.  Ephraim is located roughly 15 miles north of Jerusalem (see map at right⁸).  Before he arrives in Bethany, we find Yeshua in Jericho healing the blind man, Bartimaeus, and his companion (Matthew 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43).  Yeshua then visits Zacchaeus and leaves Jericho for Jerusalem.

If the Passover falls on a Friday, then "six days before the Passover" (as stated in John 12:1 above) is Saturday... Shabbat.

As Acts 1:12 tells us, 

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.  (Acts 1:12)

The Life Application Study Bible indicates that a Sabbath day's journey is about 3/4 mile (about 1,100 meters)⁹

A several-mile hike from Jericho to Bethany would have violated the limitation of a Sabbath day's journey and would have been out of the question for a devout, sinless Jew like Yeshua.

Good Thursday?

Let's put a "Good Thursday" scenario on the chart:

The "Good Thursday" approach is better but short one day.  We also encounter a different problem in that Day 1 in the chart above would be Chag HaMatzot which is a "holy convocation" and a day of rest.  Buying and preparing the spices would be out of the question, so this scenario falls short regarding that criterion.

Good Wednesday?

What if there were another day between the first and second Sabbaths... a "Good Wednesday" scenario?

This "Good Wednesday" scenario meets all the criteria we found in Scripture.

Timing Criteria:

1.  Messiah's death was on preparation day
2.  Crucifixion on the preparation day before the Sabbath
3.  Burial was before sundown on the preparation day
4.  Messiah in the grave three days and three nights

• Days are periods of light.
• Nights are periods of darkness.

5. Two Sabbath days occurred between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
6.  The women buy spices after the first Sabbath
7.  The women prepare spices and perfumes before the second Sabbath
8.  Resurrected on the third day
9.  Resurrection before dawn on the first day of the week
10.  The Resurrection occurred before the discovery of the empty tomb
11.  The women visit the tomb on the first day of the week after the second Sabbath

Although some may subscribe to a literal 72-hour burial period, it does not appear that Scripture requires it.  Even if it did, this "Good Wednesday" scenario would meet that requirement.  Since Messiah was buried just before sunset, He could have arisen just before sunset on Shabbat and fulfilled a literal 72-hour burial.

First Fruits

Some "Sunday dawn resurrection" proponents point to the apparent imagery of Messiah as the "first fruits" offered on the first day of the week.  That does not present a problem with a Saturday resurrection. So what do the priests do with the first fruit offering when they receive it?  They bring it "into the house of the LORD your G-d" (Exodus 23:19).

Summary

Primary Importance

It is important to note that the specific day of Messiah's death was the 14th of Nisan... Pesach.  Messiah's death as our Passover was the substance of the imagery of the Passover Lamb that was given in the commandments.  The day of the week on which His death occurred is of lesser importance.

Good Friday

The traditional "Good Friday" reckoning (at best) falls short by two days and one night and leaves Christ rising on the second night before dawn rather than on the third day.

Good Thursday

The "Good Thursday" scenario either gives us a resurrected Messiah on the third night, and we end up short by one day.  This scenario also does not meet the criteria given in Scripture.

Good Wednesday

It appears (surprisingly!) that a "Good Wednesday" scenario of Messiah Yeshua being buried just before sunset Wednesday is the only scenario that would fulfill the Scriptural criteria for Messiah's death, burial, and Resurrection.  He was laid in the tomb minutes before the "High Sabbath" of Chag HaMatzot, was buried for three days and three nights, and was raised on the third day.  It is the only scenario that allows the women to purchase and prepare spices for his body, rest on the [weekly] Sabbath, and arrive before dawn to visit the tomb to discover His body missing.

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