We are always to be searching for God’s face. This is just part of it … Is God “close enough” or is He “exact”? The God I serve hits it on the head of the nail every time.

SO … WHEN DID OUR SAVIOR DIE?
(Good Friday? It is more like Good Thursday.)

There are a few different opinions regarding when Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified and when He rose. God’s Word does not contradict itself … so we will take each opinion and test it against His Perfect Word. Does it fit?

- One thing that we MUST remember is that the evening (after sundown) belongs to the next day. In other words, a day starts on the evening of the day before. This is based upon creation and God’s timing … not man-made … so evening (sundown) to evening (sundown) is a day to God.
For example: If a verse says … “The first day of the week” … this could be “our” Saturday night.
- Another misunderstanding in our Greek culture, are not knowing the Feast days of God. It is very important to understand these days that God has put aside for us to celebrate.

1.) First view of our Savior’s death:

“Jesus died and was buried on Friday and rose on Sunday”

Fri-day Fri-night Sat-day Sat-night Sun-day

Died 3:00

day one night one day two night two (He was risen by a.m. … no day three)
(partial)

Passage that seems to contradict this view:

“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.” (Matthew 12:40)

Hole in this view: There are not three days or three nights. (And God’s Word is true)
How was this view developed? Verses such as Mark 15:41 which recounts when the Savior was buried. “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached,” (then we read about Joseph of Arimathea going to Pilate for the body). When we don’t view the “New Testament” in light of the “Old Testament” … we will miss many points God is trying to tell us. In other words, we will be in error more often than not. The fact is, the Feast of Passover is immediately followed by the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread … this day is a Special Sabbath. So when our Savior was crucified … they had to remove His body and bury it before the Sabbath … the first day of Unleavened Bread’s Sabbath.
What might be a response to these facts? “Oh, it’s close enough.” (And then they smile, as if we were cute to ask such a silly question). Well … for God’s children … close enough is not good enough. So let us examine it further.

2.) Second view:

Yeshua (Jesus) died and then was buried on Wednesday at evening (based upon the above passage 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. And on Leviticus 23:5 … “The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.”) We know that the crucifixion was at 3:00. This view states that He was taken off the cross and then was buried at the fading of one day (Passover) and the entering in of the next day (Unleavened Bread) … thus twilight … the time between). This view assumes that the Jonah passage means He was in the tomb three full 24 hour periods and three complete nights. Then, He rose on Saturday evening just after sundown which is actually Sunday.

Wed-evening Wed-night Thur-day Thur-night Fri-day Fri-night Sat-day
(Sabbath) (Not a Sabbath) (Sabbath)

(died 3:00) night one day one night two day two night three day three (buried in evening) (Risen at the
end of day)

Passages that seem to contradict this view:

“They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” (Matt. 17:23) Also, Matt. 20:19, Mark 9:31, Mark 10:34, Luke 9:22, and Luke 18:33 which all state that He would rise on the third day.
If He was in the tomb for three full 24 hour periods, then He would not have risen on the third day, but actually on the fourth day. This is further clarified in the following passage:

“The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.” (Luke 24:20-21) Now from Luke 24:13, we know that this conversation took place on the same day the women went to the tomb which was the first day of the week very early in the morning according to Luke 24:1. Then, later that same day, we are told it is the third day since his crucifixion. If this second view was true, and He was crucified on Wednesday, then this would be the fourth day. God’s word never contradicts itself and is never wrong.

Hole in this view: The Jonah passage says that He will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. This is referring to the fact that He was no longer in this body on the surface of the earth. Thus, the three days and nights begin to be counted at the 3:00 death of our Master … The time that His Spirit was given up. Thus, by 3:00 pm on Saturday, we have already hit three 24 hour periods and at 3:01p.m. we enter the fourth day. Even if we count from the moment He was put in the tomb, we know from Luke 23:54 that He was placed in the tomb on Preparation Day which means the sun had not yet set, so it was still the day He was crucified. If this view is true, then He rose, in fact, on the fourth day which contradicts the whole list of Scriptures above. This cannot be.
Possible other hole: If He was crucified on Wednesday, this would mean that Friday was not a Sabbath. Therefore, the woman were anxiously waiting for the Sabbath to be over to anoint the body of the Son of God … they would have had time to do this on Friday before the weekly Sabbath began.

3.) Third view:

Yeshua (Jesus) died and was buried on Thursday (Again, based upon Leviticus 23:5 … “The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.”) The crucifixion was at 3:00 … but He was taken off the cross and then was buried before the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread began. Using the verse “Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes . But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” (Luke 23:56) this shows that these woman had time to prepare spices BEFORE the Sabbath … just not time to go to the tomb.

Thur-day Thur-night Fri-day Fri-night Sat-day Sat-night Sun-day
Died 3:00 (Sabbath) (Sabbath)

Day one night one day two night two day three night three
(parital) (risen by a.m.)

Passages that seem to contradict this view:

None that we can come up with. The Spirit of God departed Him at 3:00 … this is where we start counting (even if one does not agree with this … the body was buried before the sun set and the next day started). 3:00 p.m. on Thursday to 3:00 on Saturday is two FULL days and nights … The third day would begin after this 3:00 p.m. mark on Saturday, as well. Saturday night gives us our third night, and He rose before sunrise on Sunday. This is rising on the third day. This view makes both the three days and three nights passage true and the 3rd day rising passages true. The three days were not three full 24 hour periods, but partial Thursday before sunset + partial Saturday after sunset until rising just before sunrise, Friday, and Saturday.

Hole in this view: There does not appear to be any.

How was this view developed? By trying to make sure our interpretations of Scripture match up with all the rest of Scripture so that there are no contradictions. By doing so … is searching for God’s Truth.

Just think about it. This is what us Gentile believers are missing when we let go of God’s Feasts … His truth. Good Friday? I suppose every day is good if we wake up breathing … but Friday is not when our Savior died. Thursday seems to fit Scripture the most.